The Zohar (The Zohar: Pritzker Edition) by Daniel C. Matt

Author:Daniel C. Matt [Matt, Daniel C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Published: 2019-08-20T06:00:00+00:00

The final phrase of the verse is and with all מאדך (me’odekha), your might [literally: your muchness]. Here, it apparently alludes to the boundless dimension of Ein Sof, the ultimate goal of contemplative love, enveloping all the sefirot. See Moses de León, Sefer ha-Rimmon, 43; Nefesh David.

On the phrase “soul of David,” see 1 Samuel 18:1; 2 Samuel 5:8; Zohar 1:101a, 206a, 240a; 2:171a; 3:45b, 182a; Moses de León, Shushan Edut, 348; idem, Sefer ha-Rimmon, 43; idem, Sheqel ha-Qodesh, 61 (75).

121. And with all your might—Jacob… Alternatively, this phrase alludes to Jacob, symbolizing Tif’eret, who embraces right and left and spans the full sefirotic spectrum.

On Jacob as me’od (might, muchness), see Zohar 1:181b. Cf. Tanḥuma, Toledot 14. On the span of Tif’eret, see Zohar 1:1b, 148b (ST). On It is the same Aaron and Moses…, see above, note 119.

122. [serpent] תנין (Tannin), whose biblical range of meaning includes “serpent, crocodile, dragon, sea serpent, sea monster.” The serpent figures prominently in the following discussion.

123. Of the night… See BT Berakhot 3b: “Rabbi Shim’on the Ḥasid said, ‘There was a harp suspended above [King] David’s bed. As soon as midnight arrived, a north wind came and blew upon it, and it played by itself. He immediately arose and engaged in Torah until the break of dawn.’”

In the Zohar this legendary custom is expanded into a ritual. At midnight, God delights in the souls of the righteous in the Garden of Eden, and those who study Torah here below partake of the celestial joy. Kabbalists are expected to rise at midnight and adorn Shekhinah with words of Torah in preparation for Her union with Tif’eret. See Zohar 1:82b, 206b–207b; above, note 106.

124. Whoever strives… Because of David’s devotion to determining the law precisely and judging fairly, he was considered as if he had contemplated Torah the whole day and fulfilled it entirely.

See BT Shabbat 10a; Rashi on Exodus 18:13.

125. Why? All day… During the day (associated with the right), David engaged in justice and judgment (associated with the left) in order to join left with right. By night (symbolizing Shekhinah), he adorned Her in song in preparation for Her union with Tif’eret (symbolized by day). See Zohar 2:144b-145a.

126. he brought all those beasts… David drew the angelic forces to Shekhinah, who is pictured as both field and sea.

The expression “beasts of the field” derives from Psalms 104:11: They water all beasts of the field; wild asses quench their thirst.

127. Solomon appeared… In the days of Solomon, the sea of Shekhinah became full and watered the angelic forces beneath Her—providing first for the highest angels, identified here as תניניא (tanninayya), “sea serpents.”

According to the Midrash, just as the moon does not become full until the fifteenth day of its cycle, so it remained incomplete until the glorious reign of Solomon in the fifteenth generation from Abraham. See Pesiqta de-Rav Kahana 5:12, and Shemot Rabbah 15:26: “When Solomon appeared, the disk of the moon became full.” See above, p. 47 and n. 204.

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