Source Sheet for Online Zohar Course with Daniel C. Matt Series 10, Week 4, July 28 2020 The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, vol. I, Parashat Noah, pp. 393-398 (Zohar I: 67a-68a)

The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, translation and commentary by Daniel C. Matt, Vol., I (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004), Zohar I: 67a, Parashat Noah, p. 394, note 402: ''souls of the righteous... potency of a single pillar''

102. We learned: There is a single pillar extending from heaven to earth, and its name is Righteous (Tzadik). [This pillar] is named after the righteous. When there are righteous people in the world, then it becomes strong, and when there are not, it becomes weak. It supports the entire world, as it is written, “And Righteous is the foundation of the world.” If it becomes weak, then the world cannot endure. Therefore, even if there is only one righteous person in the world, it is he who supports the world. It is therefore written, “And a righteous one is the foundation of the world.” You should therefore take My lifted offering from him first. Then (Exodus 25:3), “And this is the lifted offering that you should take from them” – from the rest. What is it? “Gold, silver and copper.”

Sepher Ha-Bahir or “The Book of Illumination,” Attributed to Rabbi Nehunia ben haKana, Translated by Aryeh Kaplan (Boston, MA/York Beach, Maine: Weiser Books, 1979), p. 26, no. 102.

The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, translation and commentary by Daniel C. Matt, Vol., I (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004), Zohar I: 67a, Parashat Noah, p. 395, note 411: ''It was plenty for him to protect himself... in this generation, precisely!''

On another topic, Noah said to Moses: ''I am greater than you, for I saved the Generation of the Flood.'' Moses replied: ''I achieved more. You saved yourself, and did not have the strength to save your generation, whilst I saved myself and my generation.'' As it is written: ''And the LORD renounced the punishment He had planned to bring upon His people'' (Exodus 32:14). To what can this be compared? To two ships at sea with two captains. One saves himself but not the ship; the other saves himself and his ship. Who is held in contempt, if not the captain who saves himself but not his ship. Thus, Noah only saved himself, while Moses saved himself and his generation. Indeed, as it is written in the verse: “Many women have done well, But you surpass them all” (Proverbs: 31:29).

Translation by Batsheva Goldman-Ida with biblical quotations from Sefaria.

The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, translation and commentary by Daniel C. Matt, Vol., I (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004), Zohar I: 67a, Parashat Noah, p. 396, note 415: ''judgement could not overpower him for he was hidden away"

(2) ... Here, too, "And I shall smite every first-born in the land of Egypt from man until beast." The initiator of the transgression was struck first. Now does this not follow a fortiori, viz.: If in His measure of punishment — the lesser (measure) — the initiator of the transgression is smitten first, how much more so in His measure of beneficence — the greater (measure) — (is the initiator of the mitzvah rewarded first)!

(3) ... "And against all the gods of Egypt shall I execute judgments. I am the L rd.": "Judgments": different from each other. Images of stone crumbled; of wood, rotted; of metal, rusted. As it is written (Numbers 33:4) "And the Egyptians were burying (those) whom the L rd had smitten — every first-born, and against their gods the L rd had executed judgments." Others say: Those of stone rotted; those of metal melted. R. Nathan says: Judgments (2) upon judgments (2): They rotted, split, were hewn out, and they burned.

We thus find that their images were smitten in four ways, and their worshippers, in three — plague, destruction, and smiting, (viz. 12:13). "I, the L rd": what flesh and blood cannot conceptualize — By oath shall I exact punishment from them! Now does this not follow a fortiori, viz.: If in His measure of punishment — the lesser (measure) — the Holy One Blessed be He affirms and does (as He has affirmed), how much more so in His measure of beneficence — the greater (measure)!

The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, translation and commentary by Daniel C. Matt, Vol., I (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004), Zohar I: 67b, Parashat Noah, p. 396, note 418: ''mystery of supernal letters - reversal of letters, twenty-two..."

Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: Bezalel knew how to join the letters with which heaven and earth were created. From where do we derive this? It is written here in praise of Bezalel: “And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship” (Exodus 31:3); and it is written there with regard to creation of heaven and earth: “The Lord, by wisdom, founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens” (Proverbs 3:19), and it is written: “By His knowledge the depths were broken up and the skies drop down the dew” (Proverbs 3:20). We see that wisdom, understanding, and knowledge, the qualities with which the heavens and earth were created, are all found in Bezalel.

The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, translation and commentary by Daniel C. Matt, Vol., I (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004), Zohar I: 67b, Parashat Noah, p. 396, note 418: ''mystery of supernal letters - reversal of letters, twenty-two..."

Rava says: If the righteous wish to do so, they can create a world [BG-I: using the twenty-two letters], as it is stated: “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God.” In other words, there is no distinction between God and a righteous person who has no sins, and just as God created the world, so can the righteous. Indeed, Rava created a man, a golem, using forces of sanctity [BG-I: the letters]. Rava sent his creation before Rabbi Zeira. Rabbi Zeira would speak to him but he would not reply. Rabbi Zeira said to him: You were created by one of the members of the group, one of the Sages. Return to your dust. The Gemara relates another fact substantiating the statement that the righteous could create a world if they so desired: Rav Ḥanina and Rav Oshaya would sit every Shabbat eve and engage in the study of Sefer Yetzira, and a third-born calf [igla tilta] would be created for them, and they would eat it in honor of Shabbat.

The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, translation and commentary by Daniel C. Matt, Vol., I (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004), Zohar I: 67b, Parashat Noah, p. 396, note 420: ''Come and see the difference..."

(9) "The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him" (Leviticus 1:1), and with Noah, the LORD did not speak? As it is written: "God spoke to Noah" (Genesis 8:15). Rather [say] it is not demeaning for a King to speak with his subject.

Translated by Batsheva Goldman-Ida with biblical quotations from Sefaria.

(14)

Rabbi Judah, one of Rabbi Akiva’s outstanding disciples… drew a distinction between Moses and the other prophets of Israel: ‘’All the prophets had a vision of God as He appeared through nine specula [aspaklariot]… Moses saw God through one speculum, as it is written, ‘I speak to him mouth to mouth, clearly and without riddles’ (Numbers 12:8). The Sages drew this distinction: All the prophets saw Him dimly as through a dirty, nearly-opaque speculum, but Moses gazed at Him through a polished speculum, as it written, ‘He beheld the likeness of God’ [ibid.]."

Abraham Joshua Heschel, Heavenly Torah: As Refracted through the Generations, edited and translated by Gordon Tucker (New York and London: Continuum, 2006), p. 308.

The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, translation and commentary by Daniel C. Matt, Vol., I (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004), Zohar I: 67b, Parashat Noah, p. 396, note 420: ''Come and see the difference..."

(3) As it is written in the verse: “Many women have done well, But you surpass them all” (Proverbs: 31:29).... On another topic, Noah said to Moses: ''I am greater than you, for I saved the Generation of the Flood.'' Moses replied: ''I achieved more. You saved yourself, and did not have the strength to save your generation, whilst I saved myself and my generation when they were held responsible for the sin of the Golden Calf. As it is written: 'And the LORD renounced the punishment He had planned to bring upon His people' (Exodus 32:14)." To what can this be compared? To two ships at sea with two captains. One saves himself but not the ship; the other saves himself and his ship. Who is held in contempt, if not the captain who saves himself but not his ship. Thus, Noah only saved himself, while Moses saved himself and his generation. Indeed, as it is written in the verse: “Many women have done well, But you surpass them all” (Proverbs: 31:29). ... Isaac said to Moses: ''I am greater than you as I laid my neck upon the altar and saw the face of the Shekhinah, as it is written: 'When Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see' (Genesis 27:1), what does 'to see' mean, to see the Shekhinah.'' "But [Moses replied] I have spoken with the Shekhinah face to face and my eyes did not dim, as it written, 'Moses was not aware that the skin of his face was radiant, since he had spoken with Him' (Exodus 34:29).'' Indeed, as it is written in the verse: “Many women have done well, But you surpass them all” (Proverbs: 31:29), ''And this is the blessing" (Deuteronomy 33:1)

Translation by Batsheva Goldman-Ida with biblical quotations from Sefaria.

The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, translation and commentary by Daniel C. Matt, Vol., I (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004), Zohar I: 67b, Parashat Noah, p. 396, note 421: ''When the blessed Holy One said to Moses..."

The Sages of the school of Rabbi Yannai, however, say proof that Moses spoke impertinently toward God on High is derived from here, Moses’ rebuke at the beginning of Deuteronomy: “And Di Zahav” (Deuteronomy 1:1). This is an entry in a list of places where Moses had spoken to Israel. As there was no place encountered by that name, it is interpreted as an allusion to another matter. We must clarify: What is the meaning of and Di Zahav? The Sages of the school of Rabbi Yannai said that Moses said the following before the Holy One, Blessed be He, to atone for Israel after the sin of the Golden Calf: Master of the Universe, because of the gold and silver that you lavished upon Israel during the exodus from Egypt until they said enough [dai]; it was this wealth that caused Israel to make the Golden Calf. Establishing a general moral principle, the Sages the school of Rabbi Yannai said: A lion does not roar standing over a basket of straw from which he derives no pleasure, but he roars standing over a basket of meat, as he only roars when satiated. Similarly, Rabbi Oshaya said: This is comparable to a person who had a lean, but large-limbed cow. At one point, he fed it lupines, a choice food, and soon thereafter the cow was kicking him. He said to the cow: Who caused you to begin kicking me if not the lupines I fed you? Here, too, the sin was caused by an abundance of good.

The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, translation and commentary by Daniel C. Matt, Vol., I (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004), Zohar I: 67b, Parashat Noah, p. 396, note 421: ''When the blessed Holy One said to Moses..."

(6) "The LORD spoke to Moses, 'Hurry down, for your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have acted basely.'' (Exodus 32:7). The term 'people' is not used, but rather 'your people.' Moses spoke up and said: ''Lord of the Universe, how do you know they are 'my people.' When they were in Egypt, You referred to them as 'My ranks, My people the Israelites' (Exodus 7:4). I told you [warned you] not to include the mixed multitudes with them. You, who are modest and forthright, said to me that you are always ready to receive those who repent, while I knew what they were capable of in the future. I said to you: 'No!,' but I did Your Will, and it was they who made the Golden Calf, they who had been idol worshipers and star-gazers, they who made it, and caused my people to sin. As it is written: ''And they exclaimed, 'This is your god, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!'” (Exodus 32:4). They do not say 'this is our god,'' but rather, 'this is your god.' The gentiles that had left Egypt with Moses made [the Golden Calf] and said to Israel: 'this is your god.' For these reasons, ''The LORD spoke to Moses, 'Hurry down, for your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have acted basely.'' (Exodus 32:7).

(9) ... Rabbi Nahman said: 'Know that they are stiff[-necked] for when the blessed Holy One gave them the Torah, it is written: ''On the third day, as morning dawned" (Exodus 19:16). The blessed Holy One said: 'I will show them all my miracles if only they will benefit from it, and [yet] they are a stiff-necked [stubborn] people, and now leave Me and My Anger shall be kindled against them and demolish them.' And would Moses then have understood what the blessed Holy One meant by: 'Leave Me'? Rather, to what can it be compared? To a king who is angry at his son and puts him in a burning furnace and asks permission to smite him, and the king yells from the furnace 'Leave me so I can smite him!' But the pedagogue [court tutor] says [to himself]: 'the king and his son are in the furnace, why does he say 'leave me' if not because the king wants to ask me to go and beg forgiveness for his son. Similarly, the blessed Holy One said to Moses, 'and now leave Me.' [But] Moses said: 'this is because the blessed Holy One wants to be reconciled with Israel. Therefore, when He said 'and now leave me' Moses immediately began to ask for mercy on their behalf and ''Moses implored the LORD his God, saying, “Let not Your anger, O Lord, blaze forth against Your people, whom You delivered from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand'' (Exodus 32:11).

Translation by Batsheva Goldman-Ida with biblical quotations from Sefaria.