זוהר ויקרא — דף כה ע”ב
Summary
When that righteous one comes with the holy doe, he is crowned together with her before the King, and David said, "To the conductor, upon Ayelet haShachar" (Psalm 22) — this is the Community of Israel; "the hind of the dawn" is the song the Community of Israel sings in exile, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" Rabbi Shimon: fortunate are the masters of the neshama, the masters of Torah, servants of the holy King; woe to those wicked who do not merit attachment to their Master and do not merit Torah — for whoever does not merit Torah merits neither ru'ach nor neshama, and their attachment is to the side of evil kinds; they have no portion in the holy King, no portion of holiness, and woe to them when they leave this world, for they are known to those evil kinds, masters of insolence, strong as dogs, messengers of Gehinnom's fire, who show no mercy.<br />
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What is the difference between Israel and the idol-worshipping nations? Even if an Israelite merits only the soul, a supernal level stands over him, and if he wishes to acquire ru'ach or neshama, he acquires and merits it; but the idol-worshipping nations never acquire anything, except if circumcised, in which case they acquire a soul from elsewhere. An Israelite who remains at the lower level of the soul alone, if he does not wish to merit more, incurs great punishment; woe to that wicked one who forgot the Torah's commandments and did not strive in it, forgetting his Master — of him it is said, "let sinners cease from the earth" (Psalm 104).<br />
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There are people who cling to the side of impurity because of that soul which did not merit more, and when an impure spirit passes over them, it rests and attaches to them; then the sin that person commits comes from the side of that impure spirit, and his offering is a goat, since it is an animal that comes from that side, to atone for his sin. Rabbi Elazar, his son, asked him: it is written, "you shall not let his corpse remain on the tree overnight... and you shall not defile your land" (Deuteronomy 21), because the land is holy and an impure spirit will find no place to rest in it; if so, since an impure spirit coming from that side rests on that animal, why is it offered toward the side of holiness? He answered him: you have asked well.<br />
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But see, my son: it is written, "for the Lord your God is a consuming fire" (Deuteronomy 4) — there is a fire that consumes fire; the fire of the Holy One consumes another fire. There are angels who sing before the Holy One and are annulled when they finish that song in a spark of consuming fire. Below, the Holy One prepares the altar's fire, and this fire consumes and destroys that entire side, which is annulled in that flame, leaving nothing of it in the world; and the person who offers his sacrifice stands by it, and through the rising scent of the offering, the side of the impure spirit resting on him is removed, and he is atoned. Therefore everything is annulled and destroyed, and nothing can stand before that fire.<br />
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Rabbi Acha was walking on the road, and Rabbi Chiya and Rabbi Yossei met him together. Rabbi Acha said: surely we three are destined to receive the presence of the Shechinah. They joined together and walked. Rabbi Acha said: let each of us say something connected to Torah, and let us go. Rabbi Chiya opened and said, "Drop down, O heavens, from above" (Isaiah 45) — this verse is a secret of wisdom learned from the holy menorah. What does "drop down" mean? As it is said, "my teaching shall drop like the rain" (Deuteronomy 32), referring to rain, which is sustenance for all; therefore all the world's eyes look to the Holy One for sustenance, since He gives food to all and sustains all, as it is said, "the eyes of all look to You" (Psalm 145).<br />
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And if you say the matter depends on the place called "heavens" — we have learned that the matter does not depend on merit, and merit has been interpreted as tzedakah (charity), whose Aramaic translation is "zechuta"; and merit and heaven are one and the same thing, and here "drop down, O heavens" — it is written "from above," from above indeed: this comes from the Holy Ancient One (Atika Kadisha), and not from that place called heavens and merit, but specifically from above.
<br />
What is the difference between Israel and the idol-worshipping nations? Even if an Israelite merits only the soul, a supernal level stands over him, and if he wishes to acquire ru'ach or neshama, he acquires and merits it; but the idol-worshipping nations never acquire anything, except if circumcised, in which case they acquire a soul from elsewhere. An Israelite who remains at the lower level of the soul alone, if he does not wish to merit more, incurs great punishment; woe to that wicked one who forgot the Torah's commandments and did not strive in it, forgetting his Master — of him it is said, "let sinners cease from the earth" (Psalm 104).<br />
<br />
There are people who cling to the side of impurity because of that soul which did not merit more, and when an impure spirit passes over them, it rests and attaches to them; then the sin that person commits comes from the side of that impure spirit, and his offering is a goat, since it is an animal that comes from that side, to atone for his sin. Rabbi Elazar, his son, asked him: it is written, "you shall not let his corpse remain on the tree overnight... and you shall not defile your land" (Deuteronomy 21), because the land is holy and an impure spirit will find no place to rest in it; if so, since an impure spirit coming from that side rests on that animal, why is it offered toward the side of holiness? He answered him: you have asked well.<br />
<br />
But see, my son: it is written, "for the Lord your God is a consuming fire" (Deuteronomy 4) — there is a fire that consumes fire; the fire of the Holy One consumes another fire. There are angels who sing before the Holy One and are annulled when they finish that song in a spark of consuming fire. Below, the Holy One prepares the altar's fire, and this fire consumes and destroys that entire side, which is annulled in that flame, leaving nothing of it in the world; and the person who offers his sacrifice stands by it, and through the rising scent of the offering, the side of the impure spirit resting on him is removed, and he is atoned. Therefore everything is annulled and destroyed, and nothing can stand before that fire.<br />
<br />
Rabbi Acha was walking on the road, and Rabbi Chiya and Rabbi Yossei met him together. Rabbi Acha said: surely we three are destined to receive the presence of the Shechinah. They joined together and walked. Rabbi Acha said: let each of us say something connected to Torah, and let us go. Rabbi Chiya opened and said, "Drop down, O heavens, from above" (Isaiah 45) — this verse is a secret of wisdom learned from the holy menorah. What does "drop down" mean? As it is said, "my teaching shall drop like the rain" (Deuteronomy 32), referring to rain, which is sustenance for all; therefore all the world's eyes look to the Holy One for sustenance, since He gives food to all and sustains all, as it is said, "the eyes of all look to You" (Psalm 145).<br />
<br />
And if you say the matter depends on the place called "heavens" — we have learned that the matter does not depend on merit, and merit has been interpreted as tzedakah (charity), whose Aramaic translation is "zechuta"; and merit and heaven are one and the same thing, and here "drop down, O heavens" — it is written "from above," from above indeed: this comes from the Holy Ancient One (Atika Kadisha), and not from that place called heavens and merit, but specifically from above.
Torat Emet / Rav Pinhas Reuven — CC BY-NC-SA 2.5
in Hebrew