Trumah: Chapter 21

"A Psalm, a song for the Shabbat day"

Synopsis

We learn that, like the candle which cannot be seen in the daylight, the lower world cannot approach the light of the upper world. The Shabbat day is the upper world and the Shabbat Eve is the lower world. "A Psalm, a song for the Shabbat day," was the praise said by Adam at the time he was expelled from the Garden of Eden, and the Shabbat came and shielded him. We read that all the praises of Shabbat, which is the glory of the day, are higher than on all the other days.

Relevance

Adam (we, the Vessel) had a burning desire to be the cause of his (our) own fulfillment, the creator of his own Light. But as candlelight cannot be seen in the presence of the sun, Adam (we) left the luminous perfection of the Garden to enter our disordered dimension of darkness, Malchut, where the Light is concealed. Man, through his own labor and effort, can rekindle the Light, and thus share in the divine act of Creation, He becomes God(like)! Keeping the Sabbath, learning Torah, and igniting the Light of the Zohar are the fundamental ways in which we achieve this purpose. Thus, our life's work is being accomplished and completed as we read these words. Our efforts here provide the finishing touches to the spiritual evolution and final ascent of man. Therein lies the ultimate power of the Zohar.