Zohar, Toldoth Noah 63b
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Transcript of Zohar, Toldoth Noah 63b
56
THE ZOHAR
« OW you might say, 'Who deployed the Destroyer here? It was . overwhelming. ' Come and see: Judgment never manifests in the the world obliterated, without that Destroyer surging through the executed upon the world. Similarly here, there was a flood, the surging through that flood, called by that name. 176 So the blessed told Noah to hide himself, not expose himself openly.
« ow you might say, 'The ark was exposed in this world, and was surging.' However, as long as one's face is not visible to the ha no power over him. 177 How do we know? From Egypt, as is of you shall go out the door of his house until morning (Exodus Because the Destroyer loomed, ready to destroy, and one must himself in his presence. So Noah together with all his companions away in the ark, and the Destroyer had no power over them."
Rabbi I:Iiyya and Rabbi Yose were walking on the way. They mountains of Kurdistan,1 78 where they saw trace of crevices dating from the time of the Flood. 179
Rabbi I:Iiyya said to Rabbi Yose, «These crevice are vestiges Ii preserved by the blessed Holy One ever since, throughout the that the ins of the wicked not be obliterated from His sight. For way of the ble sed Holy One: He wants the virtuous who do remembered above and below, their blessed memory un forgotten to generation. Similarly He wants the sins of the wicked, who will, not to be forgotten, their punishment and evil memory generation to generation, as is written: Stained is your iniquity (Jeremiah 2:22).,,180
Rabbi Yose opened, saying, «Cry shrilly, 0 Daughter of Laishah! 0 poor Anathoth! (Isaiah 10:30) . 181 This verse has heeD
176. called by that name Called "Flood."
177. a long as one's face is not visible ...
See Devarim Rabbah 4:4; Zohar 1:68b, 108b.
178. mountains of Kurdistan lTli' ,.,ll.l
(Turei qardu), namely, the mountains of Ara
rat, upon which the ark settled as the waters
of the Flood subsided. See Genesis 8:4, and
Targum Qllqe/os, ad loc. , from whom the
Zohar borrows this Aramaic expression. Cf.
Zohar 3:149a; Zij lib (MhN), 49a. The neol
ogistic phrase in 1:15a: XnlJ'Tli" XJ'Yl:l
(botsina de-qardil1uta). "a spark of impene
trable darkness," may allude to Kurdi tan
(see above, p. 107. n. 4).
179. crev ices .. . from the Flood See Genesis 7: 11: All
the great abyss bllrs/. 180. Stailled is your
See above, page 355.
181. Cry shrilly, 0 Listell, Lais/wh! 0 poor calls on tile inhabitants of
Gallim (literally, Dallghter warn the nation (specificllly.
of Laishah and Anathoth) of
Assyrian invasion.
the Companions, but it was declared for Assembly of Israel. 182 Cry shrilly,
of Gallim! Daughter of Abraham; so they have established. IS3
of Gallim, as is wri tten: a sealed In (gal), spring (Song of Songs
Gallim-waves, streams merging, flowing into Her, fi ll ing Her, as is
Your branches are an orchard of pomegranates (ibid., 13).1 84
Laishah, as is written: 1lI''7 (Layish) , The lion, perishes for lack of prey 4=11 ). Layish is male; Laishah, female. Why is She called Layish?1 85 Either
of the verse: Layish, Lion, mighty among beasts (Proverbs 30:30), or
of: Layish, The lion, perishes for lack of prey. But She is aU: Mighty lion, from upper Might;1 86 The lion perishes for lack of prey, when those
disappear, no longer entering Her. Then She is calJed Poor Laishah, (Isaiah, ibid.), perishing for lack of prey, as is written: The lion perishes of[63h) prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered. 187
'nnw' nOD
Hebrew this
denotes the people of Israel. The
on the Song of ongs describes the
affair between the maiden (the earthly
. of Israel) and her lover (the
One, blessed be He). In the Zohar, Ke· can refer to the earthly commu-
also (often primarily) to Shekhinah. femin ine counterpart of the peo
lilt aspect of God most intimately con
with them. The lover in the Song of
are pictured as the divine couple: Tif-and Shekhinah.
Rabbi Yose cites aver e from Isaiah
to the people of Israel and applies
ee Zohar 1:249a-b.
~ 0 Daughter of Gallim! Daughter of
.. . See BT Sanhedrin 94b: "Rav
said. ' ... Cry shrilly, 0 Daughter of Daughter of Abraham, Isaac, and
who enacted mitsvo( a profusely as
-In (gallei ha-yam), the waves of the
Cf. £ikhah Rabbah, Peti~ta 1; Pesiqta Kahana Ip.
Rabbi Yose focuses on Abraham,
according to rabbinic tradition was
with a daughter in his o ld age. In
this daughter symbolizes Shekhiderive from Hesed, symbolized by
Abraham and by flowing water. See Tosefta, Qiddllshin 5:17; BT Bava Batra 16b; Bahir 52
(78); al:unanides on Genesis 24:1.
184. sealed "l (gal), spring .. . streams
merging. . . In the midrashic interpretation
of Song of Songs, the beloved described as a sealed spring symbolizes the people of Israel
(Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah on 4:12; Shemot Rabbah 20:5). Here the spring i Shekhinah , As
sembly of Israel , filled by the flow of the
sefiro( from He ed to Yesod, who are known
as Gallim. "waves" of emanation.
185. Layish is male; Laishah, female . ..
The word ;,w'., (/aishah) means "lioness,"
while its homonym, Laishah, is the name of
the city addressed by Isaiah. Usually male
and female symbolize the divine couple, Yesod and Shekhinah , though here, as we soon
see, both genders characterize hekhinah. See
Zohar 1:249b-250a and, on the masculine
aspect of Shekhinah, 1:232a.
186. deriv ing from upper Might Shekhinah . the liones , derives from Gevurah (Might).
187. when those streams d isappear . . .
Poor Laishah ... When She is not nour
ished by the flow of emanation, Shekhinah is impoverished and unable to transmit bless
ing. See Zohar 1:250a.
3
368
THE ZOHAR
''Anathoth, poorest of the poor, as is said: of the priests who wen
(Jeremiah 1:1),188 and similarly: Anathoth, go to your field! (1
What is the point?l90 As long as King David was alive, Abiathar
and in all ways. Afterward Solomon said to him, Anathoth, go Why did Solomon call him this? Because he was telling him, father was poor; now, go to your field!' 191
"Now still the question may be posed: Why was Abiathar called you say he came from Anathoth, look at what is written: One SOlI
son of Ahitub escaped-his name was Abiathar (1 Samuel 22:20),192
have been from Nob, since Nob was the city of the priests. 193 Evm claimed that Nob and Anathoth are one and the same-it being thoth' only because the city was reduced to poverty and destroyed
the priests eliminated-still Anathoth was a village, not identical
The real reason he called Abiathar Anathoth was as he said:
(hit 'anneita), you were afflicted, with all the hardships my father ibid. ).195 He came from the city of Nob, but because the
transpired during his lifetime, he was called otherwise."
188. Anathoth, poorest of the poor ...
Rabbi Yose interprets the name of the priestly village, mml1 (Anatot) , in the ense
of'll1 (ani), "poor," referring to the priests'
lack of inheritance (Deuteronomy 18:1-2).
The plural form suggests intense poverty.
See Zohar 1:249b. 189. Anathoth, go to your field! The ex
pression means literally: Go to Allathoth, to your field, a command given by King Solo
mon to Abiathar. Abiathar had been a loyal follower of Solomon's father, King David,
and was appointed high priest. However, as
a result of his upport for the succession of
Adonijah (another of David's sons), King
Solomon banished him to Anathoth. See 1
Samuel 22-23; 1 Kings 1:7; 2:26-27. 190. What is the point? Why did Solo
mon call Abiathar by the name Anathoth?
191. 'In your days father was poor; now, go to your field!' Abiathar initially served
David in a period of poverty, as indicated by the name Anathoth. Shekhinah, symbolized
by David, was then al 0 incomplete. Now
in the affluent reign of Solomon, with Shekhinah fulfilled, Abiathar is out of place and
must return to his humble home.
moon does not become day of its cycle, 0 it
until the gloriou reign of
fifteenth generation from siqta de-Ray Kahana Pl; IIIIl bah 15:26: "When Solomon disk of the moon became
See Zohar l:73b, 7¥.
249b; 2:85a; 3=6Ia; ZJ:l83b de Leon, Shushan Edut, 341-moon symbolize Shekh,nah.
192. One son ... his II4IIIt
The verse concludes: and he
son, who escaped. ee I
1:224ll.
194. Anathoth was a with Nob The village of
located on the outskirts of the See Nehemiah 11:32; Zohar
195. all the hardships dured Abiathar hared the
Rabbi l:fiyya said, "The world was impoverished ever since the day Adam
violated the commands of the ble ed Holy One until oah arrived and offered an offering, and the world was settled. »196
Rabbi Yose aid, "The world remained unsettled and earth did not escape the slime of the erpent until Israel stood at Mount Sinai, embracing the Tree of Lifejl97 then the world was settled. Had Israel not relapsed, sinning before the
blessed Holy One, they would have never died, for they had been purged of the slime of the serpent. Then the original tablets were smashed-tablets comprising total freedom, freedom from that serpent: End of all flesh. 198 When the Itvite rose to deal death,I99 the evi l serpent aroused, slithering in front of
them, but he could not overpower Israel for they were all girded with armored
belts. Once Moses said Now take off your ornaments (Exodus 33:5 ), the serpent was empowered to dominate them.20o
Solomon's father, David , as he fl ed from King Saul.
196. The world was impoverished . . . until Noah arrived and offered an offering . . . Adam's sin ruined the union of the sefirot, drreby depriving the world of the rich di line flow. When oah emerged safely from Ibt ark following the Flood, he offered sacrifices (Gene is 8:20-22), wh ich stimulated Ibt union of the sefirot, ensuring blessi ng aOO harmony for the world.
197. slime of the serpent. . . IVnn KlJOll!
(Zohama de-naha h), "The fi lth of the serpent."
See BT Shabbat 145b-1 46a: "Rav Yosef 1IIght: ' . .. When the serpent copulated with Eve, he injected her with KlJOl1T (zohama). filth [or: slime, lewdness]. Israel, who stood at Mount inai- their zohama ceased. Star·worshipers, who did not stand at Mount Sinai- their zohama did not cease.'" Isracl 's acceptance of the Torah, symbolized by the Tree of Li fe , inoculated them against the YCIIOmous slime and restored them to a parldisiacal state.
See Tnrgllm Yerl/siza/llli, Genesis 4: I; Pirqei de·Rabbi E/i'ezer 21; Zohar 1:36b-37a, 52a, S4i, mb.
198. original tablets were smashed .. . When Mo es saw the Children of Israel worshiping the Golden Calf, he smashed
the stone tablets insc ribed with the Ten Commandments. Later Moses ca rved a second set, wh ich were aga in inscribed by God. See Exodus 32:19; 34:1.
According to rabbinic tradition, the first tablets offered immortality. See TanQulIla, Ki Tissa 16; and Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah on 8:6: "nr''\n (Harut), Ellgraved, on the tablets [describing the divine writing] . Do not read m,n (harut) , engraved, but rather m,'n (heirut), freedom. Rabb i Yehudah, Rabbi e~emiah , and the Rabbis: Rabbi Yehudah
says, 'Freedom fro m the Angel of Death .' Rabbi e~emiah says, 'Freedom from foreign rulers.' The Rabbis say, 'Freedom from suffering.'" See Zohar 1:37b, 52a-b.
Here the serpent is identified with the Angel of Death, known as Elld of all flesh (see above, pages 363-65). On the di tinction between the original tablets and their copy, see Tishby, Wisdom of the Zohar, 3:1103-06.
199. When the Levi tes rose to deal death To kill those who had sinned with the Golden Calf. See Exodus 32:26-28.
200. they were all gi rded with armored belts. . . See Tan~llIma (Suber), Shela ~l ,
add . I : "Rabbi Shim 'on son of Yo~ai said , ' He adorned them with weapons engraved with the Ineffable Na me [YHVH], and as long as they possessed these, no evil could touch them, nei ther the Angel of Death nor
370
THE ZOHAR
"Come and see what is written: The Children of Israel were ornaments from Mount Horeb on (ibid., 6) . '7:~m," (Va-yitnatstselu),
stripped-the verse should read '7YJ" (Vaynatstselu), They stripped.»1
were stripped, by someone else, for the serpent was empowered to ornaments from Mount Horeb-that they received from Mount Torah was given to Israe1. »202
Rabbi J:Iiyya asked, "Since Noah was a righteous man (Genesis didn't he abolish death throughout the world?»203
Rabbi Yose replied, "Because the slime of the world had not yet Furthermore, they did not believe in the blessed Holy One; all of grasping the leaves of the tree below and dressing themselves spirit. 204 Further, they later persisted in sinning, clinging to the as before, and Torah, Tree of Life, had not yet been brought down the blessed Holy One.,,205
anything else. As soon as they sinned [with
the Golden Calf], Moses said to them: Now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you (Exodus 33:5). At that moment, When the people heard this evil word, they mourned, [and no olle put on his ornaments] (ibid., 4). What is written? The Children of Israel were stripped of their ornaments .. .. (ibid., 6). '"
Cf. Targum Onqelos and Targum Yerushalmi, Exodus 33:4, 6; Targum Shir haShirim 2:17; Eikhah Rabbah, Peti~ta 24; Shir ha-Shirim Rabbah on 1:4; Pirqei de-Rabbi Eli'ezer 47; Bf Shabbat 88a; Avodah Zarah 5a;
NaJ:unanides on Exodus 33:6; Zohar 1:52b, 126b; 2:227a.
201. the verse should read ,r,~m' (Vaynatstseiu), They stripped Since the Chil
dren of Israel stripped off their ornaments,
why the construably passive conjugation?
202. But, they were stripped, by someone
else. . . See BT Shabbat 88a: "Rabbi Simai expounded: 'When Israel said We will do before We williistell (Exodus 24:7) [thereby
demonstrating true faith by committing
themselves to fulfill God's word before hearing the details], 600,000 ministering
angels came to each and every Israelite, set
ting two crowns upon him, one for We will do, and one for We will listen. As soon as
Israel sinned, 1,200,000 angels tion descended and removed
said: The Children of Israel 1l'1li
their ornaments from Moullt According to the simple
the phrase from Mount Horeb
sin? In rabbin ic tradition, the empowered to abolish the BT Mo'ed Qatan 16b: "The
over Me? The righteous ODe.
decree and he abolishes it."
204. all of them were
of the tree below ...
grasped the leaves of the Tree which convey the knowledgt
See Zohar 1:36b, 53b, 5680
brought down to earth ...
Noa~
As they were walking, they saw a Jew approaching.
Rabbi Yose said, "This person is a Jew-he looks SO! "206
When he reached them, they asked him.
He said, "I am an envoy for a mitsvah!207 For we live In the village of
. 208 and the time of the FestivaF09 nears, so we need a lulav and its fellow
. 210 I'm on my way to pluck them for the mitsvah."
They walked on as one.
The Jew said to them, "These four species of the lulav, all of which propitiate
ilr water211- have you heard why we need them on the Festival?"212
They replied, "The Companions have already been aroused by this,213 but if
possess a new word, say it!"
He said to them, "True, the place we live in is small, but everyone there
in Torah under the guidance of one inflamed by the rabbis:214 Rabbi
son of Yose from Mal:lOza,215 who each day tells us new words. He said
life, could have guided and protected the Temple in Jerusalem on the last six days
on the description of wisdom in Prov-
p 8: She is a tree of life to those who
her. See BT Berakhot 32b, 61b. lIl6. This person is a Jew-he looks so!
Zohar \:164a: "While they were walking,
saw a man approaching, accompanied
a child riding on his shoulders. Rabbi said, "This man is certainly a Jew!"
1IJ7. I am an envoy for a mitsvah! The
Jew is on a spiritual errand ,
been sent to fulfill a commandment. Dr Slikkah lOb, 26a.
1IJ8. village of Ramin The name means
exalted," though see above, note 124.
village is not mentioned in rabbiJ1ic lit
but it reappears in Zohar 3:39b.
1IJ9. Festival The week-long harvest of Sukkot , celebrated at the end of
110. lulav and its fellow species Four
taken and waved during the festival a palm branch (/ulav), a citron,
sprigs of myrtle, and two willow twigs.
leviticus 23:40. 111. all of which propitiate for water
the four species were waved as of a ritual prayer for rain. Similarly, in
of Sukkot, as the rainy season approached,
water was drawn and poured as a libation on the altar. The additional service for She
mini Atseret (the day following Sukkot ) opens
with a prayer for rain. 212. why we need them on the Festival
In his Hebrew writings, Moses de Leon at
tacks assimilated Jews who used rationalistic ideology to justify their neglect of mitsvot,
specifically this mit yah. See his Sefer ha
Rimmon, 391-92; Matt, Zohar, 5- 6.
213. Co m panions have already been aroused by this The symbolic meaning of
th e four s pecies is discussed in Z ohar
1:220a-221a; 2:186b; 3:24a, 31b, 104a. See Tish
by, Wisdom of the Zohar, ]:1249-5l. 214. one inflamed by the rabbis x:n1Y
p:rlt.l (Tsurba me-rabbanan ), a phrase refer
ring to a scholar, perhaps meaning "scorched
by the rabbis." See BT Ta 'anit 43; and M Avot 2:10: "Rabbi Eli 'ezer says, ' ... Warm
yourself by the fire of the wise-and be
ware their glowing coals, 0 that you'll not
be burned . For their bite is the bite of a fox;
their sting, the ting of a scorpion; their
hiss, the hiss of a serpent; and all their
words like coals of fire. '"
215. Mal:lOza A large trading town on the Tigris River.
371
372
THE ZOHAR
that the Festival is the time when all those princes appointed
nations prevail, ble ed from the side of Israel,216 called by us
as is said: the raging waters (Psalms 124:5).217 In order to overpowa
approach with the mystery of the holy name-with those four
lulav218-in order to propitiate the blessed Holy One to prevail
them through the mystery of the holy name, and to arouse holy
to pour upon the altar. 219
"He further told us that on Rosh Hashanah the firs t arousal
world. What is the first arousal? Lower Court of Justice, aroused
world, with the ble ed Holy One sitting in judgment over the
court remains in session until Yom Kippur, when Her face
serpent-cosmic informer-is nowhere to be found, being
goat they offer to him, deriving from the side of impure spirit,
216. all those princes appointed over
other nations... According to rabbinic
tradition, the seventy nations of the world
are governed by seventy angels or heavenly
princes appointed by God.
ee Daniel 10:20; Septuagint, Deuteron
omy 32:8-9; Jubilees 15:31-32; Targum Yerushalmi, Genesi 11:8, Deuteronomy 32:8-9;
Tall!ltIma, Re'eh 8; Leqa!1 ToY, Genesis 9:19;
Pirqei de-Rabbi Eli'ezer 24; Zohar l:46b, 108b;
3:298b; Ginzberg, Legellds, 5:204-5, n. 91.
According to rabbinic tradition, the sev
enty bullocks offered by Israel on Sukko!
( umbers 29:12-34) benefit the seventy na
tions. ee BT SlIkkah 55b; Eikhah Rabball 1:23; Pesiqta de-Ray Kahana 28:9; Tishby,
Wisdom of the Zohar, ):1251-53.
217. the raging waters The full verse
reads: Then oyer liS would have swept the raging waters. See Zohar 2:64b.
218. In order to overpower them ... the
holy name... The four species symbolize
the four letters of the name 011<1' (YHVH),
perhaps as follows: myrtle, ,; willow, 01; lulav. 1; citron, 01. ee OY; MM; Zohar 1:220b.
Brandi hing these specie, Israel vanqui hes
the seventy prince. ee Pesiqta de-Ray Kahalla 27:2.
219. to arouse holy water upon us, to
pour upon the altar As mentioned above
(note 211), in the Temple on the last six days
of Sukko!. water was drawn and poured as a
Israel's ritual of the four
pours down upon Shekhlllah, the alta r.
Ju t ice") and conveys it to
Zohar 2:186b, 237b-238a.
222. serpent-cosmic
where ... engrossed in that Yom Kippur, a scapegoat
of Israel is offered to the
Azazel (Leviticus 16:10).
Babylonian Akitu ritual a
for a human being, is offered
goddess of the Aby .
de-Rabbi Eli'ezer 46, the ~
preoccupy Satan: "They gM
bribe on Yom Kippur so that nuJJify Israel's sacrifice."
See BT Yoma 20a: "On