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Zohar on the Torah |
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Parshat Achrei Mot, Page 58b Translated and adapted by Mr. Simcha Treister ‘And the Lord said to Moses, speak to Aharon your brother, that he should not come at all times into the holy place…’ (Leviticus 16:2). Rabbi Abba in explaining this verse, prefaced with the comment that there are particular times which are favorable moments to come before the Holy One blessed be He. These times are favorable to draw down blessings and to make requests. [The source of blessings are in the higher sphirot of Chesed and Chochma. There are particular times when these sphirot are more assessable than others.] There are other times that are not favorable, and blessing is not waiting to be drawn down. Then harsh judgement is in the world. There are other times when judgement is pending, positioned in balance between mercy and judgement. Come and see. There are times which are favorable to mercy [these are the months of Adar, Nissan, Iyar and Sivan – equivalent to March, April, May and June]. There are other times in the year when Din/Judgement is prevalent [the months of Tammuz, Av, Tevet and Shevat – the latter half of June, July, the majority of August and half of January and February]. There are other times when Din is pending [Ellul, Tishrei, Cheshvan and Kislev – The latter part of August, September, October and November and the first part of December]. There are also times of the lunar month which are favorable [the first half of the lunar month when the moon is increasing its strength each day]. There are times of the month when dinnim abound and pend over all [the latter half of the lunar month when the moon is weakening in strength]. There are times in the week which are favorable [being receptive to responding to prayers with chesed. These are Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday that respectively correspond to the sphirot of Chesed, Tiferet, Nezach and Yesod]. There are other times of the week when dinnim are prevalent and awaken in the world [namely Monday and Thursday that correspond to the sphirot of Gevurah and Hod]. There are also times of the day that are favorable and the world is sweetened from harshness [from midnight to midday] and there are times of the day when dinnim are pending and are present [from midday to midnight]. The same is true even in any particular hour [part tending to chesed and part tending to din]. This is the inner meaning of the verse in Kohelet 3,1 ‘To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under the heavens.’ It is about these times that the verse applies in Psalms 69,14 ‘O Lord let my prayer to you be in an acceptable time…’[that is a time when my prayer will arouse a merciful response]. Thus it is also written in Isaiah 55,6 ‘Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near.’[From which we see that there is a particular time, like Ellul, which is receptive to repentance and returning to one’s spiritual roots.] It is further written in Psalms 10,1 ‘Why do You stand so far away, O Lord? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?’ [referring to those times that are not ‘favorable’ as explained above]. It is also written in Jeremiah 31,2 ‘The Lord has appeared to me from far away’ while at other times He is near as it is written in Psalms 145,18 ‘The Lord is near to all those who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth’. All this explains why Aharon is told not to come at every time into the precinct of the Holy of Holies in the Mikdash. |
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