" When a man or a woman shall commit any sin that man commits..." (Num. 5:6) Come and see that it is written: "Now Heber the Kenite…who was of the children of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses." (Judges 4:11) Heber the Kenite was from the great-grandchildren of Jethro, as it says, "And Saul said to the Kenites..." (I Samuel 15:6) We have already explained why he was called Kenite. Another verse says, "The Kenites and the Kenizi" (Gen. 15:19) We learned that he made a nest [in Hebrew, 'ken'] in the desert to study the Torah, like a bird. He left the city, took leave of Cain and split away from that nation [Midian] to whom he originally belonged. Then he adhered to G‑d and he separated from Cain.1

Praiseworthy is the person who merits the Torah, to follow and adhere to His ways. When a person follows the ways of the Torah, he draws upon himself a holy supernal spirit [from Heaven, for in the beginning one has a nefesh/soul, and if he merits it, the Torah gives him a ruach/spirit], as it says: "Until a spirit be poured upon us from on high." (Isaiah 32:15) When a person diverts his ways [from the path of Torah] he draws upon himself a spirit from the Other Side, which is the unclean side. That defiled side awakens from the side of the hole of the great abyss wherein the wicked spirits that harm people dwell; they are called the world's destroyers and originate in Cain.

Jethro was originally a priest to idols and he served that side. He drew upon himself a spirit of that side. Therefore he was also called a Kenite later, [even] after he separated from Cain and adhered to G‑d [as he retained the good from Cain/Kayin]. Whoever bonds to G‑d and performs the commandments of the Torah, it is as if he upholds the worlds, the world Above [in Zeir Anpin] and the world below [in malchut]. This was already explained, as is written: "And make them" (Lev. 26:3) [and upholds all the worlds].

Anyone who transgresses the commandments of the Torah, he makes, as it were, a flaw Above [in the spiritual world] and impairs below [in the physical world], becomes flawed and impairs the whole universe. This is similar to the seafarers on a ship, when a fool among them stands up and wishes to drill a hole [in the ship. His friend asked, "Why are you drilling?" The fool answered him, "What do you care?" His friend answered, "but we will both drown together!"]

Therefore, "when a man or a woman shall commit...that a man/'adam' 2..." he is "like Adam that transgressed a covenant." (Hosea 6:7) Come and see! Adam transgressed one command in the Torah, and he caused death to himself and he caused a blemish to the universe Above and a blemish below. That sin is still pending until G‑d will restore the universe to its original state, when that flaw will disappear from the world. It is written: "He will destroy death for ever; and the L-rd G‑d will wipe away tears from all faces..." (Isaiah 25:8) Therefore, [the verse here] says "Shall commit any sin that a man/'adam' commits," [hinting to] Adam, the first man [whose sin caused a blemish to him and to all the world.]

"...to act treacherously against G‑d," (Num. 5:6) [this is the end of the same verse - by sinning, he has act treacherously against G‑d] because whoever abandons mercy [the secret of Havayah] and draws on judgment [by sinning, he lets the external forces suckle] causes a flaw [in the Name Havayah and all the worlds]. Therefore, the Merciful One should redeem us from the wicked of this world and from their damages, as many righteous pass away because of them, on top of what they caused to happen Above and below.

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

What is your job here? That is our ultimate question. A hint may be found in the Hebrew name given to us by our parents through their limited prophesy. An important question raised by Kabbalah concerns your source: Are you from Cain or from Abel? Thousands of pages and much ink have been used to contemplate this question! And the answer is not as easy as it seems at first glance: Bad = murderer Cain; Good = peaceful victim Abel. No - there are levels upon levels to this inquiry.

The Above Zohar seeks to expand our consciousness to the deep secrets of Jewish reincarnation, a fundamental principle of Jewish faith. It is our job on this earth plane to "do the right thing, always." If not, we come back to fix it. To fix is Tikkun HaNefesh/rectification of the soul, and Tikkun HaOlam/ rectification of the world.

Bracketed annotations from Metok Midevash and Sulam commentaries
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