Pinchas: Chapter 23

"in the evening she would go, and on the morrow she would return"

Synopsis

Rabbi Aba again goes over the matter of God persuading Moses to give His Holy Covenant of peace to Pinchas. We learn that Malchut has permission from Zeir Anpin to live among the righteous in the world. If Pinchas had not been given Malchut he would never have been able to attain the high priesthood.

Relevance

The Zohar expounds upon Zeir Anpin, which is the Upper World. It relates truths about the Right and Left Columns, which are Mercy and Judgment, respectively. In doing so, the Zohar balances and corrects our realm of Malchut.

We behold verses that tell of Pinchas's possession of Malchut, his attainment of the priesthood, and the secret of the covenant being an aspect of our world of Malchut when she cleaves to the Upper Right, which is Chesed of Zeir Anpin. This Upper Right will, in the future, construct the Holy Temple.

As we meditate upon these texts, we are actually rebuilding two Temples: Each of us is a microcosm of the Temple. Hence, construction of the Temple takes place within our own physical body, creating a place where the Light of the Creator can rest upon us; and we erect the Temple in Jerusalem, spiritually speaking, where the Light nourishes the entire world, initiating our Final Redemption. Malchut, which not only represents our world but all mankind, then rises and attaches to Zeir Anpin, uniting in a celebration of Light.