זוהר ויקרא — דף ס ע”ב

Great faces and small faces combined as one above, two ascending and roaming, with two rakes in their hands. A thousand mountains ascend and enter every day from the watering of that sea, then they are uprooted from it and ascend to another sea. There is no counting for those who cling to her hair; two sons nurse every day, who are called the spies of the land, and this is the secret of the Sifra Detzniuta, as it is written: "And Joshua son of Nun sent from Shittim two men, spies, secretly, saying." And these nurse beneath the sides of her limbs; two daughters beneath her feet, and concerning this it is written: "And the sons of God saw the daughters of men." And these cling to the claws of this bed, and this is what we have learned, as it is written: "Then came two harlot women to the king" — then they came, and not before. And at the time when Israel below turn their back from the Holy One, blessed be He, what is written? "My people, its oppressors deal with it as with a child, and women rule over it" — truly.<br />
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In the left hand, seventy branches that grow among the fish of the sea, all red as the rose, and above them one branch redder still; this one ascends and descends, and all of them are covered by her hair. The master of the evil tongue, when the serpent descends, becomes one who leaps upon the mountains, skipping over the rocks, until he finds prey held in claws, and he eats. Then he grows quiet, and his tongue returns to good. Happy are Israel who prepare its prey for it: it returns to its place, and enters the hole of the great abyss.<br />
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When the bearers of spears and swords ascend, who are without number, surrounding those sixty supernal ones who surround this bed, a thousand thousands and ten thousand myriads stand on every side of this bed above, and from it they are nourished; all of them stand before her. Beneath all of these go out several thousands and myriads without number, who descend and roam the world, until the masters of the shofar blow and they gather together; and these are bound to the impurity of the claws.<br />
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This bed includes them all. The legs of this bed are bound to the four sides of the world, all included in the totality that is found above and found below, in the heavens above and on the earth beneath, and concerning this it is written "behold." What is this "behold"? Because she is made ready for all, above and below. And this bed is inscribed from everything, and is called Adonai, the Master of all, inscribed among its hosts. Therefore the Kohen must direct the matters that are above, to unify the holy Name from the place where it must be unified; and concerning this we have learned, it is written: "With this shall Aaron come into the holy place" — by this, holiness must be brought near to its place; from this place a person must fear before the Holy One, blessed be He. And concerning this it is written, "If they were wise, they would understand this, they would discern their end" — that is to say, if people considered the punishment, how this "this" is bound among its hosts, and how all those sons of the hosts have been appointed before her and apply themselves to the task of executing judgment upon the wicked, at once they would discern their end, and would guard their deeds, and would not sin before the holy King.<br />
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Rabbi Shimon said further: every person who merits to study Torah and to guard this "this," this "this" guards him and makes with him a covenant upon his covenant, that it shall never depart from him, nor from his children, nor from his children's children, forever. This is what is written: "And as for Me, this is My covenant with them, etc." They sat down to eat. While they were eating, Rabbi Shimon said to the companions: let each one say something new in the Torah at the table before Rabbi Pinchas. Rabbi Chizkiyah opened, saying: "The Lord God has given me the tongue of the learned, to know how to sustain with words him who is weary, etc." Happy are Israel, whom the Holy One, blessed be He, favored above all other peoples and called "Holiness," as it is written: "Holiness is Israel to the Lord," and gave them a portion to cling to the holy Name. And through what did Israel cling to the holy Name? Because they merited the Torah, for whoever clings to the Torah merits the Holy One, blessed be He. And we have learned before our master: what is "Holiness"? It is the completeness of all, called the supernal Wisdom, and from this place issue springs and streams to every side, until they reach this "this." And when this "this" is blessed, it is called Holiness, and it is called Wisdom, and it is called the Spirit of Holiness, that is, a spirit from that holiness above. And when the secrets of the Torah go forth and are aroused from it, then it is called the Holy Tongue.