זוהר ויקרא — דף יז ע”ב

Continuing the words of the Assembly of Israel: 'and I was nourished from You every day, giving drink to all those below... how shall I be without blessings,' lamenting over 'the flocks of your companions' - Israel, children of the Patriarchs, the holy Chariot. The Holy One, blessed be He, answers: My secret is hidden, but go out on the footsteps of the flock - these are the righteous who give you strength to stand - and feed your kids by the shepherds' dwellings - the schoolchildren, through whose Torah study the world endures and the Assembly of Israel gains strength in exile; as long as the righteous and the children are occupied with Torah, the Assembly of Israel can endure exile with them, but if not, they are taken first, even without sin, and the Assembly of Israel is exiled. From this comes the verse 'if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people' - he sins because of the people's sins, not his own; by another reading, 'the anointed priest' is the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself, lacking blessings to give the Assembly of Israel because of the people's guilt. Rabbi Yitzchak expounds 'remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel' - the left (Isaac) is always included within the right (Abraham), and Israel (Jacob) holds both and is complete in everything; he discusses the oath sworn to the Patriarchs and the Land nourished from the upper world, exiled because of the people's guilt. Finally: woe to those who rely on a priest or prayer-leader found to have sinned, for all Israel, above and below, look to be blessed through him.