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Zohar on the Torah |
| Zohar Archives | Zohar Parashat Balak The Zohar on Black Magic The Zohar is bothered by the very same things that bother so many people today. For example: How does black magic work? From what source do evil people derive their power? In order to understand the Zohar, let us first glance at some of the relevant verses from the Torah itself (Bamidbar, Chapter 22:2 through the end of Chapter 24), followed by a slightly paraphrased translation of the Zohar: When Bilaam got up in the morning, he saddled his female donkey, and went along with the Moabite dignitaries. [Although He had given him permission to go with them] Hashem displayed anger because he went [thinking he could fool G-d]. [G-d thus sent] an angel of G-d to plant himself in the road to oppose him... (22:21-22). When the donkey [not Bilaam] saw Hashem's angel standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, the donkey turned aside... Bilaam beat the donkey... (22:23). When the donkey saw Hashem's angel [the third time], it lay down [refusing to budge] for Bilaam... Hashem then gave the donkey the power of speech, and it said to Bilaam: "What have I done to you that you beat me these three times?" (22:28). Hashem then gave Bilaam the ability to see, and he beheld the angel standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. [Bilaam] kneeled and prostrated himself on his face (22:31). Later on: [Bilaam] proclaimed his oracle: This is the word of Beor's son, Bilaam, the word of the man with the enlightened eye. It is the word of the one who hears G-d's sayings, who sees a vision of the Almighty, falling into [a meditative trance] with mystical vision (24:3-4). Zohar 3:207b "The donkey saw Hashem's angel." Rabbi Yitzchak and Rabbi Yossi were talking: If Bilaam was so great, why did the donkey see and he didn't? And how could the Torah testify about his, "Falling into a meditative trance with mystical vision"? Was he on a higher level than all the other prophets? Could it be that this low-life, who was only a black magician, actually beheld the supernal radiance of the Holy One, the holiness of the Master of the World?! The Rabbis decided to go to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai for clarification of these issues. When they got to Rabbi Shimon, they began by quoting the well known Midrash to the effect that before Hashem created Man, He asked the opinion of the angels. The verse says, "What is mortal man, that You think of him, and the finest human being that You even consider him?" (Tehillim 8:5). We have learned that when the Holy One decided to create Adam, He called various groups of angels in and sat them down before Him. He announced to them: I wish to create Adam. The angels responded with a verse from the Psalms, "With all his honor, if Man will not understand, he is likened to the dumb beasts" (Tehillim 49:21). The Holy One stretched forth His finger and burned them up! He sat down other groups before Him and said: I wish to create Adam. They responded, "What is mortal man that You think of him, and the finest human being that You even consider him?" that is, "What is the nature of this man? [You seem to have high hopes for him, but isn't it revealed before You that it is almost inevitable that he will fall?]" He replied to them: "[I will create him] in your angelic likeness, and his wisdom will exceed even yours. [I.e. I will give him every advantage and hope that he will succeed despite the tests with which I will test him.]" But when He finally did create Adam, Adam sinned and was expelled from His Presence. Aza and AzaEl spoke up before the Holy One: "Our original claim has been justified. Behold, the Man that You made has sinned before You." He replied to them: "Do you think you could have done better in his situation?" What did the Holy One do? He cast them down from their level of holiness. Zohar Bereshit (1:37a) When the Holy One created Adam and placed him in the Garden of Eden, he commanded him concerning 7 commandments. Subsequently, Adam sinned and he was expelled from the Garden. Two angels, Aza and AzaEl, spoke up before the Holy One: "If we would have been on Earth in his place we would have succeeded where he failed!" The Holy One said to them: "Could you really have overcome the Evil Inclination? [It was very powerful after all!]" They said: "Certainly!" Immediately, the Holy One cast them down, as it is written, "The Nefilim were on Earth..." (Bereshit 6:4). Once they descended, the Evil Inclination entered them and overcame them as well, as it is written, "They took [any of, many of] them as wives for themselves from whomever they chose" (6:2). As a result of their sin [of being arrogant, presumptuous], they were removed and banished from their former holiness. [Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai has heard what they are asking and what they are getting at.] He replies: First, with regard to your original question: How could the Torah have testified concerning Bilaam, "Falling into a meditative trance with mystical vision"?... We have a rule: Holiness only dwells where there is fit vessel to receive it. This man obviously was not worthy! [How then could he have had a true mystical vision?!] In order to answer you, I will tie this problem in with your question about Aza and AzaEl. What happened to these two after the Holy One cast them out of heaven? They chased after women and caused people to err. As we have mentioned in connection with the verse, "He makes Ruchot-Spirits His Angel-Messengers" (Tehillim 104:4), these two were angels. How then were they able to exist on the earthly plane? Rather, none of the supernal angels can exist without receiving their life-force through the supernal radiance. If this radiance is withheld from them, they cannot exist. This is all the more so true of these two whom the Holy One cast down and thereby cut off from His supernal radiance. Their own radiance changed, and when they descended, the atmosphere of this world overcame them, and they underwent a drastic change in levels. Come and see. The Manna in the Desert - it descended from a very exalted level, from the level of the supernal radiance. As it descended down through the spiritual dimension, it gave nourishment to all. It was the very food of the angels. However, once it descended with the morning dew and the atmosphere of this world enveloped it, it thickened and coagulated. Its luster changed and it appeared completely physical. The same is true of angels, and even more so, because they come from a lower level than the Manna itself. When they descend, the atmosphere of this world envelops and overwhelms them, and they change from their previous level. Now, with regard to these two angels, what did the Holy One do? He saw that they were leading people astray. He bound them with metal chains in the mountains of darkness... People who found out where they were would go to them, and they would teach these people the occult arts. The Torah calls these mountains of darkness Harerei Kedem (Ancient Mountains of the East, based on the double meaning of Kedem, "east" and "ancient"), as the verse states, "Balak, king of Moab, has brought me from Aram, from the Ancient Mountains of the East, [telling me] to come curse Yaacov and conjure divine wrath against Yisrael" (Bamidbar 23:7). They are called Ancient Mountains of the East because, when the world was created, darkness preceded light, as the verses describing the six days of creation state, "It was evening and it was morning..." Lavan (Yaacov's father-in-law in Aram) and Bilaam (a reincarnation of Lavan, literally, and also because Bilaam took after Lavan in being a master-magician) learned the occult arts from these fallen angels. This is why Bilaam said about himself, "It is the word of one who hears G-d's sayings, who sees a vision of the Almighty" (Bamidbar 24:4). For Aza and AzaEl had taught him G-d's secret sayings that they had heard when they were still in heaven. This is why it says, "hears G-d's sayings," and not "hears G-d's voice," i.e. the sayings he had heard from Aza and AzaEl. He also said, "It is the word of the one who hears G-d's sayings and knows the will of the Most High" (ibid. 24:16). From Aza and AzaEl he learned how to divine the most auspicious times to perform his art. He continued saying, "Who sees a vision of the Almighty while fallen [in a meditative trance] with mystical insight" (ibid.). Who are the ones who see a vision of the Almighty? "Nofel [Fallen] and Galuy Eynayim [Mystical Insight]," i.e. Aza and AzaEl. Aza is called "Nofel" because besides being cast down from heaven once, the Holy One forced him further down into the depths of darkness. AzaEl is called "Galuy Eynayim" because he didn't anger the Holy One as much as Aza. Bilaam used to go to the Ancient Mountains of the East each day. This is why he said, "Balak... has brought me... from the Ancient Mountains of the East..." Rabbi Shimon said: How many times have I repeated, and no one pays attention! The Holy One does not allow His Presence to rest except in a place of holiness that is befitting. The Holy One therefore repeatedly warns, "Let there not be found among you anyone who passes his son or daughter through fire, who practices stick divination, who divines auspicious times, who divines by omens, who practices witchcraft, who uses incantations, who consults mediums and oracles, or who attempts to communicate with the dead" (Devarim 18:10-11). On the contrary, fortunate is the nation of Israel who have been made holy in order that He allow His Presence to dwell among them, as it is written, "Hashem makes His Presence known in your camp... Let your camp therefore be holy" (ibid. 23:15). Now we skip to Bilaam's last prophecy in the Torah which deals with the Messianic Era: "Behold, now I am returning to my people, but first I will advise you about what this Nation (Israel) will do to your people in the final days" (Bamidbar 24:14). Zohar 3:212a: "Now I am returning to my people..." Rabbi Yehudah opened and said... How cherished are the words of the Torah; how beloved is the Torah before the Holy One; how treasured is the Torah that the Holy One bequeathed to Israel. Come and see. When Israel left Egypt, Bilaam realized that all the spells and incantations he had pronounced over them [when he was Pharaoh's minister] had been brought to naught. He began to tear out his hair. He went to the Mountains of Darkness, to the place where Aza and AzaEl were bound in chains of iron. What does a person do when he goes to these mountains? When he arrives there, AzaEl sees him and informs Aza. They both give forth a call, summoning many poisonous snakes to gather round. They also send forth a kind of cat with the head of a snake, tiny paws, and two tails. The person has to have a container of ashes, the remains of a white rooster. He casts the ashes in the face of the cat, and the cat then accompanies him further, until they arrive at the place where the iron chains are wedged in the ground. He then descends down to the abyss, where there is a kind of pin wedged in the deepest abyss. It is to this pin that the iron chains are secured. When this person arrives there, he strikes the pin three times, at which point Aza and AzaEl call him. He then bows down on his knees, closes his eyes and crawls forward. He then sits down in front of them, whereupon all the snakes surround him on all sides. He opens his eyes and sees them. He trembles and quivers and falls on his face. He bows towards them. They then teach him the black arts. He stays with them for three days. When the time comes to take leave, the cat, along with all the snakes, take off in front of him, until he exits those Mountains of Darkness. When Bilaam arrived there, he announced his intention, namely, to accuse Israel and have them returned to Egypt. In the meantime, however, the Holy One had ruined all the wisdom and magic in the world, and they were prevented from harming them. Come and see. Once Bilaam realized that all his designs to harm Israel had come to naught, he went and revealed a secret plan to Balak, something Balak had never even thought of, in order to harm Israel. His plan was to cause Israel to fall by having the young Midianite women, who were extremely beautiful, entice them. Actually, we would not even know about this, had Moses not told us later, as it is written [later after the Israeli forces went out against Midian, and killed all the males, but brought back the women], "Why have you kept alive all the women? These are exactly the ones who were involved with the children of Israel at Bilaam's instigation, causing them to be unfaithful to G-d in the incident of Peor, and bringing a plague upon G-d's community" (Bamidbar 31:15-16). The Zohar has brought the story full circle. It was Aza and AzaEl who first went after the daughters of men because they were beautiful. Now we learn that this is exactly what Bilaam understood would be the best way to undermine Israel's relationship with G-d: entice them to go after the Midianite women! Where could he have gotten this advice? The Zohar continues now and explains how Bilaam could have said the things he said concerning the final days of history. As we have seen, Bilaam was a low-life. How then was he able to reveal things that have to do with the Messiah himself? Rabbi Yehudah goes on (Zohar 3:212b)... Shabbat Shalom |
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