זוהר ויקרא — דף נ ע”א

It is written: "When you shall come into the land of Canaan... and I put a plague of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession." Is this then a good reward for those who merit entering the land? Rather, it has been explained thus: it was to find the treasures that the Canaanites had hidden in their houses, that Israel might benefit from them.<br />
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But come and see: happy is Israel, who cleave to the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Holy One, blessed be He, loves them, as it is written "I have loved you, says the Lord." Out of His love He brought them into the holy land, to make His Presence rest among them, that His dwelling be with them, and that Israel be found holy above all the peoples of the world.<br />
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Come and see: it is written "and all the women whose hearts stirred them up with wisdom..." When they performed their work, they would say: this is for the Sanctuary, this for the Tabernacle, this for the veil. So it was with all those craftsmen, so that holiness would rest upon their hands, and that work itself would be sanctified. And when it rises to its place, it rises in holiness.<br />
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Likewise, one who performs work for idolatry or for the other side, which is not holy — once he mentions it over that work, a spirit of impurity rests upon him, and when the work rises, it rises in impurity. The Canaanites were idol-worshippers, all bound together in a spirit of impurity through idolatry; they built structures for their images and their abominations, on the impure side, for idol worship. And when they began to build, they would utter a word, and once it was recalled by their mouths, a spirit of impurity rose upon them.<br />
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Once Israel entered the land, the Holy One, blessed be He, wished to purify them and sanctify the land for them, and to clear a place for the Divine Presence, so that it would not rest amid impurity. Therefore, through that plague of leprosy, they tore down buildings of wood and stone that had been made in impurity.<br />
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Come and see: if this had been only to find treasures, the stones would afterward have been returned as they were to their place, and the dust to its place. But the verse writes "and they shall take away the stones," and it is written "and he shall take other dust" — so that the spirit of impurity would pass away, that the place be cleared and sanctified anew as before, and that Israel be found in holiness and in a holy dwelling, so that the Divine Presence might rest among them.<br />
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Therefore, whoever builds a structure must, as soon as he begins to build, declare with his mouth that he builds it for the service of the Holy One, blessed be He, for it is written "Woe unto him who builds his house without righteousness..." Then heavenly assistance rests upon him, the Holy One, blessed be He, prepares holiness for him, and proclaims peace over him. This is what is written "and you shall know that peace reigns in your tent..." What does "and you shall visit your dwelling" mean? It means: to deposit a word in his mouth when he builds. Then it is written "and you shall not sin." If not, he prepares for his house the other side.<br />
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All the more so one who builds with another intent, because he dedicates the house to the other side in order to become impure in it — surely a spirit of impurity rests in it, and that person will not leave this world until he is punished in that very house; and whoever dwells there may be harmed, for a spirit of impurity rests in that dwelling, harming whoever is found in it.<br />
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And if you ask: how is this known? For example, when the one who built that house is himself harmed there, or the members of his household, through bodily harm or monetary harm — he, and then two others after him. Then surely a person will flee to the mountain and not dwell in it; he will rather dwell in a cave of dust than dwell in it.<br />
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Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, has mercy on Israel, who know nothing of those houses; He says: you do not know, but I know, and I have marked them with a plague. A plague dwelling in a house — this is another, harsher plague, which will bring that man out and remove him from the world. Then it is written "and he shall break down the house, its stones and its timber." Since he is leaving anyway, why break down the house? Because as long as that structure stands, it still belongs to him, and he can return.<br />