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זוהר ויקרא — דף כז ע”ב

Summary

Therefore the fire of the altar never goes out and its strength never weakens, so as to break the other evil power out of the world. The priest arranges wood upon it every morning, at the time when his own side (loving-kindness) rules and awakens in the world to sweeten the judgments and subdue them. And on this it was taught: there is a fire that consumes another fire — the fire above consumes another fire, the fire of the altar consumes another fire; therefore this fire never goes out, and the priest arranges it every day.<br />
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There is a commandment to perform the burnt offering according to its law, concerning which it is said, "This is the law of the burnt offering." Five fires used to descend upon the offering: a fire that eats and does not drink, a fire that drinks and does not eat, a fire that eats and drinks, a fire that eats moist and dry, and a fire that neither eats nor drinks — corresponding to these, five expressions in the verse: "This is the law of the burnt offering" (one), "it is the burnt offering on its hearth" (two), "on the altar" (three), "all night" (four), "and the fire of the altar shall burn on it" (five).<br />
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The masters of the Mishnah explained: the burnt offering rises entirely to the Most High — this is Binah, the letters of the Name: the first Hei — five appearances; the Yud — the only daughter (as in "and the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire," Exodus 24); the Vav — light of the pupil of the eye, the fire that drinks all the waters of Torah and consumes all the offerings of prayer. "Eating moist and dry" — the moist are the secrets of the Torah, the dry its plain meanings; and further, the moist are the offerings brought in prayer for positive commandments, the dry those brought for prohibitive commandments (stoning, burning, killing, strangling). These are the offerings of the Shechinah — prayer — for positive and prohibitive commandments. Corresponding to these five appearances, five prayers were instituted for Yom Kippur; corresponding to the pupil, the ten days of repentance; corresponding to the light of the pupil, five more; and corresponding to the final Hei, five afflictions.<br />
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The commandment that follows: to perform the sin offering according to its law. The Tannaim and Amoraim, who came from the side of the attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He, labored greatly to cleanse "my daughter" — the halacha — from the husks of the "mixed multitude," those difficult questions with no answer or resolution, about which it is said (Ecclesiastes 1), "What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted," but only "teiku" (let it stand) is said of them; and every "teiku" concerning a prohibition is ruled strictly, for the word "teiku" lacks the letter Nun — lacking repair — a sign of the World to Come.<br />
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There are difficult questions that are the garments of the halacha, called "settings of gold" (after Psalm 45, "all glorious is the king's daughter within; her clothing is of wrought gold"); you render them through several rulings and then reconcile them through several resolutions. And if some ruling is missing from the Mishnah, you supply it — that is a deficiency that can be counted. And should a fool come and slander the craftsman who cuts the garments, saying, "Is the Torah then lacking?!" — yet it is written (Psalm 19), "The law of the Lord is perfect," perfect in every limb of the body, corresponding to the two hundred forty-eight commandments, as in (Song of Songs 4), "You are all fair, my love, and there is no blemish in you" — perfect in her garments; how then could she be lacking in the Mishnah?<br />
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The answer: examine carefully and you will find the piece mingled among other rulings and mishnayot, for it is the craftsman's way to cut the garments into several pieces, and the student who is not skilled in joining the halacha between these pieces becomes confused by rulings and unresolved difficulties, until the craftsman comes and resolves all his doubts; then the halacha — the daughter — rises before the King complete in every way, in her body, her garment, and her jewels, fulfilling (Genesis 9), "and I will look upon it, to remember the everlasting covenant."<br />
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All of them rose and said: surely you are the craftsman, the Faithful Shepherd, of whom it is said, "Moses received the Torah from Sinai," and from then on all the disciples are yours — from Joshua to the end of all generations ("and he transmitted it to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets"); who then is your most discerning disciple? For we have learned that all remains held in trust until Elijah comes. He answered them: surely it is so — it is a fellow-disciple, concerning whom it is said (Numbers 25), "son of Aaron the priest" — just as it was said of Aaron (Exodus 4), "he shall be a mouth for you," so too his son will be "a mouth for Me," namely, the Oral Torah. And because I was at first heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue, so the Holy One, blessed be He, will raise me up — heavy of mouth in the Oral Torah, heavy of tongue in the Written Torah, so that those unfamiliar with me will not say this is someone else; and Elijah will be "a mouth for Me," coming to resolve and settle all these doubts.

Torat Emet / Rav Pinhas Reuven — CC BY-NC-SA 2.5

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