Zohar on the Torah

Zohar Archives

Parshat Ekev – Zohar, The Faithful Shepherd, Page 270b “Therefore it shall come to pass, if you pay attention to these laws and bear them in mind and do them, then the Lord your G-d will keep the covenant and show you His kindness just as He swore to show your forefathers.”[1] “And when you have eaten and are full, then you shall bless the Lord your G-d for the good land which He has given you.”[2] This instruction is to bless the Holy One Blessed Be He for everything that a person eats or drinks and enjoys in this physical world. If a blessing is not said then the person is called a thief as regards G-d. This is referred to in the verse: “He who robs his father or his mother, and says, This is no crime; he is a friend of the destructive forces.”[3] The Companions have explained this verse elsewhere (Zohar page 35b). The reason he is called a thief, is because the blessings by which a person blesses the Holy One Blessed Be He, cause a spiritual abundance to flow from the Source of Life to the Holy Name of the Holy One Blessed Be He. That flow empties the supernal oil out from the Source of Life onto that Name, causing the flow down of spiritual abundance from that level to the entire physical world. This is the meaning of the verse “when you have eaten and are full then you shall bless HaShem your G-d”. (By not blessing, the person is like a thief, who takes without giving back since he doesn’t cause a meditative unity between HaShem and your G-d.). The very blessing which a person says causes the spiritual abundance to flow from the higher fountainhead, and causes all these higher levels and their fountainheads to be blessed and to fill and then empty out onto all the worlds, causing everything to be blessed in one continuous unity. This is the reason that a person is required to focus his meditation on the secret of the blessings, in order that cause and effect will be blessed as one unity. Furthermore, the one who blesses in this manner is himself blessed and takes his spiritual portion first, before all others in this physical world. This is because the name of the Holy One Blessed Be He is caused to be blessed, and from that Name blessing descends, and rests on the head of the one making the blessing first. This we have explained as the meaning of the verse “…in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you, and I will bless you.”[4] Since that blessing has now descended and dwells on the head of the person making the blessing, it is from that physical point that the blessing spreads out to the whole world.  [1]Deuteronomy 7,12 [2] Deuteronomy 8,10 [3] Proverbs 28,24 [4] Exodus 20,21

This website is a project of Ascent of Safed Design © 2001 Hershel Productions