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The Saba and Reincarnation of
the Soul
This is the 2nd part of a series of selections from the Zohar. To return to the first article of the series: The Saba & Reincarnation of the Soul, click here.
The Saba now goes on to explain why a holy soul cannot be
reborn as one of the pious of the nations.
Master of the Universe! Who shall not fear You, who rules over all the kings of the
world, as it states, "Who shall not fear you,
king of the nations, to you it is fitting..." (Jeremiah 10:7). There are
many people who muddle up the interpretation of this verse. Everyone recites
this verse, but do not get it straight. Is the Holy One then the King of the
nations? Isn't He King of Israel only? In relation to the other nations the way
He is referred to is as written, 'When the Supreme One gave the nations their
inheritance' (Deut. 32:8). The nations receive a mere 'inheritance' from G-d,
and therefore He is referred to as 'the Supreme One' -- completely transcending
them. In relation to Israel, however, it states, 'For part of G-d is His
people.' Israel remains part of Him and does not merely receive an inheritance.
For this reason He is called the King of Israel specifically.  | | " Israel ... does not merely receive an inheritance..." | | |
And if you will say that He is also called 'King of the nations' as in the verse,
" Elo-him reigns over the nations' (Psalms 47:9) then this is to their
credit that the Holy One, blessed be He, is King over them. Not as they say,
that they are under the authority of those that serve Him and whom He appointed
- the sun, moon and stars and the angels. Furthermore, the end of the verse
states, 'for among all the wise men of the nations, and throughout their
kingdoms, there is none like You' (Jeremiah 10:7). Thus it is strange that they
do not elevate themselves, by way of this verse, to the very heights of the
heavens. But the reason is that they are blinded, and do not know the Holy One,
blessed be He, at all. We say that they are all as naught, null and void, as it
is written, 'all the nations are as nothing against Him; they are regarded by
Him as null and void' (Isaiah 40:17). By way of contrast, if one argues that
the G-d of Israel is also King over the nations then they would have an
important and lofty part, and would have been made by this verse into a great
and honored entity."
Rabbi Chiya said to him, "But it is written, 'Elo-him reigns over the
nations'" (Psalms 47:9), indicating the G-d is indeed King over the
nations as well, at the very least via His name Elo-him?
The old man responded: "I see that you are on the other side of the fence, and
so you have cited this verse in their support. I should first expound upon what
I said, but since I have found you on your travels and when a person is
traveling he can regress to a state of Mochin d'katnut,I will move you along from
there i.e., from the incorrect understanding caused by your mochin d'katnut, and from that point on you will continue to remove from
the state of mochin d'katnut completely until you reach the
state of Mochin d'gadlut.
"Come and see: All of the names of the seven Names that one is forbidden to erase
and epithets such as 'the Compassionate One,' 'the Holy One,' etc., all produce
an effect outside of Him,
according to their nature, and all of them clothe themselves in one another,
and all of them divide up into known ways and paths. With exception of the
Ineffable Name, the name superior to all others, which has been granted to the
special nation, chosen from among all other nations, the name Yud-Hei-Vav-Hei, as it is written, 'For
part of G-d is His people,' and it is written, 'and you cleave to G-d'
(Deuteronomy 4:4). In both of theses verses this name Yud-Hei-Vav-Hei rather than any other name is used. One of His other names, Elo-him, also produces
an effect outside of Him, and subdivides into a number of ways and paths these
are the 120 permutations of the name Elo-him,
72 of which are holy. The 48 remaining permutations ultimately become the
source of sustenance for kelipa.
It is this aspect of the name that He granted to the nations of the world. Thus
it is divided among His servants and appointees who lead the other nations, as
it states, 'And Elo-him came to
Bilaam in the night' (Num.22:20); 'And Elo-him
came to Avimelech in a dream at night' (Gen. 20:3). Each of these instances of
the word Elo-him signifies Elo-him ac heirim -- other gods, not a
Divine revelation. And so too, each and every appointee that the Holy One,
blessed be He, allotted to the other nations -- all are included in this name.
Even idolatry is referred to by this name. They are called Elo-him acheirim. This is the name by which He rules over the
nations, not by the name by which He reigns over Israel. For He is unique to
the unique nation, the Nation of Israel, the Holy People. | | " When (the nations) see in their wisdom Your deeds and Your power...they proclaim, 'there is none like You'" | | |
"Now if you will argue that we can resolve the issue based on the verse, 'who shall
not fear You, King of the nations' (Jeremiah 10:7), which implies that G-d's
Name Elo-him reigns over the nations, and in this Name reside fear and
judgment, indicating that the nations of the world also fear G-d, this is not
so. It was not said in this regard, for if so, even idolatry would be included
in this since other gods are called 'Elo-him acheirim.' But the wall upon the back of which you were leaning has
crumbled i.e., the verse upon which you relied in your state of 'backwardness'
-- mochin d'katnut -- cannot support such an interpretation.(Damesek
Eliezer) Rather the way I interpreted the verse, that Elo-him here means Elo-him
acheirim, will become evident with even a minor analysis: 'Who shall not
fear You, king of the nations' -- if you will say that this refers to the Holy One,
blessed be He, as King of the nations, this is not so. Rather, the proper
interpretation is: which king of the nations shall not fear You, and be in awe
of You, and tremble before You? Similarly, the following verses: 'Praise the
Lord! Offer praise servants of the Lord; offer praise to the Name of the Lord'
(Psalms 113:1). A person hearing this would not understand what is being said
since it appears that the verse is saying: 'Praise the Lord!' and also, 'praise
the servants of the Lord.' Thus it should have said, 'Servants of the Lord,
praise the Name of the Lord' Here too, it should have stated, 'who, King of the
nations, shall not fear You?' However, everything was stated in the proper way.
The verse 'which king of the nations shall not fear You' continues: ''for among
all the wise men of the nations, and throughout their kingdoms, there is none
like You.' In their wisdom, what is the matter that concerns them? 'There is
none like You.' And all the nations acknowledge this. When they see in their wisdom
Your deeds and Your power, this instills in them an awareness of this matter
and they proclaim, 'there is none like You.'"
The circle of disciples were so delighted with this interpretation that they wept.
As before, the old man also wept.
For the continuation of this series: The Destiny of the Wicked,
click here.
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