זוהר ויקרא — דף נב ע”ב

"And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: This shall be the law of the leper on the day of his cleansing, etc." Rabbi Abba opened with the verse "Be afraid of the sword for yourselves, for wrath brings the punishments of the sword, that you may know there is a judgment," and said that "judgment" is written as "judges," teaching how much a person must guard his ways and fear the Holy One, blessed be He, so as not to stray from the proper path, not to transgress the words of Torah, and not to forget them.<br />
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For whoever does not study Torah and does not strive in it is rebuked by the Holy One, blessed be He, far from Him, and the Shechinah does not rest upon him; and those guardians who walked with him depart from him. Moreover, it is proclaimed before him: withdraw from around so-and-so, for he has no regard for the honor of his Master. Woe to him, for those above and below have abandoned him, and he has no portion in the way of life.<br />
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But when a person strives in the service of his Master and studies Torah, many guardians are made ready to watch over him, the Shechinah rests upon him, and all proclaim before him: "Give honor to the image of the King. Give honor to the son of the King" — he is guarded in this world and in the world to come, happy is his portion.<br />
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Come and see: through the evil speech that the serpent spoke to the woman, death was decreed upon the woman, upon the man, and upon the whole world. Of evil speech it is written "and their tongue is a sharp sword"; therefore "be afraid of the sword for yourselves" because of evil speech. And "wrath brings the punishments of the sword" — this is the sword of the Lord, for the Holy One, blessed be He, has a sword with which He judges the wicked, as it is written "the sword of the Lord is full of blood" and "my sword shall devour flesh." Therefore one who has a sword in his tongue brings upon himself a sword that destroys everything, and this is what is written: "This shall be the law of the leper."<br />
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Rabbi Elazar opened with the verse "And as birds caught in a snare, so are the children of men snared," and said that this verse had already been explained; but come and see, people do not know, do not listen, and do not pay heed to the will of their Master. The herald calls out before them every day, yet no one listens to him, and no one rouses his spirit to serve his Master.<br />
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It was explained that when night falls and the gates close, the abyss of the great deep is stirred, and many bands of destroyers spread through the world; then the Holy One, blessed be He, casts sleep upon all the people of the world, even upon those who have within them a stirring of life, and they wander through the world and make known to people certain things, some false and some true, while people remain bound in sleep.<br />
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When the north wind stirs and the night is divided, the flame goes out and strikes beneath the rooster's wings, and it crows, and the Holy One, blessed be He, enters the Garden of Eden to delight with the righteous. Then the herald goes forth and calls, and all the people of the world awaken in their beds. Those who have within them a stirring of life rise to the service of their Master and occupy themselves with Torah and with the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, until morning comes.<br />
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When morning comes, all the hosts and camps on high praise the Holy One, blessed be He, and this is what is written: "When the morning stars sang together, etc." Then many gates open on every side, and Abraham's gate opens for the Congregation of Israel, to invite all the people of the world, and this is what is written: "And he planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba."<br />
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And one who does not rouse his spirit to serve his Master — with what face will he stand before the King when they arise against him in judgment and seize him in chains, with no merit found to save him? Of this it is written: "And as birds caught in a snare, so are the children of men snared." And before a person departs from this world, the soul is judged together with the body through many judgments, before they part from one another, and no one takes heed. And at the time when the moment of separation arrives, the soul does not leave the body until the Shechinah is revealed to it, and the soul, out of joy and love for the Shechinah, goes out of the body toward it. If the person is righteous, the soul binds and cleaves to it; if not, the Shechinah departs, while the soul remains and goes on mourning the separation from the body, as in the saying: the cat does not part from the fire — sharpen the knife, and it will follow after it.<br />