Daily Zohar # 4648 – Acharei Mot – We can be better than angels

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Hebrew translation:

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Zohar Acharei Mot
Continued from previous DZ

#220
We have learned that from the day the world was created, the souls of great Tzadikim stand before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and remain in His presence until the time comes for them to descend to this world, meaning to be clothed in a body. These souls have dominion both above and below. As it is written, 
2 Kings 5:16
“וַיֹּאמֶר חַי יְהוָה אֲשֶׁר עָמַדְתִּי לְפָנָיו אִם אֶקָּח וַיִּפְצַר בּוֹ לָקַחַת וַיְמָאֵן.”
“But he said, “As YHVH lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.” And he urged him to take it, but he refused.”
It does not say “before whom I am standing,” but “before whom I have stood,” referring to before he descended into this world. Afterward, he returns to his place in the heavens and ascends to his chamber. Other souls do not return to their place until after death because they did not stand before the Holy One, Blessed be He, at the same elevated level as those like Enoch and Elijah, who were merited to ascend to their place while still alive. Therefore, as was Enoch, Elijah was made a messenger and an angel above. These are the ones who cleaved most closely to the King, more so than even the angels.

#221
In the book of Adam, I found that all the holy spirits above, meaning the angels, carry out the missions of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and they all come from the same place. However, the souls of the Tzadikim come from two levels that are united into one; therefore, they ascend higher than the angels, and their levels surpass those of the angels. This is how it is. All those hidden there descended and ascended during their lives, like Enoch, who did not experience death. We have already discussed this regarding Enoch and Elijah.

Notes:
There is an advantage that angels have over human beings, for angels do not die, whereas human beings are mortal because they are connected to the lower world, which is temporal. However, there is an advantage that human beings have over angels, for the responsibility of Tikkun does not rest upon angels, as they belong to the aspect of Binah. Therefore, angels remain forever at the same level as they were created, with no ascents or changes in their spiritual levels. In contrast, human beings are tasked with the work of correction, and when they merit, they ascend through levels, progressing from one spiritual level to another, something not found in angels.
Despite their mortality, this potential for spiritual advancement gives human beings a distinct advantage and purpose that even the angels do not possess.

#222
We had learned that 125,000 levels for the souls of the Tzadikim ascended by the will of the Holy One, Blessed be He before the world was created. The Creator appoints these souls in this world in every generation, and they ascend and soar in the world and become bound to the “צְרוֹר הַחַיִּים” “Bundle of Life,” which is the Shechina. The Holy One, Blessed be He, will renew the world through them in the future. About them, it is written: 
Isaiah 66:22
“כִּי כַאֲשֶׁר הַשָּׁמַיִם הַחֲדָשִׁים וְהָאָרֶץ הַחֲדָשָׁה אֲשֶׁר אֲנִי עֹשֶׂה עֹמְדִים לְפָנַי נְאֻם יְהוָה כֵּן יַעֲמֹד זַרְעֲכֶם וְשִׁמְכֶם.”
“For as the new heavens and the new earth Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the LORD, “So shall your descendants and your name remain.”
The explanation is that a spiritual level is not considered complete until it includes all five aspects: Nefesh, Ruach, Neshamah, Chayah, and Yechidah (נרנח” י). Each of these aspects has its own five levels of נרנח” י within it, and each of these internal levels further contains five more sub-levels of נרנח” י. Altogether, these form 125 levels. This is what is meant by the reference to “one hundred and twenty-five” levels.

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