זוהר, נח י״חZohar, Noach 18

Segment 1א׳

פָּתַח וְאָמַר, (ישעיהו ל״ח:י״א) אָמַרְתִּי לֹא אֶרְאֶה יָהּ יָהּ בְּאֶרֶץ הַחַיִּים לֹא אַבִּיט אָדָם עוֹד עִם יוֹשְׁבֵי חָדֶל. אָמַרְתִּי לא אֶרְאֶה יָהּ, כַּמָּה אֲטִימִין אִנּוּן בְּנִי נָשָׁא דְּלָא יָדְעִין וְלָא מַשְׁגִּיחִין בְּמִלֵּי דְאוֹרַיְיתָא, אֶלָּא מִסְתַּכְּלֵי בְּמִלּוֹי דְעָלְמָא וְאִתְנְשֵׁי מִנַּיְיהוּ רוּחָא דְחָכְמְתָא.

R. Simeon discoursed on the text: I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord in the land of the living; I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world (Is. 38, 11). ‘How obtuse,’ he said, ‘are the sons of men who do not know nor pay heed to the words of the Torah, but think only of worldly matters, so that the spirit of wisdom is forgotten of them.

Segment 2ב׳

דְּכַד בַּר נָשׁ אִסְתַּלַּק מֵהַאי עָלְמָא וְיָהִיב חוּשְׁבְּנָא לְמָארֵיהּ מִכָּל מַה דְּעֲבַד בְּהַאי עָלְמָא בְּעוֹד דְּאִיהוּ קָאִים רוּחָא וְגוּפָא כְּחֲדָא וְחָמֵי מַה דְּחָמֵי, עַד דְּאָזִיל לְהַהוּא עָלְמָא וּפָגַע לֵיהּ לְאָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן יָתִיב לְתַרְעָא דְגִנְתָּא דְעֵדֶן לְמֶחמֵי כָּל אִנּוּן דְּנָטְרוּ פִּקּוּדֵי דְמָארֵיהוֹן וְחָדֵי בְּהוּ.

For when a man departs from this world, and goes to give an account to his Master of all his actions in this world while body and soul were still joined together, he sees many strange things on his way, and at length meets Adam, the first man, sitting at the gate of the Garden of Eden, ready to welcome with joy all those who have observed the commands of their Master.

Segment 3ג׳

וְכַמָּה צַדִּיקַיָּא סָחֳרָנֵיהּ דְּאָדָם. אִנּוּן דְּאִתְמְנָעוּ מֵאָרְחָא דְּגֵיהִנֹּם וְסָטוּ לְגַבֵּי אָרְחָא דְּגַן עֵדֶן. וְאִלֵּין אִקְרוּן יוֹשְׁבֵי חָדֶל. וְלָא כְּתִיב יוֹשְׁבֵי חָלֶד. בְּגִין דְּלָא הֲווּ כְּמוֹ חוּלְדָה דְּגָרְרָא וּמַנְחָא וְלָא יָדְעָא לְמַאן שַׁבְקָא. אֶלָּא יוֹשְׁבֵי חָדֶל. כְּמָא דְאַתְּ אָמֵר, (ישעיהו ב׳:כ״ב) חִדְלוּ לָכֶם מִן הָאָדָם וְגו' (אלא יושבי חדל) דְּאִתְמְנַע לוֹן מֵאָרְחָא דְּגִיהִנֹּם. וְאַתְקִיפוּ בְּהוּ לְאַעָלָא לְהוּ בְּגִנְתָּא דְעֵדֶן.

Round him are many righteous men, those who in this life have kept clear of the path to Gehinnom and followed the path to the Garden of Eden. It is these who are here called “inhabitants of the world’. The word used for “world” here is not the usual holed, but hadel. The reason is that holed is akin to huldah (mole), a creature whose characteristic it is laboriously to heap up provision and leave it to it knows not whom. The term hodel, on the other hand, is derived from a root signifying “avoidance”, and thus is a description of the righteous who avoid and keep far from the ways of Gehinnom and cling to those leading to the Garden of Eden.