Daily Zohar # 4851 – Acharei Mot – The wife of your father

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Hebrew translation:

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Zohar Acharei Mot
Continued from previous DZ
#336
He asks: Who is the “wife of your father” (as in the verse “עֶרְוַת אֵשֶׁת אָבִיךָ לֹא תְגַלֵּה” “You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife”)? Rabbi Shimon said: We have already learned that all words of the Torah are both revealed and concealed, just like the Holy Name itself, which is both concealed and revealed— as it is written YHVH but is pronounced Adonai. And so, the Torah, which is the Holy Name, is likewise concealed and revealed. And here, in this verse, everything appears revealed— that is, according to the simple meaning (peshat), the verse is speaking about a man’s father’s wife. But within it is also a concealed meaning, as we have already established.
Notes:
Rabbi Shimon teaches that the Torah is a living embodiment of the Holy Name—its verses carry simple meanings for the world of action and hidden mysteries for those who seek inner wisdom. This passage prepares us to uncover the secret (sod) behind the commandment about the father’s wife, which alludes not just to human relationships but to the Divine configuration itself.
#337
And this verse is as follows: “אֵשֶׁת אָבִיךָ” “The wife of your father”—what does it truly mean? We have learned that as long as the Queen is present with the King and nourishes you from her spiritual abundance, she is called your mother. But now, in exile, where your people have been exiled along with her, and she has become distant from the King, she is called “the wife of your father.” Because she is the wife of the Holy King, which is Zeir Anpin, and she has not been dismissed with a bill of divorce—she is still His wife, indeed. As it is written: “כֹּה אָמַר ה’ אֵי זֶה סֵפֶר כְּרִיתוּת אִמְּכֶם אֲשֶׁר שִׁלַּחְתִּיהָ” “Thus says Hashem: Where is the bill of divorce of your mother, with which I sent her away?” (Isaiah 50:1) Therefore, certainly—she remains the wife of the King, even though she has been exiled.
Notes:
Even in exile, when Malchut is distant from the King, she is still “the wife of your father”—not cast out, but awaiting restoration. This reading turns a Torah prohibition into a lesson in Divine loyalty: God’s union with the Shechinah may be hidden but never broken. And we are warned not to violate this holy relationship, even in times when it seems disconnected or concealed.

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