Zohar Lech Lecha Section 4 - Left With Them From Ur Kasdim

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Zohar Lech Lecha Section 4 - Left With Them From Ur Kasdim

SYNOPSIS:

There is a unique process of preparation that a soul undergoes prior to entering our physical realm. This process consists of promises and commitments made by the soul to the Creator. The soul pledges to embrace the spiritual path of change through Torah and Kabbalah during its lifetime. The specific Torah portion that relates to this passage of Zohar is Lech Lecha, which translates into Go You, Out of Your Country. The verse concerns God's call to Abraham to leave and go out from his homeland and enter into the Land of Israel. The story is a code and a metaphor concerning the journey of the soul as it leaves the Upper World on its sojourn into our earthly realm.

THE RELEVANCE OF THE PASSAGE:

The perpetual pull and tug of the material world is of such magnitude, we forget our true purpose in life as we succumb to the illusions of physical existence. Hence, we need the Light of this portion to reawaken our desire to remain true to our own soul's original commitment to pursue the spiritual path.

Pasook 17. from the Zohar Commentary on Parasha Lech Lecha

תָּא חֲזֵי, מַה כְּתִיב, וַיִּקַּח תֶּרַח אֶת אַבְרָם בְּנוֹ וְאֶת לוֹט בֶּן הָרָן וגו'. וַיֵּצְאוּ אִתָּם מֵאוּר כַּשְׂדִים. וַיֵּצְאוּ אִתָּם. אָתוֹ מִבָּעֵי לֵיהּ. דְּהָא כְתִיב וַיִּקַּח תֶּרַח וגו'. מַאי, וַיֵּצְאוּ אִתָּם. אֶלָּא, תֶּרַח וְלוֹט, עִם אַבְרָהָם וְשָׂרָה נְפָקוּ, דְּאִינוּן הֲווֹ עִקְּרָא לְמֵיפַּק מִגּוֹ אִינוּן חַיָּיבַיָּא. דְּכֵיוָן דְּחָמָא תֶּרַח, דְּאַבְרָהָם בְּרֵיהּ, אִשְׁתְּזֵיב מִגּוֹ נוּרָא, אִתְהַדַּר לְמֶעְבַּד רְעוּתֵיהּ דְּאַבְרָהָם, וּבְגִין כָּךְ וַיֵּצְאוּ אִתָּם תֶּרַח וְלוֹט.

Come and behold, It is written, "And Terach took Abram, his son, and Lot, the son of Haran...and they left with them from Ur of the Chaldeans" (Beresheet 11:31). HE ASKS, WHY IS IT WRITTEN, "And they left with them," when it should have been written, "with him," NAMELY WITH TERACH? If, as it is written, "And Terach took..." why IS IT THEN WRITTEN, "with them?" BECAUSE Terach and Lot left with Abraham and Sarah, who really wanted to depart from among the wicked. Only after Terach saw that Abraham his son was saved from the fire did he return to follow Abraham's wishes. As a result, Terach and Lot "left with them."

chanoch's Commentary

To understand this Pasook one needs information from both midrash and a close reading of the letters and words of the story itself. One needs to realize that this verse from the Chumash is in Noach's Parasha not Lech Lecha. Terach took Abram Sarai and Lot the son of Haran and then settled in Haran. They stopped in Haran a city between Ur Chasdim - the light of a demon. The Zohar is asking about the language which does not seem to make sense. The midrash says Terach left Ur Chasdim which is the land of Nimrod. He did so since Nimrod found him to be worthy of a execution if he would have stayed. This is due to an action of Avram his son. While traveling Avram wanted to go to Canaan as HaShem told him. Terach only wanted to escape Nimrod. Nimrod ordered the burning test of Avram when he caught Terach and Avram in Charan. Avram passed this test and Terach then agreed to move on to Canaan but died in Charan prior to the leaving since his life was no longer going to achieve more of his tikune.

Pasook 18. from the Zohar Commentary on Parasha Lech Lecha

וּבְשַׁעֲתָא דִּנְפָקוּ, מַה כְּתִיב, לָלֶכֶת אַרְצָה כְּנַעַן. דִּרְעוּתָא דִלְהוֹן הֲוָה לְמֵיהַךְ תַּמָּן. מִכָּאן אוֹלִיפְנָא, כָּל מַאן דְּאִתְעַר לְאִתְדַּכָּאָה, מְסַיְיעִין לֵיהּ. תָּא חֲזֵי דְּהָכֵי הוּא. דְּכֵיוָן דִּכְתִיב, לָלֶכֶת אַרְצָה כְּנַעַן, מִיָּד וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל אַבְרָהָם לֶךְ לְךָ, וְעַד דְּאִיהוּ אִתְעַר בְּקַדְמֵיתָא, לָא כְתִיב לֶךְ לְךָ.

And when they left "to go to the land of Canaan" it was because they desired to go there. From this we learn that whoever asks to be purified will be helped. Come and behold that this is so! Because the words, "to go to the land of Canaan," are immediately followed by the words, "Now Hashem said to Abram, 'Get you out'." So before his desire TO GO TO THE LAND OF CANAAN was awakened, it was not yet written, "Get you out." Therefore, he who asks and wakes on his own from below is helped from above, because without awakening from below there is no awakening from above.

chanoch's Commentary

Understand the spiritulal. The higher self receives directions from the higher worlds to cause the physical person to do an action of prayer and request due to the need for the revelation of that light in the lower world. This cause is concealed in the physical world until the revelation of the help that the higher world starts the process of revealing the effect of the physical world so that the illusion is maintained and people perceive the physical effect as a cause in the physical world. Of course this is purely an illusion that is necessary for maintaining the illusion.

Pasook 19. from the Zohar Commentary on Parasha Lech Lecha

תָּא חֲזֵי. מִלָה דִלְעֵילָא לָא אִתְעַר, עַד דְּאִתְעַר לְתַתָּא בְּקַדְמֵיתָא, עַל מַה דְּתִשְׁרֵי הַהִיא דִלְעֵילָא. וְרָזָא דְמִלָּה, נְהוֹרָא אוּכְמָא, לָא אִתְאַחֵיד בִּנְהוֹרָא חִוָּורָא. עַד דְּאִיהִי אִתְעָרִית בְּקַדְמֵיתָא. כֵּיוָן דְּאִיהִי אִתְעָרִית בְּקַדְמֵיתָא. מִיָּד נְהוֹרָא חִוְורָא שַׁרְיָיא עֲלָהּ.

Come and see, Nothing is aroused above before it is first aroused below, so that what is aroused above rests upon it. The secret is that the black flame OF THE CANDLE, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE NUKVA, does not hold on to the white flame OF THE CANDLE, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF ZEIR ANPIN, before it is aroused. As soon as it is aroused first, the white flame immediately rests upon it. This is so because the lower one has to be aroused first.

chanoch's Commentary

This is saying the same thing as my comment to pasook 19 explained. This metaphor of the black flame being the support for the white flame is helpful to understand what is said in my comment to pasook 19, in may opinion.

Pasook 20. from the Zohar Commentary on Parasha Lech Lecha

וְע"ד כְּתִיב אֱלֹקִים אַל דֳּמִי לָךְ אַל תֶּחֱרָשׁ וְאַל תִּשְׁקֹט אֵל. בְּגִין דְּלָא יִתְפְּסַק נְהוֹרָא חִוָּורָא מֵעָלְמָא, לְעָלְמִין. וְכֵן הַמַּזְכִּירִים אֶת ה' אַל דֳּמִי לָכֶם. בְּגִין, לְאַתְעָרָא לְתַתָּא, בַּמֶּה דְיִשְׁרֵי אִתְעֲרוּתָא דִלְעֵילָא. וְכֵן כֵּיוָן דְּאִתְעַר בַּר נָשׁ, אִתְעֲרוּתָא בְּקַדְמֵיתָא, כְּדֵין אִתְעַר, אִתְעֲרוּתָא דִלְעֵילָא. תָּא חֲזֵי, כֵּיוָן דִּכְתִיב וַיֵּצְאוּ אִתָּם מֵאוּר כַּשְׂדִים וגו', מִיָּד וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל אַבְרָם וגו'.

Therefore it is written, "Do not keep silent, Elohim; do not hold your peace, and be still, El" (Tehilim 83:2), so that the white flame will never cease to exist in the world. BECAUSE ELOHIM IS THE SECRET OF THE NUKVA, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF THE BLACK FLAME. SO IF IT DOES NOT HOLD ITS PEACE AND BE STILL AND IF IT NEVER CEASES TO BE AWAKENED FROM BELOW, THEN THE WHITE FLAME, WHICH IS THE SECRET OF ZEIR ANPIN, SHALL ALWAYS REST UPON IT FROM ABOVE. "You who make mention of Hashem, take no rest" (Yeshayah 62:6) so that there will always be awakening from below on which that from above should come and rest upon it. Therefore, when a person first arouses the awakening from below, the awakening from above is aroused. Come and behold, It is written, "and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans." Immediately, "Hashem said to Abram..." This means that he received help from above. The reason is that the light needs something crude from below to cling onto and this crude object or action is entirely in the hands of the lower world.

chanoch's Commentary

This is so the illusion in the physical world can look like a cause. An example is the baseball breaking the window the actual spiritual cause is that the window is told to break the baseball being thrown at the window is not an illusion so people think they know the cause of the breaking when in reality it serves a purpose of maintaining the illusion.