And what is His heart? He said to him: If so, Ben Zoma is on the outside, and you are with him. "The heart" (ha-lev) is thirty-two, for they were hidden, and with them the world was created. What is "32"? He said to him: thirty-two paths. A parable of a king who was in the innermost chambers, and the number of the chambers was thirty-two, and to each chamber there was a path. Is it fitting for this king that everyone enter his chamber by way of his paths? You said: No. Is it fitting for him to reveal his pearls, his settings, his hidden things, his treasures, and his precious things? You said: No. What did he do? He touched the daughter and included in her all the paths and in her garment, and whoever wishes to enter within, let him look here. And he married her to the king, and he also gave her to him as a gift. Sometimes, in his love for her, he calls her "my sister," for they were from one place; and sometimes he calls her "his daughter," for she is his daughter; and sometimes he calls her "my mother."
God's Names For The Shekhinah
Sefer ha-Bahir 63
ומאי לבו, א"ל א"כ בן זומא מבחוץ ואתה עמו, לב הוא שלשים ושתים והיו סתומים ובהם נברא העולם, מאי ל"ב, א"ל ל"ב נתיבות, משל למלך שהיה בחדרי חדרים ומנין החדרים ל"ב, ולכל חדר יש לו נתיב, נאה למלך זה להכנס הכל בחדרו על דרך נתיבתיו, אמרת לא, נאה לו לגלות פניניו ומשבצותיו ומצפוניו וגנזיו וחמודותיו, אמרת לא, מה עשה נגע בבת וכלל בה כל הנתיבות ובמלבושה, והרוצה להכנס בפנים יסתכל הנה, ונשאה למלך גם נתנה לו במתנה, לפעמים קורא אותה באהבתו בה אחותי כי ממקום אחד היו, ולפעמים קורא אותה בתו כי בתו היא, ולפעמים קורא אותה אמי:
Themes
Original Sources
- Sefer ha-Bahir 63
- Zohar 1:80a-82a
- Zohar 1:111b-112a
- Zohar 2:98b-99a