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Zohar: Bereshith to Lekh Lekha

By Nurho de Manhar

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Various Kabbalistic Expositions of Biblical Texts

Said Rabbi Simeon: "We read, 'And God said unto Noah, enter thou and all thy house into the ark.' Wherefore in the narrative of the deluge is the divine name of Alhim used throughout, except in this particular passage in which the sacred name I H V H is found. The explanation is this. It is not in accordance with the rules and custom of good society for a wife to receive a guest into her home without the consent and permission of her husband, so Noah though desirous to enter into the ark, it was first of all necessary that the husband of the ark, designated here by the Holy Name, representing divine goodness, should give Noah authority and permission to do so, and not before this did he enter the ark; and it is added, 'For thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation,' from which words we infer that no one should ever be received as a guest in a house whose character is blemished and has a stain upon it."

Said Rabbi Jehuda: "We find written in scripture, Ps. xxiv. 1, 'A psalm of David. The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof, the world and they dwell therein.' We know from tradition that wherever the name David occurs in the psalms, that it was composed by him himself, but whenever it precedes a psalm it was composed and written by the aid of the Holy Spirit's influence. The words, 'The earth is the Lord's and the fulness thereof' refer to the land of Israel which is called the Holy Land, whilst 'the fulness thereof' signifies the Schekina, as it is76a written 'for the glory of the Lord filled   the houses of God.' (1 Kings v. 11) Why in this passage is the word mla (full) in place of mile (filled). Thereby is meant that the Schekina was as the light of the moon at its full. The Schekina is full of heavenly blessings as a treasure house is with jewels and gold so long as it remains and abides in the land of Israel which belongs unto the Lord. According to another exposition these words refer to heaven on high wherein the Lord delights to dwell, but 'the fulness (oumloah) thereof' are the souls of the righteous filled with the principle of justice, the divine attribute that sustains the universe. Should it however be said, 'Is the earth sustained only by a single pillar?' observe what is written. 'For He lath founded it upon the seas (yammim) and established it upon the floods or rivers (recharoth).' He here refers to the Holy One, of whom it is written, 'It is He that hath made us.' (Ps. c. 3). 'For He looketh to the ends of the earth and seeth under the whole heavens' (Job xxviii. 24). These words also designate the seven pillars or columns upon which the world stands and when these columns fill the earth then, as scripture states, the earth is said to be full; that is, when the number of the just increases, the earth becomes fertile and fruitful. When however they are outnumbered by the wicked then as it is written, 'The waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up' (Job xiv. 11).67a 'The waters fail from the sea' signify the Holy land watered by rivers of life from on high, but the 'stream (naahr) decayeth and drieth up' refer to the column of justice and righteousness repaired in the Holy Land in order to enlighten it and have the same meaning as the words, 'The righteous perisheth and no man layeth it to heart.'" (Is. lvii. 1.)