Tikkunei Zohar Reader

The Masters of the Mishnah said to him: ‘Rabbi! Rabbi! How powerful are the stones that you have thrown, with which the heavens and the earth tremble, and the beasts and cattle and birds all flee, some of them falling to the ground, and the glorious throne and angels and ophanim, they all tremble from your stones. And these are: (Ex. 39:10)... four rows of stones – which are all one.

Worthy is the one who produces these stones complete, with his prayer, through the four prayers, together with the Additional Prayer (Musaph), about which it is stated: (Deut. 27:6) Of Complete stones you shall build...

And there is ‘the stone of the Torah’, of which it is stated: (Gen. 28:22) And this stone, which I have set as a pillar, will be a house of ELQYM... which is from the aspect of the Middle Pillar, of which it is stated: (Deut. 4:44) And this is the Torah which Moses set – for he is its image.

And these stones are all one. The holy Malkhut is from the left side, it is stated of it: (Deut. 25:15) A perfect and just weight you will have, and this is: (Dan. 2:35)... the stone which destroyed the idol, which became a great mountain and filled the earth. What is... and filled the earth? But because of it is stated: (Is. 6:3)... the earth is filled with His glory.

And of Her (Malkhut) it is stated: (Zech. 3:9)... on one stone seven eyes – which are ‘the 7 holy shepherds’, and they are seven male and seven female, all are included in Her. And the mystery of the matter: (Zech. 4:2)... seven, seven tubes...

And this stone is ‘the five stones’, that David placed in the sling – and they were all made into one. It is this that is written: (1 Samuel 17:40) And he took – David –... five smooth stones from the brook, – and they are: Gedulah (greatness), Gevurah (might), Tipheret, Netzaḥ, Hod, with which David praised the blessed Holy One, and he said: (1 Chron. 29:11) To You, Y”Y is the greatness, the might, etc.

And these five smooth stones, he took from the brook, which is Yesod, the ‘life-force of the worlds’∞ḥaiy’almin. And when he placed them in the sling, which is the holy Malkhut, they were made, in Her, into one.

And it sunk into the forehead of the Philistine and killed him. And they are the five stones which are: (Deut. 6:4) Hear O Israel Y”Y ELoHeYNU Y”Y, and when one places them in the sling – which is the lip of the mouth – one should make them, in it, all ‘One’∞Eḥad.

For when the blessed Holy One will be victorious with it, over all the nations of the world, it will be fulfilled of them: (Tzeph. 3:9) For then I shall transform for the nations, a pure language (saphah), for all of them to call in the Name of Y”Y, to worship Him together – and this ‘language’ is surely Shekhinah (=385), for it also adds up to the numeric-value of saphah (language, =385)∞lip.

Because of this, all the nations of the world, are destined to be subjugated by Her hand, and to make Her sovereign over them, in the days of King Messiah, to fulfil that which is stated of Her: (Ps. 103:19)... and His kingdom (malkhut) rules over all.

Worthy is he who preserves this faith, in his heart and in his mouth, for She, surely, is ‘the faith of Israel’, and She is the unity of the blessed Holy One, and, in Her, Israel unify the blessed Holy One, twice every day.

And worthy is he with whom She ‘keeps faith’ (omnah) in exile, for he is not afraid of the higher or the lower. Because it is for Her sake that it was said to Adam: (Gen. 2:15)... and he placed him in the garden of Eden, to work it and to preserve it.... to work it... – with positive precepts,... and to preserve it – with negative precepts.

Because She is the 53∞GaN (garden) sections of the Torah, and She is the ‘delight (’iduna) of the Torah’. What is the Torah? The Middle Pillar. She is His garden, and His Eden.

Rabbi! Rabbi! Rise! Wind up this sling, and strengthen and wind it with your lip, with this stone, which is composite [Var. inclusive and adorned] of all the stones of the building of the Torah [and prayer].

‘multi-faceted and adorned’ in the sign of the covenant, and in the sign of the Sabbath, and in the sign of Festivals, and in the sign of the phylacteries (tephilin). And its chord is wound around the finger, and this is the winding of the strap of the phylactery of the hand.

And the right-hand is ‘the priest’, from its side is the ‘Crown of Priesthood’. And the Middle Pillar is the King. And from the side of Gevurah is ‘the Great Court’, a fire emerges from there and burns him. And when the priest emerges in peace from the Chamber, then the Levites are aroused in song.

[Here is missing, and it is in Tiqqunei Zohar Ḥadash 24c].

And furthermore: there is a fifth arrangement in prayer.

Prayer is like sacrificial-offering, as the earlier-ones established:cxlSee BT Berakhot 26b ‘They fixed prayers to correspond to permanent offerings’.

Come and see: Offerings (qorban) are of four types, which correspond to: lion, ox, eagle, human, who are depicted in the throne.

There is an offering that Israel would offer, and the priest would offer their offering.

The first offering (qorbana): a sacrifice offered to the right-side – this is the prayer of the morning-service, and if they were worthy, the image of the lion would descend and receive the sacrifice.cxliBT Yoma 21b And this is MYKhaEL, whose level is Ḥesed, for he receives the prayer of the morning-service.

But if they were not worthy, what is written of the offering? (Ex. 22:30)... you shall throw it to ‘the dog’ – for it is considered as unfit (treiphah). And because of this, would the image of a dog descend, to accept that gift and offering, and this is the dog of which David, peace be upon him, said: (Ps. 22:21) Save my soul from the sword, my unique-one from the hand of the dog.

And all the angels of destruction, who are dogs, shout out during the second watch of the night.cxliiSee BT Berakhot 3a They are shouting and barking and saying: ‘Give! Give!∞hav hav, because they are of the aspect of hell (gehinom), the poison of death, of which it is stated: (Prov. 30:15) To the leech are two daughters: hav (give) and hav.

The second offering corresponds to ox, of which it is stated: (Lev. 22:27) An ox or a sheep or a goat etc., and corresponding to it is the afternoon-service, about which David said: (Ps. 104:14) He grows grass for cattle, and herb (’esev) for the service of man.

What is ’esev∞herb? – the letters ’A-B and S, and they are 72∞’A-B Names, which are the garments for the 72 Higher Names, like herb, which is a garment for wheat. And because of this: (ibid)... to bring forth bread from the earth – and this is (Ps. 78:25)... the bread of the mighty did man eat... – and this is ‘the bread of Torah’.

And always, offerings are slaughtered in ‘the north’ of the altar, because of: (Jer. 1:14)... from the north will the evil begin...

[[Var. and this is the evil urge, and so that he should not need your soul, [Var. so that he will not chastise you, your soul] feed him an offering, to fulfil through it: (Prov. 25:21) If your enemy is hungry, feed him bread, and if thirsty, quench him with water, and after he has taken the blood of the offering, he will not take of yours etc.]]

For from there is the one who spills blood, and who licks that blood of cattle. And thus, one is not required to ‘cover’ of it, to fulfil through it: (Prov. 25:21) If your enemy is hungry, feed him bread, and if thirsty, quench him with water. And after he

takes blood, they offer the sacrifice above, of which it is stated: (Num. 28:2)... My offering, My bread, for My fires...

And corresponding to the ox, is ‘the braying donkey’. If they were worthy, then ‘ox’ would receive the offering, but if not, then it would be the braying donkey. And because of this it is stated: (Deut. 22:10) You will not plough, with the ox and the donkey together, – ‘together’ means: do not cause the donkey to eat the offering of the ox.

The third offering is of the evening-service, – the sacrifice of birds, of which it is stated: (Lev. 5:7)... two turtledoves or two doves... etc. For if they were worthy, then the ‘eagle of Jacob’ would descend to receive them, but if not, then an eagle of the side of impurity – a hawk – would descend towards the dove, and according to the offering, so it would increase or decrease.

The fourth offering is the human, it is he who receives the sacrifice (qorbana) of ADaM, – which is ‘thought’, which brings near (qariv) and unites everything, and upon it is stated: (Lev. 1:2) A man (adam), when he shall offer from you... etc. This is he who offers... a sacrifice to Y”Y, and this is Torah.

And because of this, they established of prayer, that the Scroll of the Torah should be heard in it, to become a perfect offering (qorban) in ‘man’, of whom it is stated: (Num. 19:14) This is the Torah, a man... And because of this: (Prov. 28:9) He removes his ear from hearing instruction (Torah), his prayer is also an abomination.

And all these sacrifical-offerings, are alluded to in the body of a person: The brain, the heart, and the lung, are lion, ox, eagle,. Their adversary is: dog, donkey, hawk – spleen, gall bladder and liver, which are ‘destroyer’, ‘anger’, and ‘fury’.

‘Thought’ – this is the ‘human’ (adam). There is ‘good thought’ of the good angelic-beasts, and there is ‘evil thought’ of the evil beasts, and good thought is ‘the good man’, and bad thought is ‘the evil man’ – that good-for-nothing (bliya)’al. (Ps. 144:4) Man to hevel∞breath (vanity) is likened...

Corresponding to the brain is the lion, which descends to eat the sacrifice, and upon it is stated: (Ez. 1:10)... and the face of a lion, to the right of the four of them... The heart is to the left, and upon it is stated: (ibid.) and the face of an ox, to the left of the four of them. The lung is the eagle, which has wings with which it flies, and upon it is stated: (ibid.)... and the face of an eagle to the four of them.

‘Thought’, which is ‘the human’, rides above all of them, and they are his chariot – like horses for people. The forces of the brain, are the ‘bones’ in the sacrificial-offering: (Ez. 37:7)... and the bones came together, bone to its bone. The forces of the lung and the heart, are the ‘veins’, their connection and joining and movement, is the wind∞ruḥa of the wings of the lung, and it is: (Gen. 1:2)... the spirit∞ru-aḥ of ELQYM, was hovering, upon the face of the water [Var. which is the brain] because the lung [Var. the head] is comprised of both-of-them, like a bird composed of water and land, and they are comprised of both-of-them.

Upon the brain resides blessing, upon the heart resides holiness, upon the lung resides unity. ‘Thought’ is comprised of all of them, and they are: (Num. 6:24–26) Y”Y will bless you... Y”Y will shine... Y”Y will lift...... will bless you... – in the brain,... will shine... – in the heart, for the light of the eyes is there, as they have established:cxliiiQohelet Rabbah 1:36 ‘the heart sees’,... will lift – in the lung, which is peace. It is this that is written:... and He will grant you peace.

‘Hearing’ is in the mo-aḥ∞brain, and in reverse, it is ḥom (heat), which resides in the moisture and coolness of the brain, to warm it from the aspect of Gevurah, and it is: ‘lion’ from the aspect of the body (gupha), ‘ox’ from the aspect of the animating-soul (naphsha), which are fire and water: fire – intellectual, water – elemental.

‘Seeing’ is in the heart – which is fire, Re-IYaH (seeing) is the letters of ARYeH (lion). Water – intellectual – cooling the elemental fire of the heart, so that the entire body does not combust.

‘Smelling’ is in the lung, which emerges to the nose, of it is stated: (Gen. 2:7)... and He blew into his nose, the breath of (nishmat) life.

And the lung, it is cold from the aspect of the brain, and dry (ye-veishah) from the aspect of the heart, half of it is elemental water, and half of it is elemental ‘dry land’ (yabashah). Because of this, the intellectual ‘wind’∞ruḥa resides upon it, which is both hot and moist – hot to warm the cool, moist to wet the dry – this one intellectual, and this one elemental.

Speech is human, which is comprised of all those elements. And what produces it? Thought.

And because of these, intellectual forces would descend at the offering, to bring the offering near, and to unite everything. And they are at the resurrection of the dead, for with them these forces will the blessed Holy One ‘bring near’: (Ez. 37:7)... bone to its bone, with sinews and veins, all of them joining one to the other, and with these matching these, and these integrated in these, it is this that is written: (Ex. 26:5) the loops matching... etc.

At that time, there will be joy and music in their nearness (qe-rivu).

One older person stood up from behind a wall, and said: Rebbe my teacher, The Holy Light, come and light candles, for that is a Mitzva (commandment), on that it is said: An everlasting fire shall be kept burning on the altar, it should not be extinguished. And, on that it is also said: To light the eternal flame. This is surely the light of the divine, the light that shines within the soul of every person. Come, light it with her.

Bereishit, there is two [trei] there [included in its letters]; there is fire [esh] there. And it is stated about them, And God said, "Let there be luminaries [meorot] in the firmament of the heavens" (Genesis 1:14). It is written, meort, lacking [the letter] vav — that is the written Torah. And what are luminaries? That is the oral Torah. And even though it has been explained that meort that is lacking is Lilith, there are seventy faces [understandings] to the Torah. And because of that, the luminaries in this place is that about which it was stated, For the commandment is a lamp and the Torah is light (Proverbs 6:23); the middle branch, about which it is stated, the greater luminary to dominate the day and the lesser luminary to dominate the night (Genesis 1:16).

“Let us make a human”—this is the command to circumcise the convert to become “in our image” through the cutting of the foreskin, “as our likeness” through tearing back [the foreskin], and if they freed the sign of the covenant through these two [actions] then he is “in our image as our likeness”, and if not, not.

[The Holy One wanted to create the human] like the form of His image/d’yoqna, without nakedness and without rupture or division, as it said: “Let us make a human in our image as our likeness”, to have all the Sefirot included in him... and to unite Son and Daughter (Tif ’eret and Malkhut), who are siblings.

In the beginning [Bereishit], that is the covenant [brit], about which the Tree of Life is mentioned. And behold, this is its explanation. But reversed, it is broken [tavir, which is composed of the same four letters as brit]. For it caused the breaking of Adam the first man, and that is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

That tree was good, that is what is written:And the woman saw that the tree was good for eating and desirable to the eyes (Genesis 3:6), but its fruit was evil. To her, it was like its appearance, the way it appeared on the outside. This is like the mouth; it has words that are beautiful on the outside, but the heart is full of foul words on the inside. So that one did not know that a potion of death was inside of the fruit.

That is [the meaning of] what is written: and she took from its fruit and she ate, and she also gave to her husband, etc. — behold, it is the fruit of the tree, since death was there [the first three words of the verse include the letters that spell out death] (inside, which she ate, that caused it).

And there are husks of fruit that are void and chaos, darkness, and the depths, [such] that these husks are evil, but the mind inside is good. [With] the Tree of Life, its husks are beautiful and its mind is beautiful, and that is [the subject in] Its foliage was beautiful and its fruit plentiful (Daniel 4:9). And there are [also] trees that are completely evil, their minds and their husks are all bitter, and their waters are bitter.

That is [the meaning of] what is written: They came to Marah, but they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter, etc. and the Lord showed him a tree, etc.; and with it, the waters were sweetened (Exodus 15:23-25). That is a sweet tree from which come forth branches and roots about which it is said: sweeter than honey, than drippings of the comb (Psalms 19:11).

And because of that, there is a tree, the branches of which are sweet, but the wood of its branches are bitter. Likewise, there are sweet waters and bitter waters, since the Holy One, blessed be He, created one corresponding to the other. And there is one that one half of it is sweet and one half of it is bitter, and that is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, just like silver is mixed with lead.

And there is a tree, the husks of which are evil on the outside but its mind is sweet inside. Like this, you will find a person who is evil in the words of his mouth (different variant: and exudes evil from his mouth outside), but he is good in his heart inside; and one who has good from his mouth but his heart is evil. That one is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, it is there that the deceptive snake nests.

So too, you will find a person whose body is beautiful and his features are all beautiful, but his soul inside is a guilty spirit; and you will find a person whose body is evil and his features are evil, but his soul inside is beautiful. That one is a righteous one, who has bad befall him [literally, and he has evil]. But one who is good on the outside but evil on the inside, he is an evil one that has good befall him [literally, and he has good], so that he not have a portion in the world to come. One good outside and inside is a righteous one that has good befall him [literally, and he has good]; evil inside and outside is an evil one that has evil befall him [literally, and he has evil]. So behold, it has been explained.

... “[T]here would have been [good reason] to say, ‘And H’ (YHVH) created the human’. What is Elohim? Rather, the Shekhinah is called Elohim. And about this soul/n’shamah that is in the human, it says... ‘b’tsalmo’ – in the image of the Shekhinah”... “One who guards/protects [circumcision], he is compared as partner to Me, in My image. About him it is said: ‘And Elohim created the human in His image’, because a person who guards the b’rit merits [receiving] Malkhut

‘Let us make Adam/ a human’—to whom did the Cause of causes say this to? The Cause of causes said [it] to none other than YudHe’ Va’v He’, which is [drawn] from out of ten Sefirot.”

... The ten s’firot... are clothed in ten things that were created on the first day, and these are: heavens and earth, light and darkness, abyss and chaos, wind and water, the measure of day and the measure of night.

“This/Zeh is the book of the generations of Adam”. “ZH” (7 + 5) literally/vad’ay, comprising the twelve constellations of Adam that is above / Adam dil`eyla, about which it says concerning them, “tribes of Yah, testimonies of Israel” [Ps 122:4]. “Zeh” literally are the four faces of the lion, four faces of the ox, four faces of the eagle, that in them are recognized the faces/par’tsufin of human beings. And all of these faces are impressed in the four letters of YHV”H... This is the Shekhinah that is called “the human likeness / d’mut Adam” [Ez 1:5], for every likeness/dimyon and face/par’tsuf of human beings are recognized in her, and every form above and below; and because of her it is said, “and through the hand of (by) the prophets I will be imaged /adameh” [Ho 12:11].

... Four letters are clothed in these four colors: Y in the color white, H in the color red, V in the color green, H in the color black... And it is the form of the lines in the forehead as the form of YHVH, and these are impressions/tracings of lines, which are “depth of height and depth of below and depth of east and depth of west”. Short lines from the eye, from the side of the letter Y’; lines along the length of the mouth in height, from the side of the three letters that are HVH; all of them are made known in the shi`ur qomah of the human/ bar nash.

R’ Eliezer said to him: Father, is it so above that they learned that there is no body/guf and no substance/g’viyah? He said to him: My son, about the coming world was it said, for that is an upper (i.e., purely immaterial) mother, but below there is the body of this world, which is the Shekhinah below.

"Bereshit, in the beginning" (Genesis 1:1). This includes two fires ("trei esh"), which are the two flames [referred to in the blessing] "Blessed is the Creator of the lights of fire". And in this regard it is written (Song of Songs 2:5) "Sustain me with cakes (ashishot)", that is, with two fires (eishot). Why is 'sustain me' said in this context? This refers to the eves of the Shabbat, when an additional soul descends in order to support the lower Shechina in exile, of whom it is said (Amos 5:2) "Fallen, not to rise again [is the maiden of Israel.]" When Shabbat reaches its end, this additional soul leaves, of which it is written (Exodus 31:17) "[God was] refreshed (vayinafash)". [This is the meaning of ] vayinafash? As soon as it leaves, woe to the soul! (vay nefesh!), for nobody is left to support her. In such moments, she cries out to Israel "Support me with ashishot", that is, with lights of fires. What are these fires? Two Torahs, carved of fire, which are ELOHIM, the aspect of might. These are known as (Isaiah 54:13) "Teachings of the Lord," two lips of burning flames, or two apples out of which the spirit of the Messiah comes, of which is said (Isaiah 11:2) "The spirit of the Lord shall alight on him."

[This can be compared] to a princess confined in sickness because of her love for her husband. When her husband left she fell to her bed, crying out and saying "Support me with cakes,ashishot)". So too, she [the Shechina] is confined in sickness, and says (Song of Songs 2:5) "Refresh me..." With what? "...with apples," which flourish in the trees of the forest - and these are the fragrant plants.

The third elder rose and said: Rabbi! Rabbi! Behold, we do the Havdalah ceremony with [all sorts of] fragrant plants, even though she specifically spoke about apples. Rather, we use fragrant plants, of which it is said (Song of Songs 7:9) "Your breath is like the fragrance of apples." Moreover, all sorts of fragrant plants are fit for [these Havdalah] blessings. [In fact,] we use myrtle branches, because they have [sets of] three leaves, known as the 'three hadassim', which hint at the three forefathers. The two nostrils [smelling the fragrance], however, represent the two apples, the two true prophets, from whom the holy spirit - the faithful shepherd - is destined to issue. Thus it is written (Song of Songs 2:5) "Refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love."

On the eve of Shabbat, it is said (Song of Songs 5:5) "I rose to let in my beloved" - on Shabbat! And when Shabbat departs, it is said (Song of Songs 5:6) "My beloved turned and was gone..." At that time, "... I sought, but found him not; I called, but he did not answer." Until I swear that the next time He comes, I will clutch his hand and not let it go, as it says (Song of Songs 3:4) "I held him fast, I would not let him go, until I brought him to my mother's house, to the chamber of she who conceived me" - that is, the third temple.

Rabbi Shimon rose and said: Enter, holy hosts of above and of below, to witness the adornments of the bride. For the wedding canopy is decorated for Her, and the groom is waiting there for Her. He said: Elijah! Elijah! Descend to us, you and the hosts of souls of the righteous from the schools of above and of below, in order to adorn the bride. Immediately, Elijah descended, along with many angelic hosts and many souls.

When the groom, that is, the sun, comes to light up the moon, she decorates her hair with thirteen decorations - twelve constellations and the moon. And He (Psalms 19:6) "is like a groom coming forth from his chamber; like a hero, eager (yasis) to run," - to run his courses in the heavens. He surely peeks (yatsits) at her, as it says (Song of Songs 2:9) "Peeking through the lattice." - looking at her in the heavens.

that is [the meaning of] yasis. But what is the meaning of 'hero'? What heroism is in this? Rather, there are twelve windows in the heavens, [filled with] warriors adverse to Him guarding the gates. [Then,] the sun wraps himself in the letters of the tefillin, and dresses himself in might, as it is written (Isaiah 42:13): "The Lord goes forth as a hero." Thus he goes out "eager like a hero running his course", opening up all the windows of the heavens and creating twelve paths - just as Moses did in the [Red] Sea. Surely, He "runs his course", and since at first He took on [His aspect of] might, the [colour of the rising] sun is red.

After this, He dresses in the aspect of loving-kindness, in white, and thus the anger of the sun is tempered. Green extends out of the central pillar, and when He dresses in loving-kindness, in white light, He [is able to] light up the moon. And (Psalms 19:7) "His rising-place is at one end of heaven..." - that is the central pillar. One of its ends is [known as] 'the Righteous', and "...his circuit reaches the others..." - the two pillars of truth. In these, "nothing escapes his heat." - this refers to the upper Shechinah, who is the Heat. From there, He is coloured in shades of green, that is, mercy. At this time, the sun and the moon look at each other, "nothing escapes his heat", since she [the upper Shechinah] is the canopy of her [the lower Shechinah].