Kabbalah Library
Zohar for All, Volume 8
Fearing Sin Comes Before His Wisdom
52. “It is not the learning that is the most important, but the action. Anyone whose fear of sin comes before his wisdom, his wisdom persists, and anyone whose wisdom comes before his fear of sin, his wisdom does not persist.” His fear of sin is upper Ima, Bina, who is called “repentance.” Hochma is upper Abba. When one puts the small letter Hey, Malchut, who is commandment, before the Torah is on him, namely ZA, Vav. When he puts fear, the first Hey, before Hochma, Hochma, Yod, is on him, and he is called “son,” the son of Yod-Hey. From this comes the verse, “You are the children of the Lord your God.”
53. “This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.” “This is My name,” Yod-Hey, “and this is My memorial,” Vav-Hey. “My name” with Yod-Hey is 365 in Gematria. “My memorial” with Vav-Hey is 248 in Gematria, and all of them are 613 in Gematria, 613 commandments that were given to holy sons, so they would have a part in His name, as it is written, “For the Lord’s portion is His people.”
54. When one puts the Torah before the commandment, or wisdom before fear, the name is inverted on him into Nukva, the quality of judgment, like this: Hey-Vav-Hey-Yod, since the name in direct order indicates the quality of mercy, and in reverse, it indicates the quality of judgment. When everything is inverted into judgment, his nourishments in the Torah are as hard as the tearing of the Red Sea, and likewise will be the redemption.
If they merit, they will come out with mercy, as it is written, “Before a pang comes to her, she will deliver a male,” and they will come out with mercy. If he does not put mercy first, they will come out with affliction. It is better to put affliction and judgment first, to extend the mercy, as we learn, “According to the sorrow, so is the reward.”
55. The emergence of the soul, when she is born into the world, before she emerges, she has sorrow, pains of birth. After she emerges, she is in mercy, as it is written, “With weeping they shall come,” and then “and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back.” This is why it is written, “It is a time of trouble for Jacob, and he shall be saved from it,” and they will come out with mercy.
Just as the Creator sent the dove, since Noah is Yesod, but she found no place to rest, as it is written, “But the dove found no place to rest,” so He sent him Moses, at first. He sent him, for because he found no place to hide from Him, he was therefore revealed to Him.
The dove is the soul, of which it is implied, “He also sent out from himself a dove,” meaning that the Creator sent her to this world. “But the dove found no place to rest for her foot,” meaning that she wandered and roamed in agony in this world. This is why it is written, “and she returned to him,” meaning that she was rewarded with repentance, and merited returning to her root.
Similarly, Moses said to Rabbi Shimon, who was therefore revealed to him, since he had already hidden himself from him in all the places where he could hide. And since he had no more places to hide himself from him, he was therefore revealed to him.
We learn from all this that we must before we are rewarded with mercy, we must have wars and sorrow, judgment, and suffering, since according to the sorrow, so is the reward.
56. It is written about them, “He turned here and there, and saw that there was no person.” Moses saw that everyone is guilty; he did not find a person among them worthy of emerging from the exile. Because of it, he refused to go there and said, “Please send by the hand of someone else.”
But now you are as during the exodus from Egypt. In you, the people of Israel, the words “As in the days when you came out from the land of Egypt, I will show him wonders” will come true. In the final exile, He will send with you two messengers, the Messiah son of Joseph and the Messiah son of David, who correspond to the two wings of the dove, the Shechina.
For in the fourth exile, you are as a body without wings. And moreover, in the beginning, Israel were as the body, and you and Aaron as the two wings of the dove, and with them, Israel flew out from the exile.
