Pinchas: Chapter 6

Keeper of the covenant

Synopsis

Rabbi Yesa wonders why, when the children of Yisrael were exiled to Babylon and wept, they were remembering Zion and not Jerusalem. Rabbi Shimon's answer is that the whole purpose of the Righteous, Yesod, is to bestow blessings, and if the Shechinah is in exile it has no one to bestow blessings upon and therefore the Righteous has perished. Rabbi Yesa says that whoever respects God is honored in his life and in his death, as were Joseph and Pinchas. From Rabbi Shimon we learn why Pinchas was granted the priesthood, even though he had killed and all those who kill are normally barred from the priesthood.

Relevance

The righteous souls throughout history experience untold anguish over our exile, for they know the Thought of Creation is bestowing boundless blessings upon our souls. These blessings occur when the Shechinah rests upon us and we connect to Yesod, the gateway through which divinity pours into our world.

Here we employ the almightiness of the Righteous to summon forth and redeem the Shechinah from her exile (our exile) so that we may receive the abundance of Light from Yesod that was intended for us since the dawn of creation. The sorrow of saintly men herewith ceases, for even the simple meditation of the average reader will now ease the burden of the Righteous, who have carried us on their backs for millennia. Such is the power of the Zohar.

As Jacob fled the seductive solicitations of Potiphar's wife, we escape the tug and pull of the material world, of Satan, and of our egocentric impulses, which are all, in truth, one and the same. By virtue of Joseph's righteousness, we merit honor and peace in this world and into the World to Come. We become rulers over Egypt. We command all negative forces throughout the land, and are inspired to fervently embrace the Creator. Our inspiration, rising on the wings of Pinchas's zealous love of the Holy One, corrects our past sins and earns us long life, priestly holiness, and a portion of the World to Come.

Most importantly, the Angel of Death's lethal grip over mankind is unalterably broken. The pain, torment, and suffering associated with death dies by the hand of Pinchas. The court of supernal judgment is adjourned - permanently!