זוהר בראשית — דף קפו ע”ב

Er was “evil in the sight of the Lord,” an evil that spills seed upon the earth, and therefore “the Lord slew him”; after him came Onan. Rabbi Shimon opens with “I have raised up one from the north, and he has come” and rebukes people for sleeping without awakening. Man was created after the pattern of what is above, a holy soul was placed in him, and he must not interrupt the river and the source: if he does not succeed, the Holy One, blessed be He, uproots him and plants him anew. “I have raised up” is the awakening of union, “he has come” is the holy soul, and “from the rising of the sun” is the place of the flowing river. One who interrupts his source, so to speak, causes an interruption above. In the bracketed passage, one who did not wish to marry has no remedy, whereas one who tried and could not is repaired through his redeemer, his brother.