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Zohar, parashat Emor, p. 97b;
translation and commentary by Simcha Treister
Rabbi Chiya opened his discourse with the verse "And
you shall count for yourselves seven complete weeks from the next day after the
Shabbat [i.e. Pesach]" (Lev. 23:15). The Torah emphasizes that you shall count
for yourselves [in Hebrew, "lachem"]. This is similar to the
commandment requiring a woman who has her period to count seven days: "Then she
shall count for herself [in Hebrew, "la"] seven days, and after
that she shall be pure." (Lev. 15:28)
Just as she counts for herself [implying for her
benefit] so too should you count for your own benefit. What is the benefit? It
is to be purified in the higher holy waters and afterwards [on Shavuot] to merit
to unite with the King [ Zeir Anpin, and to cause the uniting of Zeir
Anpin and Malchut] and to receive the Torah [that emerges as a result
of this union].  | | " This is the river from which flow seven weeks..." | | |
In the verse referring to the woman, it requires that
she count for herself seven days but in the other instance it requires seven
weeks. What is the reason for seven weeks [forty-nine days instead of seven!]?
It is in order to merit to be purified in the river [of bina-consciousness]
that is drawn down and flows and is called "Living Waters". This is the river
from which flow seven weeks. This is certainly why seven weeks are required in
order to purify him.
The seven sefirot of chesed, gevura,
tiferet, netzach, hod, yesod and malchut are
called seven weeks. Each week is in turn made up of seven days and each day also
represents one of these seven sefirot. So the first week represents
chesed and the work of the first day of that week is to be aware of
chesed that is in chesed. The second day corresponds to the awareness
of the gevura that is in chesed and so on for each of the seven
weeks until all 49 days have been counted. These are the 49 gates that lead to
bina. This consciousness of the sefirot brings the light of
bina into all of lower emotional attributes that then become a worthy
vehicle to receive the chochma, or higher wisdom, of the Torah on
Shavuot.
In the same way as purification of a woman is by
emersion in a mikva at night [which purifies her for uniting with her
husband], so is it written, "And when the dew fell upon the camp in the night,
the manna fell upon it" (Num. 11:9). The text specifies that the dew fell on
the camp at night, not just that the dew fell at night.
This is to emphasize that the dew fell from that point
[the "inner brain", or "mocha stimaa", of Arich Anpin] on those
days, which together are called "the camp" and united with the Holy King [Zeir
Anpin].
The sefira of malchut is called "the
camp" because it is the resting place for all of the higher sefirot of
Zeir Anpin when they are united. This union also took place at night.
And when did this dew fall? [It fell] when Israel were
nearing Mount Sinai [on Shavuot]. That is when the dew came down in its
completion and in purity, and then the poison of the primordial snake was
removed from them and they connected to the King [Zeir Anpin] and to the
Community of Israel [Malchut] and received the Torah as we have
explained.
Dew falling on the camp represents the revelation of
the unification of the divine in the physical world. The poison of the
primordial snake is the fall of consciousness associated with eating from the
Tree of Knowledge of good and evil; this is the source of all sickness and
confusion, and it is this poison that is washed off in the falling dew.
Certainly at that time [of unification on the night of
Shavuot] "All the rivers [sefirot of Zeir Anpin] run into the sea
[the yesod of bina]." (Ecclesiastes 1:7). Israel is purified and
washed [from the hold of any external, non holy forces, and then] are connected
to and unify with the Holy King [to receive the wisdom of the Torah]. | | " A person should learn the Oral Torah on that night to be purified together from the flowing of the deep river..." | | |
Come and see, any person who didn't count this number
of seven complete weeks and thereby earn this purity, is not called "pure" and
is not included amongst the pure and nor is he worthy of receiving his portion
in the Torah. Whoever arrives pure on that day [Shavuot] and remained conscious
of the Counting of the Omer, upon reaching the night [of Shavuot] ought to learn
Torah and unite with it and guard himself in the spiritual purity that dwells on
him that night [by staying awake] and be purified in it.
Without the proper preparation to become a fitting
vessel to receive the higher wisdom, a person doesn't merit to receive it in its
pure form. Rather his understanding is muddled by the external ideas he brings
with him in viewing the Torah and so fails to receive it on Shavuot in the
manner of one who is perfectly in tune to do so.
And we have learned [that in addition to the " Tikun"
containing excerpts from all 24 written books of the Torah that decorate the
bride] a person should learn the Oral Torah [especially Zohar] on that night to
be purified together [with the Shechina in malchut] from the
flowing of the deep river. | | " Like the 24 adornments with which a bride is beautified on her wedding day..." | | |
The extracts from the 24 books of the written Torah
that we learn in the first part of the night are like the 24 adornments with
which a bride is beautified on her wedding day. We learn Zohar in the second
part of the night to beautify the bride herself and then are swept up in the
powerful river of bina. In tune with this flow, men then go to bathe in a
mikva before dawn breaks, as does the bride herself before her wedding.
Afterward on that day [at the Musaf/Additional
prayer of the dawn service of Shavuot], the written torah [Zeir Anpin]
will come and unite with her and they will be united as one, above. Then an
announcement is made concerning those who accompanied them saying: "As for Me,
this is my covenant with them says G-d; My spirit that is upon you, and My words
that I have put in your mouth..." (Isaiah 59:21).
Through the words of the Torah and the breath that
accompanied them from your mouth that beautified the Shechina for G-d, He
will insure that you will also merit to see the continuation of the verse,
namely that the words of Torah - "shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the
mouth of your children or grandchildren says the Lord from now on for ever."
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