זוהר ויקרא — דף כו ע”א

"And let the skies pour down righteousness" (Isaiah 45): when the heavens draw from that supernal place resting upon them, then the skies pour down righteousness; the skies are the place where manna is ground for the righteous — Netzach and Hod, which gather within them the good coming from above in order to give it to the level called "Tzadik," so that "Tzedek" may be blessed from that flow. The righteous themselves are Tzadik and Tzedek, Joseph and Rachel, who when they unite as one are called "righteous." And because these surely grind manna for the righteous, therefore "then the earth shall open, salvation shall flourish, and righteousness shall sprout together" — all mercy and all the world's goodness multiply, people's sustenance abounds, joy is added to joy, and all the worlds are blessed. Rabbi Acha said: even had I come only to hear this, it would have been enough for me.<br />
<br />
Rabbi Yossei opened and said, "My heart is toward the lawgivers of Israel who offer themselves willingly among the people; bless the Lord" (Judges 5). All the will and heart a person must pour out to send blessings from above downward, to unify the holy Name, to beseech in prayer with heartfelt intention — in order to draw from that deep stream, as it is said, "out of the depths I called You, O Lord" (Psalm 130), where the depth of all things lies, in the supernal depths which are the beginning of the union of father and mother. "My heart is toward the lawgivers of Israel" — these are the father and mother, who legislate for the holy Israel that flows from between them. "Those who offer themselves willingly among the people" — these are the Patriarchs called generous, as it is said, "the generous ones of the peoples are gathered, the people of the God of Avraham." The Lord's blessing flows downward so that blessings are found throughout the world, and all is joy and completeness; fortunate is the portion of Israel, upon whom the Holy One, blessed be He, pours blessings and whose prayer He heeds.<br />
<br />
"This is the law of the burnt offering" — Rabbi Shimon opened and said, "Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your judgments are a great deep" (Psalm 36). The burnt offering raises and binds the Community of Israel upward, and its attachment in the World to Come makes everything become one in a single bond, in joy; and because it rises ever higher it is called "this is the law of" — the secret of male and female together, the Written Torah and the Oral Torah, rising in mutual affection.<br />
<br />
When the north wind awakens, as explained by "His left hand is under my head," she rises in affection and is crowned with the right, joining the central pillar, and everything shines from the secret of the Holy of Holies — this through the secret of man, by the priest's will, through prayer and song. Three spirits are bound as one: the lower spirit called the spirit of holiness, the middle spirit called the spirit of wisdom and understanding, and the supernal spirit, sealed in silence, in which all the holy spirits subsist and all faces shine — therefore the burnt offering reverts to being literally "spirit."<br />
<br />
By contrast, the other offerings, which draw from the secret of the animal, attach to another spirit found within impurity, from those fats and suet; they are called "minor sanctities" because they are not crowned all the way up in the Holy of Holies, and therefore their slaughter is permitted anywhere — their role being to make peace in the world among various sides and litigants. But the burnt offering, which is the secret of the Holy of Holies, is unlike the other offerings: all its deeds are holy.