Rabbinic Sources for Zohar Class with Daniel Matt, 8th Series, Class 4

(2) (Exod. 7:14, cont.:) HE REFUSES TO LET <THE PEOPLE> GO (shillah). The Holy One said: You are refusing to let them go. By your life, you yourself will take each and every one of them by the hand and send them away (shillah). The Holy One said to Moses: Go and bring the plague of blood upon them. Then you shall say unto them (in Exod. 7:17): BY THIS YOU SHALL KNOW THAT I AM THE LORD…. Why did he bring upon them the plague of blood first?⁷⁷Tanh., Exod. 2:13 Exod. R. 9:9. Because Pharaoh and the Egyptians were worshiping the Nile. The Holy One had said to Moses: Go and smite their gods in their presence. A common⁷⁸Gk. idotes. (Aramaic) proverb says: Blot out the god and the idol-priests are confounded {i.e., smite the idol and the idol-priests are confounded}. Ergo (in Exod. 7:17, cont.:) SEE, I AM SMITING < THE WATER WHICH IS IN THE NILE WITH THE ROD THAT IS IN MY HAND>…. See what is written (in vs. 19): <TAKE YOUR ROD AND STRETCH OUT YOUR HAND OVER THE WATERS OF EGYPT: > OVER ITS RIVERS, <OVER ITS CANALS, OVER ITS PONDS, AND OVER EVERY BODY OF ITS WATER SO THAT THEY BECOME BLOOD>.⁷⁹I.e., not simply OVER THE WATERS OF EGYPT. What is the meaning of OVER ITS RIVERS? In every place where they were, the water became blood. What is the meaning of OVER EVERY BODY OF ITS WATER? Even what was in the cup⁸⁰Gk.: kothon. became blood, and even what an Egyptian was spitting out of his mouth became blood.⁸¹Exod. R.9:10. Thus it is stated (in ibid., cont.): AND THERE SHALL BE BLOOD IN THE WHOLE LAND OF EGYPT. R. Abbin the Levite said: Israel became rich from the plague of blood.⁸²M. Ps. 78:10. How? When an Egyptian and an Israelite were in the same house, the tank was full of water; but when the Egyptian went to fill a cup from it, it became blood. So when the Israelite went and drank water from it, the Egyptian would say: Give me a little of the water in your hand; but when he gave it to him, it turned out to be blood in the Egyptian's hand. Then he would say to him: Come, you and I, and let us drink from the <same> bowl. But the Israelite was < still > drinking water; and the Egyptian, blood. When, however, an Egyptian took water from an Israelite for a price, he would drink water. For that reason Israel became rich from the plague of blood. And how long did the plague stay with them? R. Judah and R. Nehemiah differed.⁸³Exod. R. 9:12. The one said: <The Holy One> warned them for twenty-four days, while the < actual > plague functioned against them for seven days. But the other said: He warned them for seven days, while the < actual > plague functioned against them for twenty-four days.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Volume One, 331, Note 1630

(7) ... 7. [Noah was in his generations] a man [righteous and whole-hearted]. Wherever 'a man ' occurs, it indicates a righteous man who warned [his generation]. For a whole one hundred and twenty years Noah planted cedars and cut them down. On being asked, 'Why are you doing this?' he replied: 'The Lord of the universe has informed me that He will bring a Flood in the world/ Said they [his contemporaries] to him: 'If a Flood does come, it will come only upon your father's house!' Thus it is written, A contemptible brand (lappid buz) in the thought of him that is at ease> a thing ready for them whose foot slippeth (Job xn, 5). R. Abba interpreted: The Holy One, blessed be He, said: 'One herald arose for me in the generation of the Flood, viz. Noah.' For elsewhere people say, 'Arouse him, stir him up!' 'Buz' (contempt) intimates that they despised him and called him, 'Con- temptible old man ! ' In the thought of (le-'ashtoth) him that is at ease: this teaches that they were as hard as metal ('ashtoth). A thing ready for them whose foot slippeth; two disasters were ready for them: a disaster from above and a disaster from below.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Volume One, 331, Note 1631. Translation: Genesis Rabba, Soncino Edition.

Rava taught: What is the meaning of that which is written: “A contemptible torch [lapid] in the thought of him that is at ease, a thing ready for them whose foot slips” (Job 12:5)? This teaches that Noah the righteous would rebuke the people of his generation, and he said to them statements that are harsh as torches [kelapidim], and they would treat him with contempt. They said to him: Old man, why are you building this ark? Noah said to them: The Holy One, Blessed be He, is bringing a flood upon you. They said to him: A flood of what? If it is a flood of fire, we have another item and it is called alita, and it is fireproof. And if it is a flood of water that He brings, if He brings the water from the earth, we have iron plates with which we can plate the earth to prevent the water from rising. And if He brings the water from the heavens, we have an item and it is called ekev, and some say it is called ikkesh, which will absorb the water.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Volume One, 331, Note 1631

(10) (Devarim 3:24) "O L-rd (Yod-keh-vav-keh), G-d (Elokim)": Wherever "Yod-keh-vav-keh" is written, the attribute of mercy is intended, viz. (Shemoth 34:6) "Yod-keh-vav-keh," the G-d who is merciful and gracious." Wherever "Elokim" is written, the attribute of justice is intended, viz. (Ibid. 22:8) "Unto the judges ('elohim') shall come the matter of both," and (Ibid. 27) "Elokim ([Both G-d and judges are intended]) you shall not curse."

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Volume One, 332, Note 1637

Regarding the basic assumption that these homiletic interpretations of names are allusions to one’s future, the Gemara asks: From where do we derive that the name affects one’s life? Rabbi Eliezer said that the verse says: “Go, see the works of the Lord, who has made desolations [shamot] upon the earth” (Psalms 46:9). Do not read the word as shamot, rather as shemot, names. The names given to people are, therefore, “the works of the Lord upon the earth.”

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Volume One, 333, Note 1638, 1640

...The Lord God [made earth and heaven]. This may be compared to a king who had some empty glasses. Said the king: 'If I pour hot water into them, they will burst; if cold, they will contract [and snap].' What then did the king do ? He mixed hot and cold water and poured it into them, and so they remained [unbroken]. Even so, said the Holy One, blessed be He: 'If I create the world on the basis of mercy alone, its sins will be great ; on the basis of judgment alone, the world cannot exist. Hence I will create it on the basis of judgment and of mercy, and may it then stand ! ' Hence the expression, The Lord God.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Volume One, 333, Note 1639. Translation: Genesis Rabba, Soncino Edition

Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi made efforts to ordain Shmuel Yarḥina’a as a rabbi but was unsuccessful, as Shmuel always demurred. Shmuel Yarḥina’a said to him: The Master should not be upset about my refusal, as I know that I am not destined to be ordained as a rabbi. I myself saw the book of Adam the first man, which contains the genealogy of the human race, and it is written in it that Shmuel Yarḥina’a

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Volume One, 334, Note 1643

§ The mishna taught: And the Israelites of that priestly watch assembled in their towns and read the act of Creation. The Gemara asks: From where is this matter, that they must read this specific portion, derived? Rabbi Ya’akov bar Aḥa said that Rav Asi said: Were it not for the non-priestly watches and the Temple service, heaven and earth would not continue to exist, as it is stated: “And he said: Lord God, by what shall I know that I shall inherit it?” (Genesis 15:8).

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Volume One, 334, Note 1644

The Gemara asks: Is that so? But didn’t Rabbi Elai bar Berekhya say: With regard to two Torah scholars who are walking along the road and there are no Torah matters discussed between them, they are worthy of being burned, as it is stated: “And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, which parted them both asunder” (II Kings 2:11). The reason that the chariot of fire did not harm Elisha is because there was a Torah matter between them, from which it may be inferred that had they not been discussing a Torah matter, they would have been worthy of being burned.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Volume One, 334,, Note 1645

On the topic of prayers recited while traveling and in times of danger, the Gemara discusses the traveler’s prayer. When he appeared to him, Elijah the Prophet said to Rav Yehuda brother of Rav Sala Ḥasida: Do not get angry and you will not sin. Do not get drunk and you will not sin. And when you set out on a journey, consult with your Creator, and then set out. The Gemara asks: What is the meaning of: Consult with your Creator, and then set out? Rabbi Ya’akov said that Rav Ḥisda said: That is the traveler’s prayer. And Rabbi Ya’akov said that Rav Ḥisda said: It is not only good advice, but established halakha that anyone who sets out on a journey must recite the traveler’s prayer prior to embarking on his journey.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Volume One, 334-5, Note 1646

And as Rav Idi bar Avin said that Rav Yitzḥak bar Ashyan said: A person is prohibited to attend to his own affairs before he prays, as it is stated: “Righteousness shall go before Him, and shall make His footsteps on a path” (Psalms 85:14). One should first pray and acknowledge the righteousness of his Creator, and only then should he set out on his way.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Volume One, 335, Note 1646 (continued)

When the king came, Rav Sheshet began to bless him. The heretic mockingly said to him: Do you bless someone you do not see? The Gemara asks: And what ultimately happened to this heretic? Some say that his friends gouged out his eyes, and some say that Rav Sheshet fixed his gaze upon him, and the heretic became a pile of bones.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Volume One, 335, Note 1650

Tangentially, the Gemara cites an additional statement by Rabbi Ḥanina concerning principles of faith. And Rabbi Ḥanina said: Everything is in the hands of Heaven, except for fear of Heaven. Man has free will to serve God or not, as it is stated: “And now Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you other than to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all of His ways, to love Him and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deuteronomy 10:12). The Lord asks man to perform these matters because ultimately, the choice is in his hands.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Volume One, 335, Note 1651

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, Volume One, 336, Note 1658

And Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba said that Rabbi Yoḥanan said: All the prophets only prophesied with regard to the change in world order in the end of days with regard to the days of the Messiah. However, with regard to the World-to-Come, which exists on a higher level, it is stated: “No eye has seen it, God, aside from You.”

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Volume One, 337, Note 1660

(1) All Israel have a portion in the world to come, for it says, “Your people, all of them righteous, shall possess the land for ever; They are the shoot that I planted, my handiwork in which I glory” (Isaiah 60:2). And these are the ones who have no portion in the world to come: He who maintains that resurrection is not a biblical doctrine, that the torah was not divinely revealed, and an epikoros. Rabbi Akiva says: “Even one who reads non-canonical books and one who whispers [a charm] over a wound and says, “I will not bring upon you any of the diseases which i brought upon the Egyptians: for I the lord am you healer” (Exodus 15:26). Abba Shaul says: “Also one who pronounces the divine name as it is spelled.”

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Volume One, 337, Note 1661