זוהר ויקרא — דף נא ע”ב
Summary
Rabbi Yehuda opened and said "woe to him who builds his house without righteousness," for in every place where righteousness is found, all the spirits and harmers of the world flee from it and are not found before it. And despite this, whoever takes the place first holds onto it. Rabbi Chizkiyah asked him: if so, is the holy Name equal to a spirit of impurity?<br />
<br />
Rabbi Yehuda answered him that it is not so, but rather the holy Name does not dwell in an impure place. And therefore, if the holy Name takes the place beforehand, all the spirits and harmers of the world cannot appear in it, let alone draw near it. And if a spirit of impurity precedes and takes the place, the holy Name does not dwell there, for it is not its place.<br />
<br />
And it is explained that when a plague of leprosy descended upon a house, it would purify the place and remove the spirit of impurity from its place; afterward they would demolish the house — the stones, the wood, and all — and rebuild it as before, on the holy side in righteousness, mentioning the holy Name and causing holiness to rest upon it. And despite this they would rebuild it with different soil, and distance the house from its place, two handbreadths from the first foundation.<br />
<br />
And now that there is no one to oppose that spirit of impurity so as to remove it from its place, what is its remedy? If it can leave this house, good; if not, let it be rebuilt as before with other stones and wood and all, and let it be removed and distanced from the first place, and rebuilt upon the holy Name.<br />
<br />
And despite this, that spirit does not leave the first place, because holiness does not dwell upon an impure place. Rabbi Yitzchak asked: why trouble so much over this, since at this time it is written "that which is crooked cannot be made straight, etc."? Since the day the Temple was destroyed, no cure has been found in the world; therefore a person must be careful, so as to be guarded.<br />
<br />
When the companions said they would go with that man to see, Rabbi Yitzchak answered that it was forbidden to them: had he been going to a great man who feared sin, like Naaman to Elisha, they would have followed him; but now that he goes to the most estranged of the world, the most estranged from Torah, loathed by all, it is forbidden to appear before them, and blessed is the Merciful One who saved them from them. Rabbi Yehuda objected that we have learned that one may be healed by anything except by the trees of Asherah; Rabbi Yitzchak answered that this is idolatry, and moreover it is written "there shall not be found among you one who passes his son or daughter through the fire, etc." They went on their way.<br />
<br />
And that man went with his son to the cave and left him there. While the father went out to tie his donkey, a pillar of fire came out and struck the son on the head and killed him. When the father returned and found him dead, he took him and his donkey and went. The next day he met Rabbi Yitzchak, Rabbi Yehuda, and Rabbi Chizkiyah; he wept before them and told them what had happened. Rabbi Yitzchak said to him that he had already told him many times that it was forbidden to go there, and added that blessed is the Merciful One "all of whose deeds are truth, and whose ways are justice," and fortunate are the righteous who walk the path of truth in this world and the World to Come, of whom it is written "and the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, etc."<br />
<br />
Rabbi Elazar taught that in all of a person's deeds, they should all be for the holy Name — that is, to mention the holy Name with one's mouth over everything one does, so that all is for His service, and then the other side will not rest upon him, since it is always available to people and can rest upon that deed. And therefore even the warp or the weft of a garment, when it becomes impure, a spirit of impurity rests upon it; how much more so for one who entrusts his words to the other side needlessly. And therefore it is written "and you shall guard yourself from every evil thing."<br />
<br />
Rabbi Yehuda answered him that it is not so, but rather the holy Name does not dwell in an impure place. And therefore, if the holy Name takes the place beforehand, all the spirits and harmers of the world cannot appear in it, let alone draw near it. And if a spirit of impurity precedes and takes the place, the holy Name does not dwell there, for it is not its place.<br />
<br />
And it is explained that when a plague of leprosy descended upon a house, it would purify the place and remove the spirit of impurity from its place; afterward they would demolish the house — the stones, the wood, and all — and rebuild it as before, on the holy side in righteousness, mentioning the holy Name and causing holiness to rest upon it. And despite this they would rebuild it with different soil, and distance the house from its place, two handbreadths from the first foundation.<br />
<br />
And now that there is no one to oppose that spirit of impurity so as to remove it from its place, what is its remedy? If it can leave this house, good; if not, let it be rebuilt as before with other stones and wood and all, and let it be removed and distanced from the first place, and rebuilt upon the holy Name.<br />
<br />
And despite this, that spirit does not leave the first place, because holiness does not dwell upon an impure place. Rabbi Yitzchak asked: why trouble so much over this, since at this time it is written "that which is crooked cannot be made straight, etc."? Since the day the Temple was destroyed, no cure has been found in the world; therefore a person must be careful, so as to be guarded.<br />
<br />
When the companions said they would go with that man to see, Rabbi Yitzchak answered that it was forbidden to them: had he been going to a great man who feared sin, like Naaman to Elisha, they would have followed him; but now that he goes to the most estranged of the world, the most estranged from Torah, loathed by all, it is forbidden to appear before them, and blessed is the Merciful One who saved them from them. Rabbi Yehuda objected that we have learned that one may be healed by anything except by the trees of Asherah; Rabbi Yitzchak answered that this is idolatry, and moreover it is written "there shall not be found among you one who passes his son or daughter through the fire, etc." They went on their way.<br />
<br />
And that man went with his son to the cave and left him there. While the father went out to tie his donkey, a pillar of fire came out and struck the son on the head and killed him. When the father returned and found him dead, he took him and his donkey and went. The next day he met Rabbi Yitzchak, Rabbi Yehuda, and Rabbi Chizkiyah; he wept before them and told them what had happened. Rabbi Yitzchak said to him that he had already told him many times that it was forbidden to go there, and added that blessed is the Merciful One "all of whose deeds are truth, and whose ways are justice," and fortunate are the righteous who walk the path of truth in this world and the World to Come, of whom it is written "and the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, etc."<br />
<br />
Rabbi Elazar taught that in all of a person's deeds, they should all be for the holy Name — that is, to mention the holy Name with one's mouth over everything one does, so that all is for His service, and then the other side will not rest upon him, since it is always available to people and can rest upon that deed. And therefore even the warp or the weft of a garment, when it becomes impure, a spirit of impurity rests upon it; how much more so for one who entrusts his words to the other side needlessly. And therefore it is written "and you shall guard yourself from every evil thing."<br />
Torat Emet / Rav Pinhas Reuven — CC BY-NC-SA 2.5
in Hebrew