Daily Zohar # 5139 – Vayikra – The deep sorrow of the Shekhinah in exile

Hebrew translation:

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Zohar Vayikra
Continued from previous DZ
#290
And at the hour when the Congregation of Yisrael went out into exile, she said before Him: “הַגִּידָה לִּי שֶׁאָהֲבָה נַפְשִׁי” “Tell me, You whom my soul loves” (Song of Songs 1:7): You, whom my soul loves, You in whom all the love of my soul is — where do You pasture? How do you nourish yourself from the depth of the river whose flow never ceases, which is Binah (as explained above in #288)? How do you nourish yourself from the illumination of the supernal Eden, which is Chokhmah? Where do you make your flock lie down at noon? How do you nourish all those others who are constantly watered from You?
#291
And I — I was nourished from You every day and I was watered, and I watered all the lower worlds, and Israel were nourished from me. And now, why should I be like one who veils herself? How shall I be wrapped without blessings? And when these blessings will be needed, they will not be found in my hand. “עַל עֵדְרֵי חֲבֵרֶיךָ” “beside the flocks of Your companions” (Song of Songs 1:7) — how shall I stand over them, and not be their shepherd and nourisher? “The flocks of Your companions” — these are Israel, who are the sons of the fathers Avraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who are the holy chariot above — that is, Chessed- Gevurah- Tiferet of Zeir Anpin. And therefore she calls them “Your companions.”
Notes:
In the pain of exile, Malchut (the Congregation of Yisrael) turns to Zeir Anpin with a poignant question: “Tell me, You whom my soul loves — where do You pasture?” She asks how He will continue to nourish Himself from the supernal sources (Binah and Chokhmah) and how He will sustain all the lower worlds without her.
She recalls how she once received constantly from Him and distributed blessing to Israel and all the worlds, but now she stands “veiled” and empty. The phrase “beside the flocks of Your companions” refers to Israel, the descendants of the patriarchs (the supernal chariot of Chessed, Gevurah, and Tiferet). This dialogue expresses the deep sorrow of the Shekhinah in exile — her separation from her Beloved and her inability to properly nourish and protect her children. It highlights the cosmic pain caused by the lack of union between Zeir Anpin and Malchut.

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