Daily Zohar # 5109 – Vayikra – I planted you a choice vine, wholly a true seed

Hebrew translation:

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Zohar Vayikra
Continued from previous DZ
#227
Rabbi Shimon said to him: Elazar, my son, it is not the same. One who comes from a holy root and a stem of truth, compared to one who comes from an evil stem and from the harsh root of the evil that is loathsome.
Regarding Israel, it is written concerning them: “וְאָנֹכִי נְטַעְתִּיךְ שׂוֹרֵק כֻּלֹּה זֶרַע אֱמֶת” “And I planted you a choice vine, wholly a true seed” (Jeremiah 2:21).
Regarding the nations of the world (עכו”ם), it is written: “אֲשֶׁר בָּשָׂר חֲמוֹרִים בְּשָׂרָם וְזִרְמַת סוּסִים זִרְמָתָם” “Whose flesh is as the flesh of donkeys, and whose issue is like the issue of horses” (Ezekiel 23:20).
Notes:
Rabbi Shimon distinguishes between the spiritual origins of Israel and the nations. Israel stems from a holy root — “a choice vine, wholly a true seed” (Jeremiah 2:21) — embodying purity, truth, and divine planting. In contrast, the nations derive from an impure, harsh, and loathsome root, symbolized by the coarse and animalistic imagery in Ezekiel 23:20. 
#228
And because of this, Israel is holy — true seed, a stem that was sweetened on Mount Sinai and from which all impurity (זוהמא, zohama) ceased. And therefore all of them are sweetened, and all enter through the holy sign of day and night, to be whole in everything, as we have said.
But among the nations of the world (עכו”ם), it is difficult to remove the impurity from them, even up to three generations. And because of this, he is called ger tzedek certainly — because he enters only into the sefirah of Malchut, which is called tzedek, and not into Zeir Anpin.
Notes:
Although the Zohar (in several places, including the above discussion of ger tzedek) teaches that Jewish souls originate from a uniquely purified root — sweetened at Sinai and inherently connected to both Zeir Anpin and Malchut through the brit covenant — this describes the metaphysical starting point, not the final spiritual achievement. A righteous convert (ger tzedek) who sincerely accepts the yoke of Torah and mitzvot can rise to extraordinarily high levels. The Arizal (Sha’ar HaGilgulim) and later kabbalists explain that many converts possess lofty, even “sparked” souls from the primordial Adam or from the side of holiness that were waiting to be rectified through conversion. Their souls can reach — and in some cases surpass — the spiritual stature of many born Jews through intense devotion, self-sacrifice, and love of Torah. The same applies to children of converts: once born into a Jewish home and raised in holiness, their soul-root becomes fully integrated into the holy lineage, and they inherit the same potential as any Jewish soul without distinction.
Countless historical examples illustrate this truth: Rabbi Akiva — whose father was a convert — became one of the greatest sages and pillars of Torah. Onkelos, the convert, reached such spiritual heights that the Zohar describes his soul ascending to the highest chambers of Gan Eden. The Talmud (Yevamot 47b) and Rambam (Hilchot Issurei Biah 13:17–18) affirm that a convert who converts properly is “like a newborn child,” and his righteousness can shine as brightly — or brighter — than that of a born Jew who relies on ancestral merit. In the end, the measure is not the root one starts from, but the fire of love, fear of Heaven, and dedication one brings to the service of God.

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