New Rabbinic Sources for Zohar Course with Daniel Matt, Twelve Series, Meeting 5. I am collecting some of the Rabbinic texts that underlie portions of the Zohar as we are learning them from Prof. Daniel Matt in an online course on the Zohar. If you click on the name of an individual text, it will take you to the full source. Page numbers indicate where these texts are referenced in the footnotes, from: The Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 2, translation and commentary by Daniel Matt, (Stanford University Press, 2004). English translations from Sefaria unless missing, in which case I translated. Learn more about the course here: https://www.sup.org/zohar/course/ by Ivan Ickovits Lech Lecha p 12-18

(1) And the two angels came to Sodom … and he said: “Behold now, my lords, turn aside, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet” (Gen. 19:1–2). There is a proverb which says: Associate with a greasy man and you too will become greasy. Because Lot associated with Abraham he learned to welcome travelers. And they said: “Nay” (ibid.): From this episode our sages taught that one may refuse the request of one’s inferior but not of one’s superior. It is written concerning Abraham that he said: And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and stay ye your heart … and they said: “So do as thou hast said” (ibid. 18:5), but in reference to Lot it is written: And he urged them greatly; and they turned into his house … and they ate (ibid. 19:3).¹³The angel initially rejected Lot’s invitation to enter his home, but accepted Abraham’s invitation immediately. See Pesahim 86b. Surely, ministering angels do not partake of food. This was done only in order to teach us that proper behavior requires that no man should deviate from the custom of the land. You learn this lesson from Moses as well. It is written that after he ascended the mountain: And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights, and he did neither eat bread nor drink water (Exod. 34:28). If it was customary to eat and drink there, he would have done so. Therefore concerning the angels who came to visit Abraham, to destroy Sodom and to rescue Lot, it is written: He made them a feast and baked them unleavened bread, and they ate (Gen. 19:3).

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(1) (Gen. 19:1:) IN THE EVENING. What is the meaning of IN THE EVENING? That the Sodomites were dark like the night.⁵⁷See below, 4:21. Another interpretation: IN THE EVENING (ba'erev). The evening of Sodom had arrived.⁵⁸The midrash understands ba‘erev (“in the evening”) as two words, ‘erev (“evening”) and ba (“has come”). See Gen. R. 50:3. (Ibid., cont.:) AND LOT WAS SITTING AT THE GATE OF SODOM, as he had learned from the practice of Abraham. What is written here (in Gen. 18:2) about Abraham? WHEN HE SAW THEM HE RAN < FROM > THE DOOR OF HIS TENT TO MEET THEM < AND BOWED DOWN TO THE EARTH >. Solomon has said in (Prov. 22:6): TRAIN A CHILD IN THE WAY HE SHOULD GO. Because Lot had grown up in Abraham's house, he had acquired < Abraham's > moral standards. < Thus > (in Gen. 19:1, cont.): AND HE BOWED DOWN WITH HIS FACE TO THE GROUND. Just as Abraham had done, he brought them into his house. What is written (in vss. 4-5)? BEFORE THEY LAY DOWN … AND THEY CALLED UNTO LOT … < BRING THEM OUT UNTO US THAT WE MAY KNOW THEM >. The angels began to be astonished, saying: The matter has reached us! Now < there is > much on the subject < that is being passed over > merely in order not to bother you. What did they finally do? One of them rescued Lot, and one of them destroyed Sodom.⁵⁹See Gen. R. 50:2. Now perhaps you will say: He destroyed it with one of his hands. No, < it was > merely with one finger, which is one of five on the hand. Thus it is stated (in Job 28:9): HE PUT OUT HIS HAND BAHALLAMISH.⁶⁰The midrash has interpreted bahallamish (“against the hard rock”) as bahamishi (“with the fifth”). In the world to come the Holy One will heal it (i.e., Sodom);⁶¹So below, 4:22; Exod R. 15:21. and Israel will divide it up, as stated (in Ps. 60:8ff. [6ff.]): I WILL DISTRIBUTE SHECHEM < AND MEASURE OUT THE VALLEY OF SUCCOTH>….⁶²So below, 4:22. Cf. PRK 29(suppl. 2):3. According to Gen. R. 42:5, the valley of Succoth is identified with the valley of Siddim at the Dead Sea (Gen. 14:3).

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(2) Hence thou mayest learn: Everyone, who wishes to tell his companion a matter which is a disgrace to him, begins with a good word and concludes with the evil matter which is unpleasant to him. Whence do we learn this? From the Holy One, blessed be He, for when He was revealed to our father Abraham, He began to announce to him (the good news) concerning the conception by Sarah his wife. Afterwards He told him about the fate of Sodom, as it is said, "And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great" (ibid.). (Abraham) began to ask for compassion before Him on behalf of Lot, the son of his brother. He spake before Him: Sovereign of all worlds ! Like the death of the wicked shall the death of the || righteous be? (As it is said), "Wilt thou consume the righteous with the wicked?" (Gen. 18:23). The Holy One, blessed be He, answered him: Abraham ! By the merit of the righteous (one) will I forgive Sodom. "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous" (Gen. 18:26), then will I forgive it all its sins.

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With regard to the third section of the verse: “He is just and righteous,” the Sages said: At the hour of a person’s departure to his eternal home, all his deeds are enumerated before him and are rendered visible to him once again, and the deeds themselves say to him: You did such and such, in such and such a place, on such and such a day, and he says: Yes, that is exactly what happened. And they say to him: Sign a statement that this is correct, and he signs it, as it is stated: “He makes the hand of every man sign” (Job 37:7). And not only that, but after a one has been shown all his deeds, he justifies the judgment upon himself, and says to them: You have judged me well. This response serves to fulfill that which is stated: “That You may be justified when You speak and be right when You judge” (Psalms 51:6).

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(1) (Job 37:7:) HE SIGNS WITH EACH PERSON'S HAND. What does that mean? That when the Holy One created the human, he had all generations pass before him up until the dead would rise, the righteous and the wicked. He said to him: Look at how you have brought death upon the righteous. When Adam heard that, he began to be depressed. He said to him: Sovereign of the World, have I also done this to your world? I have no concern over the wicked, that they should die, but over the righteous, lest they murmur against me. If you please, just do not record concerning me that I brought death upon them. The Holy One said to him: Thus shall I do: When someone is going to depart from this world, the Holy One appears to him. He says to him: Write down the deeds which you have done, since you are dying for the deeds which you have done. So he writes. When he has written, he says to him: Sign; and he signs, as stated (ibid.): HE SIGNS WITH EACH PERSON'S HAND. Then, in the age to come, when the Holy One sits in judgment with his creatures, he will bring all the books of the children of Adam (mentioned in Gen. 5:1) and reveal their deeds to them. Therefore, it is stated (Job 37:7): HE SIGNS WITH EACH PERSON'S HAND….

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(4) The voices of five (objects of creation) go from one end of the world to the other, and their voices are inaudible. When people cut down the wood of the tree which yields fruit, its cry goes from one end of the world to the other, and the voice is inaudible. When the serpent sloughs off its skin, its cry goes from one end of the world to the other and its voice is not heard. When a woman is divorced from her husband, her voice goeth forth from one end of the world to the other, but the voice is inaudible. When the infant || comes forth from its mother's womb. When the soul departs from the body, the cry goes forth from one end of the world to the other, and the voice is not heard. The soul does not go out of the body until it beholds the Shekhinah, as it is said, "For man shall not see me and live" (Ex. 33:20).

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(18) 18 (Numb. 20:24, cont.) “Because you rebelled against My command”: This text is related (to Prov. 10:3), “The Lord will not let a righteous soul go hungry.” This refers to the first Adam, in that none of the righteous, who stem from him and upon whom has been decreed sentence of death, will pass away until they see the face of the Divine Presence and reprove the first Adam, and say to him, “You have caused us death.” But he will answer them, “I have [only] one sin on my hands; but in your case; is there a single one of you that does not have more than four offenses on his hands?” So where is it shown that the righteous see the face of the Divine Presence? Where it is stated (in Is. 38:11), “I said, ‘I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living [...].’” The righteous shall be punished with death on account of small transgressions, so that the first Adam will not be blamed on their account. Thus it is stated (in Prov. 10:3), “The Lord will not let a righteous soul go hungry.” It is therefore stated (in Numb. 20:24), “because you rebelled against My command.”

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Rabbi Elazar said: At the time when a righteous individual departs from the world, three contingents of ministering angels go out toward him. One says to him: Enter in peace; and one says to him: Each one that walks in his uprightness; and one says to him: He enters in peace, they rest in their beds. At the time when a wicked person perishes from the world, three contingents of angels of destruction go out toward him. One says to him: “There is no peace, says the Lord concerning the wicked” (Isaiah 48:22); and one says to him: “You shall lie down in sorrow” (Isaiah 50:11); and one says to him: “Go down, and be laid with the uncircumcised” (Ezekiel 32:19).

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(4) The voices of five (objects of creation) go from one end of the world to the other, and their voices are inaudible. When people cut down the wood of the tree which yields fruit, its cry goes from one end of the world to the other, and the voice is inaudible. When the serpent sloughs off its skin, its cry goes from one end of the world to the other and its voice is not heard. When a woman is divorced from her husband, her voice goeth forth from one end of the world to the other, but the voice is inaudible. When the infant || comes forth from its mother's womb. When the soul departs from the body, the cry goes forth from one end of the world to the other, and the voice is not heard. The soul does not go out of the body until it beholds the Shekhinah, as it is said, "For man shall not see me and live" (Ex. 33:20).

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(5) "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, 'A person who has transgressed...'." Rabbi Ishmael taught a parable [or "made a comparison"] to a king who had an orchard and in it had lovely first fruits. The king placed upon it guards, one lame and one blind. He said to them: 'Take care of these lovely first fruits.' After some days, the lame one said to the blind one, 'I see lovely first fruits in the orchard.' The blind one said to him, 'Bring them, and we will eat!' The lame one said to the blind one, '[I would] were I able to walk!' The blind one said, '[I would] were I able to see!' The lame one rode upon the back of the blind one, and they ate the first fruits, and they went and returned each man in his own place. After some days, the king entered that orchard. He said to them, 'Where are the beautiful first fruits?' The blind one said to him, 'My lord king, [I would] were I able to see!' The lame one said to him, '[I would] were I able to walk!' That king understood what they had done. He placed the the lame one on the back of the blind one and they began to walk." Thus, in the future, the Holy Blessing One will say to the soul, "Why did you transgress before Me?" It will say to him, "Master of the Universe! I did not sin. The body is the one who sinned! From the moment I left it I have been like a pure bird bursting into the air. How have I transgressed before You?" God will say to the body, "Why have you transgressed before Me?" The body will say to him, Master of the Universe! I did not sin. The soul is the one who sinned! From the moment that she left me, I have been tossed like a rock is thrown onto the ground. How would I have transgressed before you?!" What does the Holy Blessing One do to them? God brings the soul and throws it into the body and judges them together, as it is said, "He will call to the heavens above..." (Psalms 50: 4). God will call to the heavens above to bring the soul and to the earth to bring the body, and judge them together. Rabbi Hiyya [told a parable] compared this to a priest who had two wives, one a daughter of a priest and the other a daughter of a Levi...

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§ Apropos exchanges with prominent gentile leaders, the Gemara cites an exchange where Antoninos, the Roman emperor, said to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: The body and the soul are able to exempt themselves from judgment for their sins. How so? The body says: The soul sinned, as from the day of my death when it departed from me, I am cast like a silent stone in the grave, and do not sin. And the soul says: The body sinned, as from the day that I departed from it, I am flying in the air like a bird, incapable of sin. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to him: I will tell you a parable. To what is this matter comparable? It is comparable to a king of flesh and blood who had a fine orchard, and in it there were

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fine first fruits of a fig tree, and he stationed two guards in the orchard, one lame, who was unable to walk, and one blind. Neither was capable of reaching the fruit on the trees in the orchard without the assistance of the other. The lame person said to the blind person: I see fine first fruits of a fig tree in the orchard; come and place me upon your shoulders. I will guide you to the tree, and we will bring the figs to eat them. The lame person rode upon the shoulders of the blind person and they brought the figs and ate them. Sometime later the owner of the orchard came to the orchard. He said to the guards: The fine first fruits of a fig tree that were in the orchard, where are they? The lame person said: Do I have any legs with which I would be able to walk and take the figs? The blind person said: Do I have any eyes with which I would be able to see the way to the figs? What did the owner of the orchard do? He placed the lame person upon the shoulders of the blind person just as they did when they stole the figs, and he judged them as one. So too, the Holy One, Blessed be He, brings the soul on the day of judgment and casts it back into the body, as they were when they sinned, and He judges them as one, as it is stated: “He calls to the heavens above and to the earth that He may judge His people” (Psalms 50:4). “He calls to the heavens above”; this is the soul, which is heavenly. “And to the earth that He may judge His people”; this is the body, which is earthly. The Gemara relates another exchange. Antoninos said to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: For what reason does the sun emerge in the east and set in the west? Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to him: If it were the reverse, you would have also said that to me, as the sun must emerge from one direction and set in the other. Antoninos said to him: This is what I am saying to you: For what reason does the sun set in the west and not occasionally deviate and set elsewhere? Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to him: The sun always sets in the west in order to greet its Creator, as it is stated: “And the hosts of heaven worship You” (Nehemiah 9:6). Setting is a form of worship; it is as though the sun is bowing to God. The Divine Presence rests in the west, as is evident from the fact that the Holy of Holies in the Temple, in which the Ark, the resting place of the Divine Presence, is located in the west. Antoninos said to him: If so, let the sun come until the midpoint of the sky, set slightly and greet its Creator, and return and enter its place of origin in the east and set there. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi answered him: The sun sets in the west due to workers and due to travelers, as, if the sun did not proceed from east to west with the light of day gradually waning, they would not know that it is time to return home or to find an inn. And Antoninos said to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: From when is the soul placed in a person? Is it from the moment of conception or from the moment of the formation of the embryo, forty days after conception? Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to him: It is from the moment of the formation of the embryo. Antoninos said to him: That is inconceivable. Is it possible that a piece of meat could stand for even three days without salt as a preservative and would not rot? The embryo could not exist for forty days without a soul. Rather, the soul is placed in man from the moment of conception. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said: Antoninos taught me this matter, and there is a verse that supports him, as it is stated: “And Your Providence [pekudatekha] has preserved my spirit” (Job 10:12) indicating that it is from the moment of conception [pekida] that the soul is preserved within a person. And Antoninos said to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: From when does the evil inclination dominate a person? Is it from the moment of the formation of the embryo or from the moment of emergence from the womb? Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to him: It is from the moment of the formation of the embryo. Antoninos said to him: If so, the evil inclination would cause the fetus to kick his mother’s innards and emerge from the womb. Rather, the evil inclination dominates a person from the moment of emergence from the womb. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said: Antoninos taught me this matter, and there is a verse that supports him, as it is stated: “Sin crouches at the entrance” (Genesis 4:7), indicating that it is from the moment of birth, when the newborn emerges from the entrance of his mother’s womb, that the evil inclination lurks. § Reish Lakish raises a contradiction between two verses written with regard to the resurrection of the dead. It is written: “I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the ends of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and the woman giving birth together” (Jeremiah 31:7), indicating that at the end of days there will still be people with physical defects. And it is written: “Then shall the lame man leap as a deer and the tongue of the mute sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert” (Isaiah 35:6), indicating that at the end of days there will be no people with physical defects. How so? When resurrected, the dead will arise still afflicted with their defects, and they will then be healed. Ulla raises a contradiction. It is written: “He will swallow death forever; and the Lord God will wipe tears from all faces” (Isaiah 25:8), indicating that death will no longer exist at the end of days. And it is written: “There shall be no more an infant a few days old then…for the youngest shall die one hundred years old” (Isaiah 65:20). The Gemara answers that this contradiction is not difficult. The verse here, in Isaiah chapter 25, is written with regard to the Jewish people, who will live forever after resurrection; the verse there, in Isaiah chapter 65, is written with regard to gentiles, who will ultimately die after an extremely long life. The Gemara asks: And what do gentiles seek, i.e., why will they merit to live, in that era? The Gemara answers that the verse is referring to those gentiles about whom it is written: “And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and aliens shall be your plowmen and vinedressers” (Isaiah 61:5). Rav Ḥisda raises a contradiction. It is written: “Then the moon shall be confounded and the sun ashamed, when the Lord of hosts will reign in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before His elders shall be His glory” (Isaiah 24:23), indicating that the sun and the moon will no longer shine at the end of days. And it is written: “And the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days” (Isaiah 30:26), indicating that the sun and the moon will exist then and they will shine more brightly. The Gemara answers that this is not difficult. The verse here, in Isaiah chapter 30, is written with regard to the days of the Messiah, when the sun and moon will shine more brightly; the verse there, in Isaiah chapter 24, is written with regard to the World-to-Come, when the only light will be the light of God. The Gemara asks: And according to Shmuel, who says: The difference between this world and the messianic era is only subjugation of the exiles, as during that era the Jewish people will be freed from that subjugation, how is the contradiction resolved? The Gemara answers that even according to Shmuel this contradiction is not difficult. The verse here, in Isaiah chapter 30, is written with regard to the light in the camp of the righteous; the verse there, in Isaiah chapter 24, the verse is written with regard to the camp of the Divine Presence, when the only light will be the light of God. Rava raises a contradiction. It is written: “I will kill and I will bring to life” (Deuteronomy 32:39), indicating that God is capable of reviving the dead. And it is written immediately afterward: “I wounded and I will heal,” which indicates that God will only heal the wounded. Rather, it should be understood: The Holy One, Blessed be He, is saying: What I kill, I bring to life, indicating that God revives the dead. And then what I wounded, I will heal. § The Sages taught in a baraita with regard to the verse: “I will kill and I will bring to life.” One might have thought that it means that there will be death for one person and life for one other person, in the typical manner that the world operates. Therefore, the verse states: “I wounded and I will heal.” Just as wounding and healing take place in one person, so too, death and bringing back to life take place in one person. From here there is a response to those who say that there is no resurrection of the dead derived from the Torah. It is taught in a baraita that Rabbi Meir said: From where is resurrection of the dead derived from the Torah? It is derived from a verse, as it is stated: “Then Moses and the children of Israel will sing this song to the Lord” (Exodus 15:1). It is not stated: Sang, in the verse; rather, the term “they will sing” is stated, indicating that Moses will come back to life and sing the song in the future. From here it is proved that resurrection of the dead is derived from the Torah. On a similar note, you can say: “Then Joshua will build an altar to the Lord God of Israel on Mount Ebal” (Joshua 8:30). It is not stated: Built, in the verse; rather, the term “will build” is stated. From here, resurrection of the dead is derived from the Torah. The Gemara challenges: If that is so, then in the verse: “Then Solomon will build an altar for Chemosh the abomination of Moab” (I Kings 11:7), does this also mean that Solomon will build in the future? Rather, the use of the future tense here should be understood differently. Solomon did not build an altar to the idol; rather, the use of the future tense teaches that the verse ascribes him blame as though he built it, since he did not prevent his wives from doing so. Therefore, no proof for the resurrection of the dead may be cited from this verse. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says: From where is resurrection of the dead derived from the Torah? It is derived from a verse, as it is stated: “Happy are they who dwell in Your house; they will yet praise You, Selah” (Psalms 84:5). It is not stated: They praised you, in the verse; rather, the term “they will praise you” is stated. From here, resurrection of the dead is derived from the Torah. And Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi says: Anyone who recites song to God in this world is privileged and recites it in the World-to-Come, as it is stated: “Happy are they who dwell in Your house; they will yet praise You, Selah.” Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: From where is resurrection of the dead derived from the Torah? It is derived from a verse, as it is stated: “Your watchmen, they raise the voice; together shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye the Lord returning to Zion” (Isaiah 52:8). It is not stated: They sang, in the verse; rather, the term “together shall they sing” is stated. From here resurrection of the dead is derived from the Torah. And Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: All the prophets are all destined to recite song in one voice, as it is stated: “Your watchmen, they raise the voice; together shall they sing.” Rav Yehuda says that Rav says: With regard to anyone who withholds halakha from being studied by the mouth of a student who seeks to study Torah, it is as though he robs him of the inheritance of his ancestors, as it is stated: “Moses commanded us the Torah, an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob” (Deuteronomy 33:4), indicating that the Torah is an inheritance for all of the Jewish people from the six days of Creation. Rav Ḥana bar Bizna says that Rabbi Shimon Ḥasida says: With regard to anyone who withholds halakha from being studied by the mouth of a student who seeks to study Torah, even fetuses in their mother’s womb curse him, as it is stated: “He who withholds bar,

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The Gemara specifies: What was that incident with Elisha? As it is written: “And Naaman said: Pray, take talents” (II Kings 5:23). Naaman offered Gehazi payment for the help Elisha had given him, and when the verse recounts Elisha’s words to Gehazi, it is written: “And he said to him: Did not my heart go, when the man turned back from his chariot to meet you? Is it a time to take money, and to take garments, and olives, and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and servants, and maidservants?” (II Kings 5:26). Here Elisha criticizes Gehazi for taking the payment.

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(1) (Lev. 8:2:) “Take Aaron and his sons.” This text is related (to Prov. 20:7), “The one who walks in his integrity is righteous; blessed are his children after him.” This refers to Aaron and his children. If this interpretation is so,²⁷Reading KN for MN, as suggested in Midrash Tanhuma (Jerusalem: Eshkol, n.d.), p. 500, n. 3. The Buber text is more awkward, but means essentially the same: “If [this interpretation results] from this saying.” Moses also was righteous, but his children were not like him. And Eli also was righteous, but his children were not like him. And Samuel [was] righteous, but his children were not like him, as stated (I Sam. 8:3), “But his sons did not walk in his ways.” So why do you say [of Aaron] (in Prov. 20:7), “The one who walks in his integrity is righteous; blessed are his children after him?” Because during his lifetime he saw his sons after him serving in the high priesthood. Therefore (in Lev. 8:2) “Take Aaron and his sons.” Another interpretation (of Lev. 8:2) “Take Aaron and his sons.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him (i.e., to Moses), “Entice him with words, because he is fleeing from [the priestly] office.” Take can only be a word [implying] persuasion, for so did Nebuchadnezzar²⁸The Masoretic Text throughout Jer. 39 reads “Nebuchadrezzar.” say to Nebuzaradan (concerning Jeremiah in Jer. 39:12), “Take him and look after him.”²⁹Since Jeremiah was being taken for his own good, he would not have been taken by force but by persuasion. So also it (i.e., Scripture) speaks of our mother Sarah (in Gen. 12:15), “and the woman was taken to Pharaoh's house,” as she did not seek to go. So also with Dinah, [it states] (Genesis 34:2), “and he took her and lay with her,” as she did not seek to go. And also (here in Lev. 8:2), “Take Aaron” is language [implying] persuasion because he was fleeing from office.

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The mishna adds: One may remove his wife from a noxious residence to a pleasant residence, even if it is in another land. However, one may not compel his wife to move from a pleasant residence to a noxious residence. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel says: One may also not remove her from a noxious residence to a pleasant residence, because a pleasant residence tests the individual, i.e., one accustomed to certain environments can suffer even in more comfortable living quarters.

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As it was taught in a baraita: Shimon HaAmmassoni, and some say that it was Neḥemya HaAmmassoni, would interpret all occurrences of the word et in the Torah, deriving additional halakhot with regard to the particular subject matter. Once he reached the verse: “You shall be in awe of [et] the Lord your God; you shall serve Him; and to Him you shall cleave, and by His name you shall swear” (Deuteronomy 10:20), he withdrew from this method of exposition, as how could one add to God Himself? His students said to him: Rabbi, what will be with all the etim that you interpreted until now? He said to them: Just as I received reward for the interpretation, so I shall receive reward for my withdrawal from using this method of exposition. The word et in this verse was not explained until Rabbi Akiva came and expounded: “You shall be in awe of [et] the Lord your God”: The word et comes to include Torah scholars, and one is commanded to fear them just as one fears God. In any case, Shimon HaAmmassoni no longer derived additional halakhot from the word et.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 2 (2004), Parashat Lech Lekha, (Zohar I: 79b)

p 15, note 107

§ The Gemara relates: Rabbi Yishmael asked Rabbi Akiva a question when they were walking along the way. He said to him: You who served Naḥum of Gam Zu for twenty-two years, who would expound and learn that every appearance of the word et in the Torah is meant to teach something, what would he expound from the phrase: “The heaven and the earth” [et hashamayim ve’et ha’aretz] (Genesis 1:1)? He said to him: These words should be expounded as follows: Had it stated: In the beginning God created hashamayim veha’aretz, i.e., the heaven and the earth, without the word et, I would have said: Shamayim is the name of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and the same goes for aretz, and the verse would sound as if it meant that God, whose name is Shamayim and Aretz, created the world. Since it states “et hashamayim ve’et ha’aretz,” it is clear that these are created objects and that shamayim means the actual heaven and aretz is the actual earth. It is for this reason that the word et is necessary.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 2 (2004), Parashat Lech Lekha, (Zohar I: 79b)

p 15, note 107

(18) Whoever causes the multitudes to be righteous, sin will not occur on his account; And whoever causes the multitudes to sin, they do not give him the ability to repent. Moses was righteous and caused the multitudes to be righteous, [therefore] the righteousness of the multitudes is hung on him, as it is said, “He executed the Lord’s righteousness and His decisions with Israel” (Deut. 33:21). Jeroboam, sinned and caused the multitudes to sin, [therefore] the sin of the multitudes is hung on him, as it is said, “For the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he caused Israel to sin thereby” (I Kings 15:30).

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 2 (2004), Parashat Lech Lekha, (Zohar I: 79b)

p 15, note 108

(2) R. Abin said: Abraham may be likened to a flask of oil that had been hidden away in a cemetery, the fragrance of which was unknown to anyone. What did they do with it? They removed it from the cemetery and carried it about from place to place until its fragrance became familiar throughout the world. This happened to Abraham. He dwelt among idolaters, and so the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded him: Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred in order that I may make thy nature known throughout the world. Get thee out of thy country. What is the meaning of lekh lekha (“get thee out”)? Each lamed in these words equals thirty, and each kaf equals twenty, totaling one hundred in all; thereby hinting to Abraham: When you become one hundred years old, you will beget a righteous son, as it is written: And Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him (Gen. 21:5).

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 2 (2004), Parashat Lech Lekha, (Zohar I: 79b)

p 16, note 110

(13) He selected three letters from the simple ones, and sealed them as forming his great Name, Yud, Hei, Waw, and he sealed the universe in six directions. Fifth, He looked above, and sealed the height, with Yud-Hei-Waw. Sixth, He looked below, and sealed the deep, with Yud-Waw-Hei. Seventh, He looked forward, and sealed the East, with Hei-Yud-Waw. Eighth, He looked backward, and sealed the West, with Hei-Waw-Yud. Ninth, He looked to the right, and sealed the South, with Waw-Yud-Hei. Tenth, He looked to the left, and sealed the North, with Waw-Hei-Yud.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 2 (2004), Parashat Lech Lekha, (Zohar I: 79b)

p 17, note 118

(1) With¹The prefix bet in the first word of the Torah can be translated as “with,” “in,”, “by means of,” etc. the beginning (Gen. 1:1). This is what Scripture means when it says: The Lord with wisdom²“Beginning” and “wisdom” are synonyms for “Torah” in rabbinic literature. See Schechter, Aspects of Rabbinic Theology, p. 129. founded the earth (Prov. 3:19). That is, when the Holy One, blessed be He, was about to create this world, He consulted the Torah³Seven things were created two thousand years before the creation of heaven and earth, and the Torah was one of them. before embarking upon the work of creation, as it is said: Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine (ibid. 8:14). How was the Torah written? It was written with letters of black fire on a surface of white fire, as is said: His locks are curled and black as a raven (Song 5:11). What is meant by His locks are curled?⁴The word taltalim (“curls”) is read as tille tillim (“heaps upon heaps”). Each letter in the Torah has numerous strokes upon it which, according to tradition, represent heaps upon heaps of laws. Cf. Leviticus Rabbah 19:2, Song of Songs Rabbah 5:11–12. It means that each crowned stroke on the letters of the Torah contains heaps and heaps of law. For example, it is written in the Torah: Profane not My Holy Name (Lev. 22:2); but if you should change the het in the word yehallelu (“profane”) into a heh, the word would read “praise,” and you would thereby destroy the world. Conversely, where it is written Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord (Ps. 150:6), if you should alter the heh in the word tehallel (“praise”) into a het, the word would read “profane,” and you would thereby destroy the world.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 2 (2004), Parashat Lech Lekha, (Zohar I: 79b)

p 17, note 118

And also the nations towards which they are enslaved, I will judge (Gen 15,14) why did He say gam "also" , this is also Egypt, enslavement, to include the four enslavements, that they become slaves, I will judge them. R Eliezer in the name of R Yossi ben Zimrah, said, With the two letters following, did the Holy One of Being, promised to Avraham, our ancestor, that He will redeem his children, and so if they do tshuvah, repentance, He will redeem them with the seventy two letter name,....

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 2 (2004), Parashat Lech Lekha, (Zohar I: 79b)

p 17, note 118...

R Barchiyah said,(Psalms 77,16) , You have redeemed your nation with your arm, Bitroniyah (idle) Rabbi Yoodin said, From coming to (Deuteronomy 4,34) taking one nation from the midst of another, Great envisions that they are seventy two letters. and if a person should say to you there are seventy five letters, respond to him and say this is in order to redeem a second nation, that was not entered in the accounting. Rabbi Avin said By means of his Name did he redeem them, that the name of the Holy One of Being, blessed bem is 72 letters.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 2 (2004), Parashat Lech Lekha, (Zohar I: 79b)

p 17, note 118...

And Avram went over to the land (Gen 12,7) ...and from there he moved to the hill country east of the house of El, Bet El, and pitched his tent, with BehEl to the west and Ai to the east. .. in the past, it was called House of El,Now it is called the House of Avon, transgression. .....and he pitched her tent, Her tent is what is written, this teaches us that he pitched Sarah's tent first and then pitched his own tent.

Zohar, Pritzker Edition, Vol. 2 (2004), Parashat Lech Lekha, (Zohar I: 80a)

p 18, note 130...