Chapter 1 (PDF) - Stanford University Press

the zohar [1:6b]
Egyptian had a spear in his hand (2 Samuel, ibid.). This is the staff of
``The
handed down to him, 289
as is said: With the staff of God in my hand
God,
as is said: He struck the rock with his staff twice (Numbers 20:11). The
rock,
Holy One said to him, `Moses, I did not give you My staff forthis. By
blessed
From now on, it will no longerbe in yourhand.' Immediately He
yourlife!
down to him with a club (2 Samuel, ibid.) 292 Ðwith severe judgment. And
went
the spear out of the Egyptian's hand, forfrom that moment it was
wrenched
from him and was never again in his hand. And killed him with his
withheld
spear. Because of the sin of striking with that staff, 293 he died and did not
own
Holy Land, and this light was withheld from Israel.
enterthe
the thirty, he was most honored (2 Samuel, ibid., 23). 294 These are the
``From
celestial years, 295 on which He drew, conveying them below. Drawing on
thirty
2(Ets Yosef, ad loc.); Devarim Rabbah
akhah
on 33:1; Zohar 1:21b±22a, 148a,
(Lieberman),
236b; 239a; 2:22b, 235b, 238b, 244b
152a±b,
(Heikh).
to rabbinic tradition, after encountering
According
God on Mount Sinai, Moses ab-
from sexual contact with his wife
stained
maintained union with Shekhinah.
and
Sifrei, Numbers 99; BT Shabbat 87a;
See
Tsav 13; Maimonides, Mishneh
Tanḥuma,
Hilkhot Yesodei ha-Torah 7:6; Zohar
Torah,
152b, 234b; 2:222a; 3:148a, 180a.
1:22a,
staff of God, handed down to him
289.
staff with which Moses performed
The
before Pharaoh, split the Red Sea,
miracles
struck the rock to produce water. Ac-
and
to Pirqei de-Rabbi Eli'ezer 40, the
cording
had previously been in the possession
rod
Adam, Enoch, Noah, Shem, Abr aham,
of
Jacob, Joseph, and Jethro. See Targum
Isaac,
Exodus 2:21; Ginzberg, Legends,
Yerushalmi,
n. 600.
6:106,
staff created on the eve of Sabbath
290.
. . . One of the ten things created in
last moments of the week of Creation,
the
before the first Sabbath began. See M
just
5:6. Avot
engraved with the holy name The
291.
Name, YHVH. SeeTargum Yerushalmi,
Ineffable
Exodus 2:21; Devarim Rabbah 3:8;
Tehillim 114:9; Sefer ha-Yashar, Shemot,
Midrash
307; Zohar 2:28a, 48a.
He went down to him with a club
292.
verse continues: and wrenched the spear
The
of the Egyptian's hand and killed him
out
his own spear. As the donkey-driver
with
the verse, the subject, Benayahu,
interprets
really Yesod, who confronts Moses the
is
See Zohar 2:114b (RM ).
Egyptian.
And killed him with his own spear
293.
. .that staff Benayahu killed Moses the
.
with Moses' own staff, i.e., because
Egyptian
Moses' own misuse of the staff. The notion
of
that Moses was an Egyptian who was
by an Israelite foreshadows Freud's
killed
See Amado LeÂvy-Valensi, Le MoõÈse
thesis.
not attain. David set him over his guard.
did
actual biblical verse does not include
The
Zohar's author or a later scribe replaced
the
phrase with a different one, several
this
earlier, describing another of King
verses
warriors, Avishai: Of the three, he
David's
most honored (2 Samuel 23:19). See Zohar
was
1:105b.
thirty celestial years The three sefirot,
295.
Ḥesed, Gevurah, and Tif'eret, each reflect
17:9). This is the staff created on the eve of Sabbath at twilight, 290
(Exodus
with the holy name, 291
engraved
a holy graving. With this he sinned at the
42
The verse continues: but the three he
Freud; Goldreich, in Masu'ot, 486±87.
de
From the thirty, he was most hon-
294.
ored
K
[ha-khi]). Apparently
the word most (
F
M