Chapter 1 (PDF) - Stanford University Press

light created on the first day. 308 That you have hidden away for
goodnessÐthe
in awe of You, forHe concealed it forthe righteous in that world. 309
those
``That You made (Psalms 31:20) 310 Ðthe upperGarden of Eden, 311
The place You have made to dwell in, O YHVH (Exodus 15:17). This is
written:
You made for those who take refuge in You. In the presence of human
that
lower Garden of Eden, where all the righteous abide in spirit
beingsÐthe
in a splendid garment resembling the image of this world. 312
This is
clothed
in the presence of, human beingsÐin the image of human beings of
(neged),
world. 313
There they stand, then fly through the air, ascending to the
this
of Heaven in that upperGarden of Eden. 314 They soarand bathe in
Academy
dew of rivers of pure balsam, 315 then descend and dwell below. Sometimes
the
light created on the first day
308.
the first of the lower seven sefirot,
Ḥesed,
seven primordial days. In the Torah, the
the
``good'' appears for the first time in
word
verse describing this light: God saw that
the
light was good (Genesis 1:4).
the
He concealed it... See BT Ḥagigah
309.
``Rabbi El'azarsaid, `With the light cre-
12a:
by the blessed Holy One on the first
ated
one could gaze and see from one end of
day,
universe to the other. When the blessed
the
One foresaw the corrupt deeds of the
Holy
of the Flood and the generation
generation
the Dispersion [the generation of the
of
Babel], He immediately hid it
Towerof
them, as is written: The light of the
from
is withheld (Job 38:15). Forwhom
wicked
He hide it? Forthe righteous in the time
did
come.''' to
Bereshit Rabbah 3:6; 41:3; Shemot
See
35:1; Tanḥuma, Shemini 9; Bahir
Rabbah
(147); Zohar 1:31b±32a, 45b±46a, 47a;
97±98
148b±149a, 220a±b; 3:88a, 173b.
2:127a,
That you made The verse con-
310.
for those who take refuge in You, in
tinues:
presence of human beings. Rabbi El'azar
the
concludes the verse that he began.
now
upper Garden of Eden Shekhinah,
311.
divine presence and dwelling, the culmination
the
of the emanation that was made.
actualizes the various divine
Shekhinah
qualities.
all the righteous abide . . . Righteous
312.
souls who have departed this world
in the Garden of Eden clothed in an
abide
body resembling their previous
ethereal
form. The soul is clothed in this
human
before descending to earth, retains
garment
while in the physical body until shortly
it
death, and then regains it upon
before
ascending.
Zohar 1:38b (Heikh), 81a (ST ), 90b±91a,
See
219a, 220a, 227b; 2:96b, 150a, 161b;
131a,
104a±b; Scholem, in Tarbiz 24
3:43a±b,
293±95; idem, Kabbalah, 158±59;
(1955):
On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead,
idem,
Tishby, Wisdom of the Zohar, 2:770±
251±73;
Cf. Rashi on BT Ḥagigah 12b, s.v. ve-ruḥot
73.
both ``in the presence of'' and ``corresponding
means
to.''
Academy of Heaven . . . Where the
314.
of the righteous study Torah with
souls
God.
dew of rivers of pure balsam Thir-
315.
rivers of pure balsam await the righteouteen
in the world that is coming. See BT
25a; Bereshit Rabbah 62:2.
Ta'anit
the Zohar, the rivers of balsam are the
In
flow of emanation from Binah, who
fragrant
known as ``the world that is coming,
is
coming, neverceasing'' (Zohar
constantly
[IZ ]; see 2:127a; 3:181a.
3:290b
reference to dew recalls the rabbinic
The
that God will resurrect the dead with
notion
Haqdamat Sefer ha-Zohar
[1:7a]
as is
E DR
45
unshamot.
R D E (neged), in the presence of ...
313.
in the image of . . .
The Hebrew word
dew. See BT Shabbat 88b; JT Berakhot 5:2, 9b.