Trumah: Chapter 32

"Of every man whose heart prompts him to give"

Synopsis

When Wisdom was drawn down to the world, it became entrenched in Malchut, in the kingdom on earth, and in speech where its purpose was to bring righteousness. This world, and the supernal angels, take nourishment from the spirit of righteousness. The text tells of how many times this spirit was removed by the wicked of the world and how many times it was perfected again, by Noah, by Abraham, by Isaac, by Jacob, by Moses and by Solomon. The Holy One told Moses to make Him a tabernacle so that He had a place to dwell among the children of Yisrael. "That they bring Me an offering," refers, we are reminded, to Shechinah, the spirit of Malchut.

When Solomon came, he perfected the spirit of Malchut with the perfection of above, of Understanding; he started to rectify the appearance of the Upper World, which is Zeir Anpin, in order to rectify thereby the appearance of the lower world, which is Malchut. This is the meaning of "Which is Solomon's" - Solomon represents Zeir Anpin.

Relevance

We can use this story of our repeated cycles of lapsing into sin and then being rectified to illuminate our own world. Just as often as we err and fall from grace, we can also become righteous again through prayer and a renewed effort to succeed. The righteous souls of antiquity, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Solomon, whose own souls out-balance all the souls of the wicked combined, are with us now, rectifying our iniquities and correcting all the sins of the entire world.

The sum total of Light revealed by all the righteous souls, past and present, floods our existence, prompting the final ascent and redemption of man. Never again will humanity fall and stumble into darkness, for that is the power of the Zohar. And because these great sages possess a deep love for their neighbor that shines brighter than a galaxy of stars, our ascent is sweetened with immeasurable kindness and compassion. For that reason, we should take a moment and appreciate this great gift, giving thanks to all Creation for the opportunity to live during these times.