All Secrets and Mysteries Texts
Solomon Alkebetz, Liqqutei Haqdamot le-Hokhmat ha-Qabbalah.
Concealment is the cause of disclosure and disclosure the cause of concealment.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “Divine Suffering and the Hermeneutics of Reading- Philosophical Reflections on Lurianic Mythology,” in Suffering Religion, 101-162, Edited by R. Gibbs and E. R. Wolfson. New York and London- Routledge, 2002, from Solomon Alkebetz, Liqqutei Haqdamot le-Hokhmat ha-Qabbalah, MS Oxford, Bodleian Library 1663, fol. 172b.
Nahmanides, Sermon on Ecclesiastes
With respect to these matters and others like them one cannot understand their truth from one’s own mind (mida’at atzmo) but only through tradition (be kabbalah). This matter is explained in the Torah to whoever has heard the rationale for the commandments through a tradition (ta’am ha mitzvot be kabbalah) as is fitting. This refers to one who has received from a mouth which has received, going back to Moses, our teacher, [who received] from God.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in- “Beautiful Maiden Without Eyes- Peshat and Sod in Zoharic Hermeneutics.” In The Midrashic imagination – Jewish exegesis, thought, and history. Edited by Michael Fishbane, Albany – State University of New York Press, 1993, pp. 155-203, from Kitvei Ramban, edited by Charles Chavel, Jerusalem, Mosad ha-Rav Kook, vol. 1, p. 190
Abraham Abulafia, Or ha-Sekhel, MS Vat. 233, fols. 43a 43b.
Even though we have alluded to the hidden matters, the verses should not lose their literal sense. Insofar as there is nothing compelling us to believe that this is an allegory and should not be [understood] according to its literal sense in any manner, we should initially believe the literal sense as it is. . . . Afterwards it should be interpreted as much as it can withstand according to the hidden way, for all that which is interpreted according to what is hidden instructs about a deeper wisdom and is more beneficial to a person than the exoteric teaching. The exoteric is written to benefit the masses who have no analytic skill to distinguish between truth and falsehood, but this will not benefit the knowledgeable person who seeks felicity unique to the rational faculty.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in- “Beautiful Maiden Without Eyes- Peshat and Sod in Zoharic Hermeneutics.” In The Midrashic imagination – Jewish exegesis, thought, and history. Edited by Michael Fishbane, Albany – State University of New York Press, 1993, pp. 155-203.
Isaac of Acre, MS Guenzberg 775, fol. 50a.
I have seen the truth of the revealed and hidden secret (sod nokhah ve nistar) in many verses and in prayers and blessings. The one who believes only in the hidden (nistar) is in the category of the heretics, and these are the foolish of the philosophers who philosophize and are dependent upon their speculations. They are wise in their own eyes, for they have no knowledge of the ten sefirot belimah which are the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. Their faith is evil and deficient, for they act negligently with respect to prayer and blessings and make light of all the commandments. The one who believes solely in the external (nokhah) are the foolish of the traditionalists (ha mekubbalim), for it is inappropriate to separate the Holy One, blessed be He, and His name. It is certainly the case that the Holy One, blessed be He, is His name and His name is the Holy One, blessed be He. Thus the ten sefirot belimah are the boundary without boundary . . . through them one can comprehend the secrets of the haggadot and the establishment of the words of the rabbis, blessed be their memory, “a verse should not lose its literal sense.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in- “Beautiful Maiden Without Eyes- Peshat and Sod in Zoharic Hermeneutics.” In The Midrashic imagination – Jewish exegesis, thought, and history. Edited by Michael Fishbane, Albany – State University of New York Press, 1993, pp. 155-203.
Zohar 2-98b
The Holy One, blessed be He, enters all the hidden matters [or words] that He has made in the holy Torah, and everything is found in the Torah. The Torah reveals that hidden matter and immediately it is cloaked in another garment wherein it is concealed and not revealed. Even though the matter is hidden in its garment, the wise, who are full of eyes (malyan aynin), see it from within its garment (ham’an lah mi go levushah). When that matter is revealed, before it enters into a garment, they cast an open eye (pekihu de’ayna) upon it, and even though it is immediately hidden it is not removed from their eyes.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in- “Beautiful Maiden Without Eyes- Peshat and Sod in Zoharic Hermeneutics.” In The Midrashic imagination – Jewish exegesis, thought, and history. Edited by Michael Fishbane, Albany – State University of New York Press, 1993, pp. 155-203.
Moses de Leon, She’elot u Teshuvot le R. Mosheh de Le’on be ‘Inyene Kabbalah.
Those very stories [in the Bible] are the secret of God, and they are included in the wisdom of His thought, the secret of His name. When a person removes the mask of blindness from his face, then he will find in that very story and literal sense (ha ma’aseh) a hill of spices [Cf. Song of Songs 8-14] and frankincense [Cf. ibid., 4-6]. Then his blind eyes will be opened [Cf. Isa. 35-5] and his thoughts will gladden, and he will say, ‘Whoever you are, O great mountain” (Zech. 4-7), exalted, “where you hid on the day of the incident” (1 Sam. 20-19), as I explained in the book that I composed called Pardes. I called it by the name Pardes in virtue of the matter that is known, for I composed it in accordance with the secret of the four ways [of interpretation], according to its very name [as alluded to in the saying] “Four entered the Pardes [b. Hagigah l4b and parallels],” in other words, peshat, remez, derashah, sod, this is the matter of Pardes. I explained there these matters pertaining to the secret of the narrative and literal sense written in the Torah, to show that everything is the eternal life and the true Torah, and there is nothing in all the Torah that is not contained in the secret of His name, may He be elevated.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in- “Beautiful Maiden Without Eyes- Peshat and Sod in Zoharic Hermeneutics.” In The Midrashic imagination – Jewish exegesis, thought, and history. Edited by Michael Fishbane, Albany – State University of New York Press, 1993, pp. 155-203, from Moses de Leon, She’elot u Teshuvot le R. Mosheh de Le’on be ‘Inyene Kabbalah, in I. Tishby, Studies in the Kabbalah and Its Branches [Hebrew] (Jerusalem, 1982), 56, 64. Cf. Sefer ha Mishkal, ed. J. Wijnhoven (Ph.D., Brandeis University, 1964), 49, 105.
Moses Cordevero, Or Yaqar to Ra’aya Mehemna (Jerusalem, 1987), 15-87.
A person must remove the garments from the Torah and break her shells in order to comprehend her depth and her hidden spirituality. . . . They must without doubt strip the Torah from all of her shells . . . then they will understand without any external garment. This is the secret of the Torah that the Holy One, blessed be He, will create in the future. . . . All her shells will be broken and the inner core of the Torah will be comprehended. . . . The kabbalistic secret is clothed in the literal sense for one cannot know how to expound it except by way of the literal sense, as if one said Abraham was a merciful man [i.e., from the attribute of Hesed or mercy], and his going to Egypt [symbolizes] his descent to the shells. . . . In this manner one cannot speak of kabbalah without it being mixed with the secret of the literal sense and corporeality.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in- “Beautiful Maiden Without Eyes- Peshat and Sod in Zoharic Hermeneutics.” In The Midrashic imagination – Jewish exegesis, thought, and history. Edited by Michael Fishbane, Albany – State University of New York Press, 1993, pp. 155-203.
Zohar 3-175b
R. Hiyya began to expound, “the glory of God is to conceal the matter, the glory of kings is to search out the matter” (Prov. 25-2). “The glory of God is to conceal the matter,” for a person does not have permission to reveal secret matters for they have not been given permission to reveal matters that the Ancient of Days concealed, as it is said, “that they may eat their fill and cover that which the Ancient One [concealed]” (Isa. 23-18). “To eat their fill,” up to that place wherein they have permission [to reveal] and no more. Thus it is said, ve limekhaseh atik, verily (vada’y) that which the Ancient One (atik) covers.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in- “Beautiful Maiden Without Eyes- Peshat and Sod in Zoharic Hermeneutics.” In The Midrashic imagination – Jewish exegesis, thought, and history. Edited by Michael Fishbane, Albany – State University of New York Press, 1993, pp. 155-203.
R. Isaiah ben Abraham Horowitz (ca. 1565 1630), Shenei Luhot ha Berit (Amsterdam, 1648), 3a
The revealed is the hidden, i.e., the revealed is the disclosure of the hidden and its dissemination. It follows that the revealed is the hidden. Thus it is with respect to matters of the Torah- the revealed is not an independent matter in relation to the hidden, in accord with the view of the masses who hold that the hidden way is separate and the revealed way separate. This is not the case, but rather the hidden evolves [through a chain] and is revealed. To this the verse alludes, “Like golden apples in silver showpieces is a phrase well turned” (Prov. 25-11). That is to say, just as the silver approximates the gold but it is on a lower level, so is the revealed in relation to the hidden.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in- “Beautiful Maiden Without Eyes- Peshat and Sod in Zoharic Hermeneutics.” In The Midrashic imagination – Jewish exegesis, thought, and history. Edited by Michael Fishbane, Albany – State University of New York Press, 1993, pp. 155-203.
Solomon Alkebetz, Liqqutei Haqdamot le-Hokhmat ha-Qabbalah.
It is known that concealment is disclosure and disclosure concealment (ha-he‘lem hu’ gilluy we-ha-gilluy hu’ he‘lem). The explanation of this is that on account of the abundance of luminosity and clarity within it the supernal light is not comprehended at all but it is hidden from every eye … and for the sake of governance of the worlds it was necessary for him to impart some reality so that something, however minuscule, will be comprehended from this light. For this reason there was the dissemination (hitpashtut), for by means of the dissemination of this emanation this light was thickened and sweetened in a manner that it may be comprehended and through which one may conduct oneself.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “Divine Suffering and the Hermeneutics of Reading- Philosophical Reflections on Lurianic Mythology,” in Suffering Religion, 101-162, Edited by R. Gibbs and E. R. Wolfson. New York and London- Routledge, 2002, from Solomon Alkebetz, Liqqutei Haqdamot le-Hokhmat ha-Qabbalah, MS Oxford, Bodleian Library 1663, fols. 175a-b, cited in Ben-Shlomo, Mystical Theology, pp. 268-269.
Moses Cordevero, Pardes Rimmonim.
For the emanation is the cause of the revelation of the one who emanates, and thus it also says “he is called by them,” for he has no name or place by which to be called or to be spoken except through his actions, and this is the cause of his revelation. Similarly, this is the cause of his occultation and his concealment so that his divinity will not be revealed except to those who are worthy. There are screens that separate him from the lower entities. This is [the import of the statement that] the disclosure is the cause of the occultation and the occultation the cause of the disclosure (ha-hitgalut sibbat ha-he‘lem we-ha-he‘lem sibbat ha-hitgalut).
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “Divine Suffering and the Hermeneutics of Reading- Philosophical Reflections on Lurianic Mythology,” in Suffering Religion, 101-162, Edited by R. Gibbs and E. R. Wolfson. New York and London- Routledge, 2002, from Moses Cordevero, Pardes Rimmon (Jerusalem, 1962), 4-10, 23c.
Moses Cordovero, Zohar ‘im Perush ’Or Yaqar.
Hokhmah is garbed in Binah to actualize this light below in the sefirot … and this garment is the cause of the disclosure for the lower beings could not endure it except through its being garbed, and this garment is what causes the light to be concealed. … The matter is like the light of the sun that is revealed, which blinds the eyes of the one who sees. By its being garbed it is concealed and revealed to the eye of the one who sees. Thus, the concealment is the cause of the disclosure (ha-hit‘alem sibbat ha-hitgalut).
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “Divine Suffering and the Hermeneutics of Reading- Philosophical Reflections on Lurianic Mythology,” in Suffering Religion, 101-162, Edited by R. Gibbs and E. R. Wolfson. New York and London- Routledge, 2002, from Moses Cordovero, Zohar ‘im Perush ’Or Yaqar, vol. 11 (Jerusalem, 1981), p. 349.
Ibn Tabul, Derush Hefsi.
The worlds in which he is garbed are called “his name,” and if we contemplate the matter we will find that the blessed One is called by his name, that is, the Tetragrammaton as is known, for all is one in relation to the Tetragrammaton. “And the Lord is in his holy abode” (Hab. 2-20), for Malkhut, which is the garment, becomes the soul for all the worlds … and all of these worlds and Malkhut were contained in the supernal world in ’Abba’ and ’Imma’, and thus all were contained in Keter and in the containment of Ein-Sof, blessed be his name. All the worlds were swallowed up in it, for naught but it was discernible. His name indicates a minimal disclosure, and it is the aspect of judgment, but his essence is entirely mercy, and everything was a complete unity, and all was Ein-Sof, blessed be his name.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “Divine Suffering and the Hermeneutics of Reading- Philosophical Reflections on Lurianic Mythology,” in Suffering Religion, 101-162, Edited by R. Gibbs and E. R. Wolfson. New York and London- Routledge, 2002, from Ibn Tabul, Derush Hefsi Bah in Simhat Kohen (Jerusalem, 1978), 1a.
Zohar 3-290a (Idra Zuta)
“Happy is the lot of the one who merits to know His ways and who does not deviate from or err with respect to them, for these matters are hidden, and the supernal holy ones shine in them like one who shines from the light of a flame; these matters are transmitted only to one who enters and exits.”
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “Forms of Visionary Ascent and Ecstatic Experience,” in Gershom Scholem’s Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism 50 Years After 209-235. Edited by J. Dan and P. Schafer, Tubingen- J. C. B. Mohr, 1993.
Zohar 3-127b (Idra Rabba)
R. Simeon sat and wept, and said- Woe if I reveal! Woe if I do not reveal. The comrades who were there were silent. R. Abba rose and said to him- If it pleases the master to reveal, as it is written, “The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him” (Ps. 25- 14), and these comrades are fearers of the Holy One, blessed be He, and they have already entered the assembly of the Tabernacle, some of them have entered and some of them have departed.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “Forms of Visionary Ascent and Ecstatic Experience,” in Gershom Scholem’s Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism 50 Years After 209-235. Edited by J. Dan and P. Schafer, Tubingen- J. C. B. Mohr, 1993.
Zohar 2-244b
R. Simeon said- It has been taught that there are palaces that exist for the sake of arranging the order of praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, whether the order is that which exists in word or that which exists in will, for there is an order that exists in word and an order that exists in the will and intention of the heart, to know and contemplate, i.e., to contemplate above until the Infinite, for there are fixed all the intentions and thoughts, and they cannot be uttered at all. Rather, just as He is hidden so too all His words are hidden. Come and see that which has been said regarding these palaces- all these orders from one principle for the sake of comprising the lower in the upper.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “Forms of Visionary Ascent and Ecstatic Experience,” in Gershom Scholem’s Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism 50 Years After 209-235. Edited by J. Dan and P. Schafer, Tubingen- J. C. B. Mohr, 1993.
Zohar 2-70a
“R. Simeon said- I have raised my hands in prayer to the One who created the world, for even though the ancients revealed in this verse [Gen. 5- 1] supernal secrets, one must contemplate and look at the secrets of the book of primordial Adam, for from there is derived the hidden book of King Solomon.”
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “Forms of Visionary Ascent and Ecstatic Experience,” in Gershom Scholem’s Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism 50 Years After 209-235. Edited by J. Dan and P. Schafer, Tubingen- J. C. B. Mohr, 1993.
Zohar 3-287b.
“R. Simeon said- I raised my hands in prayer to the supernal Holy One so that these matters would be revealed by me in the world as they are hidden in my heart.”
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “Forms of Visionary Ascent and Ecstatic Experience,” in Gershom Scholem’s Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism 50 Years After 209-235. Edited by J. Dan and P. Schafer, Tubingen- J. C. B. Mohr, 1993.
MS Vatican, ebr. 456, fol. 2b
The gnosis of this wondrous faith (da‘at shel zo’t ha-’emunah ha-nifla’ah) cannot be received by the heart from itself nor can it be known from one’s soul, but rather it must be studied from an ancient tradition (qabbalah qedumah) in the way that it was known by people from the mouth of God himself … Apart from this way it is not possible for any created intellect in the world, through any thought or speculation without a tradition, to know on its own this hidden faith concerning the essence of its hidden truth.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “Megillat ‘Emet we-‘Emunah- Contemplative Visualization and Mystical Unknowing,” Kabbalah- A Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts 5 (2000)- 55-110.
MS Vatican, ebr. 456, fol. 3a
The heart of man does not receive wisdom except by means of the ear, for from there they comprehend the stream that gushes forth from the spring of his supernal wisdom, may he be blessed, to the lower pool … for from the source of the supernal wisdom, which is the supernal faith, flow forth thirty-two paths, the wondrous hidden sources, to the lower faith. Similarly, the physical heart, which is in its pattern, receives from the way of the ear, for the supernal is the ear and the lower the heart, and the supernal crown, which is the essence of this stream, is in the pattern of the ear that receives from what is above it, which is the speech.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “Megillat ‘Emet we-‘Emunah- Contemplative Visualization and Mystical Unknowing,” Kabbalah- A Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts 5 (2000)- 55-110.
MS Vatican, ebr. 456, fol. 2a
The intention of this treatise is assuredly that one should believe in the essence of the being of God, blessed be he … his hidden being itself, for even though we know that it is absolutely impossible for the human intellect to comprehend the hidden reality of God, blessed be he, since he is incomprehensible by any comprehension apart from himself. By the way of faith that this treatise mentions in the intention of the thirty-two and thirteen names … it is possible for one to believe in the being of his essence … Moreover, faith is above all comprehension of the created intellect for it is hidden, and it is not at all conceivable, signifiable, or imaginable.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “Megillat ‘Emet we-‘Emunah- Contemplative Visualization and Mystical Unknowing,” Kabbalah- A Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts 5 (2000)- 55-110.
MS Vatican, ebr. 456, fol. 2b
When he breathed [into him] the soul of life, he gave him the power of intellect and knowledge to receive the word and utterance of God, blessed be he, which are hidden, for just as he is hidden so his word is hidden, and by means of the concealment he gave him power to hear his word verily.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “Megillat ‘Emet we-‘Emunah- Contemplative Visualization and Mystical Unknowing,” Kabbalah- A Journal for the Study of Jewish Mystical Texts 5 (2000)- 55-110.
Shabbetai Donnolo, Sefer Hakhmoni, p. 35-36
This is the import of what is written, “they have no end.” This instructs us that there is no sage in the world who can know, comprehend, and delve into the knowledge of God, to discover the end and to reach the limit of these ten profound [impenetrable] sefirot. If a sage pursues them and seeks in his mind all the days of the world to comprehend them, it will not amount to anything… For a person cannot delve with his mind to pursue in order to know these ten things which are infinitely and endlessly deep.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in Through a Speculum that Shines- Vision and Imagination in Medieval Jewish Mysticism, Princeton- Princeton University Press, 1994.
Moses Hayyim Luzzatto, ’Adir ba-Marom, p. 37
You must know that the essence of a person’s action is to direct his ways and his conduct for the sake of rectifying the Shekhinah…. A person must take upon himself the rectification of the Shekhinah, and this is called in truth the “reapers of the field.” The secret of the matter is that the mystical intent of all the acts of worship (‘avodah) that men perform for the Holy One, blessed be He, is that they constitute the working of the field (‘avodat ha-sadeh), and this is the esoteric significance of “a king is enslaved to the land” (melekh le-sadeh ne‘evad) (Eccles. 5-8), for just as there are many different types of work that pertain to the field, and all are necessary to bring about the improvement (tiqqun) that is required by it, so too the Shekhinah has such a need. These acts of labor are verily the miswot, for they, too, are of varied species. Thus it is written, “Though you take much seed out to the field, you shall gather in little” (Deut. 28-38), and it is also written, “You have been sowing, but have nothing to reap” (Micah 6-15). The secret of this is that the miswot act by way of planting, for the lights are sown in Nuqba’, which is the field. When the [time of] reaping has been reached, that is, to bring out of the Nuqba’ for those that are below, it says, “Sin couches at the door” (Gen. 4-7). Sitra’ ’Ahra’ grows stronger to take this light. If there is no one who knows how to harvest the field properly, the light does not spread forth so as not to be given to Sitra’ ’Ahra’ in the secret of “He has withdrawn His right hand in the presence of the foe” (Lam. 2-3). Yet, he who receives upon himself the matter of the rectification of the Shekhinah, he ascends to take the light from the place that Sitra’ ’Ahra’ does not reach and he brings it below. When it is taken from the man it is guarded, for all of the danger is in the dissemination from Malkhut to the humanity. And this is in truth the matter of the students of the academy of Rashbi, may be peace be upon him, constantly going out on journeys and studying the secrets, for this is verily the true way to perform this rectification. This is a matter that Rashbi taught them.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “Tiqqun ha-Shekhinah- Redemption and the Overcoming of Gender Dimorphism in the Messianic Kabbalah of Moses Hayyim Luzzatto,” History of Religions 36 (1997) 289-332.
Azriel of Gerona, cited from Scholem, “New Fragments of R. Azriel of Gerona,” pp. 218-219.
The name and throne are not complete until [the time that] Amalek is avenged. Therefore they had to offer sacrifices and pronounce the unique name from the threshhold of the Temple Court and inward. In the time of the exile [there are] enlightened ones (maskilim) of Israel and individuals in whom is the knowledge to bless and sanctify the name in secrecy and openly; it is as if the Temple were built in their days.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in Through a Speculum that Shines- Vision and Imagination in Medieval Jewish Mysticism, Princeton- Princeton University Press, 1994.
Moses de Leon, The Book of the Pomegranate, pp. 227-228
This is called a secret since its matter is hidden, the concealed secret of the Creator, and understand. In its secret is the moon that stands and is hidden… Thus, it is called a concealed secret and it is hidden with her, and in its secret she stands and is swept away. Indeed, the secret of this matter is so that it will bind within itself the secret of the crown (‘ateret).
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in Through a Speculum that Shines- Vision and Imagination in Medieval Jewish Mysticism, Princeton- Princeton University Press, 1994.
Naphtali Bachrach, ‘Emeq ha-Melekh (Amsterdam, 1648), 144c.
R. Simeon bar Yohai was the righteous one, foundation of the world, and by means of his studying this [esoteric[ wisdom with which he was occupied… he united [the masculine] Ze‘eir ’Anpin with his female [counterpart, i.e., Shekhinah]… This is the secret of all those who write mystical books- they repair the world of action by the secret writing of these esoteric truths. The esoteric truth unites Ze‘eir ’Anpin with his female counterpart in the most inward way.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in Through a Speculum that Shines- Vision and Imagination in Medieval Jewish Mysticism, Princeton- Princeton University Press, 1994.
Moses de Leon, Mishkan ha-Edut, MS Berlin Or. Quat. 833, fol. 1b.
Our holy Torah is a perfect Torah, “all the glory of the royal princess is inward” (Ps. 45-14). But because of our great and evil sins today “her dress is embroidered with golden mountings” (ibid.)… Thus God, blessed be He, laid a “covering of dolphin skin over it” (Num. 4-6) with the visible things [of this world]. Who can see and contemplate the great and awesome light hidden in the Torah except for the supernal and holy ancient ones? They entered her sanctuary and the great light was revealed to them… They removed the mask from her.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in Through a Speculum that Shines- Vision and Imagination in Medieval Jewish Mysticism, Princeton- Princeton University Press, 1994.
Zohar 3-79a
It has been taught- “Do not come near a woman during her period of uncleanness to uncover her nakedness” (Lev. 18-19). R. Judah taught- The generation in which R. Simeon bar Yohai dwells is all righteous, all pious, all fearers of sin. The Presence dwells amongst them unlike other generations. Therefore these [esoteric] matters are made explicit and not hidden. In other generations this was not the case and matters pertaining to the supernal secrets could not be revealed, and those who knew them were afraid [to disclose them]. When R. Simeon communicated the secret of that verse [Lev. 18-19] the eyes of the comrades shed tears, and all that he said was revealed in their eyes, as it is written, “With him I speak mouth to mouth, plainly and not in riddles” (Num. 12-8).
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in Through a Speculum that Shines- Vision and Imagination in Medieval Jewish Mysticism, Princeton- Princeton University Press, 1994.
Zohar 2-98b
The Holy One, blessed be He, enters all the hidden things that He has made into the holy Torah, and everything is found in the Torah. The Torah reveals that hidden thing and then it is immediately clothed in another garment where it is hidden and not revealed. And even though that thing is hidden in its garment the sages, who are full of eyes, see it from within its garment. When that thing is revealed, before it enters into a garment, they cast an open eye upon it, and even though [the thing] is immediately concealed, it does not depart from their eyes.
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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