Zohar, TerumahAll 24,637 segments of the Zoharic corpus open with Premium, from $2.60 a month.Become a premium member

The Zohar · Terumah

זוהר, תרומה כ״אZohar, Terumah 21

Section 21 of 98 in Terumah — 3 segments

Segment 1א׳

(תהילים צ״ב:א׳) מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר לְיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת, תּוּשְׁבַּחְתָּא דָּא, אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן קָאָמַר לָהּ, בְּשַׁעֲתָא דְּאִתְתָּרַךְ מִגִּנְתָּא דְּעֵדֶן, וְאָתָא שַׁבָּת וְאָגִין עָלֵיהּ. וְאוּקְמוּהָ חַבְרַיָּיא, תּוּשְׁבַּחְתָּא דָּא, עָלְמָא תַּתָּאָה קָא מְשַׁבַּח לְגַבֵּי עָלְמָא עִלָּאָה, יוֹמָא (דכלא ביה) דְּאִיהוּ כּוּלּוֹ שַׁבָּת, מַלְכָּא, דִּשְׁלָמָא דִּילֵיהּ. וְדָא אִיהוּ מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר, וְלָא כְּתִיב מַאן קָאָמַר לֵיהּ, כְּמָה דְּאוֹקִימְנָא.

(Ps. 92): “A song. A psalm for (to) the sabbath day. It is good to praise the Lord, to sing unto thy name, O most high. To proclaim thy lovingkindness in the morning and thy faithfulness in the nights.” It has been established by the Companions that this hymn of praise was sung by the first man (Adam) after he had been driven out of the Garden of Eden, when the Sabbath drew nigh unto the Holy One and interceded for the created being. Then he sang this hymn in honour of the Sabbath which had delivered him. It is a hymn of praise sung by the world below to the world above, to a world which is altogether “Sabbath”, the sphere of the “King whose is the peace”.

Segment 2ב׳

לְיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת, יוֹמָא עִלָּאָה, שַׁבָּת עִלָּאָה. דָּא שַׁבָּת וְדָא שַׁבָּת, מַה בֵּין הַאי לְהַאי. אֶלָּא, שַׁבָּת סְתָם, דָּא שַׁבָּת דְּמַעֲלֵי שַׁבַּתָּא. יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת, דָּא שַׁבָּת דִּלְעֵילָּא. דָּא יוֹם, וְדָא לַיְלָה. (שמות ל״א:ט״ז) וְשָׁמְרוּ בְנִי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת, הָא לֵילְיָא, רָזָא דְּנוּקְבָּא. (שמותכ) זָכוֹר אֶת יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת, הָא יוֹם, רָזָא דִּדְכוּרָא. וּבְגִין כַּךְ מִזְמוֹר שִׁיר לְיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת.

It is a hymn of the sabbath below unto the Sabbath above: the sabbath below, which is like night, sings to the Sabbath above, which is like day. In fact, whenever “Sabbath” is mentioned it refers to the “eve of the Sabbath” (i.e. the Shekinah), but when it says “the Sabbath day”, it denotes the Supernal Sabbath (i.e. Tifereth). The former is symbolized by the Female, the latter by the Male. Thus “And the children of Israel should keep the Sabbath” (Ex. 31, 16) alludes to the Female, which is the night (layla), and “remember the Sabbath day” (Ibtd. 20, 8) alludes to the Male.

Segment 3ג׳

וְאַשְׁכְּחָן בְּכַמָּה אֲתָר, דְּעָלְמָא תַּתָּאָה לָא סָלִיק בִּשְׁמָא, וְאַתְיָא (ויקרא ק"ב) סְתָם, כְּגוֹן הַאי, וּכְגוֹן וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה, וּכְגוֹן (שמות כ״ד:א׳) וְאֶל (קל"א ע"א) מֹשֶׁה אָמַר עֲלֵהּ אֶל יְיָ'. כֻּלְּהוּ סָתִים שְׁמָא, וְלָא סָלִיק בֵּיהּ. (אלא) (ס"א וכלא) בְּגִין דְּאִית בֵּיהּ דַּרְגָּא עִלָּאָה, וּלְגַבֵּי דַּרְגָּא עִלָּאָה אִיהוּ לָא סָלִיק בִּשְׁמָא. נְהוֹרָא דִּשְׁרָגָּא, לָא סָלִיק בִּימָמָא, בִּנְהוֹרָא דְּשִׁמְשָׁא, וְעַל דָּא לָא סָלִיק בִּשְׁמָא. וְכָל אִלֵּין תּוּשְׁבְּחָן, דְּשַׁבָּת, דְּאִיהִי כְּבוֹד (נ"א יום השבת דאיהו תושבחתא) יוֹם, אִיהוּ תּוּשְׁבַּחְתָּא עִלָּאָה, עַל כָּל שְׁאַר יוֹמִין. (ס"א וכל אלין תושבחן אתקינו בתיקונא דשבתא דאיהו סליק לאתעטר בעטרין עלאין אתרין קדישין על כל שאר יומין)

Thus the sabbath here below sings a hymn to the Sabbath above. Therefore this psalm is anonymous, as we find everywhere where there is a reference to the world below (the Shekinah) that the Name is not actually mentioned, as, for example, “And he called unto Moses” (Lev. 1, I), “And to Moses he said, go up to the Lord” (Ex. 29, 1). Since in this psalm reference is made to a higher sphere, therefore the divine name is not applied to the lower grade, just as a candle cannot shine in the sunlight. All the hymns sung in praise of and on the Sabbath are the aids to its ascension to supernal regions where it is crowned with supernal holy crowns above all other days.

Become a premium member

Or start free — a free account opens your first 5 gematria searches in full. Create free account

The daily learning is free on your account, every day.

Zohar — Vocalized Zohar, Israel 2013, via Sefaria

English: The Zohar — Soncino Press, London 1933 (public domain)