Rabbinic Sources for Zohar Class with Daniel Matt, Fifth Series, Class 4

(1) . And the Lord God planted a garden eastward, in Eden (ii, 8). The School of Jannai said : Why is the full Name 1 mentioned in connection with this planting? Because from the very beginning of its creation it required careful selection : before a tree develops out of its seed 2 one must determine its extent. 3 Thus it is written, 4 The trees of the Lord have their fill, the cedars of Lebanon, which He hath planted (Ps. civ, 16). R. Ilanina said: At first they were like locusts* horns [i.e. small and puny], and then the Holy One, blessed be He, uprooted and replanted them in the garden of Eden 5 ; hence it is written, ' The trees of the Lord have their fill,' etc. Said R. Hanina : They have their fill in life, they have their fill in water, they have their fill in planting. 6 R. Johanan said: The world was not worthy to enjoy the use of cedars. Why then were cedars created ? For the sake of the Temple, as it is written, ' The trees of the Lord have their fill, the cedars of Lebanon': 'Lebanon* bears the same connotation as in the verse, That goodly hill- country, and Lebanon (Deut. m, 25). 7 R. Samuel b. Nahman said in R. Jonathan's name: There are twenty-four kinds of cedar, 8 the best are seven, as it is written, i" will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia-tree,

Zohar, Pritzer Edition, Vol. 1, 241, Note 1063, Translation: Soncino Edition of Midrash Rabba

(2) Rabbi Berchya said in the name of Rabbi Yehudah bar Simon: "The Heavens were made at the word of the Lord (Psalm 33:6)". Rabbi Yehudah bar Simon said: "not in toil, not in onerous labor did the Holy One, blessed be He, create His universe; rather by the word of Hashem, and immediately the heavens were made. So in this case "and light came into being" is not written, but rather "and the light was", [this means] it existed instantaneously".

Zohar, Pritzer Edition, Vol. 1, page 242, Note 1064/

The Gemara answers: This should be understood in accordance with Rabbi Elazar, as Rabbi Elazar said: The light that the Holy One, Blessed be He, created on the first day was not that of the sun but a different kind of light, through which man could observe from one end of the world to the other. But when the Holy One, Blessed be He, looked upon the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion and saw that their ways were corrupt and that they might misuse this light for evil, He arose and concealed it from them, as it is stated: “And from the wicked their light is withheld” (Job 38:15).

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 1, Notes 1065 and 1067.

(3) "In the beginning God created..." Rabbi Tanchuma opened [with the verse (Psalms 86:10),] "For You are great, and you perform wonders...." Rabbi Tanchum said: with a pouch, if you puncture a hole in its side with a pin, all its air comes out of it. Whereas the person is made with all kinds of hollows and holes, and his air does not leave his body. Who could make such a thing? "....You, God, alone."[the second half of the verse] When were the angels created? Rabbi Yochanan said: the angels were created on the second day. Just as it says (in Psalms 104:4), "He sets the rafters of the upper chambers in the water..." [creating the sky in the upper waters which God does on the second day] and then it is written, "He makes the winds his messengers (or, 'his angels')." Rabbi Chanina said: the angels were created on the fifth day, where it is written "and let the bird fly (ye-ofef) across the earth," and (in Isaiah 6:2) it is written, "and with two [wings] he (the Seraphic angel) would fly (ye-ofef)." Rabbi Luliana bar Tavrin said in the name of Rabbi Yitzchak: whether according to the opinion of Rabbi Chanina, or whether according to the opinion of Rabbi Yochanan, all agree that they were not created on the first day - so that they could not say that the angl Michael stretched out the south end of the sky and Gabriel the north end, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, measured out the middle. Rather, (as it says in Isaiah 44:24), "I am God who makes all, and who alone stretches out the heavens...with only Myself (me-iti)" 'Mi iti' (who, with me) is written, meaning, "WHO partnered WITH ME in the creation of the world?!?" Another interpretation: "For You are great and You do wonders..." It is the way of the world that a king of flesh and blood is praised in the land, and the great men of the land are praised with him, for they carry his burden with him. But the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not like this. Rather, He alone created the world. He alone is praised in the world. He alone is glorified in his world. Rabbi Tanchuma said: "For you are great and You do wonders..." Why? Because, "...You, God, alone." You, alone, created the world.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 1, 244, Note 1076

The Gemara asks: And the other tanna, who derives the prohibition against benefiting from the hide from the verse: “But the owner of the ox shall be clear,” what does he learn from the additional word et? The Gemara answers: This Sage does not interpret the word et as a means to derive new halakhot. He considers the word et to be an ordinary part of the sentence structure and not a source for exegetical exposition.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 1, 244, Note 1076

The Gemara resolves the first contradiction: “I saw the Lord” is to be understood as it is taught in a baraita: All of the prophets observed their prophecies through an obscure looking glass [aspaklaria], i.e., their prophecies were given as metaphoric visions but were not a direct perception of the matter. However, Moses our master observed his prophecies through a clear looking glass, i.e., he gained a direct and accurate perception of the matter.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 1, page 244, Note 1077

(6) "And God made the firmament", this is one of the verses that Ben Zoma shook the world with. He made - how remarkable! sure it [came into existence] at [God's] word, [as it is written], "With the word of God the heavens were made and with the wind of His mouth all of their armies". why doesn't it say "it was good" on the second day of creation?r yochanan taught in the name of r yosi the son of r chalafta, because hell was created on the second day, as it says " the topheth has been ready for him since yesterday, a day that has a yesterday but not three days ago. another reason that it dose not say "it was good" on the second day, r channina says its because division was created on the second day, as it says: "and it (the heavens) should separate between the two body's of water". r tivyomi said if division that is for the sake of fixing the world does not have good all the more so division that is to mix up the world doesn't have good. r shmuel says because the creation of water wasnt finished, it was written on the third day "it was good" twice, one for the creation of water and one for the days work. a noble woman asked r yosi, why dosen't it say "and it was good on the second day? he answered her even so it was included in the end as it says: "and god saw all that he did and it was very good" she said back to him this is analogous to six people coming to you give each one a manna and to one of them you don't give anything, then you go back and give one manna to everyone, is it not true that 5 of them have a mana and a 1/6 manna and the last one only has 1/6? he said to her like r shmuel says because the creation of water wasnt finished, it was written on the third day "it was good" twice, one for the creation of water and one for the days work. r levi in the name of r tanchum the son of r chnelyayi said, it states in the verse:" he (god) tells the end in the beginning", from the beginning of creation god saw Moses who is called "good" and was ultimately was going to be punished from an issue regarding water and therefore did not write and it was good regarding the water. r simon in the name of r levi said it is analogous to a king who had a bad legion, the king said since this legion is no good my name shouldn't be called on it, so too god said, since these waters punished the generation of the flood, dor enosh, and haflaga it should not be written regarding them "for it was good"

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 1, page 245, Note 1080

(13) ...

How much rain must descend that it may suffice for fructification 5 ? As much as would fill a vessel of three handbreadths. 6 This is R. Meir's opinion. R. Judah said: In hard [soil], one handbreadth; in average [soil], two; in humid [soil], three. 7 R. Simeon b. Eleazar said: Not one handbreadth [of rain] descends from above without the earth bringing up two handbreadths [of moisture] to meet it. What is the proof? Deep calleth unto deep at the voice of Thy cataracts (Ps. xlii, 8). 8 R. Levi said: The upper waters are male while the lower are female, 9 and they say one to the other : ' Receive us ; you have been created by the Holy One, blessed be He, whilst we are His messengers/ Immediately they receive them; thus it is written, Let the sky pour down righteousness ; let the earth open (Isa. xlv, 8) — like a female who receives the male; That they may bring

forth (we-yifru) salvation (ib,)— in that they are fruitful (parim) and multiply 1 ; And let her cause righteousness to spring up together; I the Lord have created it (ib.) : this refers to the fall of rain. 'I the Lord have created it' : I have created it for the benefit and stability of the world.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 1, page 245, Note 1085, Translation: Soncino Edition of Midrash Rabba

When the verse states: “These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth when they were created [behibare’am]” (Genesis 2:4), do not read it as behibare’am, meaning: When they were created; rather, read it as beheh bera’am, meaning: He created them with the letter heh. This verse demonstrates that the heaven and the earth, i.e., this world, were created with the letter heh, and therefore the World-to-Come must have been created with the letter yod.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 1, page 246, Note 1090

§ Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi raises a contradiction between two verses. It is written: “And God made the two great lights” (Genesis 1:16), and it is also written in the same verse: “The greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night,” indicating that only one was great. Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi explains: When God first created the sun and the moon, they were equally bright. Then, the moon said before the Holy One, Blessed be He: Master of the Universe, is it possible for two kings to serve with one crown? One of us must be subservient to the other. God therefore said to her, i.e., the moon: If so, go and diminish yourself.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 1, page 247, Note 1094