הקדמה

225. “And let fowl fly, etc.”“And let fowl fly above the earth” [Genesis 1:20]. This is Elijah, who flies the entire world in four flights, in order to be there at that covenant of the holy sign of circumcision. A seat must be set up for him, and one must declare with his mouth: “This is the seat of Elijah.” Otherwise, he will not be present there.

Explanation: We must understand that here [the Zohar] is interpreting the verse “and let fowl fly” as referring to “Elijah, who flies the entire world in four flights,” while later (Bereshit I, page 314, section 407) [the Zohar] will expound the ensuing verse, “and every winged fowl after its kind” [Genesis 1:21], in relation to the angels that fly and glide through the world in six flights.

The reason is that here [the Zohar] is mainly interpreting the end of the verse, which states “above the earth.” This cannot be explained as referring to the lofty angels, for they are not in the earth [at all]. Therefore, it must necessarily be Elijah, as stated below, Bereshit II, page 107, section 166: “Fly above the earth” is Elijah, who is always found in the earth, and not at the side of Abba and Imma [“Father and Mother”], since he flies in four flights. The meaning is as follows: The angels are from the side of Abba and Imma, and thus they are found only in heaven and they have six extremities: Ḥesed, Gevura, Tiferet, Netzaḥ, Hod, and Yesod. Consequently, when [those angels] come to the earth to fulfill their mission, they fly in six flights, for they are enclothed in six sefirot.

Elijah, however, is not from the side of Abba and Imma, but from the side of Malkhut, and this is the mystical meaning of “is always in the earth.” Because the Malkhut has only four sefirot from Ze’er Anpin, i. e., Tiferet, Netzaḥ, Hod, and Yesod, from his chest and below, he therefore flies the entire world in only four flights, that is, he is enclothed in the four sefirot Tiferet, Netzaḥ, Hod, and Yesod. Since the verse states: “And let fowl fly above the earth,” it cannot be referring to the angels, but only to Elijah, who is on the earth. This is not the case for the verse: “And every winged fowl after its kind,” which does not mention “above the earth.” That is referring to the angels, who are from the side of Abba and Imma, and they fly the entire world in six flights.

“In order to be there at that covenant of the holy sign of circumcision.” Below (Lekh Lekha, page 129, section 388) he states that the reason is because Elijah said: “I have been very jealous for the Lord, [the God of hosts], for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant etc.” [I Kings 19:10]. “[God therefore] said to him: By your life; in every place where My sons inscribe this holy inscription in their flesh, you will be present there. The mouth that testified that Israel have forsaken [the covenant] will testify that Israel are fulfilling it. And we learned: Why was Elijah punished by the Holy One, blessed be He? Because he slandered His children.”

Now, Heaven forbid that this should be understood in accordance with its plain meaning, that Elijah was sentenced to being present at every circumcision in Israel as a punishment for slandering [the people of] Israel. Furthermore, why is it stated here that he must be invited and “one must declare with his mouth: ‘This is the seat of Elijah. ’ Otherwise, he will not be present there”? If, Heaven forbid, he is forced be present at every circumcision as a punishment, then [clearly] he has to be there. In addition, why is Elijah’s testimony required, for him to attest before God that the children of Israel are observing circumcision? Is not everything revealed before God? Rather, a great and awesome secret is concealed here under [the Sages’] sweet words, as is their usual practice.

You can understand this matter by means of a passage cited in the Zohar (Shelaḥ Lekha, page 39, section 117): Rabbi Ilai opened [his discourse] etc.: With respect to Abraham it is stated: “Walk before me and be wholehearted [tamim]” [Genesis 17:1], [whereas with regard to] Jacob, who was more complete, it is stated: “Jacob was a whole [tam] man” [Genesis 25:27]. Why is he called “a tam man”? Because there was no waste left in him at all, for uncovering had transpired in him etc. The place of uncovering of the flesh is an ox, which is the form of the left of His throne. That ox is called an innocuous [tam] ox... for there is a forewarned [mu’ad] ox on the uncovered area of the foreskin. Several plaintiffs emerge from it until the lower level, called “destruction”... in the company of that forewarned ox etc. “And Jacob was a tam man” means the husband of that tam one. See there.

Explanation: There are four kelippot: “A stormy wind”; “a great cloud” “a fire flashing”; and “a brightness surrounding it” [Ezekiel 1:4]. The first three are all impure kelippot, but the kelippa of the “brightness [noga]” is half good and half evil. When the three kelippot are attached to [this fourth kelippa], it becomes entirely evil, but when it separates from [the other three kelippot] and cleaves to holiness, [this fourth kelippa] becomes entirely good. The place of these four kelippot is at the [lower] endpoint of the partzuf, which is at the endpoint of Yesod, where there are two skins, one atop the other. The first skin is called “foreskin,” and it incorporates the three impure kelippot: “A stormy wind”; “a great cloud,” and “a fire flashing.” The second skin is called the skin of uncovering, which is an embodiment of the noga kelippa, which is half good and half evil.

Now, Adam the first [man] was born circumcised, because the three impure kelippot had no purchase on him, and he had only the noga kelippa in him, which is the skin of uncovering. [That kelippa] was also entirely good, since it was separated from the three impure kelippot and cleaved to the holiness. However, due to the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, through the seduction of the snake which is formed from the three impure kelippot, [Adam] pulled over himself the second skin, which is the foreskin, as the Sages stated (Sanhedrin 38b): “Adam the first [man] drew his foreskin forward.”

This is the mystical meaning of the verse: “And warning has been given to its owner, and he has not kept it in [but it has killed a man or a woman], the ox shall be stoned and its owner also shall be put to death” [Exodus 21:29]. At the time when the foreskin sprang upon [Adam] and connected to his Yesod, [Adam’s] soul of [the level of] Atzilut immediately flew away from him and [Adam] fell to Asiya, and death was decreed upon him. This is the mystical meaning of the Zohar passage cited above: “There is a forewarned ox on the uncovered area of the foreskin.” Since [Adam] was warned not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge and he did not observe [that command] but ate, the foreskin sprang upon him, as stated. The two skins were defiled together, because the skin of uncovering, which is noga, was also defiled on account of its connection and attachment to the foreskin, which is [formed of] the three impure kelippot. However, there is a difference between [the two skins], because the skin of uncovering is called “an innocuous ox,” rather than a forewarned one, since it was in [a state of] complete holiness before the sin of the Tree of Knowledge. It was defiled only due to the foreskin that was attached to it.

Therefore, there are two special rectifications [in the procedure of circumcision]: Circumcision and uncovering. It is written regarding the forewarned ox: “The ox shall be stoned,” and likewise the foreskin must be removed and cut off from the holiness and thrown to the dust. In the case of the innocuous ox, by contrast, it is stated: “They shall divide its price” [Exodus 21:35]. Similarly, the skin of uncovering must be placed in holiness, connected to Yesod, but it must be halved and torn this way and that, for the brains are thereby exposed to the partzuf once again and holy flesh is revealed.

This is the meaning of the statement there: “Uncovering is performed with this ox, and the contamination of the waste is completely removed.” By halving the skin this way and that, around the Yesod, all the contamination that the skin of uncovering received from its previous connection to the foreskin is nullified and goes away, and the brains that departed because of the foreskin can be revealed once more.

However, this is still not sufficient to bring back all the brains that left Adam the first [man] on account of the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, for it is written, “And its owner also shall be put to death,” even though the ox is stoned. This is due to the great power of the forewarned ox, which is the mystical meaning of the accusing samael, 1This name should not be pronounced out loud. by virtue of the verse: “And warning has been given to its owner, and he has not kept it in.”

In order to rectify this [insufficiency], Elijah took upon himself that same slander of the samael, 2This name should not be pronounced out loud. and accused the children of Israel instead of the samael, as it is stated: “For the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant.” He thereby closed the samael’s mouth and the mission of samael was cancelled because Elijah had taken his mission upon himself. This gave [Elijah] the strength to become an advocate later, at the times when he sees that the children of Israel are keeping the covenant.

This is why it states (below, Lekh Lekha, page 129, section 388) that the reason why Elijah must be present at every circumcision is so that “the mouth that testified that Israel have forsaken [the covenant] will testify that Israel are fulfilling it.” Since [Elijah] took upon himself the [accusing] power of samael to accuse the children of Israel, by saying that Israel forsook the covenant (in the mystical meaning of the verse: “And warning has been given to its owner, and he has not kept it in”), for this reason he also has the power to testify that they are keeping the covenant. Then the power of the forewarned ox is completely removed, and all the brains that left on account of the forewarned ox can be revealed once again. Understand this well; it will be further clarified below.

This is the meaning of the statement: “A seat must be set up for him.” That is, apart from the seat of the sandak [godfather], on which the circumcision and uncovering are performed, an additional seat must be set up for Elijah. This requires explanation: Why isn’t a single seat enough for both of them? The idea is that the mystical meaning of a seat is that it is always the start of a rectification by which the upper [level] rests upon the lower [level]. As has already been explained above (in the previous section), the issue of the brains that are revealed through the circumcision and uncovering, and the issue of Elijah’s testimony about the fulfilment of the covenant, are two distinct matters: The amount of brains that are revealed by virtue of the uncovering are an expression of the innocuous ox, when it is not known that the ox was wont to gore [see Exodus 21:36]. This is the mystical meaning of the returning of noga to holiness by means of: “They shall divide its price”; see there.

The purpose of Elijah’s testimony is to remove the evil of the forewarned ox, which is the power of the three impure kelippot themselves, and to close their mouths so that they cannot accuse. Consequently, two seats are necessary. The first is the seat of God, which is the seat of the sandek. [This chair] is for imparting the brains through the circumcision and uncovering. The second one is for imparting the illumination of Elijah, who closes the mouth of the kelippot so they cannot accuse. This is the seat of Elijah.

“One must declare with his mouth: This is the seat of Elijah. Otherwise, he will not be present there.” This requires clarification. What is this great obligation to issue the declaration “This is the seat of Elijah,” to the extent that if one does not articulate it, then even if a seat has been prepared for [Elijah], he will not come? The idea is as stated in the Zohar (Ki Tisa, page 15, section 46), on the verse: “Why are you here [poh] Elijah” [I Kings 19:9], that this is the mystical meaning of the mouth of Elijah, while the sign of the covenant is the mouth [peh] of God; see there. Thus, there is a difference between the sign of the covenant, which is the brains that are revealed through circumcision and uncovering, in the mystical meaning of the mouth of God, and the mouth of Elijah himself.

In order to understand this, one must delve deeper into the issue of closing the mouth of the forewarned ox so it does not accuse Israel after the return of the brains through circumcision and uncovering. Apart from the aforementioned testimony of Elijah, another special rectification is required, which is achieved by throwing the foreskin to the dust. As stated in the Zohar (Pekudei, page 212, section 691): “When a person is circumcised on the eighth day, such that the day of Shabbat has already passed over him, which is the mystical meaning of Malkut in the brains of Abba and Imma, called holy, that foreskin, which is cut and thrown outside, the Sitra Aḥara rises and sees it, [and realizes] that it has been given a part of that offering of circumcision. By virtue of this gift, [the Sitra Aḥara] is then broken and is unable to rule over and accuse them, and it is transformed from an accuser into an advocate of Israel before the Holy One, blessed be He.”

Explanation: It is the nature of spiritual beings to be incorporated in one another. Since the foreskin was once attached to Yesod, when it is cut off from Yesod it takes part of the holiness with it. When we throw the foreskin to the external forces, they thereby suckle some illumination from the brains that are revealed through circumcision and uncovering. For this reason, [those external forces] no longer wish to accuse Israel and shut down these brains, for they too would lose their share that they take from these brains. They therefore become advocates for Israel, in order to maintain the brains in them.

As a consequence, Elijah cannot tolerate this rectification, for although [the external forces] stop accusing Israel, they take part of the holiness in return. To rectify this, Elijah took all the accusing upon himself as he does not wish to appease [the external forces] at all by giving [them] a part of the offering of holiness. The result is that although the Sitra Aḥara has stopped accusing and become an advocate, Elijah himself is still accusing, in order to uproot the power of the Sitra Aḥara entirely and separate it from the holiness. Therefore, the mouth of Elijah is required here, in addition to the mouth of God which is revealed through the circumcision and uncovering and which leaves part of the offering to the Sitra Aḥara. Elijah’s mouth completely uproots the Sitra Aḥara, in the mystical meaning of: “The mouth that testified that Israel have forsaken [the covenant] will testify that Israel are fulfilling it,” as just stated above.

This is why “one must declare with his mouth: This is the seat of Elijah.” That is, it is necessary to mention and draw forth the aspect of the mouth of Elijah on his seat. [It is not sufficient to] make do with the mouth of God, which also removes the accuser and turns it into an advocate. [Relying only on the mouth of God] requires giving a part to the Sitra Aḥara, as stated. By means of Elijah’s mouth, however, the accuser is removed and he does not need to appease [the accuser] in return at all.

If a person does not make the effort to draw forth the mouth of Elijah with his mouth, upon his seat, then [Elijah] will not be present there, for he must be drawn in. One should not ask: “How is it possible for the mouth of Elijah to rectify more than the mouth of God,” for this is the mystical meaning of “which God in creating had made” [Genesis 2:3]: God initiated creation in such a way that man can complete it through his good deeds.