Daily Zohar # 4770 – Bo – Bread of affliction

Hebrew translation:
175. וּבְכָל שָׁנָה וְשָׁנָה עוֹשִׂים יִשְׂרָאֵל זִכָּרוֹן שֶׁל מִצְרַיִם וְאוֹכְלִים, וְלֹא מִתְכַּלֶּה מִדּוֹרֵי דוֹרוֹת. וּמִשּׁוּם שֶׁלֹּא נִפְרְעוּ כָּאן בְּמִצְרַיִם, חָסְרוּ אוֹתוֹ, אֶת הַכֹּל הַזֶּה, וְהַלְּבָנָה עוֹמֶדֶת בִּפְגִימוּת. וְנִקְרֵאת לֶחֶם עֹנִי. עֹנִי כְּתַרְגּוּמוֹ מִסְכֵּנוּת. וּמַה שֶּׁאָכְלוּ אוֹתוֹ שָׁם בָּאָרֶץ, זֶה הָיָה בִּשְׁבִיל זִכְרוֹן מִצְרַיִם, וְזֶה לְדוֹרֵי דוֹרוֹת, וְלֶעָתִיד לָבֹא כָּתוּב (ישעיה ס) לֹא יָבֹא עוֹד שִׁמְשֵׁךְ וִירֵחֵךְ וְגוֹ’.
.
Zohar Bo
Continued from previous DZ
#174
Come and see; when Israel entered the Land, they came circumcised and with peri’ah completed. And what is written? “אֶרֶץ אֲשֶׁר לֹא בְּמִסְכֵּנוּת תֹּאכַל בָּהּ לֶחֶם”—”A land where you will not eat bread in poverty” (Deuteronomy 8:9). What is “בְּמִסְכֵּנוּת” (poverty)? It refers to the “bread of affliction” (לֶחֶם עֹנִי,lechem oni).
Why is it called “bread of affliction”? Because the moon, which represents the Malchut, stands diminished and is not blessed by the sun, which is Zeir Anpin. It does not shine from the sun, as it is written: “כִּי כָּל בַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ”—”For all that is in the heavens and on the earth” (I Chronicles 29:11). This means that Kol (the Yessod of Zeir Anpin) is bound to the heavens (Zeir Anpin) and the earth (Malchut), receiving from the heavens and giving to the earth.
At that time, Malchut did not shine from the Jubilee, which represents Binah. Why not? Because they had not performed priah on themselves, as mentioned earlier.
But here, when Israel entered the Land and had completed circumcision and priah, it is written: “לֹא תֶחְסַר כֹּל בָּהּ”—”You will lack nothing in it” (Deuteronomy 8:9), referring to the Yessod of Zeir Anpin, which illuminates the Malchut and is called Kol.
Therefore, “לֹא בְּמִסְכֵּנוּת תֹּאכַל בָּהּ לֶחֶם”—”You will not eat bread in poverty” (Deuteronomy 8:9). Why? Because “לֹא תֶחְסַר כֹּל בָּהּ”—”You will lack nothing in it,” unlike in Egypt, where they lacked this completeness.
Notes:
The completion of circumcision and priah upon entering the Land of Israel symbolized the restoration of the flow of blessings from Zeir Anpin to Malchut. This brought Israel into a state of abundance, contrasting with their spiritual poverty in Egypt.
#175
Every year, Israel commemorates the exodus from Egypt by eating matzah, and this practice has not been interrupted through all generations. And because they did not perform priah (the uncovering) in Egypt, they lacked the attribute of “Kol” (All), and the moon, which is the Malchut, remained diminished and is called “the bread of affliction” (לֶחֶם עֹנִי,lechem oni). Oni literally means “poverty.”
Even though they had already performed priah when they entered the Land, they still ate lechem oni as a remembrance of Egypt, and this has continued for all generations. But in the future, it is written: “לֹא יָבוֹא עוֹד שִׁמְשֵׁךְ וִירֵחֲךָ לֹא יֵאָסֵף”—”Your sun will no longer set, and your moon will not wane” (Isaiah 60:20), meaning that the moon, which represents the Malchut, will no longer experience diminishment.
Notes:
The eating of matzah symbolizes both the past affliction in Egypt, due to the lack of priah and the diminished state of the Malchut, and the hope for a future where the moon (Malchut) will shine fully without diminishment, symbolizing complete spiritual rectification.
{||}