By April 10, 2008 Read More →

Zohar 3:59b

Jewish Mysticism
It has been taught- R. Jose said, One time the world needed rain. R. Yeisa, R. Hizqiyah, and the rest of the comrades went before R. Simeon. They found that he and his son, R. Eleazar, were going to see R. Pinheas ben Yair. When [R. Simeon] saw then, he opened up and said, “A Song of ascents. Of David. How good and and how pleasant it is that brothers dwell together.” What is the meaning of “that brothers dwell together?” As it is said [of the cherubim], “they shall face each other” (Exod. 25-20, 37-9). When they are gazing at each other face-to-face, it is written, “how good and how pleasant,” but when the male turns his face from the female, wow to the world … Another interpretation- “How good and how pleasant etc.” These are the comrades at the time that they sit as one and are not separated from one another. At first they appear as warriors engaged in battle who want to kill one another. Afterwards they are transformed by the love of comradeship. What does the Holy One, blessed be He, say? How good and how pleasant it is that brothers dwell together.” [The word] gam [in the expression gam yahad, “together”] signifies the inclusion of the Shekhinah with them. Furthermore, the Holy One, blessed be, listens to their words and it is pleasing to Him for He takes joy in them.

Translated by Elliot Wolfson in Through a Speculum that Shines- Vision and Imagination in Medieval Jewish Mysticism, Princeton- Princeton University Press, 1994.

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