זוהר ויקרא — דף מט ע”א

This man (Ish) is part of Adam, and when the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to wage war, it is through this man that He wages war, as it is written "the Lord is a man of war" — this man precisely. And He does not wage war through him until the hair of his head passes, so that the chains of attachment unravel, and all those crowns bound to the hairs are broken.<br />
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We have learned: "and thus shall you do to them to purify them" — sprinkle upon them the waters of purification, which are the remnants of the dew of crystal. For the future it is written "and I will sprinkle clean water upon you," "and they shall wash their garments" — for the rectifications of this man are washed in supernal lovingkindness, and he is purified from everything.<br />
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And we have taught: why is it written "with a razor" and not "with scissors"? Because the hair must pass at its root, so that the lower judgments pass from it through their chain of attachment; and when the deeds below become fit, the Holy One, blessed be He, will in future remove this hair and shave it, so that it will not grow and increase, as it is written "if his hair falls from his head."<br />
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Rabbi Yitzchak said: the greatest of all the Levites was Korach, whom the Holy One, blessed be He, made below in the image of above, and called him Korach — at the time when, for his sake, He shaved this man, as it is written "he is bald."<br />
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And when Korach saw his head without hair, and saw Aaron adorned with royal ornaments, he felt himself lowered in his own eyes and envied Aaron. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: I made you in the image of above; you did not wish to ascend to the upper ones, so go down below and be among the lower ones — as it is written "and they went down alive into Sheol." What is Sheol? Gehinnom, where the wicked cry out, and none has mercy on them; and they are destined to live again and ascend when the Holy One, blessed be He, awakens His people and revives them, as it is written "the Lord kills and makes alive, brings down to Sheol and brings up." "And if it is from the side of his face that his hair falls" — we have learned: there are faces and there are faces. And who are these faces? These are the ones called "faces of wrath." And all those who are attached to these insolent faces are powerful, all without mercy; and when the hair passes from the side of those faces, they all pass away and are broken.<br />
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We have learned: all those attached to the hair of the head are higher than the others and are not insolent as they are; and all those attached to the side of the hair of those faces are all insolent and powerful, and therefore their faces blaze like fire, because of the spark of the hard spark. And of this it is written "the face of the Lord has scattered them," "the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."<br />
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Rabbi Yitzchak said: what is "a white reddish plague"? It is a true plague, if white appears and the red does not pass. Rabbi Yossei said: white appears only together with red. Rabbi Yitzchak said: even though the white appears, if the red does not depart, it is a plague, as it is written "though your sins be like scarlet, they shall be white as snow"; and when it whitens, all mercy is found there, and judgments are not found.<br />
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Rabbi Abba taught: it is written "he is a plague" (masculine) and it is written "she is a plague" (feminine) — one masculine, one feminine. When the feminine becomes impure because of the sins of those below, it is written in the feminine; and when the masculine is not purified because of the sins of those below, it is written in the masculine.<br />
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And these things are known to the priest: the judgments that come from the one and the judgments that come from the other; and the offerings that must be brought are known, as it is written "a male without blemish," and it is written "she shall bring a female without blemish" — for these matters make known from where the judgments come and from where those sins come, attached to the one or to the other. And therefore it is written "the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit," to exclude the other offerings of which "a broken spirit" is not written, for they are peace for the world and joy of the upper and lower beings. And on "and if the priest sees it," Rabbi Yossei taught: it is written "O You who hear prayer, unto You etc." — "who hears prayer" is the Holy One, blessed be He. Rabbi Chizkiyah said: should it not have been written "who hears prayers"? Rather, this "prayer" refers to the Community of Israel, which is itself called prayer, as it is written "and I am prayer"; and David said it on behalf of the Community of Israel, and all is one; and therefore "who hears prayer." And this is the prayer of the hand, as it is written "upon your hand," with a Heh.<br />