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THE ZOHAR |
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BEHUKOTHAI Leviticus XXVI, 3-XXVII, 34 IF YE WALK IN MY STATUTES, ETC. R. Hiya introduced this section with a discourse on the verse: "O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him" (Micah VI, 5). 'Happy', he said, 'is the people whose Master exhorts them thus, as though to say, Although you go astray from the ways of My people, My ways, yet ye are My people, and I do not desire to requite you according to your deeds.' R. Isaac said: 'Happy the portion of the people whose Master says to them, "O my people, what have I done to thee and wherein have I wearied thee?" (Ibid. 3).' R. Jose said: 'God said to Israel, "Remember now (I pray you)". We cry every day with tears -and wailing, "Remember, O Lord, what is come upon us" (Lam. V, I), "Remember, O Lord, against the children of Edom" (Ps. CXXXVIl, 7), and He says to us, "I pray you, remember now", and we pay no heed; therefore when we cry He pays no heed to us.' R. Judah said: 'In truth God does heed us and remember us, otherwise Israel would not be able to stand a single day in captivity, for so it is written, "And yet for all that when they be in the land of their enemies", etc. (Lev. XXVI, 44). [112b] God does not requite us according to our deeds. 'Balak was a greater master of magic arts than Balaam. For just as the celestial holiness can be aroused both by act and by word on our part, so can they that come from the side of uncleanness. Balaam was the greatest of sorcerers, but Balak was still greater. Balaam was greater in divination, but Balak in sorcery. For sorcery depends on actions, but divination on utterances and observations. Not so holy Israel, whose whole endeavour is to draw upon themselves the spirit of holiness, wherefore it is written, "For there is no divination against Israel nor enchantment against Jacob" (Num. XXIII, 23). Because Balaam was more powerful with his mouth than all diviners and in the observation of the great Serpent, therefore Balak wished to combine his own sorcery with his divination. Said God to him: Wretch, my sons have anticipated you. They have something which prevents all evil sides and species and sorceries from coming near them, to wit, the tent of assembly and the holy vessels and the utensils of the Sanctuary and the incense of spices, which allays all wrath and anger, both above and below, and the daily sacrifices and the two altars and the table and the shew-bread and the laver and its base, and many utensils to serve the utterance of the mouth, the ark and the two tablets of the Law and Aaron to make atonement for the people with his prayer every day. When the wicked Balaam saw all this he said: "For there is no divination against Israel nor sorcery against Israel". Why? Because "the Lord his God is with him, and the pleasure of the King is in him". Therefore, "My people, I beseech you to remember the time when Balak and Balaam joined forces to destroy you, but did not succeed because I took hold of you as a father takes hold of his son, not letting him fall into the hand of another." The verse continues, "From Shittim to Gilgal". Why are these places mentioned? As much as to say: Remember that when you let go your hold upon me, then in Shittim "the people ate and bowed down to their gods" (Num. XXV, 2), and in Gilgal "they sacrificed bullocks" (Hos. XII, 11), and then your enemies prevailed over you. Why all this? "That you might know the righteous deeds of the Lord", all those kindnesses that I did to you when you kept hold on Me, and I allowed nothing in the world to dominate you and neither the higher nor lower wrath nor the evil species were able to touch you. "And he said to them: Tarry here this night, and I will bring you word again as the Lord shall speak unto me." Observe that when the sun goes down and all the gates are closed and night falls and it grows dark, many dogs are loosened from their chains and go wandering about the world. There are many Chieftains who guide them and one supreme Chieftain from the side of the Left. That wicked Balaam gained access to this supreme Chieftain by his sorceries, which he practised in the night when he was at the head of all his company, and then he made known his requests to him. [113a] The word Elohim is used in connection with Balaam as with Laban and with Abimelech, because this is a name of general application, being used of idols under the title of "other gods", which includes these Chieftains also. So this wicked Balaam summoned the Chieftain to him and he came to him. It may be said that he was with him by day (when he was with Balak). The truth is, however, that at that hour he only made observations by means of his divinations to fix the right hour, and when it says, "he went not as at other times to meet with enchantments" (Ibid. XXIV, 1), this signifies that he tried to fix the hour. but was not able as on other days, because he saw that there was no great wrath in the world and knew that "it was good in the eyes of the Lord to bless Israel" (Ibid.). For when burning wrath is rife the Left is aroused, and the wicked Balaam knew how to take hold of the left side so as to curse; but on this occasion he looked and saw that the wrath was not there. 'IF YE WALK IN MY STATUTES. This is the place from which depend the decrees of the Law, whereas "judgements" signifies another and higher place to which this statute is attached; and the two, "statute" and "judgement", are connected both on the higher and the lower plane. All the commandments and decrees and sanctifications of the Torah are attached to these, because one is the Written Torah and the other the Oral Torah. Both are intertwined and form one entity, and this is the sum of the Holy Name, so that he who transgresses against the commandments of the law in effect impairs the Holy Name. 'AND YE SHALL DO (MAKE) THEM. After "walk" and "keep" have been mentioned. why does it also say "do"? Because he who "keeps" the precepts of the Law and "walks" in God's ways, if one may say so. "makes" Him who is above. Also it says. "You shall make them", because the two aspects (of statute and judgement) are both aroused through you and join together so that the Holy Name is consummated.' Similarly, R. Simeon commented on the verse, "And David made him a name" (2 Sam. VIII, 13). 'Did, then, David really make it ?' he asked. 'What it means is that because David walked in the way of the Torah and carried out the precepts of the Torah and exercised his royal power in the fitting manner, he, as it were, "made" a Name on high. No other king was so worthy to accomplish [113b] this as David, because he used to rise at midnight and praise the Holy One, blessed be He, until the Holy Name ascended on its throne at the hour when the light of day appeared. In the same sense it is written here, "and ye shall make them"; and if ye strive to stablish thus the Holy Name, all those blessings from above shall abide firmly with you. Similarly it is written: "And they shall keep the way of the Lord to do justice and judgement" (Gen. XVIII, 19), to signify that he who keeps the ways of the Torah, as it were, "makes" justice and judgement. And who are these? The Holy One, blessed be He.' R. Simeon here wept and exclaimed: 'Alas for mankind that they know not and heed not the honour of their Master t Who is it that "makes" the Holy Name every day? You must say, he that gives charity to the poor. As we know, the poor man takes hold of judgement and all his food is judgement, the place that is called Zedek (righteousness). Hence he that gives charity (zedakah) to the poor makes the Holy Name complete as it should be above, since zedakah is the tree of life, and when it gives to Zedek the Holy Name becomes complete. Hence he who sets this activity in motion from below, as it were, fully makes the Holy Name. It has been stated elsewhere which is the place of the poor man. [1] Why is it so ? Because the poor man has not anything of his own, save what is given him, and the moon has no light save what is given her by the sun. Why is a poor man counted as dead ? Because he is found in the place of death. [2] Therefore, if one has pity on him and gives him charity, the tree of life rests upon him, as it says, "Zedakah (charity) delivereth from death" (Prov. X, 2). This applies only to charity done for its own sake, for then the doer links together zedakah with zedek so that the whole forms the Holy Name, since zedek is not established without zedakah.' AND I SHALL GIVE PEACE IN THE LAND, AND YE SHALL LIE DOWN AND NONE SHALL MAKE YOU AFRAID. R. Jose cited here the verse: "Stand in awe and sin not", etc. (PS. IV, 5). 'When night has fallen', he said, 'and men have gone to bed, many emissaries of the law arise and go about the world, and it behoves men to tremble in awe before the Holy One, blessed be He, in order that they may be delivered from them. And a man should be careful not to make any reference to them with his lips so as not to draw their attention to him. Hence it is written, "Commune with your own heart upon your bed" (Ibid.) Hence, when Israel are virtuous it is written of them, "I shall give peace in the land". This means peace above, where the Holy One, blessed be He, comes to join the Community of Israel. Then "ye shall lie down and none shall make you afraid". Why so? Because "I shall cause evil beasts to cease out of the land". [114a] These beasts are the evil species below, namely Iggereth bath Mahalath with all her company. She it is by night, but in the day the men who come from her side, in reference to whom it is written, "neither shall the sword go through your land".' R. Abba said: 'We have explained that this includes even a sword of peace, like that of Pharaoh Necho. King Josiah interpreted the verse thus, but as we have learnt, he was made to suffer for the sins of Israel. Here a difficulty arises, since we have learnt that if the head of the people is good, they are all delivered for his sake, and if the head is not good the whole people is made to suffer for his sake. Now seeing that Josiah was a good king and acted rightly, why had he to suffer for the sins of Israel? The reason was because he did not exercise control over Israel, since he thought that they were all virtuous like himself, and though Jeremiah told him that they were not, he did not believe him. Another reason was that the Moon's light was fading and it was seeking to disappear. 'AND I WILL SET MY TABERNACLE AMONG YOU. "My tabernacle" (mishcani) means the Shekinah; the word can also be rendered "my pledge", which was taken back for the sins of Israel. Once a man was very fond of a friend of his and said to him: I am so fond of you that I am going to stay with you. Said the other: How do I know that you will stay with me ? So he took all his most precious belongings and brought them to him, saying: Here is a pledge to you that I shall never leave you. So God sought to abide with Israel, and He therefore took his most desirable possession and sent it down to Israel, saying: Here is my pledge to you that I shall never leave you. And although the Holy One, blessed be He, has departed from us, He has left his pledge in our hands, and we keep that treasure of His, so that if He wants His pledge He must come and abide with us. 'AND MY SOUL SHALL NOT ABHOR YOU. Suppose now the man is so fond of his friend that he wants to live with him, then he takes his bed to his house, saying: Here is my bed in thy house so that I shall have no need to leave thee. So the Holy One, blessed be He, said: Here is my bed in your house, and therefore you shall know that I shall not leave you. 'AND I WILL WALK AMONG YOU AND BE YOUR GOD. Since my pledge is with you, of a surety you will know that I walk with you, as it is written, "For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp to deliver thee and to give up thine enemies before thee" (Deut. XXIII, 14).' Once, when R. Isaac and R. Judah were in a village near the Lake of Tiberias, they rose at midnight and R. Isaac said to R. Judah: 'Let us discourse on the Torah, for though we are in such a place as this, we ought not to go away from the Tree of Life.' R. Judah then expounded the verse: "Now Moses took the tent and pitched it without the camp" (Ex. XXIII, 7). Why did he do so ? Said Moses: Since Israel have denied the Holy One, blessed be He, and have exchanged His glory for another, let His pledge here be in the hands of a faithful keeper until we see with whom it will be left. He said to Joshua: Thou shalt be the man of trust between God and Israel, and the pledge shall be entrusted to thee, until we see [114b] with whom it shall be left. Why to Joshua? Because he stood to Moses in the relation of the moon to the sun, [3] and he was a fitting person to hold the pledge, and therefore it is written, "Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the camp" (Ibid. 11). Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Moses: Moses, this is not right. I have given my pledge to them, and even though they have sinned against me, it must remain with them. Therefore return my pledge to them, and for its sake I will not abandon them wherever they are. Therefore wherever Israel go into exile the Shekinah is with them, and therefore it is written, "And I will set my tabernacle among you".' R. Isaac adduced the verse: "My beloved is like a doe or a young hart, behold he standeth behind our wall", etc. (S.S. II, 9). 'Happy', he said, 'are Israel to whom it has been granted that this pledge should be with them from the supreme King, for though they are in exile, the Holy One, blessed be He, comes at the beginning of every month and on every Sabbath and festival to take note of them and to look at his pledge which is with them, his most precious possession. He is like a king whose queen has offended him so that he has expelled her from the palace. What does she do? She takes the king's son, his pride and his darling; and because the king is still fond of her he leaves him with her. When the king yearns for the queen and her son, he climbs up roofs and goes down steps to peep at them through chinks in walls, and when he obtains a glimpse of them he weeps behind the wall and then departs. So Israel, though they have gone forth from the king's palace, have not lost that pledge, which the King has left with them because He still loves them, and when He yearns for them He goes up on roofs and steps to gain a sight of them through the chinks of the wall, as it says, "He looketh in at the windows, he glanceth through the lattice", in the synagogues and houses of learning. Therefore Israel should rejoice on the day on which they know this, and say, "This is the day on which the Lord hath wrought, we will rejoice and be glad in it" (Ps. CXVIII, 24).' AND IF YE SHALL REJECT MY STATUTES, ETC. R. Jose adduced here the verse: "My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of his reproof" (Prov. III, 11). 'Israel', he said, 'are beloved to God, and therefore God is fain to reprove them and to lead them in the right path as a loving father leads his son, and because of his love he always has the rod in his hand to keep him in the right path and to prevent him from straying to the right or the left. But from him whom He loves not and hates God withdraws His reproof and His rod; and so we interpret the verse, "I have loved you, saith the Lord ... but Esau I hated" (Mal. I, 2). The word takuz (be weary) in the above-quoted verse may be connected with kozim (thorns), for the reproof is like a thorn in a man's flesh, and yet he should not flee from it. When righteousness arises with its judgements, many are the shining emissaries who bestir themselves on the right hand and on the left, with many rods of fire, coal and flame, with which they traverse the world and smite the sons of men. Under them are many other emissaries, lords of the thirty-nine strokes, who come down and smite and ascend and receive authorization, who enter [115a] into the hollow of the great deep where they become painted with flames and a burning fire is attached to them and they issue forth like burning coals. Hence it is written, "I shall chastise you still more (lit. I will add to chastise you) seven times for your sins", that is to say, I will give additional power to the chastisers to chastise, up to seven times for your sins. It may be asked: How can this be, seeing that if God were to collect His due, the world could not endure for an instant? The truth is that this "seven" refers to the Sabbatical Year which is so called: "seven" will chastise you.' AND I ALSO WILL CHASTISE YOU SEVEN TIMES FOR YOUR SINS. R. Abba said: 'This means that I will rouse this Seven against you. Observe the deep love of the Holy One, blessed be He, for Israel. We may compare Him to a king who had a dearly beloved son who repeatedly offended against him. At length one day the king said: All these days I have chastised thee and thou hast not hearkened. What shall I do to thee? If I banish thee from the land and depose thee from the kingdom, perhaps bears or wolves or robbers will attack thee and destroy thee. Therefore I and thou together will leave the land. So God said to Israel: What shall I do to you? Behold I have smitten you and ye have not inclined your ears. I have sent against you smiters and burners and ye have not hearkened. If I send you out of the land alone, I fear for the many bears and wolves who may rise against you and drive you from the earth. What, then, shall I do? I and you will leave the land and go in exile: yet think not that I shall abandon you, for "I also" shall be with you. For "Seven" shall be banished with you: the Matrona shall leave her temple with you, and all will be desolate, both my temple and yours. Hence I too will be with you, and therefore when Israel emerge from captivity, God will return with them.' As R. Hiya and R. Jose were journeying together, they came to a cave in a field and R. Hiya asked R. Jose: 'Why is it written "These are the words of the covenant which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel, besides the covenant which he made with them in Horeb" (Deut. XXVIII, 69)? It should be: These are the words of the adjuration, should it not ?' He replied: 'Both were words of a covenant, for [115b] although the later ones were not from the mouth of God (but of Moses), yet they were words of a covenant, since both good and evil are foreshadowed in them, good from the side of Zaddik and evil from the side of judgement, which is Zedek, and Zaddik and Zedek are called "Covenant". Hence these words are words of a covenant.' AND YET FOR ALL THAT, WHEN THEY BE IN THE LAND OF THEIR ENEMIES I WILL NOT REJECT THEM, NEITHER WILL I ABHOR THEM TO DESTROY THEM UTTERLY AND TO BREAK MY COVENANT WITH THEM. R. Jose said: '"When they be" means when they are all together. "I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them", so as not to be associated with them. "To break my covenant with them": for if I shall not redeem them, my covenant will be divided.' Said R. Hiya: 'I have heard the following from R. Eleazar. The expression "I will not reject them or abhor them to destroy them" is somewhat strange: we should expect, "I will not smite them or slay them". What it means, however, is this. One who is hated of another is abhorred and rejected of him, but God will not reject Israel, because the beloved of His soul is among them, and for her sake all of them are beloved of Him. If a man loves a woman who lives in a street of tanners, if she were not there he would never go into it, but because she is there it seems to him like a street of spice makers where all the sweet scents of the world are to be found. So "even when they are in the land of their enemies", which is the street of tanners, "I will not abhor or reject them", because of that bride in their midst, the beloved of my soul who abides there.' Said R. Jose: 'If I had only come to hear this, it would have been worth my while. It is written,' he continued, '"A son honoureth his father" (Mal. I, 6). We have learnt that when the father is alive it is the son's duty to honour him with food and drink. Is he free from the obligation of honouring him after his death? Not so, since it is written, "Honour thy father" (Ex. XX, 12). If the son walks in the crooked path, of a surety he brings dishonour and shame on his father. But if he walks in the straight path and his deeds are upright, then he confers honour on him both in this world among men and in the next world with God, who gives him a special throne of honour. An example is R. Eleazar, who honoured his father in his lifetime and now has made him more honoured in the next world after his death as the progenitor of holy sons and a holy stock.' _______________ Notes: 1. Viz. the Shekinah. 2. The Shekinah being called "the tree of death". 3. Cf. T.B. Baba Bathra, 75a.
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