39. \u201cAnd Abram heard that his brother had been taken captive.\u201d Once the evil inclination parts from the body of a righteous, where does it go? To the place of the wicked ones, so they do not slander against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
40. \u201cAnd Lot dwelled in the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom, and the people of Sodom were evil and sinful against the Lord.\u201d To the place of the wicked and sinful, there he pitched his tent to dwell. What does the evil inclination do there? It commits sins with them and makes others sin until it is caught for its iniquities and is captured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
41. And what does the soul of the righteous do? \u201cAnd Abram heard\u201d is the soul. \u201cThat his brother had been taken captive\u201d is the evil inclination. \u201cAnd he armed his trained servants, who were born in his house.\u201d These are the righteous who are educated with commandments and the good way. When the righteous sees that the wicked one is abandoned and caught for his iniquities, he goes to grip him, perhaps he will reform him, and he brings him closer and teaches him, as it is written, \u201cand went in pursuit as far as Dan.\u201d He chases to the core of his judgment to save him from the judgment of Hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
42. So is the way of the righteous, to chase the wicked in order to reform them, as it is written, \u201cAnd he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them.\u201d This is the soul of the righteous, who afflict and ask for them, so they do not walk in the way of their wickedness. The soul and the righteous pursue them and chastise them and torment them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
43. \u201cAnd pursued them to Hova.\u201d They are notified their wickedness and chased until their evil and wickedness are revealed to them, so they are ashamed of their actions. The soul does this and alerts them of their bad way, and this is \u201cas far as Hova [fault].\u201d And how do they walk? To the left and not to the right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
44. Afterwards, it is written, \u201cHe retrieved all the goods, as well as his relative Lot.\u201d Against their will they repent, as it is written, \u201cand also brought back his brother Lot and his goods.\u201d Even the evil inclination will repent against its will. Great is the reward of one who helps others repent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
45. When the soul of the righteous, who reforms others, exits the body, Michael, the great minister who brings the souls of the righteous before his maker, comes out and greets the soul of that righteous, as it is written, \u201cAnd Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was a priest of God Most High.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melchizedek is Michael, head of the guardians of the gates of justice. \u201cKing of Salem\u201d is Jerusalem of above. \u201cBrought out bread and wine\u201d means he greets him and comes out toward him and tells him, \u201cCome in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
46. We learn from this that anyone who rushes to meet and greet those who come from the road, the text says about him that it is as though he has given him food and drink, as it is written, \u201cbecause they did not greet you with bread and water on the way when you came out of Egypt.\u201d Did Israel need bread and water? After all, they had the manna, which was finer and better than any food in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
47. However, because they did not come to greet them, the text refers to them as though they denied them sustenance. Anyone who rushes to greet his neighbor and goes out to the road toward him, the text refers to him as though he has given him food and drink. And Michael and Gabriel, and the ministering angels who guard the gates of justice come out toward him and greet him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
48. It is written, \u201cHe was a priest of God Most High.\u201d Just like a High Priest below, Michael, the great minister, is a priest above. He rushes and greets the soul first, then blesses the Creator, as it is written, \u201cAnd he blessed him and said, \u2018Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth,\u2019\u201d happy are you that you have been rewarded with this. And afterwards, \u201cAnd blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.\u201d These are the wicked ones that you have awarded with repentance and made their souls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
49. \u201cAnd gave him a tenth of everything.\u201d In this verse, we do not know who gave a tenth to whom. However, the Creator gave him a tenth, for he took one letter from under the throne and gave it as a crown for the soul, which is Abram. This is the letter Hey, Malchut. As the world was created with a Hey, the soul will be bundled in the bundle of the living, and her completion is as the completion of the Hey, as it is written, \u201cAnd your name shall no longer be called Abram, and your name shall be Abraham,\u201d this is the tithing [one tenth] that the Creator gave him, since the letter Hey, Malchut, is one of the ten Sefirot, which is why she is called a tenth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
50. What is \u201cfrom everything,\u201d as it is written, \u201cAnd gave him a tenth of everything\u201d? It is the Shechina of the place, since the Shechina is called \u201call,\u201d as it is written, \u201cAnd the Lord blessed Abraham with all,\u201d that He placed His Shechina with him, who is called \u201call.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
51. The Creator does not judge the wicked in the next world before He consults with the souls of the righteous, as it is written, \u201cBy the breath of God they perish.\u201d When they perish, they perish only because of that judgment, that the soul sentences the wicked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
52. Arsiel, Minister of Hell, stands before the souls of the righteous so they do not pray to the Creator for the wicked, so He would give them into his possession, to bring them down to the pit, as it is written, \u201cAnd king of Sodom said to Abram, \u2018Give me the soul.\u2019\u201d The king of Sodom is the minister of Hell, who stands over the wicked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
53. He says to the soul, who is Abram, \u201cGive me the soul\u201d that is sinful, as it is written, \u201cThe sinning soul, she shall die.\u201d That is, give me that soul that yearns for sins so she is sentenced according to her wickedness, and do not take her with your litanies. \u201cAnd the possessions you may take for yourself,\u201d those who have returned in their souls from their bad way, take for yourself and save them from the judgment of Hell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
54. At that time, \u201cAnd Abram said to the king of Sodom, \u201cI raised my hands up to the Lord, God Most High.\u201d The soul swears that I will not pray and take those wicked ones that I would declare before them in that world and have chastised them to repent, and interpreted for them all the sentences of Hell, and they would not listen to me. \u201cAnd if I take from all that is yours, then they are yours and in your possession.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
55. Rabbi Yehoshua said, \u201cOnce, I saw, and I met near the gates of Hell, and heard the voice of the wicked being tormented in Hell with which the great judgment that the wicked are sentenced in the next world. They were saying, \u2018We deserve this verdict because we heard reproof but would not listen. Woe to us, woe to us for not heeding the words of the righteous.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
56. \u201cI wept. I heard a voice saying, \u2018Make your ascent and shut your mouth, you have no permission to pray for them. You and the friends, it is written about you, \u2018and crush the wicked,\u2019 for they will be dust under your feet.\u2019\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
57. There are seven sections in Hell, in which the wicked are sentenced in the days to come. There are also seven doors in Hell, corresponding to the seven doors that the souls of the righteous have through which to enter. Corresponding to them, the soul of the wicked has seven doors to enter, which are Blackness, Shadow of Death, Gates of Death, Doom, Active Lyme, Sheol, Oblivion. They are sentenced there for twelve months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
58. The sentence of the wicked in Hell is twelve months. There, they tweet in repentance and the souls of the righteous reach before the Creator and raise them from Sheol, from the sixth section, as it is written, \u201cBrings down to Sheol and raises up.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
59. One who enters the bottom section, Oblivion, never again rises. Even if he goes into Sheol, he ascends in repentance, as it is written, \u201cFrom the midst of Sheol I cried out; You heard my voice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
60. \u201cAnd Abram said to the king of Sodom, \u2018I raised my hand up to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, \u2018I have made Abram rich.\u2019\u2019\u201d Those who are worthy of you, the complete wicked, who had never repented, with an oath that I will never take them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
61. How precious is the Torah to the Creator, for by its merit, one is rewarded with the life of the \u200enext world, and anyone who teaches Torah to others, more than everyone. It is written here, \u201cthat I would not take \u2026 anything that is yours,\u201d \u201cwithout me, except what the young men have eaten.\u201d \u201cThat I would not take \u2026 anything that is yours\u201d are those wicked ones who deserve you. \u201cWithout me, except what the young men have eaten,\u201d meaning except for those who teach Torah to others and to infants. Their reward is twofold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
62. One who teaches Torah to children, \u200ehis abode is with the Shechina [Divinity]. When Rabbi Shimon came to see the \u200eyouths in their teacher\u2019s home, he would say, \u201cI am going to see the face of the Shechina.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
63. It says, \u201cexcept what the young men have eaten,\u201d except for those who taught youths Torah. And the part of the men who went with me in that world, know that I will hang on to them and will not give them to you, although they deserve to be punished.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
64. Such is what the soul of the righteous has with the king of Sodom, the minister of Hell, who rules over the wicked. Moreover, he tells him, \u201cI will not hang on to them by myself, but Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre, who are the patriarchs, will take their portion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
65. Rabbi Elazar met Elijah, who was in the form of an old man, and a young boy was with him. There was a crossing of a great river there, a place for crossing the river to move to the other side of the river. I said to him, \u201cOld man, I will lift this boy on my shoulder and take you on the other side, and get you across the water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
66. He said to me, \u201cYou are not the greatest of the generation, you will not be able to take us across.\u201d I said to him, \u201cIf I grab you with both hands, for you and for him, I will throw you to the other side with half a word,\u201d meaning in the time that is takes to utter half a word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
67. He said to me, \u201cDo you engage in Torah?\u201d I told him, \u201cYes.\u201d He said, \u201cIs the Torah not called Tushia because it Mateshet [exhausts] a man\u2019s strength?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I said to him, \u201cAnd is it not called healing, and potion, as it is written, \u2018It will be healing to your navel and a potion to your bones? I, too, drank much from the Torah, as one who drinks a medicine, and my strength increased.\u201d I took them across.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
68. I said to him, \u201cWho is the child with you?\u201d He replied, \u201cI teach him Torah.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I said to him, \u201cMy power is great in this world and in the next world, and thanks to this child that you are learning with, I will not let the angel over Hell touch you, and I will bring you to the next world with the great power that I have there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
69. He said to me, \u201cYour power is great in the next world, as one of the servants of the Creator, who serve before Him.\u201d While I was looking at him, I did not see him. I said, this means that he was Elijah, and I was happy with the things I did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
70. Since that day, when he would see the form of his father, he would tell him, \u201cFather, tell that elder, \u2018There were many cancelations in the Torah.\u2019\u201d His father said to him, \u201cTell him, \u2018elder of the first, elder in the writings,\u2019 and your strength will immediately grow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rabbi Elazar told his father to ask Elijah to pray for him, for he has many cancelations of Torah, and his father gave him a remedy for that, to mention the old ones, on whom Moses\u2019 spirit lies, as it is written, \u201cand took of the spirit that was upon him, and placed it on the seventy elders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cElder of the first,\u201d of seventy elders. \u201cElder of the writings,\u201d an elder who received the writing on which it was written \u201cElder.\u201d Rabbi Shimon promised him that when he mentions these things, \u201cYour strength will immediately grow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
39. \u201cAnd Abram heard that his brother had been taken captive.\u201d Once the evil inclination parts from the body of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":16714,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"topic":[28],"class_list":["post-16740","book","type-book","status-publish","hentry","topic-zohar"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n