Daily Zohar 1969

Daily Zohar 1969

Holy Zohar text. Daily Zohar -1969

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Hebrew translation:

19. פָּתַח רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אַחֲרָיו וְאָמַר, וַיֶּעְתַּר יִצְחָק לַה’ לְנֹכַח אִשְׁתּוֹ, מַהוּ וַיֶּעְתַּר? שֶׁהִקְרִיב לוֹ קָרְבָּן וְהִתְפַּלֵּל עָלֶיהָ. וְאֵיזֶה קָרְבָּן הִקְרִיב? הִקְרִיב עוֹלָה, שֶׁכָּתוּב וַיֵּעָתֶר לוֹ ה’. כָּתוּב כָּאן וַיֵּעָתֶר לוֹ ה’, וְכָתוּב שָׁם (שמואל-ב כא) וַיֵּעָתֵר אֱלֹהִים לָאָרֶץ וְגוֹ’. מַה לְּהַלָּן קָרְבָּן – אַף כָּאן קָרְבָּן. כָּתוּב וַיֶּעְתַּר יִצְחָק, וְכָתוּב וַיֵּעָתֶר לוֹ. שֶׁיָּצְאָה אֵשׁ מִלְמַעְלָה כְּנֶגֶד הָאֵשׁ שֶׁלְּמַטָּה.
20. דָּבָר אַחֵר וַיֶּעְתַּר יִצְחָק – שֶׁהִתְפַּלֵּל תְּפִלָּתוֹ וְחָתַר חֲתִירָה לְמַעְלָה אֶל הַמַּזָּל שֶׁעַל הַבָּנִים, שֶׁהֲרֵי בְּאוֹתוֹ מָקוֹם תְּלוּיִים הַבָּנִים, שֶׁכָּתוּב וַתִּתְפַּלֵּל עַל ה’, וְאָז וַיֵּעָתֶר לוֹ ה’. אַל תִּקְרֵי וַיֵּעָתֶר לוֹ אֶלָּא וַיַּחְתֹּר לוֹ. חֲתִירָה חָתַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וְקִבֵּל אוֹתוֹ, וְאָז – וַתַּהַר רִבְקָה אִשְׁתּוֹ.

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Zohar Toldot

Genesis 25:21
“וַיֶּעְתַּר יִצְחָק לַיהוָה לְנֹכַח אִשְׁתּוֹ, כִּי עֲקָרָה הִוא; וַיֵּעָתֶר לוֹ יְהוָה, וַתַּהַר רִבְקָה אִשְׁתּוֹ”
“Isaac prayed to YHVH on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and YHVH answered him and Rebekah his wife conceived.”

The Zohar gives us two different explanations about the way Isaac prayed for his wife.
First explanation is that Isaac brought a sacrifice on altar to God so his request be be answered immediately. When the sacrifice is accepted by God heavenly fire comes down to consume the offering. This is how the giver knows that his prayer was answered.
The use of the word “and YHVH answered” in Hebrew “וַיֵּעָתֵר ” is rare, and the Zohar bases its explanation on finding the same word in the book of Samuel. King David brought sacrifices to God in order to stop a plague that killed 70 thousands people. God answered his prayer and the plague stopped. The word used there is the same as when YHVH answered Isaac.

2 Samuel 24:25
“וַיִּבֶן שָׁם דָּוִד מִזְבֵּחַ לַיהוָה, וַיַּעַל עֹלוֹת וּשְׁלָמִים; וַיֵּעָתֵר יְהוָה לָאָרֶץ, וַתֵּעָצַר הַמַּגֵּפָה מֵעַל יִשְׂרָאֵל.”
“And David built there an altar to YHVH and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So YHVH answered to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.”

The second explanation is that Isaac saw in the heavenly system that his wife was barren from birth. The ‘system’ can be understood as the constellation of the Zodiac when we know that Isaac was the son of Abraham, who is known to be the first to reveal the influence of the Zodiac on people.

Isaac directed his prayer to the levels of Keter that control everything below. It’s the only way to change what is ‘written’ in the system for us. God answered Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, conceived.

Lessons:
Isaac understood that there was God’s reason in everything in his life, and he didn’t assume that Rebekah was the wife he would have a child with. He prayed for his wife to have a child, and not specifically for Rebekah. His father had his first child with Sara’s maid servant, and Isaac was ready and opened for what God may bring to him.

We can’t tell what is good for us and most of us pray to fulfill specific desires. We are like ‘blind’ in the world of Malchut and we can barely sense our tikkun process. We should pray and ask to have what is good for us and to follow the ways of the Torah, letting God guide us while we are doing the work.

To have our prayers answered we also need to go above ourselves and above the control of the Zodiac, which our ‘luck’ which also determines our ‘lack’.
The sages describe the people of other nations that are not Israelites as ‘slaves’ to the stars and the Zodiac. The meaning is that they don’t have the tools of the Torah and Zohar to elevate above the influence of the Zodiac. Even those who have the tools should have purity in their heart and proper meditation to be able to go above the limitation and ‘slavery’ of the world of Malchut.
Only with the power of Torah, Zohar, and purity of our souls we can have the merit of “and God (YHVH) answered”.

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