Daily Zohar # 4915 – Beresheet – The bitter drop of death

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Hebrew translation:

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Zohar Beresheet
Continued from previous DZ
#265
The verse: “וַיְצַו ה’ אֱלֹהִים” “And He commanded…” (Genesis 2:16) alludes to the prohibition against idolatry (עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה), which is included within the sin of the Tree of Knowledge (עץ הדעת). As the Sages said: “There is no ‘command’ (צו) mentioned in the Torah except regarding idolatry.” For from the Tree of Knowledge come forth the powers of other gods — meaning idolatry. And the three cardinal sins are included in the sin of the Tree of Knowledge: Idolatry (עבודה זרה), Sexual immorality (גילוי עריות), Murder (שפיכות דמים), as will be explained later. And it dwells in the liver (כבד) — as it is written concerning Pharaoh: “So the work became heavy (תִּכְבַּד הָעֲבֹדָה)” (Exodus 5:9), which refers to idolatry, whose klipah resides in the liver. From there, the work (meaning idolatry) becomes burdensome. And the liver gets angry — and it is established by the Sages that: “Whoever becomes angry, it is as if he serves idols.” The liver grows angry toward idolatry because, through anger, the liver is surrendered to the klipah of idolatry. This is the meaning of the verse: “And He commanded…” — to warn us of the sin of idolatry, which is rooted in the sin of the Tree of Knowledge.
Notes:
The Zohar teaches that the phrase “And He commanded…” alludes to the prohibition of idolatry, whose spiritual root is linked to the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. Idolatry’s klipah manifests in the liver, primarily through anger, which connects a person to the forces of impurity. Thus, anger itself is spiritually equivalent to idolatry.
#266
On the phrase “the man” (הָאָדָם) mentioned in this verse — it hints at the prohibition of murder (שפיכות דמים), which is also rooted in the sin of the Tree of Knowledge (עץ הדעת). As it is written: “שֹׁפֵךְ דַּם הָאָדָם בָּאָדָם דָּמוֹ יִשָּׁפֵךְ” “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed.” (Genesis 9:6) This teaches through link by identical expression — Here it says “the man”, and there concerning murder it says “the man”. Just as there it refers to murder, so too here. The klipah of murder dwells in the gallbladder (מַרָּה) — This is the sword of the Angel of Death, with which he kills people, as the Talmud says (Avodah Zarah 20b): “וְחַרְבּוֹ שְׁלוּפָה בְּיָדוֹ, וְטִיפָּה שֶׁל מָרָה תְּלוּיָה בּוֹ, כֵּיוָן שֶׁחוֹלֶה רוֹאֶה אוֹתוֹ מִזְדַּעְזֵעַ וּפוֹתֵחַ פִּיו, וְזוֹרְקָהּ לְתוֹךְ פִּיו, מִמֶּנָּה מֵת” “A drop of bile hangs from the sword of the Angel of Death — from it, people die.” And likewise, Scripture says: “וְאַחֲרִיתָהּ מָרָה כַלַּעֲנָה” “Her end is bitter as wormwood.” (Proverbs 5:4) The word “to say” (לֵאמֹר) — as used in this verse — alludes to the prohibition of sexual immorality (גילוי עריות), which is also included in the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. The klipah of sexual immorality dwells in the spleen (טַחוֹל) — About it, Scripture says: “ אָכְלָה וּמָחֲתָה פִיהָ וְאָמְרָה לֹא-פָעַלְתִּי אָוֶן” “She eats and wipes her mouth and says: ‘I have done no wrong.’” (Proverbs 30:20) Because the spleen has no mouth nor arteries to drink, yet it absorbs from the black blood of the liver, even though it has no mouth — and this is why it says: “She eats and wipes her mouth…” All murderers derive from the klipah dwelling in the gallbladder, Therefore, the arteries of the heart, when they see a drop of bile, immediately flee from it — As the Sages said (Berakhot 61a): “כָּבֵד כּוֹעֵס, מָרָה זוֹרֶקֶת בּוֹ טִפָּה” “The liver gets angry, and the gallbladder throws in a drop — then the anger cools.” Meaning, the blood within the liver flees when the gallbladder emits its drop, and the anger subsides. This is because the klipah of murder dwells in the gallbladder, and so the blood is afraid and flees before it.
Notes:
These connections reveal that sin corrupts both body and soul. By controlling one’s desires, especially anger, lust, and idolatrous tendencies, a person protects themselves spiritually and physically.
#267
Those who commit sexual immorality (גילוי עריות) — their way is always to hide in the darkness. As it is written:” וְעֵין נוֹאֵף שָׁמְרָה נֶשֶׁף לֵאמֹר לֹא תְשׁוּרֵנִי עָיִן” “And the eye of the adulterer waits for the twilight, saying, ‘No eye will see me.'” (Job 24:15). This verse points to the black blood in the spleen, since the klipah of sexual immorality dwells in this black blood, which resembles darkness. Whoever transgresses in any of the three cardinal sins — Murder (שפיכות דמים), idolatry (עבודה זרה), and sexual immorality (גילוי עריות) — his soul becomes imprisoned within the three forces of the klipot: Liver (כָּבֵד) — linked to idolatry. Gallbladder (מָרָה) — linked to Murder, Spleen (טַחוֹל) — linked to sexual immorality, and they judge him in Gehinnom (Hell), with three appointed destructive forces over him in Gehinnom: Destroyer (משחית), Anger (אַף), and Wrath (חֵמָה).

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