זוהר ויקרא — דף ל ע”ב

Folio 30b continues and develops the theme of the two altars introduced at the end of the previous folio. Hence it is written, "oil and incense rejoice the heart" (Proverbs 27), and not "oil, fats, and portions rejoice" — for although these sweeten anger and judgment, oil and incense are the joy of all, not from the side of anger and judgment; this is the inner altar of fine incense, in the subtlety of all, bound by the bond of faith, called "a still, small voice," because it is the inner altar bound by the bond of faith. The other altar is called "the outer altar," the inner one being "the altar of the Lord"; the other is also called "the bronze altar," referencing "the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to contain" (1 Kings 8); and Rabbi Yosei derives from "and a whole burnt-offering upon Your altar" (Deuteronomy 33) that the verse describes two, as does "upon My altars, accepted," in the plural. Rabbi Abba teaches on "and Moses built an altar" (Exodus 17) that Moses built this altar corresponding to the inner altar, hence named "Adonai-Nissi": "Nissi" signifies the sign (ot) of the holy covenant, for when Amalek came to remove this sacred sign from Israel, this altar stood against him to avenge the vengeance of the covenant's sign, hence the name "a sword avenging the vengeance of the covenant" (Leviticus 26); this restored the sacred sign to Israel, and Moses built an altar corresponding to it, calling it "Adonai-Nissi" — this is the inner altar, "a still, small voice." The Zohar continues: "fire shall be kept burning continually on the altar" — a fire that is always present, the fire of Isaac; this name is then "Adonai," and when the priest arranges the wood upon it, it is sweetened by the Name and called by the name of mercy, the Tetragrammaton — sometimes standing in one aspect, sometimes in the other. Rabbi Shimon says there were two altars, the inner one resting upon the outer and nourished by it, bound one to the other — "this is the offering of Aaron" (Leviticus 6). Rabbi Chizkiyah opens with "the Lord is righteous in all His ways and gracious in all His deeds" (Psalm 145), teaching how much a person must contemplate the honor of their Master and not stray from the path, for every single day judgment hangs over the world, since the world was created and stands upon judgment. Therefore a person must guard against their sins, not knowing the hour of judgment: sitting at home, judgment rests upon them; leaving home, judgment rests upon them, not knowing whether they will return; setting out on a journey, all the more so, for then judgment goes before them, as it is written "righteousness shall go before Him" (Psalm 85); one must therefore hasten to seek mercy before the King to be saved from judgment, for every day judgment rests upon the world, as it is written "and God is indignant every day" (Psalm 7). The Zohar then raises a difficulty: the colleagues taught that "El" everywhere expresses kindness (such as "the great God" — the light of supernal wisdom), while "God is indignant every day" seems to contradict this, the verse forsaking all the other names of kindness to take hold of this one specifically; moreover, "Mighty God" (Isaiah 9) — should it be established in judgment or in mercy? The answer: it is the wicked who turn mercy into judgment; for among all the supernal crowns of the Holy King there is none that does not include mercy within judgment and judgment within mercy — but the wicked turn mercy into judgment. Rabbi Yehuda asks Rabbi Shimon: "Mighty God" is understood, but "God is indignant every day" — how so, since every day He stands in judgment whether the people of the world are deserving or not? He had no answer at hand. Rabbi Shimon replies: indeed "God is indignant every day," and the colleagues have already established that it is sometimes judgment, sometimes mercy — if the people of the world are deserving, "El" stands in the aspect of kindness; and if they are not deserving, "El" stands and is called "Gibbor" (mighty); and therefore He stands thus every day.