Daily Zohar # 4913 – Beresheet – They made their lives bitter with hard labor

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Hebrew translation:

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Zohar Beresheet
Continued from previous DZ
#260
Just as it is said regarding Adam, that when he ascended to his state of greatness, the Holy One, Blessed be He, elevated him from Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah — the worlds of separation — into the Garden of Eden of Atzilut (World of Emanation), so too does the Holy One act with a person who returns in repentance (Teshuva, תשובה) and engages in Torah study. Then, the Holy One takes the repentant person out of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah — the worlds of separation — of which it is said: “And from there it parted” (Genesis 2:10), because the penitent separated himself from the desires and lusts of those worlds. And He places him into His Garden, which is the Shechinah, that is, the Malchut, to serve the Shechinah with the positive commandments (מִצְווֹת עֲשֵׂה, You shall do ) and to guard the Shechinah with the negative commandments (מִצְווֹת לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה, you shall not do). In other words, the verse: “לְעָבְדָהּ וּלְשָׁמְרָהּ” “To work it and to guard it” (Genesis 2:15), which was said regarding the Garden of Eden, means to engage in the positive commandments (לְעָבְדָהּ, to work it) and to guard against transgression with the negative commandments (לְשָׁמְרָהּ, to guard it).

#261
And if a person transgresses the commandments of the Torah, the four elements of his body are infused with the bitterness of the Tree of Evil — that is, the Evil Inclination. And all his bodily limbs, which are formed from the four elements, will be as it is said:” וַיְמָרְרוּ אֶת-חַיֵּיהֶם בַּעֲבֹדָה קָשָׁה” “and made their lives bitter with hard labor” (Exodus 1:14), meaning with the bitterness of the gall (מרה, Marah). There are three harmful forces (מזיקים) on the side of the klipot that correspond to the three aspects of the soul — Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama — within a person. They are associated with three organs: The Liver (כבד) corresponds to Nefesh, the Spleen (טחול) corresponds to Ruach, and the Gallbladder (מרה) corresponds to Neshama. This is the meaning of what the sages said (Avodah Zarah 20b): “וְחַרְבּוֹ שְׁלוּפָה בְּיָדוֹ, וְטִיפָּה שֶׁל מָרָה תְּלוּיָה בּוֹ” “A drop of gall hangs from the sword of the Angel of Death” — because the gall is the root of bitterness and the harm associated with the soul’s punishment. And thus it is said here: “They made their lives bitter” — with the bitterness of the gall, which is the most harmful among the damaging forces (מזיקים) and is associated with the Neshama. And regarding the holy limbs of the body, which correspond to the side of holiness, it is said: “וַיָּבֹאוּ מָרָתָה וְלֹא יָכְלוּ לִשְׁתּוֹת מַיִם מִמָּרָה כִּי מָרִים הֵם” “And they came to Marah, and they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter” (Exodus 15:23). Similarly, the sages of the Mishnah taught: “And they made their lives bitter with hard labor” — this refers to asking difficult questions, “With mortar (חומר)” — this refers to deriving kal va’chomer (קַל וָחֹמֶר, logic) arguments, “With bricks (לְבֵנִים)” — this refers to clarifying halachic rulings, “בְכָל עֲבֹדָה בַּשָּׂדֶה” “And with all manner of labor in the field” — this refers to the study of Baraitot (ברייתות, External discussion of the Mishna), “All their work…” — this refers to Mishnah.
Because of their sins, they caused the Sitra Achra to attach itself to every part of their Torah study. And this is what the sages said (Yoma 72b): “זָכָה — נַעֲשֵׂית לוֹ סַם חַיִּים, לֹא זָכָה — נַעֲשֵׂית לוֹ סַם מִיתָה” “If one merits, the Torah becomes for him an elixir of life; if not, it becomes a deadly poison.”
Notes:
Transgression of the Torah causes the four elements of the body and soul to become corrupted by the bitterness of the Evil Inclination. This leads to suffering, both physical and spiritual, and even Torah study can become harmful if tainted by impurity. The verse “And they made their life bitter” (Exodus 1:14) teaches that sin makes the soul bitter—just as the Egyptians made the lives of the Israelites bitter—through harsh labor, toil, and spiritual harm. The solution is returning to Torah with purity and proper intention, for only then does it become “an elixir of life.”

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