Daily Zohar # 1891 – Ekev – This is the table that is before YHVH

Daily Zohar 1891

Daily Zohar 1891

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Hebrew translation:

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Zohar Ekev
Continued from previous DZ

While The Faithful Shepherd, who is Moses, was teaching Rabbi Shimon about the energy flow of the blessings, an elder came and told Moses to prepare a ‘table’ with different delicate foods to his master, the Holy One Blessed be He, and the Shechina.

‘Elder’ or ‘Old man’ in the Zohar relates to mysterious appearance of a hidden tzadik that comes often to support the studies of Rabbi Shimon and the Zohar. Moses and Elijah were regular teachers of Rabbi Shimon and the ‘Old man’ appears when there’s a need for additional support.

Ezekiel 41:22
“הַמִּזְבֵּחַ עֵץ שָׁלוֹשׁ אַמּוֹת גָּבֹהַּ וְאָרְכּוֹ שְׁתַּיִם-אַמּוֹת, וּמִקְצֹעוֹתָיו לוֹ, וְאָרְכּוֹ וְקִירֹתָיו, עֵץ; וַיְדַבֵּר אֵלַי–זֶה הַשֻּׁלְחָן, אֲשֶׁר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה”
“The altar was of wood, three cubits high and its length two cubits; its corners, its base and its sides were of wood. And he said to me, “This is the table that is before YHVH””

Proverbs 9:5
“לְכוּ, לַחֲמוּ בְלַחֲמִי; וּשְׁתוּ, בְּיַיִן מָסָכְתִּי”
“Come, eat of my food And drink of the wine I have mixed.”

The elder quotes the above verses to teach us the great significance of food following a spiritual connection.
The Altar in the Holy Temple was described as ‘This is the table before YHVH’.
The ‘bread’ that God gives us is the written Torah and the wine is the aspect of the oral Torah that is Malchut. The Torah is our delicate food and the deeper study of its secrets is the ‘beverages’.

Moses rose and called Aaron the priest to rise from his ‘sleep’ and bring sacrifices of pure animals for the feast of the King. (Righteous people are considered sleeping after passing from this world.)
The bread for this feast is the 12 loaves of bread that are called ‘לחם הפנים’, ‘Lechem Hapanim’. It translates to ‘inner bread’ because the 12 (6×2) connect us to 12 borders of Zeir Anpin.
It also connects 12 letters of the three YHVH names that appear in the blessings of the priests when they bless the Israelites.

Numbers 6:24 ” יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהוָה, וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ ” “YHVH bless you and keep you” Connects to Right and the name of Chokmah יוד-הי-ויו-הי numerical value 72=חסד=Chessed. Aspect of Lion of the Holy Throne.

6:25 ” יָאֵר יְהוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ, וִיחֻנֶּךָּ ” “YHVH make his face shine on you and be gracious to you” Connects to the Central column and the name of Zeir Anpin יוד-הא-ואו-הא. Aspect of Eagle of the Holy Throne.

6:26 “יִשָּׂא יְהוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ, וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם ” “YHVH turn his face toward you and give you peace” Connects to the Left the name of Binah יוד-הי-ואו-הי. Aspect of Ox of the Holy Throne.

Verse 27: ” וְשָׂמוּ אֶת-שְׁמִי, עַל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל; וַאֲנִי, אֲבָרְכֵם” “And they will put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them” Connects to the name of Malchut יוד-הה-וו-הה. Aspect of Man of the Holy Throne.
Our prayers and studies of Torah and its secrets through the Zohar replace the sacrifices that the priests made in the Holy Temple.
The Kiddush and meals that we make after spiritual connection are significant part of the process because they allow us to draw the Light of the connection to our level of Malchut.

Even after a personal session of Zohar study it’s would be beneficial to make a blessing over a cookie (mezonot) or a drink (Shehakol) with the consciousness of thanking God for the ‘food’ (Torah) he gave us to benefit our lives.

Check this link for different food blessings:
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/278538/jewish/Basic-Blessings-on-Food-Guide.htm

I strongly recommend self study of Zohar Terumah from paragraph 485 through 535. It contains many secrets related to the energy of food and blessings of the food.

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