Jewish mysticism, particularly the Zohar, grapples with this feeling all the time, especially when talking about exile – both the physical exile of the Jewish people and the more subtle, spiritual exile we can experience within ourselves.
Today, we're diving into a small but potent passage from Tikkunei_Zohar" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="source-link">Tikkunei Zohar 112. It's a dense text, but trust me, there's a powerful idea lurking within.
The verse that sets the stage is from Lamentations (2:3): "He has brought withdrawn back – aḥor – His right-hand, from before the enemy." What does it mean to "withdraw" the right hand? And who is this "enemy"?
The Zohar doesn't mince words. The enemy, it says, is Samael. Now, Samael isn't always portrayed as the devil we might imagine from other traditions. In some contexts, Samael is more like an adversarial force, a tester, an accuser. But here, he represents the force that opposes the Divine. And significantly, the text says that all the "other gods" – all those forces pulling us away from true connection – are at Samael's rear.
Think about that for a moment. It suggests a hierarchy of negativity, with Samael at the forefront, and all the distractions and temptations lined up behind him.
So, why the "right hand"? The Zohar explains that to prevent these "other gods" from gazing upon the Shekhinah, the Divine Presence (often understood as the feminine aspect of God), who resides in the West (which is considered the "rear"), God moved Her to the right-hand side. This idea of the Shekhinah being in the West is also found in the Talmud (Baba Batra 25a).
This is where it gets really interesting. Because of this shift, because the Shekhinah was originally in the West, these "other gods," particularly associated with shabtai – Saturn – ask of Her, "ei shabat?" – "Where is Sabbath?"
Wait, what?
Let's unpack that. In Hebrew, the letters of shabtai (Saturn) can be rearranged to spell ei shabat – "where is the Sabbath?" The Zohar is making a profound connection between these forces of negativity and a yearning for something lost, something sacred. They are, in a way, searching for the Sabbath, for that moment of rest, of connection, of divine presence that they can no longer access directly.
And that's why, the text emphasizes, we are forbidden to pray toward the West, because that is where these "other gods" dwell, where the "poison of death" – associated with Saturn – resides.
So, what's the takeaway here? This passage isn't just about ancient cosmology. It's about the constant push and pull within ourselves, the struggle to stay oriented towards the Divine in a world filled with distractions and negativity. Those "other gods," those forces that pull us away, aren't just external entities. They are also the internal voices that whisper doubts, anxieties, and temptations. They are the things that keep us from experiencing the true rest and connection of the Sabbath.
And maybe, just maybe, even those negative forces are, in their own twisted way, searching for that same connection, that same sense of wholeness that we all crave. Perhaps recognizing this yearning, even in the face of negativity, can help us to stay focused on the "right hand," on the path towards the Shekhinah, towards a more balanced and sacred life.