Jewish mystical tradition, particularly the Zohar, wrestles with this very idea. And Tikkunei_Zohar" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="source-link">Tikkunei Zohar 99 offers a fascinating glimpse into this cosmic dance.

It starts with a verse from Ruth (3:13): "...as Y”Y lives, lie down until the morning..." What does this seemingly simple phrase have to do with the secrets of the universe? According to the Tikkunei Zohar, quite a lot!

It says that lying down until the morning, which represents the "right side," is linked to the power of the Written Torah. Think of the Written Torah – the Chumash, the Five Books of Moses – as a kind of central pillar, a strong and stable foundation. The text tells us that this Written Torah, this pillar, is "given from the right side."

So, where does the left side come in? Well, the text continues, "from the left-side is given the Oral Torah, which is ‘female’." The Oral Torah, the interpretations, the stories, the debates that breathe life into the written word – that’s associated with the left. Now, when we say "female," it's not about gender in the way we might think of it today. Instead, it's about the receptive, the nurturing, the dynamic force that complements the more structured and fixed nature of the "male" right side.

But here's where it gets really interesting. "And because of this ‘good’—tov," the text says, "the Righteous-One, ‘the life-force—ḥaiy of the worlds’, is from the left-hand side, for it is ‘the mighty-one—gibor who conquers his evil inclination’." (as we learn in Mishnah Avot 4:1). Wait a minute…the source of life is from the left? The side associated with the Oral Torah, with the feminine?

It seems paradoxical, right? But think about it: The Zohar is telling us that true goodness, true life, comes from mastering our impulses, from wrestling with our inner demons. And that struggle, that effort, is connected to the left side. The text even identifies this "evil inclination" with Samael, often seen as a powerful, even adversarial, force.

Then comes another seemingly contradictory statement: "the left-hand rejects, and with the right-hand it raises." (BT Sotah 47a) It's a beautiful image, isn't it? The left hand pushes away what is harmful, what is untrue, while the right hand lifts up what has fallen. It's about discernment, about knowing when to be firm and when to offer compassion.

And that, ultimately, brings us back to our verse: "As Y”Y lives, lie down until the morning." It’s an invitation to rest, to reflect, to integrate these opposing forces within ourselves. To acknowledge the power of both the right and the left, the written and the oral, the structured and the dynamic. To find balance in the midst of the cosmic dance.

What does it mean to "lie down until the morning" in your own life? Where do you see these opposing forces at play? And how can you find the strength to not only acknowledge them, but to integrate them into a more complete and meaningful whole? Maybe, just maybe, that's where true life lies.