זוהר, שופטים ב׳Zohar, Shoftim 2

Section 2 of 5 in Shoftim — 9 segments

Segment 1א׳

פִּקּוּדָא בָּתַר דָּא, לָדוּן בְּסַיִיף. לָדוּן בְּחֶנֶק. לָדוּן בְּדִין סְקִילָה. לָדוּן בְּדִין שְׂרֵיפָה. לָדוּן בְּסַיִיף לְמַאן, לְסָמָאֵל. הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב, (ישעיהו ל״ד:ה׳) כִּי רִוְּתָה בַשָׁמַיִם חַרְבִּי הִנֵּה עַל אֱדוֹם תֵּרֵד.

A precept after this one: to judge by the sword; to judge by strangulation; to judge by the law of stoning; to judge by the law of burning. To judge by the sword — whom? Samael. This is what is written: “For My sword is bathed in heaven; behold, it shall come down upon Edom” (Isa. 34, 5).

Segment 2ב׳

חֶרֶב דְּקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא, י' רֵישָׁא דְּחַרְבָּא. ו' גּוּפָא דְּחַרְבָּא. הֵ"א הֵ"א, תְּרֵין פִּיפִיּוֹת דִּילָהּ. צֶדֶק צֶדֶק תִּרְדּוֹף, חַתְכִין תְּרֵין דִּינִין, דִּינָא מִפִּי בֵּית דִּין דִּלְעֵילָּא, וְדִינָא מִפִּי בֵּית דִּין דִּלְתַּתָּא. וּמֵהָכָא אִשְׁתְּמוֹדָע, אֵין אָדָם נוֹקֵף אֶצְבָּעוֹ מִלְּמַטָּה עַד שֶׁנִּתַּן לוֹ רְשׁוּת מִלְּמַעְלָה.

The sword of the Holy One Blessed Be He: yud is the head of the sword, vav is the body of the sword, hey and hey are its two faces. "Tzedek tzedek tirdof" - they cut two judgements: a judgement before the court above and a judgement before the court below. And from this we recognize: a human cannot even move a finger until given permission from on high.

Segment 3ג׳

נַרְתְּקָא דְּחַרְבָּא אֲדֹנָי. תַּמָּן אִשְׁתְּכַח דִּינָא. בְּקְרִיאַת שְׁמַע ידוד. חַרְבָּא דְּקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא, עָלָהּ אִתְּמַר (תהילים קמ״ט:ו׳) רוֹמְמוֹת אֵל בִּגְרוֹנָם וְחֶרֶב פִּיפִיּוֹת בְּיָדָם. בְּצַדִּיק חַי עָלְמִין, כָּלִיל חַ"י בִּרְכָאן, דְּבֵיהּ אֲדֹנָי שְׂפָתַי תִּפְתָּח וּפִי, בֵּיהּ עָאל חַרְבָּא בְּנַרְתִּיקָהּ, (אסתר ז׳:י׳) וַחֲמַת הַמֶּלֶךְ שָׁכָכָה, וּמִתְחַבְּרִין תְּרֵין שְׁמָהָן יְאֲהדוָֹנָהִי.

The sheath of the sword is Adonai; there judgement is found. In the recitation of the Shema, the Tetragrammaton. The sword of the Holy One, blessed be He — of it is said, “High praises of God are in their throat, and a two-edged sword in their hand” (Ps. 149, 6). In the Righteous One, life of the worlds, who comprises the eighteen (chai) blessings, in whom is “O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth” — in him the sword enters its sheath, “and the wrath of the king was assuaged” (Esther 7, 10), and the two Names are joined: Yod-Aleph-He-Daleth-Vau-Nun-He-Yod.

Segment 4ד׳

לָדוּן בְּחֶנֶק, זַרְקָא. תַּמָּן קַו, י' כְּרִיכָא בֵּיהּ, וְקַו, ו' דְּאִתְפַּשְּׁטָא מִנֵּיהּ. בֵּיהּ תָּפִיס לְסָמָאֵל, (במדבר י״ג:כ״ג) וַיִּשָּׂאוּהוּ בַמּוֹט בִּשְׁנָיִם. מַאי מוֹט דְּהַהוּא רָשָׁע. אָדָם דְּאִיהוּ יוֹ"ד הֵ"א וָא"ו הֵ"א, מַ"ה, וְד' אַתְוָון ידוד, הֲרֵי תִּשְׁעָה וְאַרְבָּעִים, כְּחוּשְׁבָּן תִּשְׁעָה וְאַרְבָּעִים אַתְוָון, דְּאִינּוּן בְּשִׁית תֵּיבִין דְּיִחוּדָא עִלָּאָה, וּבְשִׁית תֵּיבִין דְּיִחוּדָא תַּתָּאָה, דְּאִינּוּן ו' ו', וְהַאי הוּא וַיִּשָּׂאוּהוּ בַמּוֹט בִּשְׁנָיִם, בְּפִרוּדָא מִנַּיְיהוּ, בְּלָא א' בְּאֶמְצַע וָ"ו, דְּלֵית יִחוּדָא לְסִטְרָא אַחֲרָא, אֶלָּא וַיִּשָּׂאוּהוּ בַמּוֹט בִּשְׁנָיִם, סָמָאֵל וּבַת זוּגֵיהּ, עוֹלָם הַנִפְרָדִים.

To judge by strangulation: zarka. There is a line, the Yod wound about it, and a line, the Vau that is extended from it. With it he seizes Samael: “and they bore it upon a pole between two” (Num. 13, 23). What is the pole of that wicked one? Adam, who is Yod-He-Vau-He, Mah; and the four letters of the Tetragrammaton — that is forty-nine, as the reckoning of the forty-nine letters that are in the six words of the supernal unity and in the six words of the lower unity, which are Vau and Vau. And this is “and they bore it upon a pole between two” — in separation from them, without the Aleph in the middle of Vau, for the other side has no unity. Rather, “and they bore it upon a pole between two”: Samael and his mate, the world of separation.

Segment 5ה׳

בְּחֶבֶל דְּיֵחָנֵק בָּהּ, אֲחִידָן הֵ"א הֵ"א, בְּה' אֶצְבְּעָאן דְּיַד יְמִינָא, וּבְה' דְּיַד שְׂמָאלָא. ו' חֶבֶל. י' חֲנִיקָא דִּלְהוֹן. שְׁמָא דַּיְדוָֹ"ד, מִיתָה לְסָמָאֵ"ל וְנָחָשׁ, וְחַיִּים לְיִשְׂרָאֵל. (עיין בראשית כ"ב ע"ב) וּבְגִין דָּא (דברים ל״ב:ל״ט) רְאוּ עַתָּה כִּי אֲנִ"י אֲנִי הוּא וְאֵין אֱלֹהִים עִמָּדִי. אֲנִי אָמִית לֵאלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים בִּשְׁמִי, וּלְכָל דְּלָא הֵימְנוּ בִּי. וַאֲחֲיֶּה לְאִינּוּן דְּהֵימְנִין וְנַטְרִין פִּקּוּדִין דִּילִי.

In the cord by which he is strangled, He and He take hold — by the five fingers of the right hand, and by the five of the left. Vau is the cord; Yod is their strangling. The Tetragrammaton is death to Samael and to the serpent, and life to Israel. (See Bereshit 22b.) And therefore: “See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with Me” (Deut. 32, 39). I kill the other gods by My Name, and all who have not believed in Me; and I make alive those who believe and keep My commandments.

…and 4 more segments in this section.

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Zohar — Vocalized Zohar, Israel 2013, via Sefaria

English: Sefaria Community Translation (CC0)

English: rendered from the Aramaic for this app — The Gematria's own rendering program. A rendering of the words, not a commentary; the Zohar is learned with a teacher