זוהר, בשלח ד׳Zohar, Beshalach 4

Segment 1א׳

(שמות י״ג:כ״א) וַיְיָ' הוֹלֵךְ לִפְנֵיהֶם יוֹמָם. רִבִּי יוֹסֵי פָּתַח, (תהילים כ״ב:א׳) לַמְנַצֵּחַ עַל אַיֶּלֶת הַשַּׁחַר מִזְמוֹר לְדָוִד. כַּמָּה חֲבִיבָא אוֹרַיְיתָא קָמֵיהּ דְּקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא, דְּכָל מַאן דְּאִשְׁתָּדַּל בְּאוֹרַיְיתָא, רָחִים הוּא לְעֵילָּא, רָחִים הוּא לְתַתָּא, קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא אָצִית לֵיהּ לְמִלוּלוֹי, לָא שָׁבִיק לֵיהּ בְּהַאי עָלְמָא וְלָא שָׁבִיק לֵיהּ בְּעָלְמָא דְּאָתֵי.

AND THE LORD WENT BEFORE THEM BY DAY. R. Jose discoursed upon the verse: To the chief musician, upon the hind of the morning (Ps. XXII, I). ‘Great’, he said, ‘is the love which the Holy One, blessed be He, has lavished upon the Torah, in that all those who devote themselves to her are blessed for her sake. He who studies her diligently shall find favour in the upper and lower spheres, and the Holy One shall hearken to the words of such a one, and never leave him in this world or the world to come.

Segment 2ב׳

וְאוֹרַיְיתָא בָּעֵי לְמִלְעֵי בָּהּ בִּימָמָא וּבְלֵילְיָא, דִּכְתִּיב, (יהושע א׳:ח׳) וְהָגִיתָ בּוֹ יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה. וּכְתִיב (ירמיהו ל״ג:כ״ה) אִם לֹא בְרִיתִי יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה וְגוֹ'. תִּינַח בִּימָמָא, בְּלֵילְיָא אֲמַאי. בְּגִין דִּיְהֵא שְׁכִיחַ לְגַבֵּי שְׁמָא קַדִּישָׁא שְׁלִים. כְּמָה דְּלֵית יוֹמָם בְּלָא לֵילְיָא, וְלָאו אִיהוּ שְׁלִים, אֶלָּא דָּא עִם דָּא, כַּךְ בָּעֵי אוֹרַיְיתָא, לְאִשְׁתַּכְּחָא עִמֵּיהּ דְּבַּר נָשׁ יוֹמָא וְלֵילְיָא, לְמֶהֱוֵי שְׁלֵימוּתָא לְגַבֵּי דְּבַּר נָשׁ יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה.

The Torah must, however, be studied by day and by night, as Moses said to Joshua: “Thou shalt meditate therein day and night” (Joshua 1, 8), and as it also says, “My covenant (shall be with thee) night and day” (Jer. 33, 20). The night must be added to the day in order that the Holy Name may be with him in harmony and perfection. And as the day is not complete without the night, so the study of the Torah is not complete unless it is carried on by night as well as by day.

Segment 3ג׳

וְהָא אִתְּמַר, דְעִקָרָא דְּלֵילְיָא, מִפַּלְגוּתָא וְאִילָךְ. וְאַף עַל גַּב דְּפָלְגוּ קַדְמִיתָא בִּכְלָלָא דְּלֵילְיָא הוּא, אֲבָל בְּפַלְגוּת לֵילְיָא, קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא עָאל בְּגִנְתָּא דְּעֵדֶן, לְאִשְׁתַּעְשְׁעָא עִם צַדִּיקַיָּא, וּכְדֵין, בָּעֵי לֵיהּ לְבַר נָשׁ לְמֵיקָם, וּלְמִלְעֵי בְּאוֹרַיְיתָא.

The word “night” is commonly taken to include those evening hours which fall before midnight; but the real night only begins with the actual stroke of midnight, for at that moment the Holy One, blessed be He, enters the Garden of Eden in order to have joyous communion with the righteous. For this reason it behoves the pious man to rise also at that time, for then the Holy One and all the righteous in the Garden listen to his voice.