Daily Zohar # 4866 – Acharei Mot – Shalom to you, Shalom to your household

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Hebrew translation:

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Special prayer for the children for Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan (Tuesday, May 27th, 2025)

Zohar Acharei Mot
Continued from previous DZ
#356
He (Elazar) said to him: “Blessed is the Merciful One that I have heard this teaching. Blessed is He who greeted me first with peace (Shalom,שָׁלוֹם) so that I might merit this.” As it is written: “שָׁלוֹם שָׁלוֹם לָרָחוֹק וְלַקָּרוֹב אָמַר ה'” “Peace (שָׁלוֹם, Shalom), peace, to the far and to the near, says Hashem.” (Isaiah 57:19) “I,” he said, “when I was far away, the Holy One, blessed be He, extended peace to me first—that is, He drew me close, so that I might become near.” Rabbi Abba proclaimed over him: “אַתָּה שָׁלוֹם וּבֵיתְךָ שָׁלוֹם וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר לְךָ שָׁלוֹם” “Shalom to you, Shalom to your household, and Shalom to all that is yours!” (cf. 1 Samuel 25:6)
Notes:
This Zohar passage emphasizes the transformative power of repentance (teshuvah) and how Hashem lovingly initiates the blessing/greeting of Shalom (peace) even toward those who are spiritually distant. It shows that no soul is too far—Divine mercy seeks out even those who are stuck in darkness, offering return through Torah, sincere effort, and the influence of righteous individuals.
#357
“ערות אחות אביך לא תגלה וכו׳: ר׳ חייא פתח, ואיש אשר יקח את אחותו בת אביו או בת אמו וראה את ערותה וגו’.” Rabbi Chiyya opened: “And a man who takes his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness…” (Leviticus 20:17)
From there, we learned that for 130 years, Adam withdrew from his wife and did not father children. After Cain killed Abel, Adam no longer wanted to be intimate with his wife. Rabbi Yossi said: From the moment death was decreed upon him and all of creation, he said, “Why should I give birth to children who are destined for destruction?” Immediately, he separated himself from his wife.

Notes:
The Zohar shifts the focus from Cain’s violence to the divine decree of death itself. Once mortality became Adam’s reality, it seemed to him that procreation was futile.
The Zohar teaches that despair can lead even great souls like Adam to withdraw from life’s responsibilities. But this also sets the stage for teshuvah (return); as we know, Adam eventually reunited with Eve and had further children—reigniting hope and spiritual correction.

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