PARSHAT VA'EIRA - MUSSAR FROM CHOK L'YISROEL

[Tzvi Ben Roshel1]

PARSHAT VA'EIRA - MUSSAR FROM CHOK L'YISROEL

Mussar - Zohar, Part II 2a

 

There are three categories of people who, speaking in human terms, push the Divine Presence out of the world and cause the Holy One, Blessed is He, to, G-d forbid, withdraw from the world, with the result, that people cry out [in prayer] and are not heeded.  These three categories are:

 

(1) One who has relations with a woman in a state of menstrual impurity.  For there is no impurity as impure as menstrual impurity.  He becomes defiled, and anyone who is close to him becomes defiled with him.  The Divine Presence departs from wherever he goes.  Furthermore, he causes terrible sicknesses to himself and to the children he sired in his defilement.  A spirit of defilement is drawn upon him and all his life, he will be in a state of defilement.  For this building and foundation were in the severest defilement, harsher than any other defilement in the world.  For, as soon as he has contact with a menstruant, that defilement jumps upon him.  As it is written in the book of Leviticus, 15:24, "[The impurity of] her menstruation will be upon him." 

 

(2) The second category is one who has relations with a non-Jewish woman.  For he brings the sign of the holy covenant into the domain of the other side (Sitra Achra).  As it is written in Malachi 2:11, "And he had relations with a daughter of a foreign god."  And there is no jealously before the Holy One, Blessed is He, like the jealousy for the holy covenant, which is the secret of the holy Name and the secret of the faith.  Whoever brings the sign of the holy covenant into the domain of the other side, it is as if he denies the Name of the Holy One, Blessed is He; for whoever denies the king's seal, denies the king.  He has no share in the G-d of Israel unless he constantly repents.

 

(3) The third category is one who kills his unborn child: His wife is pregnant and he causes it to be killed in her womb.  Such a person destroys the building made by the Holy One, Blessed is He, May G-d save us and bring us back in complete repentance, may this be His will.