Come and see! It is written of that body [of one who suffers in this world], "And it pleases G‑d to crush him by disease; if his soul shall consider recompense, he shall see progeny, he shall prolong his days, and G‑d's desire shall prosper in his hand." (Isaiah 53:10)

"And it pleases G‑d to crush him by disease" - we have to study this verse further. Why does it so please [G‑d to crush a person by sickness]? Because it purifies him! Why the feminine gender in the verse, "If his soul shall consider [in feminine form] recompense"? Because the phrase, "shall consider," alludes to the soul. If the soul wishes to perfect itself properly [by fulfilling the commandment to be fruitful and multiply], then "he shall see progeny" for the soul goes out and wanders around [seeing others engaged in marital intimacy] and is destined to [be reincarnated and] enter the seed of a man who observes being fruitful and multiplying. He shall then "prolong his days...and G‑d's purpose," referring to the study of the Torah, "shall prosper in his hand" [by meriting to learn Torah and it will continue to be studied by his descendants forever].

Come and see: if a man studies Torah day and night, but does not use his source and fountain of life [i.e. he does not desire to marry and to have children] he is not permitted in the court of G‑d [past the curtain of malchut]. We have learned that a well of water is no well unless the [water] source or spring feeds it, for the well and the source are one [for if a well does not receive any flow, it remains merely an empty cistern]. And we have explained this earlier. [Malchut, the secret of the well, is merely an empty cistern without the flow from the sefira of yesod, the source and fountain. When one marries and has children, one causes Above unity between yesod and malchut, and the sefira of malchut then becomes an aspect of a well of flowing water.]

It is written: "It is futile for you who arise early, who sit late, who eat the bread of toil, for truly to His beloved He gives tranquility". (Psalms 127:2) Come and see: how precious are the words of the Torah, for each contains high and holy mysteries. We have learned that when the children of Israel received the Torah on Mount Sinai, G‑d included within it all the holy and supernal mysteries.

Come and see: "It is futile for you to rise early" refers to single men who have no wives as is proper. They arise early for work, as it says: "There is one and not a second one...and there is no end to all his labor". (Ecclesiastes 4:8) "...to sit up late..." refers to those who retire [marry] late, as in "because in it [the Shabbat] He rested", (Gen. 2:3) for a woman is considered repose for man.

Of the verse, "To eat the bread of sadness": (Psalms 127:2) what is the bread of sadness? When a man has children, he eats his bread joyously, with a glad heart. If he does not have children, he eats the bread of sadness. These are assuredly those who "eat the bread of sadness."

What is meant by the verse, "For to His beloved He gives tranquility"? (Psalms 127:2) To he whose source is blessed [who has children], G‑d gives sleep in that world, in accordance with the verse, "You shall lay down, and your sleep shall be sweet". (Proverbs 3:24) This is because he has a part in the world to come and he therefore lays in the grave and enjoys the world to come [and his eternal rest will not be disturbed].

BeRahamim LeHayyim: Why did the Ari and Chida choose this passage? What are we to learn?

This selection presents the traditional view of the rewards for having children. What is novel is the idea that even one's actions and Torah learning in this world are also influenced by one's childbearing.

This refers particularly to those who do not desire to marry or have children, not to those who are infertile through no fault of their own. If one teaches someone else, they become their spiritual father. So, for those who have not merited having children themselves, to throw oneself into teaching—Torah specifically—bringing forth new revelations as your spiritual offspring, and helping others to access them, perhaps that is a way for them as well to align with the direction of the above Zohar.

Any other suggestions on how to connect to this sacred text would be most appreciated!

What does this mean to you, and why is it revealed to you now?

Bracketed annotations from Metok Midevash and Sulam commentaries
Copyright 2003 by KabbalaOnline.org, a project of Ascent of Safed (//ascentofsafed.com). All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this work or portions thereof, in any form, unless with permission, in writing, from Kabbala Online.