Zohar Va'Etchanan Section 4 - "You have Begun to Show"

It is recommended to read / scan / study the section prior to reading the Synopsis.

Zohar Commentary on the Parasha Va'Etchanan

SYNOPSIS:

Rabbi Yosi says that Moses was in a sense a beginning in the world, encompassing all the children of Yisrael, the Torah, the Tabernacle, the priests and Levites, the twelve tribes with their princes and the seventy members of the Sanhedrin; he was absolutely perfect, and attained what no one else ever did. As Moses was the beginning, King Messiah is the ending, because when he comes there will be perfection in the world. Rabbi Chiya talks about how Moses was told to prepare Joshua to succeed him, as the moon cannot shine until the sun departs. Rabbi Yosi tells us that although all the other nations of the world were given to appointed ministers, Yisrael was kept by God Himself as His own special portion, and He gave them the great gift of the Torah.

Pasook 13. from the Zohar Commentary on Parasha Va'Etchanan

אַתָּה הַחִלּוֹתָ לְהַרְאוֹת אֶת עַבְדְּךָ. מַאי שֵׁירוּתָא הָכָא. אֶלָּא וַדַּאי מֺשֶׁה שֵׁירוּתָא הֲוָה בְּעָלְמָא, לְמֶהֱוֵי שְׁלִים בְּכֺלָּא. וְאִי תֵּימָא יַעֲקֺב שְׁלִים הֲוָה, וְאִילָנָא אִשְׁתְּלִים לְתַתָּא כְּגַוְונָא דִּלְעֵילָּא. הָכִי הוּא וַדַּאי, אֲבָל מַה דַּהֲוָה לְמֺשֶׁה, לָא הֲוָה לְב"נ אַחֲרָא, דְּהָא אִתְעֲטָּר בִּשְׁלִימוּ יַתִּיר, בְּכַמָּה אֲלַף וְרִבְּבָן מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל, בְּאוֹרַיְיתָא, בְּמַשְׁכְּנָא, בְּכֺהַנִין, בְּלֵיוָאֵי, בִּתְרֵיסַר שְׁבָטִין, רַבְרְבִין מְמָנָן עָלַיְיהוּ, בְּשַׁבְעִין סַנְהֶדְרִין. הוּא אִשְׁתְּלִים בְּגוּפָא שְׁלִים. אַהֲרֺן לִימִינָא, נַחְשׁוֹן לִשְׂמָאלָא, הוּא בֵּינַיְיהוּ.

"You have begun to show Your servant" (Devarim 3:23). HE ASKS, What manner of a beginning is here, IN SAYING, "YOU HAVE BEGUN?" AND HE ANSWERS, Surely Moses was a beginning in the world, in being absolutely perfect. You may say that Jacob was perfect PRIOR TO MOSES. For the tree, ZEIR ANPIN, was perfected through him below as it was above, BECAUSE HE HAD TWELVE SONS THAT CORRESPOND TO THE TWELVE BORDERS OF ZEIR ANPIN AND SEVENTY SOULS THAT CORRESPOND TO THE SEVENTY BRANCHES IN THE SUPERNAL TREE, ZEIR ANPIN. It is surely so. But Moses attained what no one else did, by being more completely bedecked with many thousands and tens of thousands of people of Yisrael, with the Torah, with the Tabernacle, with the priests and Levites, with the twelve tribes, WITH TWELVE princes appointed over them, with the seventy members of the Sanhedrin. He was completed in a whole body, THE SECRET OF TIFERET THAT INCLUDES RIGHT AND LEFT. For Aaron was to his right, Nachshon to his left and he was between them.

chanoch's Commentary

There is an amazing revelation in this Pasook. Moshe is the beginning and rose to be higher than Jacob. They were both perfect yet Moshe was bedecked with the energy of more people than Jacob. Jacob had the 12 Tribes and the 70 people to draw upon. The meaning of bedecked is to be responsible for as well as share with and also to draw upon when one needs their energy of the Creator. We can do more creation with more people than we can do by ourselves. That is the secret. The antithesis of this is as our group grows larger the more people begin to separate. Moshe was able to hold the essence of these people together as did Jacob yet Jacob had less power since he was the 70 while Moses was the 600, 000.

Pasook 14. from the Zohar Commentary on Parasha Va'Etchanan

בְּגִין כַּךְ אֶת גָּדְלְךָ, מִימִינָא, דָּא אַהֲרֺן. וְאֶת יָדְךָ הַחֲזָקָה, מִשְּׂמָאלָא, דָּא נַחְשׁוֹן. וְהָא אִתְּמַר. בג"כ מֺשֶׁה שֵׁירוּתָא בְּעָלְמָא הֲוָה. וְאִי תֵּימָא מַאן הֲוָה סִיּוּמָא. סִיּוּמָא מַלְכָּא מְשִׁיחָא הוּא, דְּהָא כְּדֵין יִשְׁתְּכַּח שְׁלִימוּ בְּעָלְמָא, מַה דְּלָא הֲוָה כֵּן לְדָרֵי דָּרִין. בְּהַהוּא זִמְנָא יִשְׁתְּכַּח שְׁלִימוּ לְעֵילָּא וְתַתָּא, וְיֵהוֹן עָלְמִין כֻּלְּהוּ בְּזִוּוּגָא חַד, כְּדֵין כְּתִיב בַּיוֹם הַהוּא יִהְיֶה יְיָ' אֶחָד וּשְׁמוֹ אֶחָד.

For that reason IT IS WRITTEN, "YOU HAVE BEGUN TO SHOW YOUR SERVANT Your greatness," NAMELY from the right, Aaron; "and Your mighty hand" (Ibid.), NAMELY from the left, which is Nachshon. We already learned that. It was Moses therefore who was a beginning in the world, AND NOT JACOB. You may ask who was the ending. AND HE ANSWERS, King Messiah is the ending, because then there will be perfection in the world, which was not the case for generations. At that time perfection will abide above and below, and all the worlds will be united as one. Then it is written, "on that day Hashem shall be one, and His name One" (Zecharyah 14:9).

chanoch adds: The soul of Moshe includes all of the souls of the Children of Israel. This means he has the energy of all of those souls within him. The same 600,000 + souls of the Children of Israel were not perfected in Moshe's generation yet they will be perfected in the generation of Mashiach and then Mashiach will have all or those Tzadikim to draw upon and to include within himself along with being responsible for all of those souls as well.

Pasook 15. from the Zohar Commentary on Parasha Va'Etchanan

וַיֺּאמֶר יְיָ' אֵלַי רַב לָךְ אַל תּוֹסֶף וְגוֹ'. אָמַר ר' חִיָּיא, א"ל קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא לְמֺשֶׁה, מֺשֶׁה, רַב לָךְ דְּאִזְדַּוְּוגַת בִּשְׁכִינְתָּא, מִכָּאן וּלְהָלְאָה אַל תּוֹסֶף, רַבִּי יִצְחָק אָמַר, רַב לָךְ בִּנְהִירוּ דְּשִׁמְשָׁא דַּהֲוָה גַּבָּךְ, אַל תּוֹסֶף, דְּהָא זִמְנָא דְּסִיהֲרָא מָטָא, וְסִיהֲרָא לָא יָכִיל לְאַנְהָרָא, עַד דְּיִתְכְּנִישׁ שִׁמְשָׁא. אֲבָל וְצַו אֶת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְחַזְּקֵהוּ וְאַמְּצֵהוּ. אַנְתְּ דְּהוּא שִׁמְשָׁא, בָּעֵי לְאַנְהָרָא לְסִיהֲרָא, וְהָא אִתְּמַר.

"And Hashem said to me, Let it suffice you; speak no more..." (Devarim 3:26). Rabbi Chiya said, The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: 'Moses, "Let it suffice you" to have joined the Shechinah. From now on, "speak no more." Rabbi Yitzchak said, "Let it suffice you," the light of the sun that was with you; "no more" because the time for the moon has come, WHICH IS JOSHUA, and the moon cannot shine until the sun is gathered. "But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him" (Ibid. 28). You, who are the sun, should illuminate the moon. We have already learned this.

chanoch's Commentary

The Pasuk is clear in my opinion.

Pasook 16. from the Zohar Commentary on Parasha Va'Etchanan

וְאַתֶּם הַדְּבֵקִים בַּיְיָ' אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וְגוֹ'. ר' יוֹסֵי אָמַר אַשְׁרֵי הָעָם שֶׁכָּכָה לוֹ וְגוֹ'. זַכָּאָה עַמָּא, דְּקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא בָּחַר בְּהוּ מִכָּל עַמִּין עכו"ם, וְסָלִיק לוֹן לְעַדְבֵיהּ, וּבָרִיךְ לוֹן בְּבִרְכָתָא דִּילֵיהּ בְּבִרְכָתָא דִּשְׁמֵיהּ, הֲדָא הוּא דִּכְתִּיב כִּי הֵם זֶרַע בֵּרַךְ יְיָ', בֵּרַךְ יְיָ' מַמָּשׁ.

"But you that did cleave to Hashem your Elohim" (Devarim 4:4). Rabbi Yosi said, "Happy is that people, that is in such a case" (Tehilim 144:15). Happy is the people whom the Holy One, blessed be He, has chosen above all heathen peoples and raised to His lot, and blessed them with His blessing, with His name's blessing. This is the meaning of, "they are the seed which Hashem has blessed" (Yeshayah 61:9), Hashem has actually blessed, NAMELY, THE BLESSING OF HIS NAME.

chanoch adds: The Blessing of His NAME is the Priestly Blessing, in my opinion.

Pasook 17. from the Zohar Commentary on Parasha Va'Etchanan

תָּא חֲזִי, כָּל שְׁאַר עַמִּין דְּעָלְמָא, יָהַב לוֹן קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא לְרַבְרְבֵי מְמָנָן, דְּשַׁלְטִין עָלַיְיהוּ. וְיִשְׂרָאֵל אָחִיד לוֹן קוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא לְעַדְבֵיהּ, לְחוּלָקֵיהּ, לְאִתְאַחֲדָא בֵּיהּ מַמָּשׁ. וְיָהִיב לוֹן אוֹרַיְיתָא קַדִּישָׁא, בְּגִין לְאִתְאַחֲדָא בִּשְׁמֵיהּ, וְע"ד וְאַתֶּם הַדְּבֵקִים בַּיְיָ', וְלָא בִּמְמָנָא אַחֲרָא כִּשְׁאַר עַמִּין, וְהָא אוֹקְמוּהָ בְּכַמָּה אֲתָר.

Come and see, the Holy One, blessed be He, gave all the rest of the nations in the world to the appointed ministers that rule over them. As for Yisrael, the Holy One, blessed be He, held to them for His lot and portion, to actually unite with them. And He gave them the holy Torah in order to unite with His name. Hence, "you that did cleave to Hashem," and not to any other minister as the other nations. This has been explained in different places.

chanoch adds: Why did HaShem "keep" the Children of Israel from the appointed ministers and "keep" the Children of Israel for himself? i do not yet have the answer to this questions. The answer given here to unite with them is not satisfactory. i think that HaShem unites with every nation through their appointed minister. What is truly the difference?