Kabbalah Library
Zohar for All, Volume 9
What Are the Tribes for the Next World
100. Rabbi Yehuda had a land leaser who was working in his field and gave him some of his crop as payment. The land leaser was troubling him. Rabbi Zira and Rabbi Aba came to him. They said to him, “What does my lord do with his land leaser?” He said to them, “If a man steals, the one with the sun shines his light on him.”
In other words, although he steals from me, I am good to him. They said to him, “Do not mind what he does.” He said to them, “And what can I do if he gives me trouble?” They said to him, “My lord should part from him, and you will be relieved.”
101. While they sat, they said to him, “This is not why we came to you, but rather, may our lord tell us the tribes of the sons of Jacob, what are they for the next world?” He said to them, “The Creator raised them to the seminary in the firmament, and each soul of a righteous that rises, the tribes testify to his actions.”
102. It is written, “Jerusalem that is built.” This is Jerusalem of above, for there the tribes went up, the tribes of the Lord, a testimony to Israel, in order to testify about each and every righteous from Israel. They must testify so that all will thank and bless His name, as it is written, “a testimony to Israel, to thank the name of the Lord.” And each one knows his own and praises and says, “Master of the world, see what I had left in the land.” And this is to thank the name of the Lord.
103. Each righteous has a section in that world according to his glory, and according to what he deserves. One who comes from Reuben, his section is there, with the righteous from Reuben. So it is for each tribe. One who is from the nations of the world and had converted [to Judaism], his section is in the section of the proselytes. The tribes are poised to testify about each righteous, as it is written, “for there the tribes went up, the tribes of the Lord, a testimony to Israel, to thank the name of the Lord.”
104. The soul of the righteous knows and recognizes the next world better than the ministering angel knows, as it is written, “Tell the righteous that he is good,” that he is better than the ministering angels. And it is written, “A light sown to the righteous, and joy to the upright at heart.”
