Daily Zohar # 4893 – Acharei Mot – Bring atonement for Me on Rosh Chodesh

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Hebrew translation:

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Zohar Acharei Mot
Continued from previous DZ
#406
Rabbi Shimon said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “הָבִיאוּ עָלַי כַּפָּרָה בְּרֹאשׁ חֹדֶשׁ” “Bring atonement for Me on Rosh Chodesh” — for having diminished the moon, which is the Shekhinah / Malchut. The expression “for Me” (עָלַי) truly means “on My account,” that is, for My sake — in order to remove the Snake from drawing nourishment from Malchut, and so that she (Malchut) will be sweetened as is fitting. The word “on Me” (עָלַי) is like the verse “שְׂרָפִים עֹמְדִים מִמַּעַל לוֹ” “Seraphim stand above Him” (Isaiah 6:2) — which does not mean above Him literally, God forbid, but rather on behalf of Him, for His honor. Likewise, here too, “for Me” means on My behalf. And thus it is written about Korach, “הַנֹּעָדִים עַל ה'” “who assembled against Hashem” (Numbers 16:11), which also means: because of Hashem, that is, their sin caused a spiritual awakening from the Other Side (Sitra Achra), enabling it to damage the letter ‘Heh’ (ה) of Malchut. So too, in this case, the meaning of “הָבִיאוּ עָלַי כַּפָּרָה” “Bring atonement for Me” is literally for Me, that is, for My sake — so that Malchut may be sweetened, and that the Snake be removed from her, and not found in the place where she dwells, which is the place of the deficiency caused by the diminishing of the moon. And why is this all necessary? Because I (God) diminished the moon, which is Malchut, and through that, someone unfit (the Snake) rules over her. Therefore, it is also written: “וְאֶל אִשָּׁה בְּנִדַּת טֻמְאָתָהּ לֹא תִקְרַב” “And to a woman in her state of menstrual impurity you shall not draw near,” as explained in the preceding paragraph.
Notes:
The Zohar teaches that God Himself requests atonement on Rosh Chodesh because He diminished the moon (Malchut), which allowed the Snake to draw spiritual nourishment from her. This deficiency must be rectified by a sin offering, which aims to sweeten Malchut and remove the Snake’s influence. This parallels the Torah’s prohibition against approaching a woman in her impurity, which on a mystical level warns not to draw spiritual influence from Malchut when she is spiritually diminished. It also connects to the rebellion of Korach, which empowered the Other Side to damage the feminine aspect. All of these teachings emphasize the need to protect the integrity and sanctity of Malchut and the responsibility taken — even by God — for the spiritual order He created.

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