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THE ZOHAR

LEVITICUS

VAYIKRA

(Lev. I, 1-VI, 7)

R. Eleazar began here with the verse, "Ask thee a sign [1] of the Lord thy God, ask it either in the depth or in the height above" (Isa. VII, 1). He said: 'We have compared the former with the latter generations, and found that the former were conversant with a higher wisdom by which they knew how to combine the letters that were given to Moses on Mount Sinai, and even the sinners of Israel knew a deep wisdom contained in the letters and the difference between higher and lower letters, and how to do things with them in this world. For every letter that was transmitted to Moses used to ascend as a crown upon the heads of the holy celestial Hayyoth, who with them flitted through the ether which is under the refined and unknowable supernal ether. There were large letters and small letters; the large letters came from the most high and hidden Temple (hekhal) and the smaller letters from another lower Temple; and both kinds were transmitted to Moses on Sinai, along with their occult combinations. [2] [2b]

AND HE CALLED UNTO MOSES, AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO HIM OUT OF THE TENT OF MEETING, SAYING. R. Hiya connected this with the verse, "I am come into my garden, my sister, my bride, I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey, I have drunk my wine with my milk, eat, O friends, etc." 'The first part of this verse', he said, 'does not seem to accord with the second. If a man invites another to eat, it is while the food is spread before him, not after he has eaten himself. The explanation, however, is this. On the day when the Tabernacle was set up on earth, another Tabernacle was set up aloft, and that day was one of joy to the Holy One, blessed be He. Moses, however, at that time, "was not able to enter the tent of meeting" (Ex. XL, 35), whereupon God said, "The Tabernacle has been raised by the hand of Moses, and shall he remain outside?" Straightway, therefore, He called to Moses, saying, Moses, how does one dedicate a house? With a banquet, is it not? Therefore, "when any man of you offereth an oblation unto the Lord", etc. The verse can also be explained in the same connection as follows. The "garden" is the higher Garden of Eden, "My sister, my bride" is the Community of Israel, whose espousals were on that day consummated, all being blessed from the water of the supernal stream. Hence it says "I have gathered my myrrh with my spice, etc.", [4a] while the words "eat, O friends, etc." indicate that all those beneath and all the branches were blessed and nourished when the others were blessed above. And wherewith are they all blessed and regaled? With the odour of the sacrifice. It was when the Community of Israel came down to make her abode on earth that God proclaimed this verse, because there was then blessing and joy in all worlds, and She was firmly established as a source of blessing to all. For when those Six [grades] are blessed, then all worlds are blessed, both below and above, and Israel draw blessing from all of them.' R. Isaac said that the Holy One, blessed be He, was espoused to the Community of Israel only at the time when those Six drank their fill of the "stream that never fails". R. Judah said that the words, "Eat, O friends, drink, yea drink abundantly, O beloved", were addressed to all the lords of the loud battle-shout, who were then established and blessed because they all partook of the banquet of the King. For when the King came rejoicing he rejoiced the Matrona, and then they all ate and were glad. R. Abba said that the terms "friends" and "beloved" refer to the Six mentioned, who were bidden to drink and drink abundantly from that wine which slakes the thirst of all. R. Eleazar said that these terms refer to all the lower orders, since when those Six are blessed all beneath are blessed. R. Simeon said: 'All these explanations are good, but the real truth is that "friends" refers to those above and "beloved" to those below.' 'Who', asked R. Eleazar, 'are those above and those below?' 'This is a good question' , he replied. 'Those in the higher realm who are fast friends and never separate are called "friends", whereas those below who unite only at certain times are called "beloved ones". Note that those in the higher realm are bidden only to eat and not to drink. For he who already has a cask of wine needs something to eat with it, and since in that realm is the precious "wine of creation", they are invited to eat, whereas those below who require liquid are invited to drink, for all shoots require to be watered from the deep stream.' Said R. Eleazar to him: 'The term "beloved" is the more endearing of the two: why, then, is it applied to those below?' He replied: 'Those who yearn for one another, but are not always together, are called "beloved", whereas those who are always together and never hidden or separated from one another are called "friends". In the inseparableness of the one set and the yearning of the other lies the completeness of the whole, for the blessing of the Community of Israel and the joy of all worlds.' R. Hizkiah applied the verse to the sacrifices, because they are the banquet which is brought before the King, and the accusers also partake of it and are satisfied, and so joy is diffused everywhere. R. Aha applied the verse to the time when the Shekinah entered the Tabernacle, blessing and joy being then universally diffused, and Israel being perfected and joined [4b] to the Holy One, blessed be He, on earth, as it is written, "and they shall make me a sanctuary and I shall dwell among them" (Ex. XXV, 8).

AND HE CALLED UNTO MOSES. R. Simeon connected this with the verse, "The flowers appear in the land, the time of the singing of birds (zamir) is come and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land" (S.S. II, 12). 'Why', he said, 'is the word "land" repeated in this verse? The reason is that the "flowers" here are the "shoots" which God plucked up and planted in another place, and whose blossoms appear on the "earth" -that earth which is fitly blessed by them, the holy earth, the supernal earth, the true earth. Then, too, the time of cutting-off (zamir) has drawn near, the time to destroy the dominion of the nations over Israel, when the Tabernacle was set up, "and the voice of the turtle was heard in our land", to wit, in the land which Joshua conquered for Israel. When the Tabernacle was set up, Moses stood outside, not venturing to enter without permission, until "one called unto Moses". Who was it that called? She to whom the house belonged, the bride who had authority over all the house.'

AND THE LORD SPAKE TO HIM. This was He that is called Voice, and to whom Moses attached himself. R. Eleazar quoted here the verse: "Wherefore when I came was there no man, when I called was there none to answer?" (Isa. L, 2). 'Happy are Israel', he said, 'in that wherever they congregate God is among them and takes pride in them, as it says, "Israel in whom I will be glorified" (Ibid. XLIX, 3). Nay more, Israel attain to perfect faith on earth and Israel consummate the Holy Name. For when Israel are blameless in their conduct die Holy Name, so to speak, is whole, but when Israel are faulty in their conduct on earth, the Holy Name, if one may say so, is not whole above. For so we have learnt: "One went up and the other went down. The supernal Israel ascended aloft, the Community of Israel came down to earth. So they were parted from one another, and the Holy Name was left incomplete"; and all because the Community of Israel is in exile. Yet though Israel are in exile, the Holy One, blessed be He, is to be found among them, and precedes them to the synagogue, where he exclaims: "Return, ye backsliding children, I will heal your backslidings" (Jer. III, 22). And if none heed, then God says: "Wherefore when I came was there no man, when I called was there none to answer ?" So on the day when the Tabernacle was completed God came at once and rested thereon and straightway "called unto Moses and spake to him from the tent of meeting, saying", He made known to him how Israel would sin and how this tent of meeting would be "pledged" [3] for their sins and would not endure. There was, however, a remedy for this: "if a man should bring an offering to the Lord".'

R. Hizkiah once, when in the company of R. Simeon, asked him [5a] what was the precise meaning of the term korban (offering). He replied: 'As is well known to the Companions, it means their "drawing near". [4] It refers to those holy Crowns which are all knit together and drawn near to one another until they all form a perfect unity to make whole the Holy Name. Hence it is written, "a korban to YHVH", meaning that the drawing near of those Crowns is to YHVH to unify properly the Holy Name so that mercy should be shown to all worlds, and rigour should not be aroused. Hence the name YHVH is used (in connection with the sacrifices), and not the name Elohim.' Said R. Hizkiah: 'How glad I am that I asked this question, so as to receive such an explanation. But is it not written, "The sacrifices of Elohim are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, Elohim, thou wilt not despise" (Ps. LI, 18)?' He replied: 'It does not say here "offering" (korban), but "sacrifices" (zibehe). It is for this reason that the sacrifices were killed on the north side of the altar, because that is the side of Geburah, which is designated Elohim, the purpose being to soften and break the spirit of severity, so that mercy may obtain the upper hand. It is meet, therefore, that a man should stand by the altar with a contrite spirit and repent of his misdeeds so that that stem spirit may be softened and mercy prevail over severity.'

WHEN ANY MAN OF YOU OFFERETH AN OBLATION UNTO THE LORD. R. Eleazar said: 'The words "of you" are inserted here to show that the word "man" (adam) does not refer to Adam, who also brought a sacrifice when God created the world, as explained elsewhere.' Said R. Simeon to him : 'You are quite right.' R. Abba discoursed here on the Psalm commencing: "A song, a psalm of the sons of Korah" (Ps. XLVIII). 'This psalm', he said, 'surpasses all the other hymns of praise, sung by the sons of Korah, being hymn upon hymn, a hymn with two facets, song and psalm. It was sung in praise of the Community of Israel. Wherein lies this praise? In the words, "Great is the Lord and highly to be praised, in the city of our God, in his holy mountain". For when is the Holy One, blessed be He, called great? When the Community of Israel is with Him; He is great "in the city of our God". We learn from this that the King without the Matrona is no king, nor is He great nor highly praised. Hence, whoever being male is without his female is bereft of all his praises and is not included in the category of "man", nor is he even worthy to be blessed. (So in the book of Rab Hamnuna the Elder we find it stated that Job was called "great" (Job I, 3) only because of his wife, who was God-fearing like himself.) The praise of their espousals is contained in the next words, "Beautiful in elevation", the one referring to the Holy One, blesssed be He, and the other to the Zaddik, this union being "the joy of the whole earth". "God hath made himself known in her palaces for a refuge" : these are Nezah and Hod, [5b] in which all blessings and joy are stored up, and from whence they issue through the agency of that grade which is called Zaddik. "For lo, the kings assembled themselves, they passed by together" these are all the crowns of the King together; and from this point the Psalm has a different reference.

'When a man rectifies his actions by means of the offering, all is firmly established and knit together in complete unity, as it is written, "when a man brings near", that is, unites what should be united.'

WHEN ANY MAN OF YOU OFFERETH. The term "man" (adam) excludes one who is not married, his offering being no offering and blessings not resting on him, either above or below. For he is deficient and is called "blemished", and nothing blemished may approach the altar. The proof is in the fate of Nadab and Abihu. Said R. Abba: 'The incense is the most excellent of all offerings, for through it are blessed both those above and those below. Therefore they were not worthy to bring this offering, because they were not married. It may still be asked, however, why were they burnt? The following parable will explain. A man came before the queen to inform her that the king intended to visit her and enjoy her company. He then presented himself to the king, who saw that he was physically defective. Said the king: "It comports not with my dignity that through the agency of this cripple I should be presented to the queen." Meanwhile the queen had prepared the room for the king. When she saw that the king was prevented from coming to her by that man, she ordered him to be put to death. So when Nadab and Abihu took the incense, the Matrona saw and rejoiced and prepared to meet the King. When the King, however, saw that they were defective, he did not wish to be introduced to her through them, and kept aloof. When the Matrona saw that through them the King kept aloof, straightway "a fire went forth from the Lord and consumed them". All this because a man who is not married is defective, and the holiness of the King flees from him.'

OF THE CATTLE. This is the general term. OF THE HERD AND OF THE FLOCK: these are the particular terms. The Scripture particularises those animals which are proper to eat. Those which are not proper to eat may not be brought as an offering. The difference between those that are proper and those that are not proper to eat is stated elsewhere.

IF HIS OBLATION BE A BURNT OFFERING. R. Hiya cited here the verse: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, said the Lord" (Isa. LV, 8). 'The Thought of God', he said. 'is the fountain-head of all, and from that Thought spread forth ways and paths in which the Holy Name might be found and fittingly established. From that Thought, too, issued the stream of the Garden of Eden to water all. On that Thought depend all beings above and below, and from that Thought come the Written and the Oral Torahs. The thought of man is also the fountain-head of his life, and from it stretch ways and paths to pervert his ways in this world and in the next. From that thought issues the defilement of the evil inclination to work harm to him and to all, and from it come error and iniquity and presumptuous sin, idolatry, fornication and bloodshed; wherefore [6a] it says, "my thoughts are not as your thoughts". Hence it says, first of all, "If his oblation be a burnt-offering", for the "burnt-offering" ('olah) has reference to "that which goeth up" ('olaj) on the heart, to wit the thought, and therefore the first offering mentioned is the burnt-offering.'

R. Aha was once walking in company with R. Judah. As they were going along, R. Judah said: 'We have learnt that the "Virgin of Israel" is blessed from seven sources; yet the Scripture says, in reference to her, "And do thou, O son of man, raise a lament over the virgin of Israel", [5] and what is even worse, "The virgin of Israel is fallen, she shall no more rise" (Amos V, 2). It is true that this last verse has been explained by all the Companions as a message of comfort. [6] This, however, can hardly be accepted, as the prophet himself calls it a lamentation (V. 1).' Said R. Aha: 'I, too, have been perplexed with the same difficulty. I once came before R. Simeon looking very troubled. He said to me: "Your face shows that there is something on your mind." I said: "Truly my mind is as sad as my face." He said to me: "Tell me what it is." I said: "It is written, 'The virgin of Israel is fallen. she shall no more rise'. If a man is angry with his wife and she leaves him, shall she never return? If so, alas for the children who have been sent away with her!" He said to me: "Are you not content with what the Companions have said?" I replied: "I have heard their explanation, that it is really a message of comfort, but it does not satisfy me." He said: "What the Companions have said is quite right as far as it goes, but there is more to be said. Alas for the generation when the shepherds are gone and the sheep stray without knowing whither they are going! Truly this verse requires understanding, but it is all plain to those who can interpret the Torah fittingly. See now. In all the other exiles of Israel a term was set, at the end of which Israel returned to God and the Virgin of Israel came back to her place. But this last exile is not so, for she shall not return as on previous occasions, as is proved by this verse which says, 'The virgin of Israel is fallen, she shall rise no more.' Note that it is not written, 'I shall not raise her any more'. Imagine a king who was wroth with his queen and banished her from his palace for a certain time. When that time arrived she at once returned to the king. So it happened several times. Finally. however, she was banished from the king's palace for a very long time. Said the king: 'This time is not like the other times when she came back to me. This time I shall go with all my followers to find her.' When he came to her he found her in the dust. [6b] Seeing her thus humiliated and yearning once more for her. the king took her by the hand. raised her up. and brought her to his palace. and swore to her that he would never part from her again. So the Community of Israel. on all previous occasions in which she was in exile. when the appointed time came. used to return of herself to the King; but in this exile the Holy One. blessed be He. will himself take her by the hand and raise her and comfort her and restore her to his palace. So it is written: 'In that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen' (Amos IX. 11), the 'tabernacle of David' being identical with the 'Virgin of Israel'." Said R. Judah: 'Truly thou hast comforted and satisfied me, and this is the truth of the matter. And it reminds me of something similar which I had forgotten, of a saying of R. Jose, that the Holy One, blessed be He, will one day make proclamation concerning the Community of Israel, saying "Shake thyself from the dust, arise, sit thee down, Jerusalem" (Isa. LII, 2), like a man taking his neighbour by the hand and saying, Pull yourself together, rise.' Said R. Aha to him: 'All the prophets use similar language. Thus it is written, "Arise, shine forth, for thy light is come", meaning that the King is here to be reconciled with her. And again. "Behold thy king cometh unto thee" (Zech. IX, 9): He shall come to thee to comfort thee, to raise thee, to repay thee all, to take thee into His palace and to espouse thee for evermore, as it is written: "And I shall betroth thee for ever" (Hos. II. 19).'

As they went along they saw R. Abba approaching. They said: 'Here comes a master of wisdom; let us greet the Shekinah.' When, however, they came up, he himself slipped off the saddle and came down to the ground by them. He then began to discourse on the verse: "And there was the voice of a trumpet (shofar) exceedingly loud" (Ex. XIX, 16). 'The ancient scribes', he said, 'differed as to the correct intonation of this verse. Some punctuated it so as to read, "And there was a voice, the trumpet exceeding strong", making the voice and the trumpet two things, the trumpet being the signal for slaves to go forth to everlasting freedom. Some, again, made the voice and the trumpet one, this being the great voice whence issued the Torah, which is called "strong", because there is no word in the Torah so apparently weak or feeble which when properly studied will not be found as strong as a hammer breaking the rock. [7a] It is also written in the same passage: "Moses spake and God answered him by a voice" (Ibid. 19). This voice, as has been elsewhere explained, is the voice of Moses, the Voice to which Moses attached himself. It may be asked, does it not say further on that "God spoke" (Ibid. XX, 1), and not Moses? Some explain that the reason was because the people said to Moses: "Speak thou with us and we will hear, but let not God speak with us" (Ibid. 19). But, in fact, there is no word in the Torah which Moses spoke on his own authority. Hence it says, "Moses spoke" with his own voice, "and God answered him with that mighty Voice", confirming what he said.'

They asked R. Abba to continue, so he went on with the verse: "But if a priest's daughter be a widow or divorced and have no child", etc. (Lev. XXII, 13). 'Blessed', he said, 'is the portion of Israel above that of all other nations, because God created the world only for their sake, that they might receive the Law on Mount Sinai and become pure and righteous in His sight. Now, when this world was made after the supernal pattern and that first man was planted in the earth whose stature reached to the heaven, God desired to draw down a holy soul from heaven to earth in order that they might be joined and linked together. And therefore "God formed man dust from the ground", etc. (Gen. II, 7), that he might join one with the other and himself be perfect. And therefore God created man male and female that he might be perfect. For when is man called complete after the supernal pattern? When he is joined with his mate in unity, in joy, and in affection, and there issue from their union a son and a daughter. Then is man complete below like the Holy Name above, and the Holy Name is attached to him. But if a man is not willing to complete the Holy Name below, it were better for him that he had not been born, for he has no portion at all in the Holy Name, and when his soul leaves him it never joins him again, because he diminished the likeness of his Master, until it has been wholly rectified, as it is written: "But if a priest's daughter be a widow or divorced", etc. "The priest's daughter" is the holy soul, called "daughter of the king", who issues from the union of the King and the Matrona, and is therefore the lower body consisting of male and female, there being a corresponding soul above. "If she shall be widowed" from that body to which she was united, "or divorced" from that portion of the Holy Name, because "she has no seed" to resemble therewith that which is above and to be linked to the Holy Name, then "she shall return" to be restored to her original state. Thereupon "she shall return to her father's house". that is, to the Holy One, blessed be He, "as in her youth". as at first, and "she shall eat of her father's bread", to partake of the delights of the King. But thenceforth "there shall no stranger eat thereof", that is, one who has not established the Holy Name below and who has no portion therein; such a one has no portion in the supernal delight wherein is true "eating", [7b] and which is still in the place where it was when the savour of the sacrifices used to ascend. For when there is food below there is food above; it is as though a king were to prepare a banquet for himself and another for his servants, but were not to eat till his servants ate. Hence the expression "sweet savour" (lit. savour of pleasantness) -- savour for the servants, pleasantness for the Lord. Hence we have learnt that Israel feed their Father in heaven. And who are they that eat of the banquet of the King? Who if not the souls of the righteous?'

R. Abba further discoursed on the verse: "Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity" (Ps. CXXXIII, 1). 'Happy are Israel', he said, 'in that God gave them in the charge of no chief or messenger, and they are attached to Him and He is attached to them. And from His love for them He called them servants, as it is written: "For unto me the children of Israel are servants" (Lev. XXV, 55); and He further called them children, as it is written, "Ye are children of the Lord your God" (Deut. XIV, 1); and finally He called them brethren, as it is written, "For my brethren and companions' sakes" (Ps. CXXII, 8). And because He called them "brethren", He desired to make his abode with them and not leave them. Also we may take the word "brethren" to indicate the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Community of Israel. So in the exposition of the verse, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one", we have learnt that "one" signifies the Community of Israel who clings to the Holy One, blessed be He, since, as Rabbi Simeon said, the union of male and female is called "one", the Holy One, blessed be He, being called "one" only in the place where the Female also is, since the male without the female is called half the body, and half is not one. When, however, the two halves are united, they become one body and are called one. At the present day the Holy One, blessed be He, is not called "one". The inner reason is that the Community of Israel is in exile, and the Holy One, blessed be He, has ascended aloft and the union has been broken so that the Holy Name is not complete and is therefore not called "one". When will it be called "one"? When the Matrona will be again with the King and they shall be united, when, in the words of the prophet, "the kingdom shall belong to YHVH", the kingdom referring to the Community of Israel, to whom kingship is attached. Then "in that day shall the Lord (YHVH) be one and his name one" (Zech. XIV, 9). The verse continues: "It is like the precious oil upon the head that ran down upon the beard." This is the oil of the anointing of holiness which streams forth from the Ancient Holy One and which is found in that supernal stream which gives to the children the wherewithal to kindle the lights. That oil trickles on to the head of the King and from the head to the holy and venerable beard, and from there it streams on to all the garments of splendour in which the King is arrayed, as it is written, "that came down upon the skirt of his garments". These are the Crowns of the King in which is found the Holy Name: and it is through them that all the bounty and all the joy of the various worlds come down to bless. And this "good oil" [8a] was not available until the time when the service from below mounted on high so that they met one another.'

R. Aha and R. Judah lifted up their hands and thanked R. Abba. R. Aha then discoursed on the verse: "But God (Elohim) came to Abimelech in a dream of the night" (Gen. XX, 3). 'We also find that "Elohim" came to Balaam (Num. XXII, 9). How is it that "Elohim" came to Gentiles and not to Israel? The truth is, however, that, as we have learnt, the word "Elohim" in these passages refers to the celestial Power that was in charge of Abimelech or Balaam. So, when we read that Elohim said to Abimelech, "I also know", etc. (Gen. XX, 6), we interpret thus: "Although one higher than I am knows, yet I also know". Hence he continued: "And I also withheld thee from sinning against me." There is really no sinning against a [mere] celestial Power, but what he meant was that through the sins of a people on earth their guardian Power above is weakened, and deposed from his authority. We learn from this that through the sins of mankind injury is inflicted above, as it says, "And through your transgression your mother was put away" (Isa. L, 1). Hence an offering (korban) had to be brought in order to bring near (kareb) the upper world and the lower after they had been separated through the sins of men.'

R. Abba and R. Judah then came and thanked R. Aha. R. Judah then followed with the text: "Serve ye the Lord with gladness" (Ps. C, 1). 'We have learnt', he said, 'that all service of God must be performed with gladness and zest, otherwise it is not perfect. Now how is this possible in the case of the offering, which is brought as a sign of man's repentance for transgressing the precepts of the law? With what face can such a man stand before God ? Surely only with a contrite spirit and sorrowful heart. Where, then, is the joy and shouting? The truth is, however, that this was provided by the priests and Levites: rejoicing was carried out by the priest because he is far from chastisement and must ever show a more joyful countenance than the rest of the people. The singing, again, was carried out by the Levites, whose function it was. So the priest stood by him [8b] and found suitable words to unify in joy the Holy Name, while the Levites broke out into song. At the present day, when there are no offerings, if a man sins and returns to his Master with bitterness of heart, with sorrow, with weeping and contrition, how is he to provide joy and singing? The answer is an esoteric one. We have learnt: "A man should enter the synagogue to the extent of two gateways and then pray." This alludes to the words of David: "Lift up your heads, O ye gates" (Ps. XXIV, 7). These are Maon and Machon, the which are far within, the beginning of the grades Kindness (Hesed) and Fear (Pahad), and the gateways of the world. Therefore a man should in his prayer fix his mind on the Holy of Holies, which is the Holy Name, and then say his prayer. Others learn the same lesson thus: "Joy" is the Community of Israel, and Israel will one day come forth from the exile through this joy, as it is written, "For in joy ye shall go forth" (Isa. LV, 12), and therefore it says, "Serve ye the Lord with joy". It further says, "Come before him with song". This is the completion of the joy, for joy is in the heart and song in the mouth. This, then, is the fitting way for man to appear before his Master, and then it can be said to him, "Know that the Lord is God": he has now to unify the Holy Name and to link these two names so as to make them one, and this is the true service of the Holy One, blessed be He.' Said R. Aha and R. Abba to him: 'Assuredly it is so. Happy the righteous who study the Torah and know the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He.'

They accompanied R. Abba three miles. He quoted to them the verse: "But as for me, in the multitude of thy lovingkindness I will come into thy house", etc. (Ps. V, 8). 'This verse', he said, 'has been expounded to mean that before entering a house of prayer a man should consult Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who instituted prayers to the Holy One, blessed be He: Abraham as it is said, "I will come into thy house"; Isaac as it is said, "I will bow down toward thy holy temple"; Jacob as it says, "In thy fear". Of such a one it is written, "And he said to me, thou art my servant, Israel, in whom I shall be glorified" (Isa. XLIX, 3).'

IF HIS OBLATION BE A BURNT OFFERING FROM THE HERD. R. Jose asked: 'Why should there be three kinds of burnt-offering -- from the herd, from the flock, and from the fowl? Why is not one sufficient? The reason is that if a man can afford he brings an ox, and if he cannot afford an ox he brings a sheep, and if he cannot afford a sheep he brings a fowl; for God does not demand of a man more than he can perform.' R. Eleazar said: 'His offering was to correspond to his sin. A rich man puffed up with his wealth was to bring an ox, because his thoughts were likely to be the most sinful. A man of moderate means brought a sheep because he was not so prone to sin; while a poor man, who was the most timid of all, brought the smallest offering of all. And the offering of each was appraised by God at its true value.'

R. Eleazar asked R. Simeon, his father, the following question: 'We have learnt that famine comes to the world for three sins which are only found among the rich, because they are puffed up with their wealth, but not among the poor; how is it fair, [9a] then, that God should slay the poor (by famine) and not the rich, for now they will sin still more?' He replied: 'This is a good question, and the Companions have answered as follows. Of all the sons of man, none are so near to the Supreme King as those vessels which He uses, to wit, "a broken and contrite heart" (Ps. LI, 18), "he that is of a contrite and humble spirit" (Isa. LVII, 15). Now, when there is a famine and the poor are punished and suffer, and they weep and cry before the King, and God draws them nearer than ever, as it is written, "For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted" (Ps. XXII, 25), God then visits the sin for which famine has come on the world. Woe, then, to the sinners who have caused this, when the King bestirs himself to take note of the voice of the poor. Heaven protect us from them and their vengeance, for so it is written, "I will surely hear his cry" (Ex. XXII, 23), "and my wrath shall wax hot, etc." (Ibid.).

'The offering of the poor man is a small one, because his heart is downcast, and therefore even if he harbours sinful thoughts he is forgiven because he is sufficiently punished by his own distress and that of his household. A rich man once brought an offering of two pigeons to the priest. On seeing them, the priest said: "This is not an offering for you." He went home very sad. His people asked him why he was so sad, and he said: "Because the priest would not take my offering." "What was it?" they said. He told them it was two pigeons. They said: "That is an offering for a poor man, not for you. You must bring a proper one." "What is that?" he asked. They replied: "An ox." "Is the mere thought of sin then so serious ?" he said. "I vow that I will let no thought of sin enter my heart". From that day he used to spend the day in business, then go to bed at night, and on waking he used to call his brethren, and they taught him the Torah and he used to study it till daybreak. So, because he studied. they called him "the transformed Judah". One day R. Jesse the Elder found him dividing his money, half for the poor and half for merchandise to ship oversea, and after he had finished he sat down and studied the Torah.

'He expounded the verse: "And Saul said to the Kenites, etc." (2 Sam. XV, 6). 'The Kenites', he said, 'were the descendants of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, and were so called because they made for themselves a nest (ken) in the wilderness, in order to study the Torah; for the study of the Torah does not require luxuries or merchandise, but only labour day and night. Hence they left the luxuries of Jericho and removed to the wilderness. Now, of Jethro it is written, "And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God" (Ex. XVIII, 12). This shows that his offering [9b] was highly esteemed in the sight of God. and therefore "Aaron and all the elders came to eat with Moses' father-in-law before God" (Ibid.); from which we learn that when one brings an offering with true devotion. God comes to meet him. Now the offering of a poor man is highly esteemed before God, because he brings two offerings: one the actual sacrifice, and the other his own flesh and blood, because, though he has nothing to eat himself, he yet brings an offering. A poor man can bring a little flour and make atonement; for just as his own flesh and blood were burning (with hunger), so the flour is heated with the oil smeared on it. Here, too, we learn that any man may bring an offering on a baking-pan or a frying-pan because it is heated in the same way as he heated his flesh and blood with his evil passions and set all his limbs on fire. The essence of the offering is that it is analogous to the sin, and that a man should offer to God his desires and passions, for this is more acceptable than all. Blessed are the righteous that they bring this offering every day. Yet withal, the actual offering is better, because it brings blessings on all worlds.'

'He further discoursed on the verse: "Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, who dwelleth at Jerusalem, hallelujah" (Ps. CXXXV, 21). He said: 'Is the Lord blessed from Zion? Is He not blessed from the recondite supernal stream? What it means, however, is that the Lord is blessed when the Moon is illumined by the Sun and they draw near one another. Or again, it may mean that the place from which it is known that the Holy One, blessed be He, is blessed is Zion, as it is written: "For there the Lord commanded the blessing, etc." (Ps. CXXXlIl, 3).' Said R. Jesse to him: 'Blessed art thou that thou hast attained to all this, and blessed are all those that study the Torah.'

IF HIS OBLATION BE A SACRIFICE OF PEACE OFFERINGS. R. Judah discoursed here on the verse: "And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters" (Gen. I, 6). 'When God created the world', he said, 'He created seven firmaments above, and in each one stars and constellations and ministers to serve, and Chariots one above the other to take upon themselves the yoke of the kingship of their Master. Some have six wings, some four wings; some have four faces, some two faces, and some one face; some are of fire, some of water, and some of air. The firmaments envelop one another like the skins of an onion, and every firmament trembles from the fear of its Master by whose command it moves or stops. Over all is the Holy One, blessed be He, who sustains all in His power and might. Similarly there are seven earths below, [10a] one higher than the other, the Land of Israel being the highest of all and Jerusalem being the highest point in the whole inhabited world. Our colleagues who dwell in the South have seen all this in the books of the ancients and in the Book of Adam. Between each earth and the next is a firmament which divides them from one another. Hence they all have separate names, among them being the Garden of Eden and Gehinnom. The creatures in them also are different, corresponding to those above, some with two faces, some with four, and some with one; and their aspects also differ. But, it may be said, are not all men descended from Adam, and did Adam then go down to each of these earths and beget sons there? The truth is, however, that man is found only in this highest earth which is called Tebel (inhabited world), and which is attached to the upper firmament and to the supreme Name. Hence man is superior to all other creatures. For, just as above there is a highest firmament which is the throne of the Holy One, blessed be He, so below on this Tebel is the king of all, to wit, man. As for the lower creatures, they are produced" from the moisture of the earth under the influence of the heavens, which brings forth creatures of various kinds, some with skins and some with shells -- red, black, or white, and so forth, none of them enduring for more than ten years or so. In the Book of Rab Hamnuna the Elder it is explained further that all the inhabited world is circular like a ball, so that some are above and some below, and the strange appearances of certain races are due to the nature of the air, but they live as long as other men. Further, there is a part of the world where it is light when in another part it is dark, so that some have night while others have day. Also there is a place where it is always day and where there is no night save for a very short time. All this account which is found in the books of the ancients and in the Book of Adam is confirmed by Scripture, which says: "I will give thanks unto thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, wonderful are thy works" (Ps. CXXXIX, 15), and again, "O Lord, how manifold are thy works" (Ps. CIV, 24). This mystery [7] has been entrusted to the masters of wisdom, [8] but is not known to those who mark out boundaries [9] Similarly the sea is full of different creatures, but in all worlds there is no ruler save man and God above him.'

R. Nehorai the Elder once went on a sea voyage. The ship was wrecked in a storm and all in it were drowned. He, however, by some miracle, went down to the bottom of the sea and found there an inhabited land where he saw strange human beings of diminutive size; they were reciting prayers, but he could not tell what they said. By another miracle he then came up again. He said: "Blessed are the righteous who study the Torah and know the most profound mysteries. Woe to those who dispute with them and do not accept their word." From that day, whenever he came into the house of study and heard the Torah being expounded, he would weep. When they asked him why he wept, he would say, "Because I was sceptical about the words of the Rabbis, and now I fear me for the judgement of the other world."

R. Judah, commenting on the verse, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters", said: "Did not that firmament divide the upper from the lower waters there would be conflict between them. But [10b] that firmament keeps the peace between them, and the world is established only on peace. God is also called "peace"; He is peace, His name is peace, and all is bound together in peace.' R. Abba said: 'I see that this supreme Holy Name is altogether peace and altogether one, and paths diverge from it in all directions.' [10] [11b]

IF HIS OBLATION BE A SACRIFICE OF PEACE OFFERINGS. R. Abba here quoted the verse: "Awake, O north wind, and come thou south, blow upon my garden that the spices thereof may flow out" (S.S. IV, 15). 'The north wind', he said, 'refers to the burnt offerings which were killed on the north side (zafon) of the altar, because these atone for the thoughts which are in the recesses (mazpune) of a man's heart. The south wind refers to the peace offerings, which were killed on the south side of the altar, because they make peace between higher and lower, and between the various quarters of the world. Therefore the bringer also eats of them and has a share in them. Of all the offerings, none are so well beloved to God as the peace offerings, because they bring harmony to upper and lower. Superior to all, however, is the incense, because it is brought not for sin or trespass, but for joy, as it is written, "Oil and incense rejoice the heart" (Prov. XXVII, 9), according to our explanation. For this reason the incense was brought at the same time that the lamp was lit (Ex. xxx, 7). The peace offerings spread peace everywhere and allay strife and wrangling, but the incense fastens the bond of faith.' [11] [12b]

When R. Hizkiah was studying with R. Isaac, they once rose at midnight to study the Torah. R. Isaac discoursed on the verse: "Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord, which by night stand in the house of the Lord" (Ps. CXXXIV, 1). 'This verse', he said, 'is a tribute to all true believers. And who are the true believers? Those who study the Torah and know how to unify the Holy Name in the fitting manner. [13a] When a man rises at midnight to study the Torah and the North Wind awakes, then a certain Hind [12] arises and praises the Holy One, blessed be He. And with Her arise thousands and myriads [of angels] who all commence to praise the holy King. But they all fall into silence in order to listen to those who study the Torah, and they proclaim: "Behold, bless ye the Lord, all ye servants of the Lord", as much as to say, "You bless the Lord, you praise the holy King, you crown the King." And that Hind adorns herself with that man and stands before the King and says: "See the son with whom I am come before thee, with whom I approach thee." Their blessing is a real blessing, as it says, "Lift up your hands in (to) holiness" (Ibid.) What is "holiness"? The supernal Place from which issues the source of the "deep stream". When a man has come so far, they proclaim over him, "The Lord bless thee from Zion" (Ibid.); from the place in which the Community of Israel is blessed, from there He will furnish thee with blessings. Also, "thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem" (Ps. CXXVIII, 5), to wit, the blessings that reach it from the King through that holy grade of the Righteous One.'

IF A SOUL SIN, ETC. R. Jose said: 'How greatly should men take heed not to sin before their Master, for every day a herald goes forth proclaiming, Turn your hearts, ye peoples, to the holy King, be on your guard against sin, arouse the holy soul which He has given you from the celestial holy place. For so we have learnt, that when the Holy One, blessed be He, draws forth a soul to send it down to earth, He impresses upon it many warnings and threats to keep His commandments, and He also takes it through a thousand-and- eight worlds to see the glory of those who have devoted themselves to the Torah, and who now stand before the King in a robe of splendour in the form which they possessed in this world, beholding the glory of the King and crowned with many diadems. When its time comes to descend to earth, it makes its abode in the terrestrial Paradise for thirty days to see the glory of the Master of the righteous, and then ascends to their abode above and afterwards comes down to earth. [13b] Before it enters into the body of a man, the holy King crowns it with seven crowns. If it sins in this world and walks in darkness, the Torah is grieved for it and says, All this honour and all this perfection has the holy King delivered to the soul, and she has sinned before Him! And what if she does sin? We learn the answer', continued R. Jose, 'from the verse which says, "Until the day be cool and the shadows flee away" (S.S. II, 17). "Until the day be cool": this is a warning to the soul to repent and purify itself before the day of this world shall cool off and be followed by that awful day on which God shall call her to account when she departs from this world. "And the shadows flee away": this refers to the secret known to the Companions, that when a man's time comes to leave this world, his shadow deserts him. R. Eleazar says that man has two shadows, one larger and one -smaller, and when they are together, then he is truly himself. Therefore a man should review his actions and rectify them before his Master and confess his sins, because God is called merciful and gracious, and He receives those who return to Him. Hence he should repent before the shadows flee away, for if he only does so when he is already under arrest, this is indeed repentance, but not so acceptable. For when the day arrives for the soul to depart from the world, the Holy One, blessed be He, looks sadly at her and says: "If a soul sin although it hath heard the voice of adjuration" -- for did I not adjure her by My Name not to be false to Me, and testify against her when she went down to earth? "And he is a witness" (Ibid.): truly so, for many times I testified against him to keep my commandments. Therefore since the man is a witness, when he returns to the King and either "sees" or "knows" -- sees, that is, his sins and ponders on them, or knows for certain that he has committed some transgression -- then, "if he do not utter it", that is, if he do not confess his sins before his Master, when he leaves this world "he shall bear his iniquity". And if that is so, how shall the doors be opened to him and how shall he stand before his Master? Therefore it is written, "When a soul sinneth, etc."'

R. Abba cited the verse: "All this is come upon us, yet we have not forgotten thee, neither have our steps declined from thy way" (Ps. XLIV, 19). 'The word "this"', he said, ·where we should have expected "these things", alludes to the celestial judgements; all these, says the Psalmist, have come upon us, and yet we have not forgotten the words of the Torah. From this we learn that whoever forgets the words of the Torah and is not willing to study is like one who forgets God, for all the Torah is the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. And whoever deals falsely with the sign of the holy covenant which is imprinted on him is like one who deals falsely with the name of the King, for the very name of the King is stamped on him. Further, the Torah is bound up with this, and whoever keeps this covenant is like one who keeps the whole Torah, and whoever is false to it is like one who is false to the whole Torah. So, until Abraham was circumcised it was not written of him that he kept the whole Torah, but after he was circumcised it says of him: "Because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes and my laws" (Gen. XXVI, 5). So, too, with Isaac [14a]; and Joseph, too, because he guarded this covenant, was rewarded with the ox, which is the first of offerings, as it says: "The firstling of his ox, majesty is his" (Deut. XXXIII, 17).' Said R. Judah to him: 'Why was he blessed with that which is of the left and not of the right, as it is written, "The face of an ox was on the left" (Ezek. I, 10)?' He replied: 'That he might avert the punishment of the sins of Jeroboam.' Said R. Judah: 'I have learnt a secret relating to this verse, that the word "ox" here alludes to a certain supernal grade, the partner of the one elsewhere called "cow", and that Joseph, because he guarded the covenant, became attached to these two grades.' Said R. Abba: 'This shows that whoever guards this sign attaches to himself these two grades to protect him and to crown him with heavenly glory.' R. Simeon said: 'A man who begets a son becomes linked with the Shekinah, which is the gateway to all the heavenly doors, the door which is linked with the Holy Name. Also, the blood which flows from the child is preserved before the Almighty, and when punishment impends over the world, God looks at that blood and delivers the world. We have learnt that through that blood the world is based on lovingkindness (hesed), and all worlds are established.' So R. Simeon expounded the words: "If not for my covenant day and night, etc." (Jer. XXXIII, 25), saying: 'There are two Crowns linked together, they'-'being the gateway to all other Crowns; one is Justice and the other is Mercy, one male and one female, one white and one red. This covenant takes hold of both of them, lovingkindness and judgement, day and night. Hence it is called "day and night", because it takes hold on both. Thus he who is able to keep this covenant without fail and offends not against it all his days takes hold of day and night and is rewarded in two worlds, in this world and the world to come. Therefore Abraham was called "perfect" (Gen. XVII, 1), but not before he had attained both, day and night, and this was only after he was circumcised.'

Said R. Eleazar to him: 'We have learnt that when a proselyte is circumcised and enters under the wings of the Shekinah, he is called ger zedek (a proselyte of righteousness), but no more, which means that he is privileged to enter into [14b] the crown of righteousness, and you say that he attains to "day and night"?' He replied: 'Eleazar, my son, you cannot compare one who comes from the holy root and the stock of truth to one who comes from an evil stock and from an abhorred root. Of Israel it is written, "I planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed" (Jer. II, 21), whereas of the idolatrous nations it is written, "whose flesh is as the flesh of asses and whose issue is like the issue of horses" (Ezek. XXIII, 20). Therefore Israel, who are holy, the seed of truth, the stock which has been established at Mount Sinai, where all their filth was removed from them, all enter into the covenant of day and night to be wholly perfected, but for the other nations it is hard to remove their pollution, even after three generations. Hence the expression, "proselyte of zedek [13] (righteousness)". 'And so', said Rab Hamnuna the Elder; 'Gentiles before they are circumcised abide in the lower crowns, which are not holy, and an impure spirit rests on them. When they are converted, and circumcised, they abide in a holy crown which is above the lower crowns, and a holy spirit rests upon them. But the Israelites who are holy sons of holy parents who have been established at Mount Sinai and have entered into the perfect faith, so soon as they are circumcised attain to all.'

R. Jose said: 'It is written, "For this is as the waters of Noah unto me" (Isa. LIV, 9). Why have we here the expression "waters of Noah" and not "waters of the flood" ? The reason is that when mankind are sinful and there is a righteous man in the world, God speaks with him in order that he may pray for mankind and obtain forgiveness for them. God first promises to save him alone and destroy the rest. Now the proper thing for a righteous man to do at such a time is to forget himself and espouse the cause of the whole world in order to appease God's wrath against them, as Moses did when Israel sinned. When God, however, said to Noah, "The end of all flesh is come [15a] before me", Noah replied, "And what wilt thou do to me ?", to which God replied, "I will establish my covenant with thee, make thee an ark of gopher wood". So Noah did not pray for the world, and the waters came down and destroyed mankind, and therefore they are called "the waters of Noah".'

R. Jose continued: 'What is the meaning of "this (zoth) is to me", in the verse quoted? Said the Holy One, blessed be He, The waters of Noah have caused me to reveal zoth in the world, as it is written, "zoth (this) is the sign of my covenant with them, my bow have I set in the heaven" (Gen. IX, 12, 13), as much a3 to say, there is none who heeds the glory of My Name which is alluded to by the word zoth. Hence it is one of the signs of a saintly and virtuous man that the rainbow does not appear in his days and the world does not require this sign while he is alive. Such a one is he who prays for the world and shields it, like Rabbi Simeon ben Yochai, in whose days the world never required the sign of the rainbow, for he was himself a sign. For if ever punishment was decreed against the world he could annul it. One day he was sitting at the gate of Lydda when he lifted up his eyes and saw the light of the sun darkened three times, and black and yellow spots appearing in the sun. He said to his son, R. Eleazar: 'Follow me, my son, and let us see what happens, for of a surety some punishment is decreed above, and God desires to let me know. For such a decree is kept in suspense thirty days, and God does not carry it out before making it known to the righteous, as it is written, "For the Lord will do nothing but he revealeth his secret to his servants the prophets" (Amos III, 7).' They came into a vineyard, where they saw a serpent advancing like a coil of fire along the ground. R. Simeon shook his garments and brought his hand down on the head of the serpent, which then came to a halt, though its tongue was still moving. He said to it: "Serpent, serpent, go and tell that supernal Serpent that R. Simeon is still alive." It then put its head into a hole in the ground. He said: "I ordain that just as this serpent has returned to its hole in the ground, so the supernal one shall return to the hollow of the great abyss." R. Simeon then began to pray. As they were praying they heard a voice say: "Ye ministers of evil, return to your place; ye band of ruffians, abide not in the world, for R. Simeon ben Yochai annuls your power. Happy art thou, R. Simeon, that thy Master is solicitous for thy honour at all times, above that of all other men." By this time he saw that the sun was shining again and the blackness had passed. He said: "Surely the world is safe again." He then went into his house and expounded the verse: "For the Lord is righteous, he loveth righteousness, the upright shall behold his face" (Ps. XI, 8). 'God', he said, 'loves to do righteous acts when the upright behold his face, that is, pray to him for their needs. According to a more esoteric explanation, the verse means that the 'days of antiquity' (yeme kedem) of the Ancient Unrevealed Holy One and the 'days of old' (yeme olam) of the Small of Countenance, which are called 'his face', see with direct glance the most precious of sights. For so we have learnt, that when the Holy One, blessed be He, looks upon the works of men and sees that they are good, then the Ancient Holy One is revealed in the Small of Countenance, and all the countenance of the latter beholds the hidden countenance and is wholly blessed, since they look at one another directly without turning to the right or left, [15b] and they water one another until all worlds are blessed and all become one, so that 'the Lord is one and his name is one'. But when sin is rife in the world, the Ancient Holy One is hidden and they do not look at one another face to face, and punishment is let loose on the world and the thrones are cast down and the Ancient of Days is hidden and does not appear, so that sinners turn mercy into judgement.

'We have learnt as follows. From the side of the Mother issue emissaries of punishment who are armed with the clubs of Geburah (Severity), and prevail over Mercy, and then the worlds are defective and there is conflict between them. But when men amend their ways below, punishment is mitigated and removed, and mercy is awakened and prevails over the evil which arose from stern judgement, and then there is joy and consolation, as it is written, "And the Lord was comforted of the evil" (Ex. XXXII, 14). When judgement is mitigated, all the Crowns return to their places and the keys are restored to the Mother, and this is called repentance (teshubah, lit. returning), and the world is forgiven, since the Mother is in perfect joy. [14] [ [100]

R. Abba was once sitting before R. Simeon, when R. Eleazar entered. R. Simeon thereupon quoted the verse: "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree, etc." (Ps. XCII, 12). 'The palm', he said, 'is the slowest of all trees to mature, taking seventy years. The reason why the righteous is compared here to the palm tree is one which the Companions are reluctant to reveal, although it is indicated by the Scripture. It has to do with the exile of Babylon, when the 8hekinah did not return to its home till seventy years had passed. The "righteous" here is the Holy One, blessed be He, as in the verse, "For the Lord is righteous, he loveth righteousness" (Ps. XI, 8). He is also compared to a cedar, as in the verse, "Excellent as the cedars" (8.8. 15). "He shall grow in Lebanon"; this is the supernal Eden, of which it is written, "No eye hath seen, O God, save thine" (Isa. LXIV, 4). This Cedar shall grow in that exalted place; and this shall be in the last exile, when God shall be like that cedar which is long in coming up, but once it comes up grows in a day, and at the beginning of the next day already provides a shade against the sun. "They shall be planted in the house of the Lord", at the time of the Messiah; "and flourish in the courts of our God, at the resurrection of the dead; "They shall still bring forth fruit in old age", on the day when the world will be waste, "and they shall be full of sap and green" afterwards; [16b] and why all this? "To show that the Lord is upright, he is my rock and there is no unrighteousness in him."'

R. Simeon further discoursed on the verse: "A froward man scattereth abroad strife, and a whisperer separateth chief friends" (Prov. XVI, 28). "'The froward man scattereth abroad strife", as we have said, that sinners cause a blemish above; "and a whisperer separateth his friend", that is, he separateth the Matrona from the Holy One, blessed be He, so that He is not called One, for He is not called One save when they are in union. Woe to the wicked who cause separation above! And happy are the righteous who stablish the upper realm, and happy are the penitent who restore all things to their places. Hence we have learnt that to the place reserved for penitents even the wholly righteous cannot attain. For the former are established in an exceeding high place, the place from which the Garden is watered, whereas the latter are established only in the place called "righteous". The former bring the water from the supernal place of the deep river to that place which is called "righteous", and the latter transmit it from that place where they abide to this world. Hence the former are higher and the latter lower. Happy is the lot of the penitent, and happy is the lot of the wholly righteous, since through them the world is able to exist.' [17a]

IF THE ANOINTED PRIEST SHALL SIN SO AS TO BRING GUILT ON THE PEOPLE. R. Abba cited here the verse: "Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth ... if thou know not, o fairest among women, go thy way forth, etc.' (S.S. 1,7,8). 'The Companions', he said, 'have explained these verses in reference to Moses at the time when he departed from the world, as it says, "Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation ... who shall go out before them, etc." (Num. XXVII, 16). We may also, however, suppose them to be addressed by the Community of Israel to the Holy King. In the Book of Rab Hamnuna the Elder it is written that so long as the Community of Israel is in the Holy One, blessed be He, the latter, so to speak, is complete and pleased with himself from sucking the milk of the supernal Mother, and from that draught He waters all the others and gives them suck. We have learnt also that R. Simeon said that as long as the Community of Israel is in the Holy One, blessed be He, the latter is complete and joyful, and blessings abide in Him and issue from Him to all the others, but when the Community of Israel is not in the Holy One, blessed be He, then, as it were, blessings are withheld from Him and from all the others. The secret of the matter is that wherever male and female are not found together, blessings do not rest. Hence the Holy One, blessed be He, laments and weeps, as it says, "The Lord shall mightily roar over his fold" (Jer. XXV, 30). And when [17b] the Community of Israel went into exile, she said to Him, "Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, how shalt thou feed thyself from the deep river that ever flows, how shalt thou feed thyself from the light of the supernal Eden, how shalt thou feed all the others that depend on thee, just as I too was fed from thee every day and water all those below, and Israel too were fed by me? And now how shall I be as one that is veiled, as one that fainteth without blessings for lack of the blessings that I require and have not? How shall I be able to lead without feeding the flocks of thy companions, to wit, Israel, the children of the patriarchs, who are a holy chariot above? To which the Holy One, blessed be He, answers: Leave this to me, for the secret thereof is with me. But if thou knowest not, here is a counsel for thee. Go thy way by the footsteps of the flock, to wit, the righteous who are trodden underfoot, and for whose sake I will give thee strength to rise, and feed thou thy kids, to wit, the school children for whose sake the world is preserved, and who give strength to the Community of Israel in exile, beside the shepherds' tents, the schools in which the Torah is ever to be found. Or the last words may be explained thus. When there are in the world righteous men and children learning the Torah, then the Community of Israel can exist with them in exile, but if not, God forbid, then neither She nor they can endure. And if there are any righteous, then they suffer first [for the sins of the age], and if not, then those kids for whose sake the world is preserved suffer first, and God takes them from the world although there is no sin in them. And not only this, but He also banishes from Himself the Community of Israel and She goes into exile. Hence it is written, "If the anointed High Priest shall sin so as to bring guilt on the people", or rather, "on account of the guilt of the people", the word yeheta (sin), meaning here "withhold his kindness and exercise judgement."'

R. Isaac cited the verse: "Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel thy servants" (Ex. XXXII, 13). 'Why', he asked, 'is it not written, "and Isaac"? The reason is, as we have learnt, that everywhere the "left" is embraced in the "right", and the right has been strengthened so that it can embrace the left, and therefore the word Isaac is not separated from Abraham. But the text goes on, "and Israel", because Jacob clasped both of them and was perfect in all. The verse proceeds: "To whom thou swarest by thy own self." God swore to the patriarchs by the Fathers [15] above, by those who abide "in thee". "Which I said"; that is, "I willed", as in the verse: "The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness" (I Kings VIII, 12). "And they shall inherit it for ever" (lit. for a world): this is the supernal world to which this earth is attached and from which it is nourished, and if this earth is put away, why is it? Because of the iniquity of the people.'

IF THE ANOINTED PRIEST SIN. R. Isaac said: 'This is the priest on earth who has been appointed for divine service. If a sin is found in him, then verily it brings guilt on the whole people, and woe to them who are relying upon him I [18a] Similarly, if sin is found in the reader of a congregation, woe to those who are relying upon him!' R. Judah said: 'All the more so the priest, at whose hand all Israel and upper and lower beings are waiting to be blessed. For, as we have learnt, when the priest began to recite the formulas and to bring the offering, all were blessed and joyful. The Right began to waken, the Left was merged in the Right; all were linked together and united, so that through the priest heaven and earth were blessed. Hence he had to bring an offering for himself, that his sin might be atoned for.' Said R. Jose: 'We have learnt that through the priest a man's sin is atoned for when he brings the offering. But if the priest himself sins, who can bring an offering and atone for him, seeing that he is become corrupt and is not fit to be a source of blessing ?' Said R. Judah: 'But is it not written, "And he shall make atonement for himself and for his house" (Lev. XVI, 6)?' Said R. Hiya: 'We know that the high priest was attached to a certain Place, and the deputy high priest and the ordinary priest to another. Therefore another priest had to bring his offering first that he might ascend to the Place to which he was by right attached, and there atone for his sin. If this is not enough, then the high priest brings his own offering, and then the angels all assemble to atone for his sin and the Holy King assents.'

Once as R. Eleazar and R. Abba were sitting together, the former said: 'I observe that my father will not listen to any man reading the prayers on New Year and the Day of Atonement unless he has watched him three days previously to purify him; for R. Simeon used to say, "Through the prayer of the man whom I have purified the world receives atonement." He was still more particular not to accept the shofar [16] blowing of any man who was not well acquainted with the rules of the shofar and their inner significance.

'On this day (of New Year) Isaac is crowned, and becomes the head of the patriarchs.' Said R. Abba: 'We read the portion of Isaac (Gen. XXI, XXII) on this day, because on this day he was bound below and was also united to the One above. R. Eleazar said: 'On this day Isaac crowned Abraham with glory, as it says, "And the Lord exalted (nissah, lit. proved) Abraham" (Gen. XXII, 1), because the Right Hand was completed and perfected.' R. Abba said: 'Had not the judgement of Isaac been passed through the place where Jacob abides and annulled there, it would have gone ill with the world. But when it entered into the place of Jacob, and Jacob laid hold [18b] on it, then the fire sank and the heat was cooled. It is as if a man in a great passion seizes his weapons and goes out to kill someone, but a certain wise man meets him at the door and detains him, and while they are arguing with one another his anger cools down, and instead of going out to kill, he only goes out to reprove. Who was it on whom the man vented his passion? Surely the man who stood at the door! So the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: "My sons, fear not, for I stand at the door; only brace yourselves up on this day and give Me strength. And through what? Through the shofar. For if the sound of the shofar is properly produced and listened to with devotion, then it mounts aloft and the patriarchs crown themselves with it and stand in the tent of Jacob. Hence strict attention should be paid to the sound of the shofar. Every sound of the shofar ascends to a different firmament, all the denizens of which give place to the sound, saying, "And the Lord uttereth his voice before his army" (Joel II, 11). And that voice remains in the firmament until another voice comes and joins it, and then they both ascend together to another firmament. And when all the voices from below are collected and ascend to the highest firmament where the Holy King is, they stand before the Holy King and then the thrones are set and another throne, that of Jacob, is firmly established. In the Book of Rab Hamnuna the Elder we find; Prayer and the sound of the shofar which are produced by a virtuous man with his heart and soul mount above, and the accusers above are thrust away before it and cannot face it. Happy are the righteous who know how to be truly devout before their Master and to establish the world on this day with the sound of the shofar; hence it is written, "Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound (of the shofar)" (Ps. LXXXIX, 15). On this day the congregation must look out for a man without blame who knows the ways of the King and how to honour Him, that he may pray for them and transmit the sound of the shofar to all worlds with concentration of thought, with wisdom, and with devotion, that through him chastisement may be removed from the world. Alas for those whose minister is not fitting, for through him their sins will be called to mind. But if he is truly virtuous, then the people are justified through him, and punishment is removed from them through him.' Said R. Eleazar: 'For this reason the priest and Levite were examined as to their character, and if they were not found satisfactory they were not allowed to minister. And so, too, with the members of the Sanhedrin before they were allowed to judge.'

AND IF THE WHOLE CONGREGATION SHALL ERR, ETC. R. Simeon cited in this connection the verse: "Rise up, ye women that are at ease, and hear my voice, etc." (Isa. XXXII, 9). He said: 'A man should be ever solicitous for the honour of his Master in order that his son may be without flaw. For when God created man, He created [19a] him without flaw, as it is written, "God made man upright" (yashar, lit. straight) (Eccles. VII, 20). The word "man" (adam) means male and female, the female being included in the male, and hence it says "upright". Now in the depth of the great abyss there is a certain hot fiery female spirit named Lilith, who at first cohabited with man. For when man was created and his body completed, a thousand spirits from the left side assembled round that body, each endeavouring to enter, until at last a cloud descended and drove them away and God said, "Let the earth bring forth a living soul" (Gen. I, 24), and it then brought forth a spirit to breathe into man, who thus became complete with two sides, as it says, "And he breathed in his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living soul" (Gen. II, 7). When man arose, his female was affixed to his side, and the holy spirit in him spread to each side, thus perfecting itself. Afterwards God sawed the man in two and fashioned his female and brought her to him like a bride to the canopy. When Lilith saw this she fled, and she is still in the cities of the sea coast trying to snare mankind. And when the Almighty will destroy the wicked Rome, He will settle Lilith among the ruins, since she is the ruin of the world, as it is written: "For there Lilith shall settle and find her a place of rest" (Isa. XXXIV, 14). In ancient books it says that she fled from man before this, but we have learnt differently, that she associated with man until this soul (neshamah) was placed in him, and then she fled to the seaside, where she tries to harm mankind.

'The remedy is this. When a man unites with his wife, he should sanctify his heart to his Master and say: "She that is wrapped in a robe is here. Thou shalt not enter nor take out; it is neither of thee nor of thy lot. Return, return, the sea is heaving, its waves await thee. I cleave to the holy portion, I am wrapped in the holiness of the King." He should then cover his head and the head of his wife for a short time. In the book which Ashmedai gave to King Solomon, it says that he should then sprinkle clean water round the bed. If a woman is suckling a child she should not join her husband while the child is awake, nor give it suck afterwards until time enough has elapsed for walking two miles, or one mile if the child cries for milk. If all this is done, Lilith will never be able to harm them. Happy are the righteous whom God has taught the secrets of the Torah, of heaven and earth, and all for the sake of the Torah, for whoever studies the Torah is crowned with the crowns of the holy Name, and knows secret ways and the mysteries of heaven and earth, and never comes to harm.

'Now [19b] on that day they were commanded concerning a certain tree and disobeyed the command. And because the woman sinned first it was decreed that the husband should rule over her. And from that time, whenever men sin before God those women from the side of severe judgement are charged to rule over them -- those who are called "the flame of the revolving sword" (Gen. III, 24), which takes the shape sometimes of males and sometimes of females, as elsewhere stated. Alas for the world when those women have sway! When the prophet saw Israel perverting their ways and sinning before their Master, he exclaimed: "Ye women that are at ease, how can ye rest, how can ye sit idle in the world? Rise!" as has been explained elsewhere.

'... [17] It was only said in the sense in which it was applied to Deborah. There is a dictum: Woe to the man at whose table the wife says grace. So when we read that "Deborah judged Israel at that time", we might exclaim, "Woe to the generation which could only find a female to be its judge!" See now. There were two women in the world who composed praises to God such as the men never equalled, namely, Hannah and Deborah. Hannah opened the gate of faith to the world in the words, "He raiseth up the poor from the dust, etc." (I Sam. II, 8). "To make them sit with princes"; to wit, in the place where the princes, that is the patriarchs, sit above. According to another explanation, however, this refers to Samuel, who was placed on a par with Moses and Aaron. "And make them inherit a throne of glory": this refers to Samuel, who placed two kings on the throne. Or it may refer to God, who causes His servants to inherit His throne. "They that strive with the Lord shall be broken in pieces": that is to say, when judgement prevails over mercy, if then the Holy One, blessed be He, is blessed from the Source of the River, then mercy prevails and judgement is checked. "Against them he shall thunder in heaven": that is, when the dew from the Ancient Holy One shall rest upon Him and fills His head in the place called "heaven", then He breaks the power of mighty judgements. "And he shall give strength to his king": this is the Holy One, blessed be He; "and exalt the horn of his anointed": this is the Community of Israel. Deborah likewise praised the Holy King, as it is written: "Lord, when thou wentest forth out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom" (Judges V, 1) -- speaking in the mystery of wisdom until she began to praise herself, saying, "Until that I Deborah arose, that I arose, a mother in Israel." Then the spirit of prophecy left her, so that she had to say to herself, "Awake, awake, Deborah, awake, awake, utter a song" (Ibid. 12). All this happened when the men were sinful and not worthy that the spirit of prophecy should rest upon them.' [20a]

AND IF THE WHOLE CONGREGATION OF ISRAEL SHALL ERR, ETC. This has been explained to mean, "err in interpreting the law". The "congregation" ('adath) refers to those who were in Jerusalem, from whence instruction went forth to all the people, so that if those who were there erred the whole people erred. AND THE THING BE HID FROM THE EYES OF THE ASSEMBLY: the "eyes" of the assembly are the Sanhedrin who were appointed over Israel.

R. Hiya and R. Jose were once walking together when the latter said: 'Let us expound words of the Torah, words of the Ancient of Days.' R. Hiya thereupon began with the verse: "I acknowledge my sin unto thee, etc." (Ps. XXXII, 5). He said: 'From this we learn that a man who conceals his sins and does not confess them before the Holy King and beg for mercy is not allowed to enter the door of repentance. But if he states them openly before God, then God has pity on him and mercy prevails over judgement, all the more so if he weeps, for tears open all doors. Thus the confession of sin brings honour to the King by making mercy prevail over judgement. There seems to be a certain redundancy of expression in this verse, as it would have been sufficient to say, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord"; and here, too, we should have expected "to thee" instead of "to the Lord". But, indeed, these words, like all David's words, were uttered in the holy spirit. He was addressing the Kingdom of Heaven [Malkuth), for she is the intermediary between earth and heaven, and whoso has a petition of the King must make it known to her first. Hence David said: "I will acknowledge my sin to thee, the Kingdom of Heaven, and mine iniquity have I not hid from the Righteous One of the universe, and I said, I will confess my sin to the Lord, to wit, the Holy King to whom all peace belongs." Then it goes on: "And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin"; this was in the highest realm, the place where the Ancient Holy One abides. Thus this verse includes all; and in the same way, whoever prays to the King should unify the Holy Name in his thought, ranging from lower to upper, and from upper to lower, and linking all together, and then his prayer will be granted.' Said R. Jose: 'Who has the skill to pray like King David, who used to keep watch at the gate of the King l' Said R. Hiya to him: 'Assuredly it is so, and therefore the Torah has taught us the ways [20b] of the Holy King that we may know how to seek him, as it says, "After the Lord your God ye shall walk" (Deut. XIII, 4).'

R. Jose then discoursed on the verse: "A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and weeping, etc." (Jer. XXXI, 15). 'We have learnt', he said, 'that on the day when the Sanctuary on earth was laid waste and Israel went into captivity with millstones on their necks and their hands bound behind them, and the Community of Israel was banished from the house of her Husband to follow them, when She came down She said: "I will go in front and weep for my home and my children and my Husband." When she came down and saw her home devastated and the blood of saints spilled in its midst and the holy shrine and temple burnt, She lifted up her voice, and higher and lower angels fell a-quaking and the voice ascended to the place where the King abode, and the King was minded to turn the world into chaos again. Thereupon many armies and hosts went down to meet Her, but She would not accept consolation. Hence it is written, "A voice is heard in Ramah, Rachel weeping for her children because they are not"; or, as we should rather translate, "He is not" (enennu), referring to the Holy King who had gone aloft and was not in her midst.' R. Hiya asked: 'From what place did She begin to go into exile?' He replied: 'From the Sanctuary, where Her abode was. Afterwards She went all round the Land of Israel, and when She left it She came into the wilderness and remained there three days. She took Her armies and hosts and the denizens of the King's palace and exclaimed regarding herself: "How doth she sit solitary" (Lam. I, 1).' R. Hiya and R Jose wept. Said R Jose: 'Israel were not exiled from their land, nor was the Temple destroyed until they were all sinful before the King, the heads of the people being foremost in sin, as it says: "O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths" (Isa. III, 12): for, when the heads of the people sin, all the rest follow them.' R Hiya learnt the same lesson from the verse, "And if the whole congregation of Israel shall err". 'Why do they err?' he said. 'Because "the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly", the "eyes" being the leaders whom all the rest follow.'

They then went on their way and came across a certain grassy sward, with a stream running past, so they sat down there. As they were sitting, a bird flew past them with a rustling noise. Said R Hiya: 'Let us get up, for assuredly mountain-diggers [18] are here.' So they got up and went on. Turning their heads they saw robbers running after them. Providentially they saw in front of them a rock with a cave in it, so they went in and sat there the whole of that day and night. R. Hiya discoursed on the verse: "Therefore fear not, O Jacob my servant ... for lo, I will save thee from afar" (Jer. XXX, 10). 'The word "afar" here', he said, 'is used in the same sense as in the words, "From afar the Lord appeared unto me" (Ibid. XXXI, 3), and refers to the deep source of the River, the place where it issues forth. "Jacob shall return": Jacob is here a name of the Holy One, blessed be He, who will yet return to join the Community of Israel. "And shall be quiet": this refers to Yesod. "And at ease": to make his abode there. "And none shall make him afraid": of Isaac (Geburah). [21a] And now the Holy One, blessed be He, has delivered us from afar and hidden us in this place in quiet and ease, and there is none to make us afraid; for when God does a miracle He does it completely.'

R Jose discoursed on the verse: "And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me then I will go, etc." (Judges IV, 8). He said: 'Barak reasoned thus: Because the holy spirit rests upon her I shall be delivered through her merit and shall come to no harm. Now if Barak could feel safe in dependence on a female, how much more so we who have the Torah with us, which is the name of the Holy King!'

So they remained in the cave all that day. When night came, the moon shone into the cave, and two merchants passed by with asses laden with wine and food for themselves. They said to one another: 'Let us stop here, and give food and drink to the asses, and go into the cave.' Said the other: 'Before we go in, explain this verse.' He said: 'Which one?' 'I refer', he said, 'to the verse, "I will praise thee for ever because thou hast done" (Ps. LII, 10). Done what? It also says, "Because thou art good in the presence of thy saints" (Ibid.). Why only in their presence and not that of others ?' He could not give him an answer. 'Alas', he said, 'that for the sake of my business I have neglected the Holy One, blessed be He.' R. Hiya and R. Jose, who heard them from the cave, rejoiced. 'Did not I tell you', said R Hiya, 'that when God does a miracle He does not do it by halves?' So they went out, and R. Hiya immediately addressed them with the verse: "Peace, peace, to him that is far off and to him that is near" (Isa. LVII, 19). 'The near and the far', he said, 'are one and the same, namely, the penitent who was first far from God and has been brought near. Also, when a man is far from the Torah he is far from God, but if he draws near to the Torah, God draws him near to Himself. Now, therefore, join us and come into the cave.' So the merchants joined them, having first tethered their asses and given them food. Then they all went out to the mouth of the cave, and one of the merchants said: 'Since you are scholars, explain to us this verse: "I will give thee thanks for ever because thou hast done [made] and I will hope, etc."' R. Hiya answered: 'It means, because thou hast made the world; for because of this world which God has made and established, man must thank Him every day. As for the words, "for thou art good before thy saints", this is indeed so, since the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, is good before the righteous but not before the wicked, who spurn it every day and do not study the Torah.' Said the other: 'This is all very good, but I have heard a word from behind the wall, as they say, which I am afraid to disclose.' Thereupon R. Hiya and R Jose said to him: 'Speak out, for the Torah is not an inheritance for one place only.' So he said to them: 'One day when I went to Lydda, on entering the town I stood behind the wall of a house in which was R. Simeon, and I heard him expound this verse, "I will praise thee because thou hast done", thus. The words "I will give praise to thee" were addressed by King David to the Holy One, blessed be He, for that last world which He has made [Malkuth]; for David attached himself to that world and through it attained to kingship. "I will wait on thy name, for it is good": this is the Holy One, blessed be He, when unified with that world which is called "good". And when is it called good? When it is in the presence of thy saints, or rather, "lovingkindnesses'', [19] for when these are filled from the goodness of the stream issuing from the Ancient Holy One, then Yesod is called "good", and then He [Yesod] establishes this latter world and all is blessed. Hence David waited for this grade to illumine the world to which he was attached.' R. Hiya and R Jose came up to him and kissed him on his head. Said R. [21b] Hiya: 'Who shall cover thine eye in the dust, O R. Simeon, for thou art in thy place and thou shakest the highest mountains, and even the birds of the heaven rejoice at thy words. Alas for the world when thou shalt depart from it!'

The man resumed: 'At the same time I heard him expound the verse, "Now therefore, O God, hearken unto the prayer of thy servant and to his supplications ... for my Lord's (Adonai) sake" (Dan. IX, 17). If this name were the highest, it would be in place here, as though one were to say, Do it for the sake of the king. But we know that this name signifies only the place of judgement, from which judgement issues to the world. Can a man say to a king, Do for the sake of thy servant or something less than thyself? The truth is, however, that this name prepares the house for the King and the sanctuary below, and when the sanctuary is established below, this name is established above; hence it is as though one said to the king, Build this house and this palace, that the Matrona may not have to abide without the palace.'

R Hiya and R. Jose were beside themselves with gladness on that night. After they had eaten, the other merchant said: 'I will now tell you something on which I have been meditating this day, in connection with the verse, "A Psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah" (Ps. LXIII, 1). David said this psalm when he was fleeing from his father-in- law. Why did he say, "Elohim, thou art my God" (Ibid. 2)? Because he was always attached to Geburah. He went on, "I will seek thee early." How, we may ask, could David seek God early in a distant land, when he was exiled from the land where the Shekinah abides? This shows, that though he was driven from there, he did not cease to seek the Holy One, blessed be He. "My soul thirsteth for thee", because my soul and my body yearn for thee that I may appear before thee and I am not able, being in a dry and weary land where no water is; for so any land is called where the Shekinah does not abide.'

Said R Hiya and R. Jose: 'Verily, our way is made straight before us.' So they went into the cave and slept. At midnight they heard the cries of wild animals in the wilderness, so they got up. Said R. Hiya: 'It is time to assist the Community of Israel in praising the King. Let each of us say something which he has learnt of the Torah. So they all sat down and R Hiya commenced with the text, "For the Chief Musician, set to Ayeleth Hashahar, a psalm of David" (Ps. XXII, 1). '"Ayeleth Hashahar (lit. hind of the morning)" " he said, 'is the Community of Israel, who is called "a loving hind and a pleasant doe" (Prov. V, 19). Is she then a hind of the morning only and not of all the day? What it means, however, is a hind from that place which is called " dawn", of which it says, "his going forth is as sure as the morning" (Hos. VI, 3). See now. When night falls, the doors of the upper world are closed, and those below fall to rest, and the distant ones (demons) awake and fly about and flit around the bodies of men, but if they see the likeness of the Holy King they are afraid, if men on their beds have thought about the Holy King. The souls of men ascend each according to its desert, as explained elsewhere. At midnight a herald gives order and the gates are opened. Then a wind arises from the north and strikes [22a] the harp of David, which then plays of itself and praises the King, and the Holy One, blessed be He, has joyous communion with the righteous in the Garden of Eden. Happy is he who awakes at that time and studies the Torah: he is called a companion of the Holy One, blessed be He, and of the Community of Israel. When day comes, a herald again gives order and the doors on the south side are opened, the stars and constellations awake, and the King takes his seat to hear his praises. Then the Community of Israel takes up those words and carries them aloft, and all the Companions cling to her wings, and die words come and rest in the bosom of the King. Then the King gives command, and they are all written in a book, and the names of those admitted into the palace are recorded in a book and a thread of grace is woven round them, which is the crown of the King, causing all beings above and below to be afraid of them, so that they enter without let or hindrance into all the gates of the King. And even when the executioners of judgement arise to punish the world, they do not touch such a one, because he bears the stamp of the King, which proclaims him to come from the palace of the King. Happy the lot of the righteous who study the Torah, especially at the time when the King longs for the words of the Torah! The secret of the matter is that the Community of Israel does not come into the King's presence save with the Torah. So as long as Israel in their own land studied the Torah the Community of Israel abode with them, but when they neglected the Torah she could not stay with them an instant. So when she presented herself to the King with the Torah she was full of strength and confidence and the Holy King rejoiced to meet her, but when she came without the Torah, then, as it were, her strength was enfeebled. Woe to those who cause weakness above, and happy those who study the Torah, especially at the time when it is needful to associate with it the Community of Israel. Of such a one God says, "Thou art my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified" (Isa. XLIX, 3).'

R. Jose discoursed on the verse: "The burden of Duma. One calleth unto me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night ?" (Isa. XXI, 11). 'This verse', he said, 'has already been expounded in many places, but it can also be interpreted as follows. To all the other exiles of Israel a term was set, and their duration was known beforehand, but the exile of Edom is "a burden of silence", for its term has not been disclosed. Says the Holy One, blessed be He: "One calls to Me from Seir": I have heard a voice from those who are oppressed and prostrate in the exile of Seir, [20] saying, Watchman, what of the night? -- asking Me what I have done with My Marrona. Thereupon the Holy One, blessed be He, assembles all His court and says: "See how My beloved children forget their own oppression and think only of the Matrona, saying to Me, Thou who art called Keeper, how dost Thou keep Thyself and Thy house ?" Then the Holy One, blessed be He, answers them: "I have not forgotten My guardianship, for I will yet receive Her and be with Her." "The morning has come", for at first He ascended aloft to that morning which is ever ready for Him. Now it is time to be joined to "the night". The night, too, is ready, but for your sakes it has been delayed. And if you ask why, the answer is, "Return", to wit, in repentance, and then "come to Me" and we shall all place ourselves in a row and return to our place, as it is written, "And the Lord thy God will return with thy captivity [22b] and will return and gather thee from all the peoples." The word "return" occurs here twice -- once referring to the Holy One, blessed be He, and once to the Community of Israel.'

The merchant then discoursed on the verse; "When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy" (Job XXXVIII, 7). 'When God', he said, 'comes to have joyous communion with the righteous in the Garden of Eden, everything in the lower (al. upper) world and all upper and lower angels arise to meet Him, and all the trees in the Garden break forth into song before Him, and even the birds of the earth utter praise before Him. Then a flame goes forth and strikes the wings of the cock, and it bursts into praise of the Holy King and tails to men to engage themselves in the study of the Law and in the praise of their Master and His service -- happy the lot of those who then rise from their beds to study the Torah! When the morning comes, the gates of the south are opened and healing goes forth to the world, and the east wind awakens and mercy prevails, and all the stars which are under the rule of that "morning" break out into song and praise the most high King, as it says, "when the morning stars sang together".'

The other merchant then discoursed on the verse: "As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away" (Gen. XLIV, 3). He said: 'We have learnt that when morning comes and judgement passes away and lovingkindness seeks to awake, then all who come from that side hasten to their place to prepare blessings for the world; and this is the meaning of the words, "the morning is light", "light" being synonymous with "good". Note the following series of grades. "Night" is one grade, as we know. Then "morning light" is another grade, which we also know, a higher grade which always accompanies the other. The sun is a third grade known to us which establishes all and gives light to all. Thus the "morning light" receives light from the sun, and in turn gives light to the night, so that they are all linked with one another. When this "morning light" awakes, all men are gladdened and go about their business. And now that the day has dawned, it is time for us to go on our way.' So R. Hiya and R. Jose blessed them and kissed them on their heads and sped them on their way. Said R. Hiya to R. Jose: 'Blessed be God who has guided our steps aright! Verily, God sent these men to us. Blessed are they who study the Torah and do not neglect it for an instant!'

R Hiya and R. Jose then left the cave and continued their journey. Said R. Jose: 'Verily, my heart goes out to those merchants.' R. Hiya said to him: 'I am not surprised at this incident, for in the days of R. Simeon even the birds utter wisdom, for his words are known above and below.' R. Hiya then quoted the verse: "And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold thou shalt sleep with thy fathers" (Deut. XXXI, 16). 'Mark this,' he said. 'As long as Moses was alive, he used to check Israel from sinning against God. And because Moses was among them, there shall not be a generation like that one till the Messiah comes, when they shall see the glory of God like him. As we have learnt, a handmaid saw at the Red Sea what even Ezekiel the prophet did not see. And if a handmaid saw that, how much more so their wives, their sons, the men themselves, the Sanhedrin, the princes, and especially Moses himself! And now when those merchants of the desert can pour forth such wisdom, how much more so the wise of the generation, how much more those who stand before R. Simeon and learn from him, [23a] and how very .much more R. Simeon himself, who is above all I Alas for the world when R. Simeon shall depart, and the fountains of wisdom shall be closed, and men shall seek wisdom and there will be none to impart it, and the Torah will be interpreted erroneously because there will be none who is acquainted with wisdom! Of that time it is written: "And if the whole congregation of Israel shall err." Why? Because "the thing is hidden from the eyes, to wit, the leaders, of the assembly".' Said R. Judah: 'God will one day reveal the hidden mysteries of the Torah, namely, at the time of the Messiah, because "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord like as the waters cover the sea" (Isa. XI, 9), and as it is written, "They shall teach no more every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them" (Jer. XXXI, 34).'

WHEN A RULER SINNETH, ETC. R. Isaac pointed out that the corresponding clauses referring to the high priest and the congregation begin with the word "if" -- "if the anointed priest shall sin, etc." (Lev. IV, 3). "if the whole congregation of Israel shall err, etc." (Ibid. 13). 'The reason is', he said, 'that it is exceptional for the High Priest to sin, since he feels his responsibility to his Master and to Israel and to each individual. Similarly, it is very exceptional for the whole congregation to commit one and the same sin, for if some commit it, others will not. But a prince's heart is uplifted because of his power, and therefore he is almost bound to sin; hence it says here, "when", and not "if".' R. Judah illustrated from the verse: "And the princes brought the onyx stones and the stones to be set for the ephod and the breastplate" (Ex. XXXV, 27). 'Why', he asked, 'should it have been left for the princes to bring these things, seeing that the order had gone forth that "everyone willing of heart should bring the Lord's offering" (Ibid. 4), including "onyx stones and stones to be set for the ephod and the breastplate" (Ibid. 9)? The reason is that God said: Although the free-will offering is requested from all, yet leave these things to the princes. Why? Because they are borne on the breast of the High Priest. Let the princes whose heart is uplifted bring these stones which are worn on the heart of the High Priest, 80 that he may make atonement for their pride of heart. AND HE SHALL DO UNWITTINGLY ONE OF THE THINGS WHICH THE LORD HIS GOD HATH COMMANDED NOT TO BE DONE: that is, as stated elsewhere, if he transgresses a negative precept. IF HIS SIN BE MADE KNOWN TO HIM: because in the pride of his heart he did not notice his sin, but afterwards it was pointed out to him and he repented.'

R. Judah and R. Jose were sitting and studying the Torah one night. Said R. Judah: 'I observe that the Torah seems clearer by night than by day: how is this?' He replied: 'It is because the Written Law is explained by the Oral Law, and the Oral Law has sway by night and is more active then than by day. When, therefore, it holds sway, the Torah is clearer.' R. Jose continued: 'It is written, "But he said not, Where is the God my maker, who giveth songs in the night" (Job XXXV, 10). As already stated, when the north wind awakes at midnight, it strikes the wings of the cock, which looks to see what it is, and then for the sake of the honour of its Master calls aloud to the sons of men. [23b] Then the faithful arise and give strength and power to the Community of Israel, and through this David and his sons inherit the kingdom for all generations. But if the cock calls and men continue to sleep in their beds and do not rise, then it claps its wings and says, woe to so-and-so who contemns his Master, who deserts his Master, and heeds not His honour! When the day breaks a herald proclaims concerning him, "He did not say, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs in the night, so as to assist in those praises." What is the meaning of "my Maker"? If a man rises in the middle of the night and engages in the chanting of the Law -- for the true singing is only at night -- when day comes the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Community of Israel adorn him with a thread of grace to keep him safe from all harm and shed light upon him among both upper and lower beings, and they make him every day a new creature; hence the expression "my Maker" ('osai, lit. makers), referring to the Holy One and the Community of Israel, or according to another explanation, to Abraham and the Community of Israel.'

IF ONE HATH MADE KNOWN TO HIM HIS SIN. If who has made known to him? And why is it not written, "if his sin is made known to him"? The truth is that the Holy One, blessed be He, bids the Community of Israel to make known to a man the sin which he has committed. And how does she make it known to him? By chastisement. So, too, we have learnt: When a man sins before God and heeds not his sin to repent before his Master and throws it behind his back, then his soul goes up and testifies before the Holy One, blessed be He. Then the King bids the Community of Israel to "make known to him his sin", and to chastise him. And when chastisement comes upon him, then his spirit moves him to repent and he humbles himself and brings an offering; for it is through pride that he sins and forgets his sin. Said R. Jose: 'It is so assuredly, and so we find in the case of David that when he committed the sin with Bathsheba and forgot about it, God reminded him, saying, "Thou art the man" (2 Sam. XII, 7). But if a man wakes at night to study the Torah, then the Torah makes known to him his sin, and not through chastisement, but like a mother who gently chides her son, and he does not forget, but repents before his Master. It may be asked, seeing that David also used to rise at midnight to study, why was he warned by chastisement? The reason is that he transgressed against the very grade to which he' was attached, and therefore he required to be chastised. His punishment, in fact, fitted his crime: he sinned against the holy Kingdom and Jerusalem, and therefore he was driven from Jerusalem and his kingdom was taken from him, until [24a] he had made sufficient atonement.' R. Judah asked why David was punished at the hand of his son. R. Jose answered: 'As has been explained, because another man would have shown him no mercy.' 'But', said R. Judah, 'Absalom sought to kill his father and devised worse evil against him than a stranger would have done?' R. Jose said: 'I have not heard any answer to this.' Said R. Judah: 'I have heard an explanation, namely, that David sinned against Bath Sheba (lit. the daughter of seven), so God said, "Let the son of the daughter of a strange god come and avenge her." And who was this? Absalom, who was the son of a "fair captive" (v. Deut. XXI, 10 et sqq.).' R. Jose then quoted the verse: "The Lord hath sworn by his right hand and by the arm of his strength" (Isa. LXII, 8). 'Whenever', he said, 'a man sins before God, there is a certain grade above which takes note of that sin to punish it; if the man repents, the sin is wiped out and judgement has no sway over him, but if not, that sin is inscribed with that grade. If he sins more, then another grade takes note of him and concurs with the previous grade, so that he requires a more fervent repentance. If he goes on sinning, further grades are added till the number of five is reached. When the Right Hand is thus completed, the Left Hand concurs with the Right and merges in it, and then there is no further room for repentance. When the final judgement is thus pronounced, five fingers are locked in five, the Right Hand in the Left, and therefore when God desires to pronounce the final judgement, then, "The Lord swears by his right hand and by the arm of his strength".' [24b]

IF A SOUL (nefesh) COMMIT A TRESPASS. R. Isaac said: 'It has been pointed out that the word nefesh (soul) is here used advisedly. Happy are the righteous who have a superior portion in the Holy One, blessed be He, the holy portion, in the sanctities of the King, because they sanctify themselves with the holiness of their Master. For whoever sanctifies himself, the Holy One, blessed be He, sanctifies him, as it is written, "And ye shall sanctify yourselves and ye shall be holy" (Lev. XI, 44). If a man sanctifies himself below, heaven sanctifies him from above, and clothes him with a holy super-soul (neshamah), the inheritance of the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Community of Israel. It is these who are called "sons of the Holy One", as it is written, "sons are ye to the Lord your God" (Deut. XIV, 1). It is written, "Let the earth bring forth a living soul" (Gen. I, 24), this being the portion from which David inherited and became heir to the kingdom, as elsewhere explained. As has been stated, the soul is linked [25a] with the spirit, and the spirit with the super-soul. Happy those who obtain this noble heritage! Alas for the wicked whose souls do not even win them this world, much less the world to come! Of them it is written, "And the souls of thine enemies shall he sling out as from the hollow of a sling" (I Sam. XXV, 29). For they wander about the world without finding a place to which to attach themselves, they are drawn into the side of impurity, and a herald proclaims of them: "When a soul commits a trespass, it defiles the sanctuary of the Lord, for it cannot enter into sanctity."

It may be asked, why is a goat brought as an offering (in this case), seeing that R. Simeon has said that a goat is an evil species, as its name indicates ('ez = 'az = impudent)? However, R. Simeon answered that there is a reason, because if a spirit of uncleanness passes over a man or he occupies himself with it, then a goat is his appropriate offering, as being akin to his sin. R. Simeon said further: 'Some are gifted with a supersoul (neshamah), some with the impulse of the spirit (ruah), and some only with an ordinary soul (nefesh). Those who attain no higher than the ordinary soul cling to the side of uncleanness, and when they sleep unclean sides (spirits) come and cling to them and show them things in dreams, partly true and partly false. Hence heathens also see true things sometimes in their dreams. Now those evil species are of three grades. The highest are suspended in the air. The lowest mock men in their dreams. The intermediate grade tell men things partly true and partly false, but if true, only relating to the immediate future. As for the higher grade of those who are suspended in the air, when the soul (nefesh) of a man seeks to prepare itself for the reception of the spirit (ruah), something issues from it and seeks to rise, and in so doing meets those spirits which tell it things that will happen both in the near and the more distant future, and it cleaves to that grade until it acquires spirit. When it has done so, the spirit issues forth and cleaves its way through rocks and mountains until it ascends among the holy angels, and there it learns many things before returning to its place. This is as far as man can attain in holiness until he is endowed with a super-soul (neshamah). When he acquires that supersoul, it ascends among the righteous who are bound up in the bundle of the living, and there it sees the delight of the King and regales itself with the supernal splendour. And when the holy Hind (Shekinah) awakes with the north wind, the soul comes down and that righteous one who has acquired it arises and strengthens himself like a lion in the study of the Torah till morning, and then he goes with that holy Hind to appear before the King to receive a thread of grace, [25b] and he is crowned with her before the King. Blessed', said R. Simeon, 'are those who possess a super-soul, who study the Torah, who worship the Holy King. Woe to the sinners who do not cleave to their Master and have no portion in the Torah. For he who has no portion in the Torah has no portion either in the spirit or the super-soul, but he cleaves to the side of the evil species, having no portion in the holy King or in holiness. Woe to him when he shall leave this world, for he is a marked man to those evil species, pitiless dogs, emissaries of the fires of Gehenna. See now the difference between Israel and the nations. Even though an Israelite possess only an ordinary soul, yet a higher grad~ stands over him, and if he tries to acquire a spirit or super-soul, he can do so. But the heathen can never do so unless he becomes circumcised, when he acquires a soul from another place. If, however, an Israelite who is only in the grade of ordinary soul does not aspire to rise higher, his punishment is great. For there are men who cleave to that evil side because they are not endowed with more than this ordinary soul, and when this unclean spirit passes by them it rests upon them and they cleave to it. Thus their sin is from the side of that unclean spirit and their offering is a goat, a beast which comes from that side, and so is a fitting atonement.' Said R. Eleazar: 'It is written, "His body shall not remain all night on the tree ... that thou defile not thy land" (Deut. XXI, 23). The reason is that the land is holy, and the unclean spirit must find no place in the holy land on which to rest. This being so, seeing that the spirit of uncleanness rests on this animal and it comes from the side of uncleanness, how can it be brought as an offering to the side of holiness?' R. Simeon replied: 'You have asked well, my son. The answer is as follows. It is written, "The Lord thy God is a devouring fire" (Deut. IV. 24). The fire of the Holy One, blessed be He. feeds on another fire. There are angels which chant praises before the Holy One, and as soon as they finish are consumed in the flames of a devouring fire. Below, too, God has empowered the fire of the altar to consume all that side in its flames so that naught of it should be left in the world, and the man who brings the offering prevails over it. and through the savour of the sacrifice the side of the evil spirit departs from him and he obtains atonement.'

R. Aha was once walking along when R Hiya and R. Jose met him. Said R. Aha: 'Verily, being now three, we are fitted to receive the presence of the Shekinah.' So they went along together. Said R. Aha; 'Let each one of us give a discourse on the Torah as we go.'

R. Hiya thereupon began with the verse: "Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness" (Isa. XV, 8). 'This verse', he said, 'contains a mystery of wisdom which we have learnt from the Holy Lamp (R. Simeon). The words "drop down" refer to the side of rain, which brings nourishment to all. Therefore the eyes of all the world are turned to the Holy One, blessed be He, because He gives food to all. Yet think not that this depends on the place called "heaven", for so it is written here "from above"; the rain in sooth comes from "above", from the Ancient Holy One, [26a] and not from the place called Heaven. "And let the skies pour down righteousness": since when the heavens receive this rain from the place above, then the skies pour down righteousness. What is meant by "skies" (shehakim)? The place where manna is ground (shahak) for the righteous, where Victory and Majesty grind manna for the place called Righteous, or, rather, for the two Righteous Ones Zaddik and Zedek. Then "the earth opens" (Ibid.) beneath, and mankind "are fruitful with salvation". "Righteousness springs forth together": mercy and kindness abound and man's food is provided, and so joy is added to joy and all worlds are blessed.' Said R. Aha: 'Had I come but to hear this, it would have been sufficient.'

R. Jose then discoursed on the verse: "My heart is towards the governors of· Israel that offered themselves willingly among the people, bless ye the Lord" (Judges V, 9). 'If a man', he said, 'desires earnestly to pray that blessings should be poured on earth from above, he should concentrate his mind on that recondite Stream, the deepest recess of all, where is the very beginning of the union of Father and Mother (Hokmah and Binah). So it says here, "My heart is to the governors of Israel", to wit, to those, the Father and Mother, who trace out laws for the Holy Israel who flows out from between them. "That offer themselves willingly (mithnadevim) among the people": these are the Fathers who are called nedivim. Then, "bless ye the Lord", that blessings may flow from him below and fill the world. Happy are Israel that God pours down blessings upon them and listens to their prayer; of them it is written, "He hath regarded the prayer of the destitute and hath not despised their prayer" (PI. CII, 18).

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Notes:

1. The Hebrew word is oth, which in Talmudic Hebrew commonly means "letter".

2. The rest of this passage up to 3b ["And he called... "] deals mainly with the occult powers of various letters. The whole is omitted from the editiones majores of Mantua, Cremona, and Lublin.

3. A play on the words mischan, "tent", and mashcen (Aramaic), "pledge".

4. From karab, to draw near.

5. This verse is not found in our text. Apparently the Zohar meant it for a paraphrase of Ezek. XIX, 1, "And do thou raise a lamentation over the princes of Israel".

6. In T. B. Berachoth, the verse is explained thus: "She has fallen, but shall no more; rise, O virgin of Israel."

7. That there are seven earths enveloping one another.

8. The Cabbalists.

9. The geographers.

10. The passage which follows in the text deals with the symbolism of the forms of the letters of the Divine Name, and also assigns the various names of the Deity to the various grades, as may be found in the table in the Appendix of Vol. I of this translation.

11. The passage which follows in the text resumes the discussion of the relation of the names of the Deity to the various grades, and suggests an alternative arrangement. This again is followed by a passage comparing the Ten Commandments to the ten "Words" of the Creation by a highly forced interpretation.

12. The Shekinah.

13. i.e. they are attached only to this grade.

14. The passage which follows is written in so allusive a style that it would be hardly possible to convey its meaning by a translation. The point of it is that sin (especially the sin of unchastity) "uncovers the nakedness of the Mother (Binah)", and repentance is the covering-up again. The word teshubah (returning) is also explained to mean, "causing the light from the Ancient Holy One to return to the Small of Countenance".

15. The highest grades.

16. The ram's horn blown on New Year.

17. There is a lacuna here in the text.

18. Al. "runners". The reference in either case is to robbers.

19. Reading hasadekha for hasidekha.

20. Edom = Rome.

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