זוהר ויקרא — דף לו ע”א
Summary
Rabbi Yehuda opens with two "roofs" held by a single hand: one for the heavens and one for the earth, and it is the Holy One, blessed be He, who "holds and receives them." Rabbi Elazar adds and reveals that three holy supreme lights are bound together as one, and that they constitute the whole of the Torah; they "open a gateway to faith," and are called "House" because they themselves are the house of everything.<br />
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From here the Zohar explains why the Torah begins with the letter Beit: the Torah is the "remedy of the world," and so whoever engages with it is as though engaging with the holy Name itself, for "the whole Torah is a single supreme holy Name." This is why it opens with Beit, which encompasses the three bonds of faith. Whoever engages with the Torah clings to the Holy One, blessed be He, and is crowned with its crowns, beloved above and below, and the Holy One, blessed be He, "extends His right hand to them." Those who engage with the Torah at night as well join with the Shechinah, and when morning comes the Holy One, blessed be He, "crowns them with a single thread of kindness, to be known among the upper and lower beings."<br />
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At the hour when the Community of Israel and those engaged in Torah come to appear before the King, all sing together as one — this is the secret of the verse: "when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy": judgments break before the morning, when morning awakens in the world.<br />
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There follows the meeting of Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair on the road: Rabbi Pinchas's donkey brays with joy, and he understands that "new faces will be found here," until the two meet, kiss one another, and decide to walk on and join together. Rabbi Pinchas opens with "may the Lord bless you from Zion," and explains that it is from Zion that all blessings go out into the world, and thanks to this "Jerusalem is blessed, all the people are blessed." The passage closes by recalling that "the crown of the elders is their children's children," but that children are crowned only through the merit of their fathers.
<br />
From here the Zohar explains why the Torah begins with the letter Beit: the Torah is the "remedy of the world," and so whoever engages with it is as though engaging with the holy Name itself, for "the whole Torah is a single supreme holy Name." This is why it opens with Beit, which encompasses the three bonds of faith. Whoever engages with the Torah clings to the Holy One, blessed be He, and is crowned with its crowns, beloved above and below, and the Holy One, blessed be He, "extends His right hand to them." Those who engage with the Torah at night as well join with the Shechinah, and when morning comes the Holy One, blessed be He, "crowns them with a single thread of kindness, to be known among the upper and lower beings."<br />
<br />
At the hour when the Community of Israel and those engaged in Torah come to appear before the King, all sing together as one — this is the secret of the verse: "when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy": judgments break before the morning, when morning awakens in the world.<br />
<br />
There follows the meeting of Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair on the road: Rabbi Pinchas's donkey brays with joy, and he understands that "new faces will be found here," until the two meet, kiss one another, and decide to walk on and join together. Rabbi Pinchas opens with "may the Lord bless you from Zion," and explains that it is from Zion that all blessings go out into the world, and thanks to this "Jerusalem is blessed, all the people are blessed." The passage closes by recalling that "the crown of the elders is their children's children," but that children are crowned only through the merit of their fathers.
Torat Emet / Rav Pinhas Reuven — CC BY-NC-SA 2.5
in Hebrew