זוהר ויקרא — דף מ ע”א
Summary
That young man opened with the verse "sustain me with flagons of wine, surround me with apples," explaining that it is the Community of Israel who speaks this way in exile. "Sustain me" means that whoever falls needs someone to support him, as it is written, "the Lord upholds all who fall," and since the Community of Israel has fallen, as it is written, "she has fallen, she shall rise no more," she turns to her children of Israel who are with her in exile and asks them for support.<br />
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The "flagons" designate the patriarchs, who are filled first from that good preserved wine, and when they are filled, blessings are found for the Community of Israel through the level of the righteous one. The "apples" symbolize another secret: the flagon brings wine in, and the apple brings wine out, directing the will so that the wine does no harm, and all this because "I am lovesick" in exile; whoever unifies the holy Name must unite judgment with mercy as fitting.<br />
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Rabbi Yitzchak opened with the verse "who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their libations," teaching that the life of the world to come depends entirely on that place from which the preserved wine begins, from where life and holiness go out to all; and the wine of Israel below depends on the wine of Israel above, called the tree of life. This is why an idol worshipper is impure, and whoever draws near him becomes impure through contact with the wine of Israel, since everything the people of Israel do below is in the image of what is done above. This is why Israel drinks only wine made in holiness, and does not drink wine made in impurity, since whoever drinks it has his spirit defiled and has no share in the world to come.<br />
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Therefore the holy people of Israel must guard this above all else, and this is why the Holy One, blessed be He, is blessed through wine more than through anything else, since it gladdens the left side and, within its joy, includes it in the right; and through man's deed below the deed above is awakened. Whoever impairs this wine below from the side of impurity becomes impure in this world and has no share in the world to come; but happy are the people of Israel who sanctify their souls and keep this supreme guard — happy are they in this world and in the world to come.<br />
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The "flagons" designate the patriarchs, who are filled first from that good preserved wine, and when they are filled, blessings are found for the Community of Israel through the level of the righteous one. The "apples" symbolize another secret: the flagon brings wine in, and the apple brings wine out, directing the will so that the wine does no harm, and all this because "I am lovesick" in exile; whoever unifies the holy Name must unite judgment with mercy as fitting.<br />
<br />
Rabbi Yitzchak opened with the verse "who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their libations," teaching that the life of the world to come depends entirely on that place from which the preserved wine begins, from where life and holiness go out to all; and the wine of Israel below depends on the wine of Israel above, called the tree of life. This is why an idol worshipper is impure, and whoever draws near him becomes impure through contact with the wine of Israel, since everything the people of Israel do below is in the image of what is done above. This is why Israel drinks only wine made in holiness, and does not drink wine made in impurity, since whoever drinks it has his spirit defiled and has no share in the world to come.<br />
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Therefore the holy people of Israel must guard this above all else, and this is why the Holy One, blessed be He, is blessed through wine more than through anything else, since it gladdens the left side and, within its joy, includes it in the right; and through man's deed below the deed above is awakened. Whoever impairs this wine below from the side of impurity becomes impure in this world and has no share in the world to come; but happy are the people of Israel who sanctify their souls and keep this supreme guard — happy are they in this world and in the world to come.<br />
Torat Emet / Rav Pinhas Reuven — CC BY-NC-SA 2.5
in Hebrew