Rabbi Shimon said that the barley offering brought by the sota [the wife suspected of being unfaithful], was referred to as a "jealousy offering, an offering to cause remembrance". (Num. 5:15) The word "jealousy" [in Hebrew, "kina'ot"] in that verse is written without the vav because the sefira of malchut, which is also called by this name, is in a neglected state. She is lacking the abundance flowing from yesod, and this is indicated by the missing vav. The same root word, "kina", is used in the case of Pinchas, who killed the prince of the tribe of Simon who was fornicating with a Moabite princess. Pinchas was blessed with everlasting priesthood, "…because he was jealous [or zealous] for his G‑d".

Note that in English the two words jealous and zealous are very closely connected - the letters "j" and "z" are the only difference between the words, and even those letters are phonetically similar.

Jealousy is an attribute of the sefira of yesod….

Jealousy [in Hebrew, "kina"] is an attribute of the sefira of yesod [the sefira of sexuality] and whoever is unfaithful to the covenant of Israel arouses the force of yesod that brings jealous zealots against him. This is what is meant by the phrase in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 81b) "Zealots may punish him".

Come and see. The barley [animal fodder] that was from the Omer [the offering of barley collected from the fields on the second day of Pesach and delivered to the Temple] was what she used as her offering. It was crushed and shredded under the grindstone, and they would collect an isaron [an ancient measurement] and winnow it 13 times in a sieve.

Thirteen is the number of the Divine Attributes of Mercy. Through the winnowing process the barley was cleansed of all attachments, i.e. the husks and shells that contaminated it physically and spiritually.

This is what is meant by the phrase, used in the command to count the Omer, "Seven complete weeks". (Lev. 23:15)

The word "complete" refers to the completion of the purification of the sefira of malchut during this period between Pesach and Shavuot. During this period, she is refined from the attachment of all forces that sully her, and all the seven sefirot of Zeir Anpin - which are each comprised of seven sefirot - are counted. This raises into consciousness all the 49 facets of malchut, and serves as a preparation for the 50th level, which is the receiving of the Torah.

Zohar, parashat Emor, p. 96b; translation and commentary by Simcha-Shmuel Treister

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