Kabbalah Library
Zohar for All, Volume 3
And the Time Drew Near that Israel Must Die, and He Called His Son Joseph
25) “And the time drew near that Israel must die.” He saw that this trouble of the exile would happen to his sons, and he brought it closer to his soul, “And his soul was annoyed to death.” And he did not remain alive when he descended from his degrees due to the sins of Israel. And Israel, ZA, did not descend with them into exile, as did the Shechina, who went down into exile with them.
Happy are Israel because if ZA did come down with them into exile, they would remain among the nations and would not be able to come out of them. And it is written, “Why have I come and there was no one, I called and none answered? Is My hand too short to redeem?” “And none answered” is Israel, ZA. “[Why] have I come and there was no one” is the Shechina, whose hand is too short. Thus, ZA, too, went into exile with them.
However, the Creator gave a portion to Israel, so no other minister would rule over them. For this reason, he was in exile with them. And when they went into exile, the Shechina is with them. But ZA is far from the Shechina. Indeed, ZA is in exile with Israel, too, as well as the Shechina. But he is far from the Shechina and there is no coupling between them. This is why he said before that ZA did not go down to exile.
