Source Sheet for Zohar Online Course with Daniel C. Matt Series 10, Week 6, August 11, 2020 Zohar I: 69a-70a The Zohar, Pritzer Edition, Vol. 1 (2004), pp. 406-412

The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. I (2004), Parashat Noah, Zohar I: 69b, p. 407-408, note 497: zahor (remember) inheres in him...

Rabbi Elazar ben Shammua says: The earth rests on one pillar and a righteous person is its name, as it is stated: “But a righteous person is the foundation of the world” (Proverbs 10:25).

The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. I (2004), p. 407-408, note 497: zahor (remember) inheres in him...

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.”

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, Vol. I (2004), Parashat Noah, Zohar I: 69b, p. 408, note 500: that destined fish

(7) "And the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah" (Jonah 1:17). Rabbi Ṭarphon said: That fish was specially appointed from the six days of Creation to swallow up Jonah, as it is said, "And the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah" (ibid.). He entered its mouth just as a man enters the great synagogue, and he stood (therein). The two eyes of the fish were like windows of glass giving light to Jonah.

The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. I (2004), Parashat Noah, Zohar I: 69b, p. 408, note 500: that destined fish

5. R. Johanan said: The Holy One, blessed be He, made a stipulation with the sea that it should divide before Israel; thus it is written, And the sea returned (le-ethano) — to its strength (Ex. xiv, 27): i.e. in accordance with its agreement (li-tenao). R. Jeremiah b. Eleazar said: Not with the sea alone did God make a stipulation, but with everything which was created in the six days of creation, as it is written, "even My hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded (Isa. xlv, 12). ... the fish to vomit forth Jonah.

Midrash Rabbah, translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon, 10 vols. (London: Soncino Press, 1939)

The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. I (2004), Parashat Noah, Zohar I: 69b, p. 408, note 500: that destined fish

With regard to the manner of intercourse, all species engage in intercourse with the face of the male opposite the back of the neck of the female, meaning that the male comes from behind the female, except for three species that engage in intercourse face-to-face, and they are these: Fish, and humans, and the snake. The Gemara asks: And what is different about these three? When Rav Dimi came from Eretz Yisrael to Babylonia he reported that they say in the West, Eretz Yisrael, the following explanation: They are different because the Divine Presence spoke with them. This occurred when the fish swallowed the prophet Jonah (see Jonah 2:11), when Adam and other prophets were spoken to by God, and when the snake caused Adam and Eve to sin (see Genesis 3:14).

The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. I (2004), Parashat Noah, Zohar I: 69b, p. 408, note 501: from the right side

Rabba [BG-I: Rabbah bar bar Hanna]said: Seafarers related to me that when this wave that sinks a ship appears with a ray of white fire at its head, we strike it with clubs that are inscribed with the names of God: I am that I am, Yah, the Lord of Hosts, amen amen, Selah. And the wave then abates. Rabba said: Seafarers related to me that in a certain place between one wave and the next wave there are three hundred parasangs, and the height of a wave is three hundred parasangs. Once, seafarers recounted, we were traveling along the route and a wave lifted us up until we saw the resting place of a small star, and it appeared to me the size of the area needed for scattering forty se’a of mustard seeds. And if it had lifted us higher, we would have been scorched by the heat of the star. And the wave raised its voice and shouted to another wave: My friend, did you leave anything in the world that you did not wash away, that I may come and destroy it? The second wave said to it: Go out and see the greatness of your Master, God, as even when there is as much as a string of sand on the land I cannot pass, as it is stated: “Will you not fear Me, said the Lord; will you not tremble at My presence? Who has placed the sand for the bound of the sea, an everlasting ordinance, which it cannot pass?” (Jeremiah 5:22).

The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. I (2004), Parashat Noah, Zohar I: 69b, p. 408-9, note 504: that day was the festival of Rosh Hashanah ...

(6) One day the divine beings presented themselves before the LORD, and the Adversary came along with them.

Rashi: One day. That day was Rosh Hashanah (the day of sounding of the trumpet and [on which] the Lord commanded Satan to bring the verdict of merit and liability on all created beings as it is written:

(7) The LORD said to the Adversary, “Where have you been?” The Adversary answered the LORD, “I have been roaming all over the earth.”

Rashi: Roaming all over the earth. This is my way: to roam and see both bad and good, and I roamed the land and found none like Abraham, as it is said: "Up, walk about the land, through its length and its breadth, for I give it to you.” (Genesis 13:17). And our Sages said that Satan's actions were for the sake of Heaven so that the merit of Abraham should not be forgotten before the the Lord.

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

The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. I (2004), Parashat Noah, Zohar I: 69b, p. 409, note 505: who is then called King, Holy King ...

And, with regard to the formulation of the blessings, Rabba bar Ḥinnana Sava said in the name of Rav: Throughout the year a person prays and concludes the third blessing of the Amida prayer with: The holy God, and concludes the blessing regarding the restoration of justice to Israel with: King who loves righteousness and justice, with the exception of the ten days between Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, the Ten Days of Atonement. These days are comprised of Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur, and the seven days in between, when one emphasizes God’s sovereignty, and so when he prays he concludes these blessings with: The holy King and: The King of justice, i.e., the King who reveals Himself through justice.

The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. I (2004), Parashat Noah, Zohar I: 69b, p. 410, note 509: whoever walks on the way unaccompanied by words of Torah ...

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: One who is walking along the way without a companion and is afraid should engage in Torah study, as it is stated with regard to the words of Torah: “For they shall be a graceful wreath [livyat ḥen] for your head, and chains about your neck” (Proverbs 1:9). The word livyat is understood here as a reference to levaya, accompaniment, so that the verse is interpreted to mean that Torah is a graceful accompaniment to one who is traveling.

The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. I (2004), Parashat Noah, Zohar I: 69b, p. 411, note 522: even though ishsheh ... is intended for ishim ...

Rav Yehuda says that Rav says with regard to the verse: “A burnt offering, an offering made by fire, of a pleasing aroma to the Lord” (Leviticus 1:9), the term “a burnt offering” means that one must intend that it be for the sake of a burnt offering, to the exclusion of one who sacrifices a burnt offering for the sake of a peace offering, which one may not do. The mention of fires, i.e., the term “an offering made by fire,” teaches that the offering must be sacrificed for the sake of complete consumption by the fires of the altar, to the exclusion of one who intends that its portions should only be roasted on the fire, as one may not do so.