Kabbalah Library

190. “Happy are you that you have been rewarded with hidden lights from all sides, from above and from below, from this world and from the other world.” Rabbi Shimon said, “There is one thing I wanted to know, if you can tell me: Women in that world, are they rewarded with rising up, or how are they there?” They said to him, “In this, we have an honorable secret, but we are not to tell the secrets from there. However, let him go and take permission, and we will tell you.” In the meantime, one of them flew and disappeared from them and went away.

191. He returned to him and said to them, “I was ready to come in and everyone were seated in a circle, discussing the judgment of one man who was standing at the door to the Garden of Eden and the Cherubim were holding him and would not let him in. He was afflicted between them and cried out shouts at the door, and all the righteous who were there heard. Now all the members of the seminary gathered to come into the Messiah king to discuss his sentence, and I came to let you know, and this friend of mine must go there, since a clarion went among all the members of the seminary who were gathering toward the Messiah.” He took one writing and gave to Rabbi Shimon. He said, “Take this and delve into what is written there until we come to you.” Both of them went away.

192. Rabbi Shimon took the text and saw in the secrets that were there throughout that day. At night, he saw a candle and sleep overcame him and he slept until morning. At daybreak, he arose, and that text flew away from him. And behold, those two came. They said to him, “Because of you, we saw and were rewarded with several high secrets. What great joy they showed us when they permitted us to reveal to you anything you want. The head of the seminary came out to us and said, ‘Send regards to Rabbi Shimon, the place of Rabbi Shimon has been vacant for him for several days, there is no one who comes near him, happy is he.’

193. “When we flew from you, we entered and saw all the members of the seminary gathering into one hall, where the Messiah was, and debated the sentence of that man who stood at the door. We have no permission to reveal his name.” Rabbi Shimon regretted it. He said to him, “Do not be sorry about that, you will know it in your dream. However, the sentenced that they sentenced him, which the Messiah decreed, is that that man will be outside in that sorrow forty days. At the end of forty days, he will be afflicted with the judgment of the sorrow of Hell for an hour and a half.

194. One day, one of the friends interpreted words of Torah. When he came to one matter, that person knew that he would fail in it. He said to the friends, “Be silent; say nothing.” And because the friends kept silent, he failed in that matter and was humiliated. Because of that humiliation that the man caused him, he was sentenced to a harsh judgment, since the Creator does not want to leave an iniquity of Torah even as a hairsbreadth.

195. They debated his sentence and all the members of the seminary came out, and I asked permission, since Rabbi Shimon asked that question. Therefore, I was shown what I did not know before. They showed me six halls with several pleasures and subtleties in the place where the veil is spread in the garden, since from that veil onward, males do not enter whatsoever.