זוהר, כי תצא ז׳Zohar, Ki Teitzei 7

Segment 1א׳

(פקודא י"ו למיהך בר נש באורחוי דקודשא בריך הוא, פקודא י"ז לאורחא וכו' פ"ה ע"ב) (דברים כ״ד:ט״ו) בְּיוֹמוֹ תִּתֵּן שְׂכָרוֹ וְגוֹ'. פָּתַח רַעְיָא מְהֵימָנָא וְאָמַר, פִּקּוּדָא בָּתַר דָּא, לָתֵת שְׂכַר שָׂכִיר בִּזְמַנּוֹ. הֲדָא הוּא דִּכְתִיב, בְּיוֹמוֹ תִתֵּן שְׂכָרוֹ וְלֹא תָבֹא עָלָיו הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ. מָארֵי מְתִיבְתָאן עִלָּאֵי וְתַתָּאֵי, שְׁמָעוּ. מְטַטְרוֹן אִיהוּ שְׂכַר שָׂכִיר, מֵחַ"י עָלְמִין, שְׁלִיחַ דִּילֵיהּ, לְקַבְּלָא חַ"י בִּרְכָאן דִּצְלוֹתָא, בְּכָל יוֹמָא, תְּלַת זִמְנִין. וּבְגִין דָּא, בְּיוֹמוֹ תִתֵּן שְׂכָרוֹ, דָּא צְלוֹתָא דְּשַׁחֲרִית. וְלֹא תָבֹא עָלָיו הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ, דָּא צְלוֹתָא דְּמִנְחָה, דְּאִי עָבַר יוֹמוֹ, בָּטֵל קָרְבָּנוֹ. כִּי עָנִי הוּא (דצדיק) וַדַּאי, עָנִי הוּא בְּגָלוּתָא, לֵית לֵיהּ מִדִּילֵיהּ, אֶלָּא מַאי דְּיַהֲבִינָן לֵיהּ בִּצְלוֹתָא, בְּגִין דָּא צְלוֹתָא תְּפִלָּה דִּילֵיהּ, (תהילים ק״ב:א׳) תְּפִלָּה לְעָנִי כִּי יַעֲטוֹף, בַּעֲטִיפַת צִיצִית, תְּפִלָּה דְּיָד אִיהִי.

(Precept 16, for a man to walk in the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He; precept 17, concerning the wayfarer, and so forth; folio 85b.) “In his day you shall give him his hire,” etc. (Deut. 24, 15). The Faithful Shepherd opened and said: The precept after this one is to give the hire of a hired man in its time. That is what is written, “In his day you shall give him his hire, and the sun shall not go down upon him.” Masters of the Academy, above and below, hear! Metatron is the hired man, from the eighteen worlds; he is His messenger, to receive the eighteen blessings of the prayer, three times every day. And therefore, “in his day you shall give him his hire” — this is the morning prayer; “and the sun shall not go down upon him” — this is the afternoon prayer, for if its day has passed its offering is void. “For he is poor” (that is, the Righteous One), assuredly: he is poor in exile, and has nothing of his own save what we give him in prayer. Therefore the prayer is his — “A prayer of the afflicted, when he faints” (Ps. 102, 1) — in the wrapping of the fringes; it is the phylactery of the hand.

Segment 2ב׳

וְאֵלָיו הוּא נוֹשֵׂא אֶת נַפְשׁוֹ, דָּא תְּפִלַּת עַרְבִית, דְּאִיהִי אֱמוּרִים וּפְדָרִים, שִׁיּוּרִין דְּקָרְבְּנִין דְּיוֹמָא. וְאִינּוּן כְּגוֹן פֶּרֶט הַכֶּרֶם, (ויקרא י״ט:י׳) וּפְאַת שָׂדְךָ, דְּעָלַיְיהוּ אִתְּמַר, שִׁיְּרֵי מִצְוָה מְעַכְּבִין אֶת הַפּוּרְעָנוּת. לֶעָנִי וְלַגֵּר תַּעֲזוֹב אוֹתָם, דְעַמּוּדָא דְּאֶמְצָעִיתָא בַּר מֵאַתְרֵיהּ, גֵּר אִתְקְרֵי. וּבְגִין דָּא, אֲנָא דְּדַרְגָּא דִּילִי עַמּוּדָא דְּאֶמְצָעִיתָא, קָרֵינָא גַּרְמָאי גֵּר בְּגָלוּתָא קַדְמָאֵי. הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב, (שמות ב׳:כ״ב) גֵּר הָיִיתִי בְּאָרֶץ נָכְרִיָּה, דְּאִיהוּ בְּגָלוּתָא רְבִיעָא בְּגִינַיְיהוּ.

“And to it he sets his heart” — this is the evening prayer, which is the fat pieces and the limbs, the remnants of the offerings of the day. And they are like the fallen grapes of the vineyard and “the corner of your field” (Lev. 19, 10), of which it is said: the remnants of a commandment hold back retribution. “You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger” — for the Central Pillar, when it is outside its place, is called a stranger. And therefore I, whose grade is the Central Pillar, called myself a stranger in the first exile. That is what is written, “I have been a stranger in a strange land” (Ex. 2, 22) — for he is in the fourth exile for their sake.

Segment 3ג׳

שָׁאִילוּ לֵיהּ מָארֵי מַתְנִיתִין, רַעְיָא מְהֵימָנָא, הָא פִּקּוּדָא דָּא הֲווֹ מְקַיְּימִין יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּאַרְעָא דְּיִשְׂרָאֵל (או לא). אָמַר לוֹן, בְּגִין לְאִתְעָרָא רַחֲמֵי, עַל אִלֵּין דְּמִתַרְכֵי מֵאַתְרַיְיהוּ. דְּבַר נָשׁ כַּד אִיהוּ לְבַר מֵאַתְרֵיהּ, גִּיּוֹרָא אִתְקְרֵי, כָּל שֶׁכֵּן עַל נִשְׁמָתִין דְּאַזְלִין עַרְטִילָאִין מֵהַהוּא עָלְמָא, וְאַתְיָין לְעָלְמָא דֵּין. בְּגִינַיְיהוּ, הַאי אִיהוּ דְּאָמַר קְרָא, (משלי כ״ז:ח׳) כְּצִפּוֹר נוֹדֶדֶת מִן קִנָּהּ, דָּא נִשְׁמְתָא, דִּשְׁכִינְתָא לָא זָזָה מִנָהּ. כֵּן אִישׁ, דְּאִתְּמַר בֵּיהּ (שמות ט״ו:ג׳) יְיָ' אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה, נוֹדֵד מִמְּקוֹמוֹ, דְּאִיהוּ נָע וָנָד מֵאַתְרֵיהּ, דְּאִיהוּ עָלְמָא דְּאָתֵי, בִּינָה. וָנָד אֲבַּתְרָהּ בְּעָלְמָא דֵּין, עַד דְּתַשְׁלִים יוֹמִין דְּאִתְחַיְּיבַת לְמֵיזַל לְבַר מֵאַתְרָהָא. וְאִיהוּ נָטִיר לָהּ, עַד דְּיַחֲזִיר לָהּ לְאַתְרָהָא. וְאוֹמֵי דְּלָא יַחֲזוֹר אִיהוּ לְאַתְרֵיהּ, עַד דְּיַחֲזִיר לָהּ לְאַתְרָהָא. וּמַאן דְּחָזַר בְּתִיּוּבְתָא, כְּמַאן דְּאַחְזָר לְקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא וּשְׁכִינְתָּא לְאַתְרָהָא. וְדָא רָזָא דְּפוּרְקָנָא, דְּאָמַר (תהילים צ״ה:ז׳) הַיּוֹם אִם בְּקוֹלוֹ תִשְׁמָעוּ.

The Masters of the Mishnah asked him: Faithful Shepherd, did Israel observe this precept in the land of Israel, or not? He said to them: It is in order to awaken mercy upon those who are driven out from their place. For when a man is outside his place he is called a stranger — how much more the souls that go naked from that world and come to this world. It is for their sake that the verse says, “As a bird that wanders from her nest” (Prov. 27, 8) — this is the soul, from which the Shekinah does not stir. “So is a man” — of whom it is said, “the Lord is a man of war” (Ex. 15, 3) — “that wanders from his place”: he is a fugitive and a wanderer from his place, which is the world to come, binah (understanding). And he wanders after her in this world, until she completes the days that she was bound to go outside her place. And he guards her until he returns her to her place; and he has sworn that he will not return to his own place until he returns her to hers. And one who returns in repentance is as one who has returned the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Shekinah to her place. And this is the mystery of the redemption, of which it is said, “Today, if you would hearken to His voice” (Ps. 95, 7).