זוהר ויקרא — דף נה ע”א
Summary
Whoever puts on tefillin, when he puts on the tefillin of the hand, should extend his left arm to receive the Congregation of Israel and tie the knot with the right in order to embrace her, to fulfill what is written, "his left hand is under my head and his right hand embraces me," so that the person should appear in the pattern above and be crowned in everything; and then the person is whole in everything, in supreme holiness, and the Holy One, blessed be He, proclaims over him, "Israel, in whom I will be glorified."<br />
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Rabbi Chizkiyah opened with "hear, O Lord, my righteousness," and explains how beloved the Congregation of Israel is before the Holy One, blessed be He, for every time she comes before Him, the Holy One, blessed be He, presents Himself to meet her, as it is written "hear, O Lord, my righteousness, attend to my cry, give ear to my prayer." David said: I have bound myself with the Congregation of Israel; just as she is found before You, so too am I found. Therefore it says first "hear, O Lord, my righteousness" and afterward "attend to my cry, give ear to my prayer."<br />
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And it is explained regarding "without lips of deceit" that every word of prayer that a person utters from his mouth rises upward and breaks through the firmaments, and there that word is examined to see whether it is fit or not: if it is fit, it is brought in before the holy King to do His will; and if not, it is turned away outside, and another spirit is aroused within it.<br />
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And come and see, it is written of Joseph, "they afflicted his feet with fetters... until the time his word came, the word of the Lord tested him." It is explained that this refers to that word of Joseph which was tested, and then "the king sent and loosed him, the ruler of peoples set him free," and in the meantime morning came.<br />
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Rabbi Elazar said regarding "let the soul of my lord be bound in the bundle of the living" that the time of morning is the time to bind the Congregation of Israel and join her to her husband, and happy are the righteous who engage in Torah at night and come to bind themselves with the Holy One, blessed be He, and with the Congregation of Israel, of whom it is said, "let your father and your mother rejoice, and let her who bore you exult."<br />
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Rabbi Elazar said regarding the verse "you shall separate the children of Israel from their impurity" that "you shall separate" is like this stranger, who is estranged from all and does not attach himself to what is not his own.<br />
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And come and see, when people defile themselves below, they defile everything; but the spirit of impurity below arouses another spirit of impurity, and a permission of holiness is granted to descend into the world: when that permission, which used to descend and strike it, is no longer found and withdraws, then judgment is revealed against the wicked and adds judgment upon its judgment, and then two spirits are found in the world — one the spirit of judgment, and one the spirit of impurity.<br />
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Rabbi Elazar said: I needed to say here a thing I learned from my father. Come and see, from the plague of the house we learn that when a spirit of impurity rests upon a house and the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to purify it, He sends a plague of leprosy into the house so that they fight one against the other; and that plague does not leave the house, and even though the spirit of impurity has departed from it, until the house is torn down — the stones, the wood, and everything — then the place is purified.<br />
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Likewise, whoever arouses upon himself a spirit of impurity and it rests upon him, when the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to purify the world, a spirit of harsh judgment is aroused and rests upon that spirit of impurity, and they fight one against the other until it departs from the world; and that spirit of harsh judgment does not withdraw from its place until the place is torn down — limbs, bones, and everything — and then the world is purified and spirits of impurity depart from it, and the world is found in purity.<br />
<br />
Rabbi Chizkiyah opened with "hear, O Lord, my righteousness," and explains how beloved the Congregation of Israel is before the Holy One, blessed be He, for every time she comes before Him, the Holy One, blessed be He, presents Himself to meet her, as it is written "hear, O Lord, my righteousness, attend to my cry, give ear to my prayer." David said: I have bound myself with the Congregation of Israel; just as she is found before You, so too am I found. Therefore it says first "hear, O Lord, my righteousness" and afterward "attend to my cry, give ear to my prayer."<br />
<br />
And it is explained regarding "without lips of deceit" that every word of prayer that a person utters from his mouth rises upward and breaks through the firmaments, and there that word is examined to see whether it is fit or not: if it is fit, it is brought in before the holy King to do His will; and if not, it is turned away outside, and another spirit is aroused within it.<br />
<br />
And come and see, it is written of Joseph, "they afflicted his feet with fetters... until the time his word came, the word of the Lord tested him." It is explained that this refers to that word of Joseph which was tested, and then "the king sent and loosed him, the ruler of peoples set him free," and in the meantime morning came.<br />
<br />
Rabbi Elazar said regarding "let the soul of my lord be bound in the bundle of the living" that the time of morning is the time to bind the Congregation of Israel and join her to her husband, and happy are the righteous who engage in Torah at night and come to bind themselves with the Holy One, blessed be He, and with the Congregation of Israel, of whom it is said, "let your father and your mother rejoice, and let her who bore you exult."<br />
<br />
Rabbi Elazar said regarding the verse "you shall separate the children of Israel from their impurity" that "you shall separate" is like this stranger, who is estranged from all and does not attach himself to what is not his own.<br />
<br />
And come and see, when people defile themselves below, they defile everything; but the spirit of impurity below arouses another spirit of impurity, and a permission of holiness is granted to descend into the world: when that permission, which used to descend and strike it, is no longer found and withdraws, then judgment is revealed against the wicked and adds judgment upon its judgment, and then two spirits are found in the world — one the spirit of judgment, and one the spirit of impurity.<br />
<br />
Rabbi Elazar said: I needed to say here a thing I learned from my father. Come and see, from the plague of the house we learn that when a spirit of impurity rests upon a house and the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to purify it, He sends a plague of leprosy into the house so that they fight one against the other; and that plague does not leave the house, and even though the spirit of impurity has departed from it, until the house is torn down — the stones, the wood, and everything — then the place is purified.<br />
<br />
Likewise, whoever arouses upon himself a spirit of impurity and it rests upon him, when the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to purify the world, a spirit of harsh judgment is aroused and rests upon that spirit of impurity, and they fight one against the other until it departs from the world; and that spirit of harsh judgment does not withdraw from its place until the place is torn down — limbs, bones, and everything — and then the world is purified and spirits of impurity depart from it, and the world is found in purity.<br />
Torat Emet / Rav Pinhas Reuven — CC BY-NC-SA 2.5
in Hebrew