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the zohar [1:2b] 81 Ðand You are called Truth. 82 It is fitting forthe King of Truth to begin truth a letterof truth and to create the world by me.' with blessed Holy One replied, `You are seemly and worthy, but not deserving ``The to initiate Creation, since you are destined to be marked on the foreheads do not deserve to serve as the instrument of Creation.' She immediately you departed. it is fitting to create the world by a holy name.' and replied, `You are seemly, you are good, and you are true, but since ``He to tell a lie will first lay a foundation of truth and then construct the wants 86 For [ (shin) is a letter of truth, a true letter of the Patriarchs, who were lie. united in it; 87 which is \ (tav). letterof You are called Truth See Jeremiah 82. and groan over all the abominations moan committed in it.'' See Greenberg, Eze- being 177. In the old Hebrew script, the \ kiel, was shaped like an X, the simplest (tav) Its purpose in Ezekiel was to distinguish mark. the righteous from the rest of the but according to Rabbi Aḥa population, of Rabbi Ḥanina (BT Shabbat 55a), even son marked were killed, since their silence those the face of the wicked implicated them. in 104a; Judah ben Barzillai, Peirush Shabbat Yetsirah, 146. Sefer whoever wants to tell a lie . . . See 86. on Numbers 13:27, who paraphrases Rashi Sotah 35a; Zohar 2:215b, 264a; 3:161a. BT [ (shin) is a letter of truth . . . The 87. prongs of the [ (shin) stand forthe three Patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, three symbolize the triad of sefirot: Ḥesed, who and Tif'eret. SeeZohar 1:25b (TZ ); Gevurah, 2:204a. appear on the evil side Perhaps 88. ``The letter \ (tav) entered first of all. She said, `Master of the worlds, may it You to create the world by me, for I complete Your seal: B P \ (emet), please of the faithful who fulfilled the Torah from B (alef) to\ (tav), and by your they will die. 83 Furthermore you are the seal of P G \ (mavet), death. 84 So mark ``The letter [ (shin) came before Him. She said, `Master of the worlds, may it You to create the world by me, for by me You are named [ E K (Shaddai), please letters of deceit take you as their accomplice, I do not wish to create the world 12 by you. Fora lie cannot exist unless " Z (qof-resh) take you.' 85 So whoever Y " Z (qof-resh) are letters that appear on the evil side. 88 In order Y survive, they entangle the letter [ (shin), forming Y [ Z (qesher), conspiracy. to Seeing this, she left His presence. seal of P G \ (mavet), ``death'' The 84. Your seal: B P \ (emet), ``truth'' Ac- 81. cording to Rabbi Ḥanina (BT Shabbat 55a), word G \ (mavet) ends with the letter P seal is B P \ (emet), ``truth,'' the final God's \ (tav). letters of deceit . . . Y " Z 85. (qof-resh)... word [ Y Z (sheqer), ``lie,'' begins with [ The K GF F (YHVH) is the God of truth. 10:10: andcontinues: Y Z (qof, resh). See BT (shin) 83. destined to be marked . . . See Eze- 9:3±4: He [ K GF F (YHVH)] called to the kiel man dressed in linen with the scribe's kit at waist, and K GF F (YHVH) said to him, ``Pass his through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a [ \ G (tav)] on the foreheads of those who mark they stand for Y VKN F because (qelippah), Z (ra), ``evil.'' See Zohar 2:180b; T ``husk,'' and ZḤ 8c (SO).
so revealedÐso as not to provide the world a pretext.' How hiddenÐnot She is R (nun). K (Yod) from the name of the holy covenant comes and so? on her, is united with her. 89 This is the mystery: When the blessed Holy rides created Adam, He created him with two faces. 90 So the K (yod) faces One like this: . 91 They were not turned face-to-face, like this: . 92 It backward, upward like this: . It looked downward like this: . 93 The blessed looked One said to her, `Turn back, for I intend to split you and transfigure Holy face-to-face, but you will arise elsewhere.' 94 She left His presence and you She is R (nun)... The letter X (tsadi) 89. of a R (nun) andaK (yod). See Bahir consists (61); Sefer ha-Temunah, 2, 21a. The R 42 symbolizes Shekhinah, the feminine (nun) the divine phallus, who is called Yesod, The mark of the covenant of ``covenant.'' is pictured as the smallest of circumcision Hebrew letters. In Tanḥuma, Tsav 14, the Zohar 1:13a, 56a, 95a±b; 2:36a, 216b; See (IR), 215b, 220a, 256a (RM ); Wolfson, 3:142a Bereshit Rabbah 8:1: ``Rabbi Yirmeyah See of El'azarsaid, `When the blessed Holy son created Adam, He created him androgynous, One as is said: Male and female He cre- them (Genesis 1:27).' Rabbi Shemu'el ated of Naḥamani said, `When the blessed son One created Adam, He created him Holy two faces. Then He sawed him and with him two backs, one on this side and gave on that.''' one BT Berakhot 61a; Eruvin 18a; Plato, See 189d±191d; Zohar 1:13b, 47a; 2:55a; Symposium 44b; Matt, Zohar, 217. 3:5a, K (yod) faces backward . . . This 91. the Sephardic practice of writing reflects X (tsadi). See Scholem; Friedman, the ha-Tsaddiq, 41±55; Meshi-Zahav, Tsidqat Sifrei Setam, intro, 36; 8, 149±52, Qovets Havlin, in Alei Sefer 12 (1986): 13± 239±40; Ta-Shma, Ha-Nigleh she-ba-Nistar, 65, 19; nn. 163±66. 139, not turned face-to-face . . . Initially 92. union between the masculine and feminine the aspects of God was back-to-back and incomplete. See Zohar 2:176b (SdTs); thus (IZ ); BT Bava Batra 99a. This in- 3:292b union is symbolized by the configuratiocomplete of the X (tsadi). The X (tsadi) must hidden so that this secret will not remain widely known and ``provide the become a pretext'' to impugn the divine world union. It looked upward...downward... 93. to face its partner. See Tishby, Wis- Trying of the Zohar, 2:564. dom you will arise elsewhere The K 94. andtheR (nun) will face one another (yod) here but in another letter: J (tet). not Haqdamat Sefer ha-Zohar [1:2b] ``The letter X (tsadi) entered. She said to Him, `Master of the world, may it You to create the world by me, for X KYKE O (tsaddiqim), the righteous, are please by me, and You, who are called X KE Y (Tsaddiq), Righteous, are signified sealed me, as is written: For K GF F (YHVH) is X KE Y (tsaddiq)Ðloving righteousness by (Psalms 11:7). It is fitting to create the world by me!' replied, `X (Tsadi), you are X KE Y (tsaddiq), but you should remain ``He departed. 13 R CY F [neqevah]). The K (yod) symbolizes ( Shemini 8, this mark is identified with the K ofthedivinename [ E K (Shaddai). A (yod) German Hasidic tradition identifies the with the yod of K GF F (YHVH). mark JQR 78 (1987): 77±112; idem, Circle in the in 29±48. Liebes (Studies, 154±58) sug- Square, gests that the X (tsadi) alludes to Jesus. two faces E G KVGXZV Q 90. (Du partsufin). See KP.
Page 1 and 2: and then there is a rose! Just as a
Page 3 and 4: Shim'on opened, ``The blossoms Rabb
Page 5 and 6: are little children, youngsters, as
Page 7 and 8: is End of Heaven above; What is End
Page 9 and 10: (Mah), What, 56 name throughout the
Page 11: His great might (Isaiah 40:26). 73
Page 15 and 16: M (kaf) descended from the throne o
Page 17 and 18: et). Letters above and letters belo
Page 19 and 20: was not, did not exist. When did th
Page 21 and 22: ``You are not entitled to see him.'
Page 23 and 24: tremble and quake [4b] before Him.
Page 25 and 26: was granted to him. He emerged trem
Page 27 and 28: Torah. Of this is written: I have p
Page 29 and 30: Shim'on said to the Companions, ``I
Page 31 and 32: in the third to be one without divi
Page 33 and 34: is that? The one included by the bl
Page 35 and 36: awe is the point standing in the ce
Page 37 and 38: Abba and Rabbi El'azar gazed at him
Page 39 and 40: and concealed. 266 In the trunk of
Page 41 and 42: was decreed above by the celestial
Page 43 and 44: He drew near. But the three he did
Page 45 and 46: light created on the first day. 308
Page 47 and 48: eaching the house of Rabbi Yose son
Page 49 and 50: So he was called Habakkuk; it was h

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