"Delight yourself also in Hashem"

In this particular portion of Zohar, the concept of doing "good" concerns the goal of correcting our sexual sins, past and present, and the original root of all sins, which will be explained shortly. This correction is referred to by the Zohar as the "Holy Covenant." The reader however, should make no mistake; the Zohar is in no way implying a moralistic, Puritan, or Victorian attitude towards sexual intercourse. On the contrary, sex is sacred, according to the Kabbalist, and it is a powerful vehicle to connect to the Light of the Creator and imbue our plane of existence with an abundance of positive spiritual energy.

Sexual connections between a wife and husband cause the lower world (female) to rise and join the Upper World (male). Thus, through the love we make, we can contribute to the elevation of our souls and the ascent of the entire world. But it is not enough to merely turn on. Animals are capable of physical arousal without any forethought or consideration of the divine aspects of sexual relations. One must have the courage, intent and focus to tune in to the spiritual dimension and purpose of intimate relations between a man and wife. First, we must ask, what constitutes a sexual sin? Sex that is divorced from our inner self, and from our partner, prevents us from experiencing the kind of connections that evoke a sense of Heaven here on Earth. Sexual relations that are devoid of divine intent, that are self-serving and self-indulgent, are likened to an electrical short-circuit. There is an enormous but brief spark of energy, which is then followed by darkness. When we resist selfishness and animal lust, striving to share with our mate, putting their needs and desires ahead of our own, meditating to connect to the divine aspects of sex, a circuit of energy is established. This act of resisting our primal urges equates to the resisting function of a filament in a light bulb. A filament resists electrical current, which then generates light. Without a filament (resistance), the surge of electricity flowing between the plus and minus poles is far too intense for the bulb to handle. A short circuit erupts in a blinding burst of light, followed by a burnt-out bulb and darkness. Likewise, selfish, wanton sex is tempting, for it delivers a burst of pleasure. However, this is the metaphysical version of a short-circuit. We burn out, and darkness inevitably ensues. This resulting darkness creates an opening for negative energy and ailments (often associated directly or indirectly with the sexual organs) to enter into our lives. These self-centered urges have their origin in a consequential event that took place prior to the creation of physical man. It is this event that corresponds to the Holy Covenant.

THE GENESIS STORY

Before the creation of the world, Adam and Eve were spiritual beings who comprised all the souls of humanity. Each of us was the equivalent of a cell in the body of these supernal beings. Adam and Eve, collectively, are known as the Vessel. In the traditional Biblical story of Creation, we are told that after creating the other living things of the earth, God created Adam, the first man. But not wanting Adam to be alone, God made a partner, taken from Adam's rib. This was Eve, the first woman. God left the couple in the Garden of Eden with the instruction that while they could partake of all the delights they found there, including fruit from the Tree of Life, they were forbidden to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, for the fruits were unripe and they would surely die. But someone else happened to be in the Garden - the infamous serpent (the angel Satan, also known as Samael). Urged on by the seductive encouragement of the snake, Eve disobeyed. She plucked an apple from the forbidden tree and ate it. Then, she offered the apple to Adam, enticing him to eat it along with her. He did, and with that, their fleeting age of innocence was over.

DECONSTRUCTING GENESIS

Adam and Eve's bite of the fruit, on another level of spiritual understanding, indicates a sexual connection between the original vessel and the serpent. In other words, the act of succumbing to the deceptive prodding of the serpent also denotes a sexual union between them. The negative angel (do not pronounce her name) Lilit copulated with Adam and the angel (do not pronounce his name) Samael copulated with Eve. In deeper spiritual terms, this implies that the consciousness of Adam and Eve was lowered and tainted by the negative angels. Moreover, this sexual union, or lowering of consciousness, mutated the nature of the Vessel. In the language of genetics, the act of sexual connection between the Vessel and the serpent altered the Vessel's DNA from Desire to Receive, into a more selfish Desire to Receive for the Self Alone. Consequently, every cell (our souls) in the cosmic body of Adam and Eve had its DNA recombined with the DNA (consciousness) of the serpent. The Vessel (Adam and Eve) then shattered into individual souls. These countless sparks of souls descended into this physical world and assumed the garment of physical bodies. They were then empowered with the task of eradicating the negative consciousness from their nature and reuniting all the scattered halves of the one fractured soul into one unified whole. Thus, the dark and egocentric aspect of human nature was born from this sexual union between the Vessel and the serpent. All of our negative behavior, egoistic character traits, jealousies, etc., are rooted in this original sin. Correcting this seed of all sins is the Holy Covenant that Pinchas was zealous for.

THE ZOHAR CONNECTION

In this passage, the Zohar refers to a particular Torah portion involving Pinchas, which correlates to the Holy Covenant. The Torah tells a story (Numbers 25:1) in which Yisrael begins committing ritualistic sexual acts and orgies with the "daughters of Moab" to connect to powerful, dark forces. Namely, they were using the divine act of sex to draw down energy for destructive purposes. For instance, the energy of the atom can be used in a positive fashion by generating the nuclear power that provides energy for an entire city. Conversely, atomic energy can be used destructively by a terrorist nation in the form of nuclear weapons. In this Torah story, a man named Zimri and a woman named Cozbi began engaging in sex in front of Moses and the nation of Yisrael. Pinchas understood the laws of spiritual energy. He knew that negative forces and darkness would engulf our world as a result of this act. Therefore, in the story, he killed both of them to save the rest of the world from deadly plagues that would have decimated all mankind.

We've learned that the negative angels (do not pronounce their names) Samael and Lilit are the underlying cause behind all of our negative selfish sexual impulses. Thus, the deeper meaning behind the slaughter of Zimri and Cozbi concerns Pinchas's destruction of the two negative angels. This, in effect, corrects the Holy Covenant! By correcting this sin (The Holy Covenant), the Zohar reveals that the Creator "shall give you the desires of your heart." Thus, all of our desires can now be fulfilled. Moreover, eternal peace and fulfillment are now attained for the entire world; for the Zohar states: "...once the covenant is corrected, everything is corrected." This ultimate correction now paves the way for eternal Light to illuminate our generation, for the Zohar quotes Pinchas and says: "Happy is the generation that hears your interpretations of Torah...." This is, clearly, our generation; for you, the reader, are now privy to this interpretation from this splendid book of Zohar. Thus, here we receive the Light to destroy the angels Samael and Lilit externally and within ourselves. We correct the original sin of the Vessel (Adam and Eve) and our own sins (selfish sexual deeds). This action merits the reader the same destiny as Pinchas, which is happiness and attachment to the "first Light" that God created. This is the same Light that Abraham enjoyed, and it now shines in the souls of all mankind.

Any kind of ailment associated directly or indirectly with the sexual reproductive organs receives the Light of healing and is purged from the world. These include cancers of the prostate, testicles, ovaries, uterus, fallopian tubes, and breasts; as well as AIDS and all forms of venereal disease. All this radiant Light of healing and restoration ignites the moment we choose to become more sharing, caring and considerate. Choose it now, then meditate upon this passage, and everything that is Pinchas's becomes yours.