The Divine Blessings and Wisdom of the Most Holy One: Selections from the Kabbalistic Zohar, Part 1 of 2

Kabbalah is the ancient mystical school of thought of Judaism. Literally meaning “the received,” Kabbalah is also an esoteric method believed to have been revealed to elect saints and preserved by a certain few since the time of the Garden of Eden. On today’s show, it is our pleasure to present selections from the Great Holy Assembly, a volume of the Zohar where Rabbi Schimeon led a group of holy sages through a discussion on the Divine Blessings and Wisdom as symbolized by the facial features of Macroprosopus.

CHAPTER 9 CONCERNING THE EYES OF MACROPROSOPUS. “The eyes of the White Head are diverse from all other eyes. Above the eye is no eyelid, neither is there an eyebrow over it. Wherefore? Because it is written, Psalm 121:4: ‘Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep;’ that is, the superior Israel.

Rabbi Schimeon spoke unto Rabbi Abba, and said: ‘To what is this like?’ He answered unto him: ‘To the whales and fishes of the sea, which have no coverings for their eyes, nor eyebrows above their eyes; who sleep not, and require not a protection for the eye. How much less does the Ancient of the Ancient Ones require a protection, seeing that He far above His creatures watches over all things, and all things are nourished by Him, and He Himself sleeps not.’”

“This is pure in its whiteness, and so white that it includes all whiteness. The first whiteness shines, and ascends and descends for the purpose of combining with that which is connected. This is the tradition: That whiteness darts forth its rays, and ignites three lights, which are called Glory, and Majesty, and Joy; and they radiate in gladness and in perfection. The second whiteness shines and ascends and descends, and darts forth its rays, and ignites three other lights, which are called Victory, and Kindness, and Beauty; and they radiate in perfection and in gladness. The third whiteness radiates and shines, and descends and ascends, and goes forth from the part enclosing the brain, and darts forth its rays toward the seventh middle light.”

“This is the tradition: Were that eye closed even for one moment, no thing could subsist. Therefore it is called the open eye, the holy eye, the excellent eye, the eye of Providence, the eye which sleeps not, neither slumbers, the eye which is the guardian of all things, the eye which is the subsistence of all things.”