Zohar on the Torah

Parshat Noah - Zohar, Page 59b

Rabbi Elazar opened his discourse with the words: “Come behold the work of the Lord who has made desolate places on the earth.”[1] This verse has already been interpreted in a number of ways, but now let us ask why it starts with the Aramaic expression “chazu” for the word “behold”, instead of the Hebrew word “ri’oo”. The word “chazu” hints at the level of prophecy as Isaiah states: “A grievous prophetic vision has been imparted to me.”[2] So it is that the works of the Lord in this world, when beheld properly, reveal in themselves a higher level of prophecy that can be grasped by mankind.

The verse goes on to state: “who has made desolate places in the earth”. Don’t interpret the word “shamoot” to mean desolate places. Instead read the word as “shaymot” or “names”! Now the verse can be interpreted: “Through names which the Lord has placed in the world, you can envision the future that will happen to those people or things.” The very names, which people or things are given, have a causal effect on their destiny. (Thus parents, naming a child, are given a type of prophecy, enabling the name chosen to have significance in relation to the child’s future. A tzaddik can have special insights into a person or thing by relating properly to their name.) This is proven by the name given to Noah who was called “Noach” (related to the Hebrew root “to comfort”.) The verse states: “And he called his name Noah, saying, This baby will grow up to give us comfort, making our work and our manual labor easier, despite the curse which the Lord has put on the ground.”[3] (Indeed the Midrash states that Noah invented tools – something he would have certainly needed to build an ark!).

Why does the verse state that: “he called his name Noah, saying, This…”. The word “This” seems inappropriate, because one would normally say that he was called “Noah, because he will comfort us etc.” These two words which seem out of place – “…saying, This...” actually represent two levels in the spiritual worlds. “Saying” or “laymor” is the feminine aspect called Malchut, and “this” or “zeh” represents the sphira of Yesod that is also called Tzadik. This comforting unity is what is hinted at by the use of these two words. Here it is written that “This will comfort us” and elsewhere it is written: “This is the Lord, whose revelation we have waited for, we will rejoice and be happy in His salvation of us.”[4] Happy are those righteous ones whose names are registered with the seal of the King, to be registered in His Name, as He places them on the earth as befits them.