Tikkunei Zohar Reader

And because the blessed Holy One revealed all this to Moses, he requested mercy for them, and submitted himself for death,lxxivSee BT Berakhot 32a and Sotah 14a it is this that is written: (Ex. 32:32)... and if not, wipe me out please from Your book... And through his appeasement, he cleaved to the King, and he took hold of the right arm, and said: (Ex. 32:13) Remember Abraham! After which, he took hold of the left-side and said: Remember Isaac! After which, he took hold of the body and said:... and to Israel...

And the blessed Holy One had said, regarding those average-ones, that ‘the merit of the Patriarchs has finished’,lxxvSee BT Shabbat 55a since they had not returned in repentance, they are like the completely wicked, and if they would return in repentance, it is stated of them, that the merit of the Patriarchs does apply.

And so that these ‘average people’ would not be destroyed, Moses said: ‘Should the world say that I am like Noah, who did not request mercy upon his generation?’ At that time, he submitted himself for them, it is this that is written:... and if not, wipe me out please... (Ex. 32:32)

And because of this, the Faithful Shepherd Moses is destined to be in the final exile,lxxviSee Midrash Tanḥuma, Ḥuqat Ch.10 and in him will be fulfilled: (Is. 53:5) And he was pained∞me-ḥolal by our crimes... He was made ‘mundane’∞ḥol because of us, afflicted in our iniquities – plagued by the afflictions of poverty, with many oppressions that he suffered because of them. And because of him: (Ex. 32:14) And Y”Y repented of the evil... etc. And it is this that is written: (Is. 53:5)... and with his wound we were healed.

And of Moses’ merit, because of it, the left-side rejects the average-ones – which is New Year, and the right-side draws them near in repentance – which is Passover

– the right arm to receive those who return, and it lifts them up from their falling, and takes hold of their hands, and says to them: (Is. 52:2)... arise! Sit down, O Jerusalem...

And through it, they will go out, by the hand of ‘he through whose hand the Torah was given’, on the Festival of Weeks, which goes towards the right-hand – which is Passover. At that time: (Ex. 15:1) Then (az) did or will Moses sing... lxxviiSee BT Sanhedrin 91b

And of the Festival of Tabernacles: (Gen. 33:18) And Jacob came complete... – complete in his body, complete in his wealthlxxviiiBT Shabbat 33b – and he is surrounded by seven clouds of glory, like at first, when Israel went out of Egypt, to fulfil: (Mic. 7:15) Like the days when you went out of Egypt... etc.

And the wicked, who are ‘the mixed multitude’, it is stated of them: the cantillation note: soph-pasuq (end-of-verse), for they are of the seed of’Amaleq, of whom it is stated: (Ex. 17:16) And He said: ‘For a hand is upon the throne of YaH...’

And they are of five types: ’Amaleqites, ‘mighty-ones’ (giborim), Nephilim, ‘giants’ (’anaqim), ‘ghosts’ (repha-im). For all of them rise up and overpower Israel in the exile. It is this that is written: (Gen. 7:18) And the waters became mighty, and increased greatly upon the earth... Four times it is written: and they became mighty (va-yigbe-ru) or, and... they were mighty... (Gen. 7:19) – corresponding to ‘the four exiles’, and about them it is stated the cantillation note: soph-pasuq (end-of-verse), for the blessed Holy One stops (pasiq) them, at the end (soph) of days, from the world.

... perfumed with myrrh and frankincense... – the two pillars of truth☉Netzaḥ-Hod,... of all the powder of the peddler, – this is the Righteous-One, who includes all, He is ‘the peddler’∞rokhel (Yesod) and She is His powder. It is this that is written: (Gen. 2:24)... and he shall cleave to his wife... and through it She ascends towards Her husband.

The Lower Shekhinah is the incense (qe-toret) of the blessed Holy One, and She is His offering (qorban), His altar, through which Israel prepare the foods of the sacrifices, of prayers to the blessed Holy One, which are to correspond to: the sacrifice of the morning, and the sacrifice of late afternoon, and the sacrifice of the innards and entrails – which are consumed all night.lxxixSee BT Berakhot 26b

And it is the offering of ‘the additional service’ (musaph), which is the Righteous-One, and it is the offering of Sabbaths and Holy Days. For there is no offering (qorbana) [‘nearness’ (qe-rivu) of the holy people to the blessed Holy One, on Sabbath and Festival], except through Her. It is this that is written: (Lev. 16:3) With ‘zot’ (this) shall Aaron come to the sacred... (Jer. 9:22–3) And let not the boaster praise himself, except in ‘this’ (zot)... She is His ‘residence’ (mashkona), for Her sake He resides amongst them, it is this that is written: (Ex. 25:8) And make for Me a ‘sanctuary’ (miqdash), and I shall reside (shakhanti) amongst them etc.

She is His ark, and He is the Scroll of the Torah, concealed inside Her.

She is His ‘menorah’ (candelabrum), and (Ex. 35:14) ‘... the candelabrum of ‘illumination’ (ma-aur), of that of which it is stated: (Prov. 6:23)... and Torah is light (aur).

And She is a candle, that burns before Him, as it says:... (Lev. 24:2) to kindle a perpetual candle, and She is Bathsheba (daughter) of-seven, the candelabrum comprising seven ‘lamps’. She is a candle to Him from the side of the left. And He is a light to Her from the side of the right, and of both-of-them it is stated: (Prov. 6:23) For a candle is precept and Torah is light...

He is Her ’EYRUV, from the aspect of right and left, which are A-B (=72) R-Y-U (=216), which are Ḥesed (=72) and Gevurah (=216). And She is His ‘evening service’ (’aravit), His ‘pregnancy’ (’ibur).

She is the prayer-shawl (talit) of the blessed Holy One, and, in Her, the blessed Holy One is enwrapped, as it says: (Ps. 104:2) You enwrap light like a garment... And She is the tzitzit of the Righteous-One, Who is ‘the poor-one in exile’, it is this that is written: (Ps. 102:1) A prayer for a pauper when he enwraps...

A poor-one, certainly, for only in it, is He enwrapped, because She: (Ex. 22:26) alone is his covering, it is his garment for his ‘skin’ (’or)... – this is the leather of phylacteries, of which it is stated: (Gen. 3:21) And Y”Y ELQYM made for Adam, and his wife, tunics of leather (’or), and He dressed them.

The four ‘housings’ of the head are EQYeQ, four scriptural sections which are: (Ex. 13:2) Sanctify to Me... (Ex. 13:11) And it will be, when He shall bring you... (Deut. 6:4) Hear O Israel... (Deut. 11:13) And it will be, if you listen... – this is YQVQ.

The four ‘housings’ of the hand – this is ADNY, the four scriptural sections – this is YQV”Q. And in them are 42 mentions of HVY”H in the eight scriptural sections, of which it is stated: (Num. 12:9) Y”Y ‘in them’ (bam, =42)... This is: (Ex. 22:26) Because... it is the garment for his skin... and She is the tekhelet (blue) of the tzitzit.

She is the mystery of levirate marriage (yibum), His levirate in exile: Y-B M-H B-Y M-H.

Her three ‘reincarnations’ (gilgulin), are the three Patriarchs, about whom it is stated: (Job 33:29) Behold all of these will EL enact, twice or three times with a man...

And She is: ‘awe’ (yir-ah) from the left side, ‘love’ (ahavah) from the right side.

And She is Torah, from the aspect of the Middle Pillar.

And She is ‘I’ (Anokhi), from the aspect of Higher Mother, which takes hold of the right, because Anokhi∞‘I’△81 is equals ‘throne’ (kisei, =81) in numeric-value, and it is stated of it: (Is. 16:5) and the throne is established in kindness∞ḥesed.

And of Her it is stated: (Ex. 20:3) You will not have any other gods before Me – from the aspect of Samael and the snake, who are ‘other gods’.

At that time – of the Rejoicing of the Torah – they place [Var. there resides] a crown, upon the head of every righteous-one above, as it says: (Song. 3:11)... with the crown with which his mother crowned him, on the day of his wedding, and on the day of his heart’s rejoicing.... on the day of his wedding... – this is the Lower Shekhinah,... and on the day of his heart’s rejoicing... – this is the Higher Shekhinah.

And thus, Israel should be crowned in everything [Var. all of them], with a crown upon their heads,

on the day of the ‘Rejoicing of the Torah’∞Simḥat Torah.

(Lev. 23:40) And you shall take for yourselves, on the first day, the fruit of a ‘hadar’ tree, date palm fronds... etc. – the ‘citron’ (etrog) is the Lower Shekhinah, and it is like the heart,lxxxviVayiqra Rabbah 30:14 which is to the left, which is Gevurah.

And therefore, a person should take the etrog (citron) in the left hand. And it needs to be an etrog that is like the heart, complete, with its ‘tyomet’ because of him of whom is stated: (Gen. 25:27)... and Jacob was a complete (tam) man – to be perfect with Him. And just as there is no defect in Jacob above, so there must be no defect in the etrog, to fulfill the verse: (Song. 4:7) You are completely beautiful my beloved, there is no blemish in you.

And if it is ‘yellow’, it is even more praiseworthy, like the image of Esther, who was ‘greenish’,lxxxviiBT Megillah 13a of whom it is stated: (Esth. 5:1)... and Esther clothed herself regally (malkhut)... And She is called Hadassah, after the hadass (myrtle). And of the myrtle, it has three ‘myrtle-branches’,lxxxviiiMishnah Sukkah 3:4 so as to be perfected through the three Patriarchs. And She is called ‘willow’ (’aravah) from the aspect of the two lips,lxxxixSee Midrash Tanḥuma, Emor Ch.19 which are: (Is. 54:13)... the ‘disciples’ of Y”Y...

And She is called lulav (palm-shoot), from the aspect of ‘the life-force∞ḥaiy of the worlds’, which includes the 18∞ḥaiy blessings of prayer, and corresponding to them we perform 18 ‘shakings’ of the lulav, in six directions – three to each-and-every side, six directions that are included in the body, which is the Middle Pillar, because the lulav is called after it: ‘lo (=36) lev’ (to) him, a heart.

And there are 18 shakings, 4 times, which amount to 72, and they are: 18 shakings upon taking the lulav, 18 and 18– twice in: (Ps. 118:1) Give thanks to Y”Y – at the beginning and end of Psalm 118, 18 at (Ps. 118:25) Please Y”Y, please save! – there are 72.

18 shakings correspond to the 18 vertebrae of the spine, from the aspect of the body, and all of this is from the aspect of ‘the Tree of Life’. And from the aspect of ‘the Tree of good and evil’: the etrog is likened to the righteous, and the myrtle to the ordinary-ones, and the willow to the wicked.xcSee Vayiqra Rabbah 30:12

And of the Shekhinah it is stated: (Ps. 103:19)... and His Kingdom rules over all, Even though it is stated of Her: (Prov. 3:18) It is a tree of life to them that grasp it, – She rules over the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, but from His aspect She is close to King. [Var. and from those aspects, She is at times the female, near to the King]

It is this that is written: (Lev. 16:3) With ‘this’ (zot) shall Aaron come to the sacred... – from the right-hand side. And sometimes She is distant from Him – from the left-hand side: (Lev. 16:2)... and he shall not come at just any time to the holy...

From the right-hand side, She does not receive any impurity, the right-hand side is good, but in Her place, even the good receives impurity from evil and death, it is a place that has no ‘nearness’. [Var.... to the holy – She does not receive impurity, but in Her place, ‘good’ receives impurity from evil, and from that place that has no nearness.]

And it is there that one requires an offering to ‘bring near’, and incense, to distance the spirit of impurity from that place, and to offer merit to the left-side, ‘the mistress’, and to distance the maidservant from there. And because of that, all names are in applicable to Her.

And it (Malkhut) is called ‘the spine’, the ‘rear’∞aḥor, from the aspect of the moon, and from the aspect of the Middle Pillar it is called ‘front’ (qedem). And the mystery of the matter: (Ps. 139:5) Back and front You have created me...

And in exile: (Lam. 2:3)... He has brought withdrawn back∞aḥor His right-hand, from before the enemy.

What is the enemy? It is Samael, for all ‘other gods’ are at the rear. And so that they cannot look upon the Shekhinah, Who is to the West,xciBT Baba Batra 25a which is the rear, He placed Her on the right-hand side.

And therefore, it is forbidden to pray towards the West, which is the rear, because ‘other gods’ are there. And the ‘poison of death’ is there – ‘Saturn’ (shabtai).

And because She the Shekhinah was originally to the West, and returned to the right-side, the ‘other gods’ – ‘shabtai’ – ask of Her: ‘Where is Sabbath (ei) shabat?’ – the letters of shabtai are ei shabat∞‘Where is Sabbath?’.

And Israel needs to change Her place, name and deed, and this is: ‘Change of place, and change of name, and change of deed’,xciiSee BT Rosh HaShanah 16b so that the enemy – who is Samael – will not recognise Her. And this is:... He has brought back His right-hand... etc.

to observe the Sabbath, then one needs to change it from weekdays, in clothing,xciiiBT Shabbat 113a and foods, which are the ‘delight (’oneg) of the Sabbath’, for if he is accustomed to eating two meals on a weekday, then on the Sabbath he eats three,xcivBT Shabbat 117b as it is written: (Ex. 16:25) And Moses said: ‘eat it today, because today is a Sabbath to Y”Y, today, you will not find it in the field.’

And in everything one needs to make ‘an addition’ on the Sabbath, for if he was accustomed to eating bread and wine on weekdays, then he should add meat on the Sabbath – this is the ‘addition (tosephet) of Sabbath’.

Changing one’s actions: for if he was accustomed to performing a certain act on weekdays, he should not do it on the Sabbath, it is this that is written: (Ex. 20:9) Six days you shall work... etc.

Changing name: each day is called a day of ‘action’ (ma)’aseh, as it says: (Ez. 46:1)... six working days... and the seventh day is called ‘Sabbath’ – which is the cessation of action, the cancellation of work.