Parashat Ki Tavo has no equivalent section in the Zohar; however, many of the mitzvot included in the parasha are discussed elsewhere in the Zohar. This selection from the Zohar discusses the mitzvah of the offering of the first fruits in the Temple (Deut. 26:10) and depicts how it is seen in Kabbala as the secret of unifying the spiritual with the physical worlds.
The spiritual tree above…is completed within 12 boundaries and 70 branches….When the offering of the first fruits reached the Cohen [at the Temple], the person making the offering had to make a statement specifying [a brief history of the coming of the Jewish people into the land, etc. as set out in Deut. (26:5-10)]. This [statement] is about that tree which is in the physical world that has been completed in the manner of the spiritual tree above, which is completed within 12 boundaries and 70 branches.
The statement starts: "An Aramean [Laban] sought to destroy my father [Jacob] and he went down to Egypt…and became a great nation, etc." Jacob is the "tree" from which sprouted the 12 tribes who descended to Egypt as 70 souls, which together form the spiritual essence of the Jewish People. In mystical terms, Jacob in the physical world, corresponds to Zeir Anpin. The twelve tribes correspond to the 12 different combinations of the letters Yud, Hei, Vav, and Hei of the name Havayah. These are the spiritual source of the souls of each of the 12 tribes and also of the 12 months of the year. The 70 branch-souls have their source in one of the 7 sefirot in Zeir Anpin - chesed, gevura, tiferet, netzach, hod and yesod. Each of these 7 is made up of 10 sefirot such as chochma of chesed, bina of chesed, etc. Seven sefirot multiplied by 10 branches in each equals 70 in total. These 70 in turn become the spiritual source from which branch the 600,000 souls of the people of Israel that left Egypt (see Shaar Hagilgulim, Introduction 31).
Israel is Jacob at his fully realized potential….And Laban the Aramean wanted to destroy Jacob [and thereby uproot the source of all the souls of Israel]. This would have damaged the whole world [because there would have been no vehicle for the Divine to manifest through in mankind]. But the Holy One Blessed be He saved him [by appearing to Laban in a dream and telling him not to harm Jacob]. Jacob was adorned with his sons [the 12 combinations of the Holy Name], as we have explained, because he is [the physical manifestation] of that tree [Zeir Anpin], and all bonding in faith depends on him.
"Bonding in faith" here means connecting Zeir Anpin with malchut, the spiritual with the physical. It is reflected in the Shema prayer, "Hear O Israel", since Israel is Jacob at his fully realized potential. It is also reflected by the bringing of the first fruits and consciously announcing one's history and connecting the blessings back to their spiritual source.
Zohar, parashat Emor, p. 96b; translation and commentary by Simcha-Shmuel Treister
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