Rabbinic Sources for Zohar Class with Daniel Matt, Sixth Series, Second Class

(1) (Gen. 5:1:) THIS IS THE BOOK OF THE GENERATIONS OF ADAM. Let our master instruct us: May one cease being fruitful and multiplying at a time when he has no children? Thus have our masters taught (in Yev. 6:6): ONE IS NOT TO CEASE FROM BEING FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLYING UNLESS HE ALREADY HAS CHILDREN. THE BET SHAMMAY SAY: TWO MALES; BUT THE BET HILLEL SAY: A MALE AND A FEMALE, AS STATED (in Gen 5:2): MALE AND FEMALE HE CREATED THEM.⁸⁰Cf. Yev. 61b for a different explanation. What is the reasoning of the Bet Shammay? Through analogy with Cain and Abel.⁸¹I.e., after the birth of these two, there were no more children until Adam begot Seth after a long interval. See Gen. 5:3. What is the reasoning of the Bet Hillel? Through analogy with Adam and Eve. R. Simon said: Adam separated himself from his wife Eve for a hundred and thirty years after Abel was killed. Adam said: How am I to beget children when they go to destruction? What did he do? R. Simon said: Female spirits would come to him and become inflamed with passion from him; for so the Holy One told David (in I Chron. 22:8): BEHOLD, A SON SHALL BE BORN TO YOU, {AND} HE SHALL BE A MAN OF REST. (II Sam. 7:14:) I WILL BE TO HIM A FATHER, AND HE SHALL BE TO ME A SON. When? When he is busy in the Torah. But when he forsook me and walked in the way of his < own > heart, (ibid., cont.): WHEN HE TRANSGRESSES, I WILL PUNISH HIM WITH THE ROD OF MEN AND WITH THE PESTILENCES OF THE CHILDREN OF ADAM. What is the meaning of THE ROD OF MEN? These < words > refer to Hadad and Rezon ben Eliada. Thus it is stated (in I Kings 11:23) AND [GOD] RAISED UP AN ADVERSARY (satan) FOR HIM {FOR SOLOMON}, [REZON BEN ELIADA].⁸²The previous verses (14-22) concern the adversary. Hadad the Edomite. [AND WITH THE PESTILENCES OF THE CHILDREN OF ADAM.]⁸³Cf. Gen. R. 20:11; 24:6. PESTILENCES can only be the demons (mazziqin). Thus it is stated (in Ps. 91:10): NEITHER SHALL PESTILENCE COME NEAR YOUR TENT. < The above is > to make known to you that during the whole 130 years in which Adam had withdrawn from Eve, the spirits were coming to him and being inflamed with passion from him so that he was begetting demons (mazziqin).⁸⁴See ‘Eruv. 18b. At that time the Holy One said: I created my world only for fruitfulness and multiplying. So it is stated (in Is. 45:18): HE DID NOT CREATE IT AS A VOID; HE FORMED IT FOR HABITATION. What did the Holy One do? He put a sexual desire for Eve into the heart of Adam. So he had intercourse with her, and she bore Seth. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 5:3): WHEN ADAM HAD LIVED A HUNDRED AND THIRTY YEARS, HE BEGOT < A SON > IN HIS OWN LIKENESS {IN} [AFTER] HIS IMAGE. When Seth was born, Adam said: I did not ascribe my former sons a lineage. Why? Because they were accursed. But to this one I am ascribing a lineage because he is the head of [the] generations. Where is it shown? From what they have read on the matter (in Gen. 5:1-3): THIS IS THE BOOK OF THE GENERATIONS OF ADAM…. HE BEGOT < A SON > … AND CALLED HIS NAME SETH.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 1, 261, Note 1203

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11. And the man called his wife's name Eve — Ha ww ah, i.e. life (in, 2). She was given to him for an adviser, but she played the eavesdropper like the serpent. [Another interpretation]: He showed her how many generations she had destroyed. R. Aha interpreted it : The serpent was thy [Eve's] serpent [i.e. seducer], and thou art Adam's serpent. 3 Because she was the mother (em) of all living. R. Simeon b. Eleazar said: That means that she is associated with ('im) all living. It was taught: If [her husband] becomes wealthy, she rises with him; if he becomes poor, she does not descend with him. R. Simon said: The mother of all living means, the mother of all life. For R. Simon said: Throughout the entire one hundred and thirty years during which Adam held aloof from Eve the male demons were made ardent by her and she bore, while the female demons were inflamed by Adam and they bore, as it is written, If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the afflictions of the children of man — Adam (il Sam. vii, 14), which means, the children of the first man. (The reason for the view that house spirits are benevolent is because they dwell with him [man], while the opinion that they are harmful is based on the fact that they understand man's evil inclinations. He who maintains that the spirits of the field are benevolent does so because they do not grow up

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 1, 261, Note 1203, continued.

Translation: Genesis Rabba, Soncino Edition

(1) (Gen. 2:4, end:) IN THE DAY THAT THE LORD MADE EARTH AND HEAVEN. The Bet Shammay say:³⁸Cf. the longer version of this section in Gen. R. 12:14, where R. Simeon ben Johay gives the view represented here by the Bet Hillel. The conception < of creation came > by night; and the doing, by day. The Bet Hillel say: The conception <came> either by day or by night, and he completed work with the sun on the horizon.³⁹I.e., at sunset or dawn. See the Jastrow lexicon, s.v., dimdum. R. Levi said in the name of R. Hama bar Hanina:⁴⁰Gen. R. 11:9; see PR 46:2. On every day the Holy One created three creations. On the first he created heaven, earth, and the light. On the second he created the firmament, Gehinnom, and the ministering angels. On the third, trees, herbs, and rivers. On the fourth, sun, moon, and stars. On the fifth, fish, Leviathan,⁴¹See BB 74b; Gen. R. 7:4. and fowl. Now on the sixth, there were six things to create, those for the Sabbath eve and those for the Sabbath. These were the following (according to Gen. 1:24): LET THE EARTH BRING FORTH (1) THE LIVING CREATURE AFTER ITS KIND, (2) CATTLE, (3) CREEPING THINGS, AND (4) BEAST OF THE EARTH, plus Adam and Eve. The work of Adam, Eve, and of the beasts was completed. Then, when he had completed these, he wanted to create the rest; but the Sabbath was holy, as stated (in Gen. 2:1-3): THEN THE HEAVENS < AND THE EARTH > WERE FINISHED…. SO GOD FINISHED < ON THE SEVENTH DAY > … AND GOD BLESSED < THE SEVENTH DAY > … < BECAUSE ON IT HE RESTED FROM ALL HIS WORK > WHICH GOD HAD CREATED < TO MAKE >.

(2) Another interpretation (of Gen. 2:3):⁴²Gen. R. 7:5. WHICH HE CREATED "and made" is not written, but TO MAKE, because the Sabbath preceded the completion of the work. R. Bannaya said:⁴³Gen. R. 7:5. These are the demons (mazziqin), whose souls he had created. While he was creating their bodies, the Sabbath commenced. So he left them alone and they survive to the present as spirit with no body. They are fruitful and multiply like humans, and they die like humans. So, when one comes upon a female demon (shedah), he will have demon (shedin) children. Now, from whom did you learn < this fact >? From the first Adam,⁴⁴On the early use of “first Adam” with this translation, see 4 Ezra 3:21, where the Latin text reads, Primus Adam. who had children from spirits. Should anyone come upon < such a spirit >, there is nothing against him, because they seem to one like a nocturnal pollution. There are also some who say: WHICH GOD HAD CREATED TO MAKE: This is the Temple which is going to be.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 1, 262, Notes 1204 and 1210.

§ The Gemara presents a related statement. Rabbi Yoḥanan says in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: Concerning anyone who does not leave behind a son to inherit from him, the Holy One, Blessed be He, is filled with wrath [evra] toward him, as it is written here: “If a man die, and he has no son, then you shall pass his inheritance [veha’avartem] to his daughter” (Numbers 27:8), and it is written there: “That day is a day of wrath [evra]” (Zephaniah 1:15). The words “veha’avartem” and “evra” share common root letters, whereby Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai interprets that God’s wrath may be the result of the inheritance passing to a daughter rather than a son.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 1, 262, Note 1207.

§ The Gemara returns to discussing the heavenly beings. The Sages taught: Six statements were said with regard to demons: In three ways they are like ministering angels, and in three ways they are like humans. The baraita specifies: In three ways they are like ministering angels: They have wings like ministering angels; and they fly from one end of the world to the other like ministering angels; and they know what will be in the future like ministering angels.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 1, 263, Note 1213.

And if you would say that one leavens the remainder of the meal-offering, which the priests partake of, and he consecrates the Temple courtyard with it, that too is difficult, as isn’t it written: “It shall not be baked leavened, for their portion I have given it to them” (Leviticus 6:10)? And Reish Lakish says in explanation of this verse: Even the priests’ portion shall not be baked leavened, as it is prohibited to bake even a portion of the meal-offering leavened. The Gemara asks: Still, why not consecrate the Temple courtyard with a leavened meal-offering? It is possible to consecrate it with the two loaves of bread that are brought as a communal offering on the festival of Shavuot, which is a meal-offering that is leavened. The Gemara answers: Because actually it is not possible to do so. The Gemara explains why not. How could we do it? If we build the addition to the Temple courtyard on the eve of Shavuot and also consecrate it on the eve of the Festival, there is a difficulty, as the two loaves become consecrated as a meal-offering with the slaughter of the two lambs that are sacrificed together with them as peace-offerings, and this occurs on the Festival itself, not on the eve of the Festival. If we build the addition to the Temple courtyard on the eve of the Shavuot festival, but consecrate it only now, on the Festival, this too is difficult, as we require consecration at the time of the completion of the building. If we build it on the Festival and consecrate it on the Festival, this also cannot be, as the building of the Temple does not override the Festival. If we leave the two loaves until after the Festival and build the addition to the Temple courtyard on the day after the Festival, and consecrate it by eating the two loaves on that day, this is difficult as well, as the two loaves were already disqualified by virtue of being left overnight after the Festival. If we build the addition to the Temple courtyard on the eve of the Festival and leave a little unbuilt until after the Festival, and as soon as the day is over and the Festival is finished, we immediately finish building the addition and consecrate it with the two loaves before they become disqualified, this too is impossible, as the building of the Temple cannot take place at night. This is as Abaye says: From where is it derived that the building of the Temple cannot take place at night? As it is stated: “And on the day that the Tabernacle was erected” (Numbers 9:15), from which it can be derived: One may erect it during the day, but one may not erect it at night. Therefore, it is impossible to consecrate the Temple courtyard with the two loaves; it must be done with the remainder of an unleavened meal-offering. § The mishna teaches concerning the consecration of an addition to the city of Jerusalem or the Temple courtyard: And with a song. The Sages taught in a baraita: They sang the song of thanksgiving, i.e., Psalms, chapter 100, which begins: “A psalm of thanksgiving,” accompanied by harps, lyres, and cymbals, at every corner and upon every large stone in Jerusalem. And they also recited Psalms, chapter 30, which begins: “I will extol You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up,” and the song of evil spirits, i.e., Psalms, chapter 91, which begins: “He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High.” And some say that this psalm is called the song of plagues. The reason of the one who says that it is called the song of plagues is that it is written: “Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling” (Psalms 91:10). And the reason of the one who says that it is called the song of evil spirits is that it is written: “A thousand shall fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you” (Psalms 91:7). And they recited the psalm from the verse: “He that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide in the shadow of the Almighty” (Psalms 91:1), until they completed the verse: “Because You, O Lord, are my refuge; You have made the most High Your habitation” (Psalms 91:9). And they would then recite Psalms, chapter 3, which begins: “A psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son. Lord, how many are my enemies become,” until they reached the verse: “Salvation belongs to the Lord; Your blessing be upon Your people. Sela” (Psalms 3:9), which is the end of that psalm. It is related that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi would recite these verses to protect him from evil spirits during the night and fall asleep while saying them. ...

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 1, 263, Note 1216

Turnus Rufus said to him: This is what I mean to say to you: Who is to say that now is Shabbat? Perhaps a different day of the week is Shabbat. Rabbi Akiva said to him: The Sabbatyon River can prove that today is Shabbat, as it is calm only on Shabbat. A necromancer can also prove this, as the dead do not rise on Shabbat. The grave of his father, referring to Turnus Rufus’s father, can also prove this, as it does not emit smoke on Shabbat, although smoke rises from it all week, as during the week he is being punished in Gehenna. Turnus Rufus said to him: You have demeaned my father, you have publicly shamed him, and you have cursed him by saying that he is being punished in Gehenna.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 1, 264, Note 1219

As Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, gives a person an additional soul on Shabbat eve, and at the conclusion of Shabbat removes it from him, as it is stated: “He ceased from work and was refreshed [vayinafash]” (Exodus 31:17). Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish expounds the verse as follows: Since he ceased from work, and now Shabbat has concluded and his additional soul is removed from him, woe [vai] for the additional soul [nefesh] that is lost.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 1, 264, Note 1221.