Zohar on the Torah

Zohar Archives

Parshat Korach - Zohar Page 176a Rabbi Abba opened his discourse with the words: "And Korach the son of Yitzhar the son of Kahat… took men… and they rose up before Moshe… Come and see, each person who strives to understand the Torah, unifies himself with the Tree of Life. Once they are united with it they are united with everything, as it is written, "She is a tree of life to all who grasp her and happy is everyone who supports her." Rabbi Yitzchak said: Everyone who strives to understand the Torah obtains freedom from everything, freedom from toil and servitude and freedom from all sorts of negativity associated with death as we have explained elsewhere. All this is because a spirit of freedom rests upon him and unites with him. If only Israel would do what is written in the Torah and keep the mitzvot, they would be saved from all negative forces. This is the meaning of the verse: "And the tablets were the work of G-d, and the writing was the writing of G-d, engraved (charut) upon the tablets". This is what is written in the Talmud: "Don't read "engraved" charut, rather read "freedom" - "cheyrut" upon the tablets." It is this very freedom which is found in the study of Torah. The Torah is the power of Chesed ("kindness") which is on the right side of the tree of the sephirot as it is said: "…from His right hand went a fiery law for them" . Gevurah ("strictness"), on the left, is included in Chesed on the right (through the Torah which is Tifferet - the middle sphira between chesed and gevurah). For the person who makes right into left and left into right (wishing to alter the order of the sephirot) is as if destroying the world. Come and see: Aaron is on the right and the tribe of Levi is on the left. Korach tried to switch the right with the left (by having himself, a Levi, from the side of gevura appointed as High Priest that is a position from the side of Chesed). He was punished because of this. Not only that, but he was found to be slanderous and was punished on account of all these things… "And Korach took…" (above). What did he take? He took to himself bad advice. Every person who chases after something that isn't for him will find that the thing he desires runs away from him. Not only that, but he looses what was already his. Korach chased after what wasn't his (the Priesthood), lost what belonged to him (as a Levi) and achieved nothing at all.

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