Zohar 1:84b
“O my dove,” this is the Community of Israel. “In the cranny of the rock,” this is Jerusalem , for it rises above the rest of the world. Just as a rock is supernal to and stronger than everything, so Jerusalem is supernal to and stronger than everything. “Hidden by the cliff,” this is the place that is called the Holy of Holies, the heart of all the world. Therefore, it is written “hidden by the cliff,” for there the Shekhinah is hidden like the woman who is modest (senu‘ah) in relation to her husband, and she does not depart from the house to the outside, as it is written, “Your wife should be as a fruitful vine within your house” (Ps. 128-3). Similarly, the Community of Israel does not rest outside of her place, the hiddenness of the gradation, except in the time of exile.
Translated by Elliot Wolfson in “Occultation of the Feminine and the body of Secrecy in Medieval Kabbalah,” in Rending the Veil- Concealment and Revelation of Secrets in the History of Religions, 113-154. Edited by Elliot R. Wolfson, New York and London- Seven Bridges Press, 1999.
What do you want to know?
Ask our AI widget and get answers from this website