Tikkunei Zohar Reader

And the mystery of the lulav is: (Ps. 92:13) The righteous shall flourish like a palm... And this is: (1 Chron. 29:11)... for everything∞khol (Yesod) in the heavens and earth... And Onqelos translated this as: ‘grasping heaven and earth.’

And one is required to wave the lulav 18∞ḥaiy wavings – through six directions – which are: ‘the sealing [Var. sealed] [Var. formed] of the East with Y-Q-V etc.’ – six HVYHs, in which there are eighteen letters, and all are alluded to in ‘The Book of Formation’,lxxiiiSepher Yetzirah 1:13 in six sides.

And one needs to arrange, with them, in perambulation, like that of the altar. And for the sake of what? For the sake of the garden (GaN) in which these plants are planted.

The ninth type of music is with ‘joy’ (rinah). And this is: (Ps. 33:1) Rejoice (rane-nu) O righteous-ones in Y”Y. And this is the level of the Righteous-One (Yesod), the ḥaiy (life-force) of the worlds. From there, comes joy – and through it is redemption! It is this that is written: (Jer. 23:5)... the righteous plant∞tzemaḥ... (Zech. 6:12)... and from beneath him it will sprout∞yitzmaḥ... Beneath him, specifically – that which is ‘the tenth’ of everything (Malkhut).

And ‘the Righteous-One’ (Yesod) takes from the left, and ‘the Middle Pillar’ (Tipheret) from the right. It is this that is written: (Deut. 33:2)... from His right-hand a fiery law for them.

And not because of the weakness, of the Righteous-One, ‘life-force of the worlds’, but because of the weakness, of he that was shooting them, – who is ‘the righteous-one’ below Him, [Var. the righteous-one who is outside of Him], when he is incomplete, and because of this, it the snake did not notice them the arrows.

Until the Faithful Shepherd arrived, and took one arrow and shot towards it, again and again, with his prayer, (Prov. 7:23) until an arrow splits his liver – of the snake.

For it is Samael – ‘another god’ – and there in the liver is its fundament and essence. And because of this: ‘the liver gets angry’.lxxviBT Berakhot 61b With what does it get angry? With the bile (marah) that cleaves to it, and this is the ‘poison of death’ – his female counterpart, his tail, the ‘extra lobe’ of the liver. ‘Extra’ she is called, for after she performs her adulteries, she gives the remains to her husband.

Worthy is the one who keeps the covenant of circumcision (Yesod), and the Torah, which is the Middle Pillar (Tipheret), because both-of-them defend him: one in this world, and one in the world that is coming.

(Gen. 1:1) Be-REiYShYT (In-the-beginning) Upon it is stated: (Ex. 23:19) The first (reishyt) of the first-fruits of your land, you shall bring to the house of Y”Y ELoQeYKha, you shall not cook a kid in its mother’s milk.

Come and see: It is stated about Higher Ḥokhmah (wisdom): (Ex. 13:2) Sanctify to Me every firstborn... For all ‘first-fruits’ (bikkurim) are called for its sake: and from there the Shekhinah is called ‘first born’ (be-khorah). It is Ḥokhmah, specifically, upon which it is stated: (Ez. 44:30)... the ‘first’ of all, the first fruits of everything...

A great and mighty tree is the Middle Pillar, herbs and grasses, who are the sages, sprout from there like a garden, because She is the Oral Torah.

And what waters and irrigates [Var. and multiplies], with it, the trees and the herbs and the grasses? (Song. 4:15) the well-spring of the gardens – which is Ḥokhmah, the first of everything, the first born of all. And from where does the well-spring of water emerge? From ‘the house of Y”Y’. It is this that is written: (Joel 4:18)... and a well-spring shall go forth, from the House of Y”Y...

And because of this: (Ex. 23:19) The ‘first’ (reishyt) of the fruits of your land, you shall bring to the house of Y”Y ELoQeYKha. And similarly, with ‘the first’ of goats and sheep. It is this that is written: (Deut. 18:4)... and the first of the fleece of your flock, you shall give to Him. And next to:... the first of the first fruits of your land... etc., it is written (Ex. 23:19)... do not cook a kid in its mother’s milk... What is one to do with the other?

Arose Rabbi Shim’on upon his feet. He opened with a loud voice and said: ‘Elijah! Elijah! Descend here with permission of your Master, and enlighten the eyes of these elders, on that matter, so that they should not come to eat meat with milk!’

Meanwhile, Elijah descended and did not delay. He said: ‘Holy Lamp! Behold this mystery is most certainly the mystery, of: (Deut. 22:10) You shall not plough with an ox and a donkey together. When the first-born – which is Israel, the Middle Pillar – do not bring it the fruit to the house of Y”Y, then milk becomes mixed with meat, and it causes the mingling of ox and donkey, and this is a ‘forbidden-mixture’ (kilayim), of a species with one that is not of its own species.’

Said Rabbi Shim’on: ‘Elijah, Elijah! And yet the ox is from the side of purity, and the donkey is from the side of defilement. This is a ‘forbidden-mixture’ of good and evil! But milk is from the side of purity, and meat is also from the side of purity.’

He said to him: ‘Most certainly, that is how it is. But this mystery is made known through this verse: (Gen. 1:24)... Let the earth bring forth the ‘living soul’ (nephesh) ḥayah, of each creature to its species... For even though they are of the side of purity, they are all male and female, and they are pairs, and one who takes from that which is not of his species type about that subsequent child that is composed of both-of-them, it is stated: (Ex. 23:19) do not cook a kid in its mother’s milk.’

Said the holy lamp: ‘Now surely the matter is in its place, and this is the clarification of the matter. And this is: (Ex. 22:28) Your ‘fullness’ and your ‘tear’ offerings do not delay... And it is said:lxxviiBT Mo’ed Qatan 18b ‘Lest another precede him through mercy or prayer.’

This sin, when a man mingles ‘the drop’ of the firstborn, through coupling with ‘menstruant maidservant, gentile, whore’, for this causes another to take his true coupling partner. And it is ‘measure for measure’.

And therefore: (Ex. 23:19) The first of the fruits of your land, you shall bring to the house of Y”Y ELoQeYKha... is followed by... you shall not cook a kid in its mother’s milk, because that resulting child is a mixture, which emerges in a state of forbidden-mixing (kilayim) – from a woman that is not of his type. For she is described as (Gen. 2:18) against him (kenegdo).

And thus, if he merits, she is his help (’ezer),lxxviiiBT Yevamot 63a his partner, she who is his help in Torah, in precept, in fear, and in love, a ‘help’ for him in this world, and in the world to come.

And if not, but rather another, who is not of his type, then she is against him, to make him lose both worlds. And all of this happened to him because he did not preserve ‘the first drop’, for his true female partner.

And nevertheless, if he returned in repentance, then about him it is stated: (Is. 6:10)... and he returns and is healed. And his true female partner is given to him, of whom it is stated: (Prov. 3:8) It shall be a healing for your navel. And she is the image of the Torah, for she is the cure, and she is life.

It is this that is written: (Prov. 3:18) It is a tree of life to those who take hold of it... And his wife is in its the Torah’s image. It is this that is written: (Ecc. 9:9) See life with the woman you love... The Torah – it is ‘good’ (tov). It is this that is written: (Prov. 4:2) For a good (tov) lesson have I given you... His wife is in its image. It is this that is written: (Prov. 18:22) He who has found a wife has found good (tov)...

Ultimately, ten things are said of one, and ten of the other. And behold, the companions have established it.lxxixZohar 2:169b

For this is the Tree of Life, Whose fruit is the ‘elixir of life’, his coupling partner, preserved for him in this world, and in the world to come. About her it is stated: (Gen. 3:22)... and he shall also take from the tree of life, and shall eat and live forever. The word “also” comes to include his coupling partner, his elixir of life – which is preserved for him in this world, and in the world to come. And any other one who wishes to take his partner, Like Uriah who preceded David, it is stated of him: (Jer. 2:3)... all who eat of it will be rendered guilty, evil shall come upon them, says Y”Y.

For the female partner of the righteous man, is a ‘guarded (shmurah), unleavened-bread’, in relation to a ‘complete (shleimah), rich, unleavened-bread’.

And what caused this, that his female partner became his ‘guarded’ unleavened-bread (matzah)? It is because he guarded his drop. And of one who defiles his drop, his female partner is called a ‘broken (perusah) unleavened-bread’, ‘the bread of poverty’.

And the mystery of the matter: anyone who belittles ‘the bread’, or the breadcrumbs, which are as the drops of an olive,lxxxiSee BT Berakhot 52b [Var. in which there is like the measure of an olive] then poverty pursues him.lxxxiiBT Ḥullin 105b Rather, one needs to preserve his drops, so as not to throw them in an unnecessary place.

And thus did the Masters of the Mishnah establish:lxxxiiiBT Baba Metzi’a 59a ‘Respect your wives that you may become wealthy’, and respecting them is preserving the first drop – so that refuse is not made of it.

For the ‘refuse’ of Abraham and Isaac, caused the nations of Esau and Ishmael, who enslaved their children in exile, – though their Abraham and Isaac’s trial through fire and knife, saved them their descendants from their burning and killing.

And of Jacob, because there was no ‘refuse’ in him, it is said of his seed in exile: (Deut. 33:28) And Israel shall dwell securely alone, the abode of Jacob... It is stated here: securely alone (badad)... and it is stated there, of the redemption from exile: (Deut. 32:12) Y”Y alone (badad) will lead him, and there is no foreign god with Him.

There will be no mingling in his children, of the mixture of conversions, and thus: ‘there is no receiving of proselytes in the messianic age’.lxxxivBT’Avodah Zarah 3b, Yevamot 24b. For upon the seed of Jacob it is stated: (Ps. 80:9) You brought out a vine from Egypt... Just as the vine does not accept grafting from any other species, so have his seed been guarding the sign of the covenant, and they do not accept grafting from any other species.

And all who guard the sign of the covenant are worthy of royalty,

And the People of Israel, because they have guarded the covenant, have therefore merited the kingdom. And it is stated of them:lxxxvMishnah Shabbat 14:4 ‘All of Israel are the children of Kings’. And of Moses, because he guarded the sign of the covenant, it is stated: (Deut. 33:5) And there was a king in Jeshurun... Worthy is he who guards the covenant!

Be-REiShYT (In-the-beginning) – this is ḥallah, it is this that is written: (Num. 15:20) Of the ‘first’ (reishyt) of your dough, ‘a loaf’∞ḥallah you will offer as an offering... For behold they the sages have established:lxxxviBereishyt Rabbah 14:1 ‘Adam was the ḥallah∞‘loaf’ of the world’. And from where do we derive that ḥallah is ‘reishyt’ (first)? For scripture proves it – it is this that is written:... the ‘first’ (reishyt) of your dough, ‘a loaf’∞ḥallah... you shall offer as an offering to Y”Y.

And therefore, separation of ḥallah, specifically, is a precept commanded to a woman, for because of her died Adam, who was ‘the ḥallah of the world’.

She therefore is required to separate ‘a loaf’∞ḥallah, and to extract it from her ‘dough’, which is her drop, to return it upon Adam.

She extinguished [Var. extinguished] his candle, of which it is stated: (Prov. 20:27) The candle of Y”Y is the soul of man... therefore She is required to light it on Sabbath eve,lxxxviiiMidrash Tanḥuma, Noaḥ, Ch.1 in arousal of the flames of ‘the fire of love’, towards her husband. And the mystery of the matter: (Song. 8:7) Many waters cannot extinguish the love...

And the arousal of heat on Sabbath eve, from his wife, needs to be with love and fear, and this is: (Lev. 12:2)... a woman, when she shall conceive, and give birth to a son...

She is ‘the spilling of blood’ of Adam, therefore her blood is dispersed, and because of [all] this, she needs to protect him, from menstrual blood.

And therefore:lxxxix on these three things, women are to be careful: in the laws pertaining to menstrual separation, and separation of ḥallah, and in the lighting of the Sabbath candle.

And there are two tithingsxcBT Rosh HaShanah 8a (’issurin), for scripture says: (Deut. 14:22) You shall ‘surely’ tithe (’aser) te-’aser. Why? Rather, because it is to bind Her (Malkhut) with two arms, which are the Priest and the Levite, which are: ‘the first tithing’ to the Levite, and ‘the tithe of the tithing’ to the Priest.

For all sephirot add up to ten [in the Shekhinah], until they add up to one hundred by the correction of Malkhut. And She Malkhut is made into ‘an offering’ (terumah) for all one hundred. And because of this, the measure

And through Her (Malkhut), all the sephirot are made into ‘tens’. The three Patriarchs are three ‘tens’, the ‘two prophets of truth’ Moses and Aaron are: (Num. 28:21) A tenth (’issaron), a tenth...

[In manuscript, it is written here: Tiqun 23 and 24, and afterwards the 18th Tiqun.]

Be-REiShYT (In-the-beginning) [ELQYM created] is composed of the words BaRA (He-created) ShYT (six) – they are the six levels of prophecy, of which it is stated: (Song. 5:15) His thighs are pillars of ‘shesh’∞marble (six).

And just as there are six below, so there are six above. And they are six, ascending to sixty. In which place? In YeSOD∞foundation (Yesod) – ‘life force of the worlds’.

Image (dimyon) is that which has been stated:... and by the hand of the prophets I shall be imagined (adameh). (Hos. 12:11) And upon that it is stated: (Num. 12:8)... and the depiction of Y”Y he will behold.

Because all the countenances of the prophets, are inscribed in it (Malkhut), it is called dimyon (imagination).

And because all the lights which are above it (Malkhut) are seen through it, it is called mar-eh (appearance). It is this that is written: (Num. 12:6)... Y”Y, in appearance (mar-eh), I shall become known to him.

With eyes shut, it is called ‘appearance in a dream’. And the mystery of the matter: (Song. 5:2) I am asleep, but my heart is awake... And with eyes open it is ‘a waking appearance’.

And there are two appointees there: one is Sagron, and one is Patḥon. And Metatron, who is called by the name of both-of-them, is appointed over these two keys.

From the aspect of the Middle Pillar (Tipheret), the Shekhinah is ‘a waking appearance’. And Moses is of this aspect, since it is written of him: (Num. 12:8)... mouth to mouth I shall speak with him, and with appearance and not with riddles, and the depiction of Y”Y will he behold.

From the aspect of the Righteous-One∞tzadiq (Yesod), which is ‘the light hidden for the righteous’ for the world to come [Var. for the future], it is called ‘a vision in a dream’, – and that is what is seen through it.

From the aspect of the body, it is YQVQ, the Middle Pillar, which is taken from two sides.

And it rides upon four angelic-beasts∞ḥayot which are: the face of a human, the face of a lion, the face of an ox, the face of an eagle. YOD QE VAV QE (=45) is called the interior of the body, and it is the ‘human’ (adam, =45) sitting upon the throne.

To one who is of the level of ‘human’, it prophecy appears to him in ‘the image of man’. To one who is like the other angelic-beasts of the Chariot, it appears to him in the image of the ḥayot (angelic-beasts) of the throne, – to each one according to his strength.

(Jer. 9:22–3) And let not the boaster boast... of perceiving it, but all is seen through His Shekhinah. For no prophet or seer can comprehend it, except through the Shekhinah.

And there is ‘a human’ higher than ‘human’, from the aspect of Ḥokhmah, comprised of Ko-aḤ∞power (=28) and MaH (what, =45), specifically. And it is stated of it:xciiBT Baba Batra 12a ‘a wise man∞ḥakham is more preferred than a prophet’.