Holding in Their Hand that Reptile
by tillerofthesoil
“Rabbi Shim’on said, ‘Woe to human beings who do not know, consider, or see! They are all obtuse, unaware how full the world is of strange, invisible creatures, of hidden things. If the eye were empowered to see, humans would be amazed how they themselves can endure. Come and see: This Na’amah was mother of demons. From her side issue all those inflamed by human beings, absorbing their spirit of lust, titillating them, turning them into casualties of ejaculation. Since such a casualty derives from the side of impure spirit, he must bathe to purify himself, as established by the Companions” (Zohar 1:55a, cf. Deuteronomy 23:11; BT Berakhot 6a).
“Come and see: All generations in the days of Noah exposed their sins to the world brazenly, in sight of all. One day Rabbi Shim’on was walking through the gates of Tiberias when he saw some men drawing the bow taut with the shaft of a centaur. He exclaimed, ‘What! Such brazen sin, provoking their Lord?’ He cast his eyes upon them; they were hurled into the sea and drowned” (Zohar 1:58a).
“Rabbi Yitsḥaq was in the presence of Rabbi Shim’on. He asked him: This verse, And the earth was corrupt before God (Genesis 6:11)—given that humans sinned, but how did the earth [do so]? He replied: Since it is written, for all flesh had corrupted their way [upon earth] (ibid., 12), as has been said. Similarly, The earth was defiled, and I inflicted her punishment upon her (Leviticus 18:25). It was human beings who sinned. But if you ask, ‘How did earth [sin]?’ the answer is: Human beings constitute the essence of earth—they ruin earth, and it is ruined. The verse proves it, as is written: God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way upon the earth (Genesis, ibid.).
Come and see: All sins of a human being are entirely his ruination, yet are susceptible to return [i.e., may be atoned by repentance]; but the sin of spilling seed, wasting his way, emitting seed upon earth, ruining both himself and the earth—of this is written: stained is your iniquity before Me (Jeremiah 2:22). Similarly, You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil cannot abide with you (Psalms 5:5), except through great returning. Similarly, Er, firstborn of Judah, was evil in the eyes of YHWH; and YHWH slew him (Genesis 38:7). This has already been explained.
Rabbi Yehudah asked: Why did the blessed Holy One punish the world with water, and not with fire or some other element? He [Rabbi Shim’on] replied: It is a mystery! For they wasted their ways, so that the upper waters and lower waters failed to unite fittingly; so did they ruin their ways, male and female waters. So they were punished by water, just like they sinned. The water was boiling, peeling off their skin, just as they wasted their ways with boiling water [cf. BT Sanhedrin 108b]. A fitting punishment, as is written: All the springs of the great abyss burst forth (ibid. 8:2)—lower waters; and the sluices of heaven opened (ibid.)—upper waters. Upper and lower waters” (Zohar 1:61b–62a).
“What he did was evil in the eyes of YHWH (Genesis 38:10). Rabbi Ḥiyya opened, In the morning sow your seed… (Ecclesiastes 11:6). Come and see how greatly a person should beware his sins and be heedful in his actions before the blessed Holy One! For numerous messengers and officials populate the world, roaming around, observing human actions and testifying about them, all recorded in a book [see M Avot 2:1].
Come and see: Of all the sins by which a person is defiled in this world, this is the sin by which he is defiled both in this world and the world that is coming: spilling one’s seed fruitlessly [cf. BT Niddah 13a–b]—emitting seed in vain by hand or foot, and becoming defiled, as is written: For You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil cannot abide with You (Psalms 5:5). He does not enter the curtain nor gaze upon the Countenance of Days, as we have learned, for it is written: Evil cannot abide with You, and similarly: Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil (Genesis 38:7). Therefore, Your hands are full of blood (Isaiah 1:15). Happy is the share of a person in awe of his Lord, guarded from the evil path, purifying himself to persevere in the awe of his Lord!
Come and see: In the morning sow your seed. This verse has been established: in the morning—when a man is in his prime, in his youth; then he should strive to engender children, as is written: sow your seed. Then is the time, as is written: Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth (Psalms 127:4), since he can teach them the ways of the blessed Holy One and obtain a fine reward in the world that is coming, as is written: Happy is the man who fills his quiver with them; they will not be put to shame… (ibid., 5)—in that world, when masters of judgment come to accuse him; for you cannot find a better reward in that world than one who has taught his child the awe of his Lord and the ways of Torah.
Come and see from Abraham, of whom is written For I have known him, so that he will instruct his children… (Genesis 18:19). So the merit stands him well in that world against all masters of judgment; therefore, In the morning sow your seed. And at evening—even in old age, a time when a person wanes, what is written? Do not hold back your hand—one should not forsake engendering in this world. Why? For you do not know which will prosper… (Ecclesiastes, ibid.), so that they can stand up for him in that world. Therefore, Children are the heritage of YHWH (Psalms 127:3). Who is heritage of YHWH? Bundle of the soul [Shekhinah], aspect of the world that is coming. As for this heritage, who entitles one to enter the heritage of YHWH? Children—those children entitle him to the heritage of YHWH. So, happy is the person who attains them and teaches them the ways of Torah, as has been said” (Zohar 1:188a).
“Whoever emits his seed fruitlessly is called evil and does not see the face of Shekhinah, as is written: You are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil cannot abide with You (Psalms 5:5), and similarly: Er, firstborn of Judah, was evil in the eyes of YHWH (Genesis 38:7). Here too, Woe to the wicked! Evil!—woe to that wicked one, who is evil, who made himself evil. For what his hands have perpetrated will be requited to him—to include one who fornicates with his hands, emitting seed fruitlessly; this one is tormented in that world more than all.
Come and see! For it is written: Woe to the wicked! Evil! Since it is written Woe to the wicked, why evil? But as I have said: He made himself evil. And it is written: Evil cannot abide with You. All of them ascend, whereas this one does not. Now, you might ask, ‘What about other sinners who have killed people? Come and see: All of them ascend, but he does not. Why? Because they have killed other human beings, whereas he has killed his children—his very own children!—spilling much blood.
Come and see: Of other sinners of the world is not written It was evil in the eyes of YHWH, where as here is written What he did was evil in the eyes of YHWH (ibid., 10). Why? Because he wasted on the ground (ibid., 9).
We have learned: Rabbi Yehudah said, ‘There is nothing in the world for which one cannot repent, except for this [cf. Zohar 1:61b–62a]. There is no sinner who cannot see the face of Shekhinah, except for this one, as is written: Evil cannot abide with You—at all!” (Zohar 1:219b).
“Woe to him for that punishment, woe to him for tainting the sign of the holy covenant! Woe to him for that shame, for eternal vengeance will be wreaked upon him—vengeance of this world and vengeance for that taint. This is the mystery of what is written: For the rod of wickedness shall not rest on the portion of the righteous (Psalms 125:3)…. This pertains if one has not turned back completely in repentance, a turning capable of covering his deeds” (Zohar 2:214b).
“And we have learned: A man is forbidden to gaze at the beauty of a woman, so that he not have evil fantasies and be uprooted to something else. This is how Rabbi Shim’on acted when he was walking through town, followed by the Companions, and they saw beautiful women. He would lower his eyes and say to the Companions, ‘Do not turn to idols (Leviticus 19:4).’ For whoever gazes at a woman’s beauty during the day will have fantasies at night; and if they overwhelm him, he transgresses Do not make molten gods for yourselves (ibid.). Furthermore, if he has intercourse with his wife while those evil imaginings arise within him, the children they engender are called molten gods. Do not turn to idols. Rabbi Abba said, ‘A person is forbidden to look at idols of the nations or to derive benefit from them—all the more so, to look at a place that should not be seen” (Zohar 3:83b–84a).
“You shall show them no grace. [You shall not intermarry with them. You shall not give your daughter to his son, nor shall you take his daughter for your son. For he will make your son swerve from following Me…] (Deuteronomy 7:2–4). For Rav said: One is forbidden to say, ‘How beautiful is this idolatress!’ The following objection was raised: It happened that Rabban Shim’on son of Gamaliel, while standing on a step on the Temple-mount, saw a heathen woman who was particularly beautiful, and he exclaimed: ‘How great are Your works, O YHWH!’ (Psalms 104:24). Likewise, when Rabbi Akiva saw the wife of the wicked Tyranus Rufus [Governor of Judea], he spat, then laughed, and then wept. ‘Spat’—because of her originating only from a fetid drop [see M Avot 3:1]; ‘laughed’—because he foresaw that she would become a convert and that he would take her to wife; ‘wept,’ that such beauty should [ultimately] decay in the dust.
What then about Rav’s ruling? [who holds that one must not admire the beauty of a genitle woman]. [He might say that] each of these rabbis merely offered thanksgiving. For a Master has said: He who beholds goodly creatures should say, ‘Blessed be He who has created such in His world’ [cf. BT Berakhot 58b]. But is even mere looking permitted? The following can surely be raised as an objection: [When you sally forth in a camp against your enemy,] you shall keep yourself from every evil thing (Deuteronomy 23:10), that one should not look intently at a beautiful woman, even if she be unmarried, or at a married woman even if she be ugly, nor at a woman’s attractive dress, nor at male and female donkeys, or a pig and a sow, or at fowls when they are mating; even if one is all eyes like the Angel of Death!
It has been said of the Angel of Death that he is completely full of eyes. When a sick person is about to die, he stands above the head of the bed. In his hand is a drawn sword with a bitter drop suspended. When the sick person sees him, he is terrified and opens his mouth. The angel flings the drop inside [cf. Job 20:14: vipers’ bile in his gut]. From this drop he dies; from this drop he turns putrid; from this drop his face turns green [therefore the Angel of Death is called סָמָאֵל (sama’el), the Venom of God].
[What may have happened in the aforementioned case of Rabban Shim’on son of Gamaliel was that] the woman turned round a corner [and her face thus met his eyes unexpectedly]” (BT Avodah Zarah 20a).
“Our Rabbis taught: If a man counts out money from his hand into the hand of a woman so as to have the opportunity of gazing at her, even if he can vie in Torah and good deeds like Moses our teacher, he shall not escape the punishment of Hell, as it says, Hand to hand the evil will not go scot-free (Proverbs 11:21), he shall not escape from the punishment of Hell” (BT Berakhot 61a).
“Rabbi Meir used to mock עוֹבְרֵי עֲבֵירָה (overei aveirah), transgressors. One day Satan appeared to him in the guise of a woman on the opposite bank of the river. As there was no ferry, he seized the ‘rope’ and עֶבֶר (ever), crossed. When he had reached half way along the ‘rope,’ he let him go saying: ‘Had they not proclaimed in Heaven, ‘Take heed of Rabbi Meir and his learning,’ I would have valued your blood [i.e., life] at two ma’ahs.’ Rabbi Akiva used to mock transgressors. One day Satan appeared to him as a woman on the top of a palm tree. Grasping the tree, he went climbing up: but when he reached half-way up the tree he let him go, saying: ‘Had they not proclaimed in Heaven, ‘Take heed of Rabbi Akiva and his learning,’ I would have valued your blood at two ma’ahs.’
Peleimo used to say every day, ‘An arrow in the Adversary’s eyes!’ One day—it was the eve of Yom Kippur—he disguised himself as a poor man and went and called out at his door; so bread was taken out to him. He said, ‘On such a day, when everyone is within, shall I be without?’ He was taken in and bread was offered him. He said, ‘On a day like this, when everyone sits at the table, shall I sit alone!’ He was led and sat down at the table. As he sat, his body was covered with sores and puss, and he was behaving repulsively. ‘Sit properly,’ he rebuked him. He said, ‘Give me a cup,’ and one was given him. He coughed and spat his phlegm into it. They scolded him, he fainted and died. Then they [the household] heard people crying out, ‘Peleimo has killed a man, Peleimo has killed a man!’ Fleeing, he hid in a toilet; he followed him, and he fell before him. Seeing how he was suffering, he disclosed his identity and said to him, why have you spoken this way [provoking me by saying: An arrow in the Adversary’s eyes]? What then should I say? You should say: ‘The Compassionate rebuke Satan’ [cf. Zechariah 3:2: YHWH rebuke You, הַשָּׂטָן (ha-satan), the Accuser]” (BT Qiddushin 81a–b).
“Rav Yoḥanan said: Man has a small member—when he starves it, it is satisfied, and when he satisfies it, it is starving” (BT Sukkot 52b).
And I saw among the dupes, discerned among the young men a witless lad, passing through the streets, by the corner, on the way to her house he strides, at twilight, as evening descends, in pitch-black night and darkness. And, look, a woman to meet him, whore’s attire and hidden intent. Bustling she is and wayward, in her house her feet do not stay. Now outside, now in the square, and by every corner she lurks.
She seizes him and kisses him, impudently says to him: “I had to make well-being offerings, today I’ve fulfilled my vows. And so I’ve come out to meet you, to seek you, and I’ve found you. With coverlets I’ve spread my couch, dyed cloths of Egyptian linen. I’ve sprinkled my bed with myrrh, with aloes and cinnamon. Come, let us drink deep of loving till morn, let us revel in love’s delights….” She sways him with all her talk, with her smooth speech she leads him astray. He goes after her in a trice, as an ox goes off to the slaughter, as a stag prances into a halter. Till an arrow pierces his liver, as a bird hastens to the snare, not knowing the cost is his life.
And now, sons, listen to me, and attend to my mouth’s sayings. Let your heart not veer to her ways, and do not go astray on her paths. For many the victims she has felled, innumerable all whom she has killed. Through her house are the ways to Sheol, going down to the chambers of Death (Proverbs 7:7–18, 21–27).
“The secret of secrets: From the strength of the noon-flame of Isaac, from the dregs of wine, a naked shoot came forth, comprising together male and female, red like a lily, and they spread out on several sides, down several paths. The male is called Samael and his female is always included with him. Just as on the side of holiness there are male and female, so on the other side there are male and female, included one with the other. The female of Samael is called ‘serpent,’ ‘a wife of harlotry,’ ‘the end of all flesh,’ ‘the end of days.’
Two evil spirits are attached to one another. The male spirit is fine, the female spirit spreads out down several ways and paths, and is attached to the male spirit. She dresses herself in finery like an abominable harlot and stands at the corners of streets and highways in order to attract men. When a fool approaches her, she embraces him and kisses him, and mixes her dregs of wine with snake poison for him. Once he has drunk, אַסְטֵי (astei), he turns aside, after her. When she sees that he has turned aside after her from the way of truth, she takes off all the finery that she had put on for the sake of this fool [cf. Bahir §164].
This is the finery that she uses to seduce mankind: her hair is long, red like a lily; her face is white and pink; six pendants hang at her ears; her bed is made of Egyptian flax; all the ornaments of the East encircle her neck; her mouth is shaped like a tiny door, beautified with cosmetic; her tongue is sharp like a sword; her words smooth as oil; her lips beautiful, red as a lily, sweetened with all the sweetnesses in the world; she is dressed in purple, and attired in thirty-nine items of finery. This fool turns aside after her, and drinks from the cup of wine, and commits harlotry with her, completely enamored of her. What does she do? She leaves him asleep on the bed and ascends to the realms above, accuses him, obtains authority, and descends. The fool wakes up, thinking to sport with her as before, but she takes off her finery, and turns into a fierce warrior, facing him in a garment of flaming fire, a vision of dread, terrifying both body and soul, full of horrific eyes, a sharpened sword in his hand with drops of poison suspended and dripping from it. He kills the fool, and throws him into Hell” (Zohar 1:148a–b, Sitrei Torah, cf. Zohar 1:190a–b; 2:163a–b; 3:19a, 76b–77a).
“The Queen does not dwell in one’s כֹּחַ (koaḥ), power, [namely] the כ״ח (twenty-eight) finger joints, until all the filth of the wicked, unfit slavegirl, wife to the unfit, is removed. Therefore, the Masters of Mishnah explained that ‘filthy hands are unfit to make a blessing’ (BT Berakhot 53b). This water is for cleansing the hand upon which the hand of YHWH rests. The hand of YHWH is the water of Torah. The ignorant people are considered as unclean reptiles [see BT Pesaḥim 49b]. What good will immersing in water do them, holding in their hand that reptile, which is the wicked slavegirl, stolen goods in their possession, the stolen blessings they stole from the blessed Holy One. They do not know what a blessing is, or what filth is” (Zohar 3:273b, Ra’aya Meheimna Eqev).
“Without doubt the purpose of all the sacrifices is only for the making of atonement, with each sacrifice making atonement for man’s limbs according to the offence he committed with that limb. For drops of marrow, חָמֵץ (ḥamets), rounds of flatbread, for it had not leavened (Exodus 12:39); namely, if he discharged initial drops before they acidify in a place that does not belong to him. And regarding those that acidified, which is discharged in a place where he should not have [namely, in a female forbidden to him where the drops become acid, חָמֵץ (ḥamets), leaven stuff] he has to bring leavened bread, and thus were the thanksgiving offerings: some were leavened and others were unleavened” (Zohar 3:254b, Ra’aya Meheimna Pineḥas).
“For fifteen years, the שָׂטָן (satan), adversary, was at my right hand to mislead me” (Rabbi Avraham Abulafia, Or ha-Sekhel 4:4, 53a, cf. 4:1, 41b)—שָׂטָן (satan), adversary, and זֶרַע לָבָן (zera laban), white seed, are numerically equivalent.
And he showed me Yehoshua the high priest standing before the angel of YHWH, and the שָׂטָן (satan), adversary, standing at his right hand to accuse him (Zechariah 3:1).
And through knowledge rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant wealth (Proverbs 24:4).
The three letters of יָקָר (yaqar), precious, can be rearranged to read, קְרִי (qeri), pollution, i.e., seminal emission (Rabbi Zadok of Lublin).
“What is unique about Rabbi Zadok’s work… is the way that he writes about masturbation; the way he confronts the kabbalistic demonization of this act and moves beyond it towards a nuanced understanding of the psychological and existential factors which underlie and motivate this action. With that understanding comes a level of empathy and normalization which coexists with an awareness of the prohibition… Rabbi Zadok’s thought on masturbation can be divided into three different ideas which build upon each other; the first is coming to the understanding that sometimes it is not one’s fault—sexual desire culminating in sexual expression is embedded in human nature, and, at times masturbation, as an outlet for that desire, is unavoidable. The next phase, after coming to grips with the inevitability of masturbation, is learning to see the good contained within it; both the spiritual power and the physical power, and gleaning the good. And the final phase, which contains the ultimate healing, can be found within sanctified marital sexuality and procreation as an expression of holiness. We will trace this progression in Rabbi Zadok’s thought” (Dr. Jennie Rosenfeld, Talmudic Re-Readings: Toward a Modern Orthodox Sexual Ethic, p. 150–155).
“If a strange or evil thought arises in your mind while you are engaged in prayer, it is coming to you to be repaired and elevated” (Rabbi Ya’aqov Yosef of Polnoyye, Ben Porat Yosef 50b–d).
“If one gazes at the little finger of a woman, it is as if he gazed at her secret place!” (BT Berakhot 24a).
“Rabbi Ḥiyya son of Abba said [in the name of Rabbi Yoḥanan]: It is like the case of a man who had a son; he bathed him and anointed him and gave him plenty to eat and drink and hung a purse round his neck and set him down at the door of a whore house. How could the lad avoid offending?” (BT Berakhot 32a).
“Rabbi Shim’on said, ‘Throughout all 130 years that Adam separated himself from Eve, male spirits heated themselves from her and she gave birth, while female spirits heated themselves from Adam and gave birth’” (Bereshit Rabbah 20:11).
“Rabbi Yirmeyah son of El’azar said, ‘During all those [130] years that Adam was under the ban [for having eaten from the Tree of Knowledge], he engendered spirits, demons, and female demons, as is said: Adam lived 130 years and engendered a son in his likeness, after his own image (Genesis 5:3), from which it follows that until that time he did not engender after his own image’… that statement refers to semen that he emitted accidentally” (BT Eruvin 18b).
“Until Cain was born she [Lilit] could not cling to him [Adam]. Later she drew close to him and gave birth to spirits and flying demons. For 130 years Adam copulated with female spirits until the arrival of Na’amah, whose beauty seduced the sons of Elohim (Genesis 6:2), Uzza and Azael. By them she gave birth; from her, maleficent spirits and demons spread through the world. In the night she roams; they roam the world and titillate humans, causing them to spill seed accidentally. Wherever they find people sleeping alone in a house [see BT Shabbat 151b; Zohar 3:45a], they hover above them, grab hold of them, cling to them, seize desire from them, and bear offspring. Further, they attack him with disease unawares. All this in the waning of the moon” (Zohar 1:19b).
“Rabbi Yose said, ‘With this י (yod) Joseph sinned, as is written, Yet firm remained his bow, his arms ever-moving (Genesis 49:24). What is ever-moving? He discharged a drop—which is י (yod)—from between his fingers, and it split up into ten sparks, shot from the bow, which is covenant. Where did they get discharged? Into the ten martyrs of the empire.’ [Rabbi El’azar] replied, ‘But I hear that the ten martyrs were the sons of Jacob!’ He said, ‘Perish the thought! Rather they had their appearance.’ He replied, ‘Who caused them to be discharged there? He said, ‘It was on account of the image of his father—who had the image of Primal Adam—who appeared there. This caused them to be discharged there, and he dug his fingernails into the ground. Then he fled, so that they were not ejaculated into that harlot.’ For if the image of his father had not been displayed before him, this discharge would not have occurred… Thus it was not a transgression, but rather beneficial…” (Tiqqunei ha-Zohar 69, 110a [Hecker translation]).
“Rabbi Yoḥanan said, ‘Whoever emits semen fruitlessly deserves death, as is written: What he did was evil in the eyes of YHWH, and He put him to death as well (Genesis 38:10).’ Rabbi Yitsḥaq and Rabbi Ammi said, ‘It is as though he sheds blood…’ Rav Assi said, ‘It is as though he worships idols’” (BT Niddah 13a).
“[The reason for] Onan’s [action] may well be understood, because he knew that the seed would not be his (Genesis 38:9); but why did Er act in such a manner? In order that she might not conceive and thus lose some of her beauty” (BT Yevamot 34b).
“He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead (Lamentations 3:6)—Rabbi Yirmiyah said: This is the תַּלְמוּד (talmud), learning, of Babylonia” (BT Sanhedrin 24a). תַּלְמוּד (Talmud) and לילית (Lilit) are numerically equivalent because both separate a husband from his wife, see Rabbi Naḥman of Bratslav, Liqqutei Mohran.
“Although the Fifteenth of Shevat occurs during the days of the Shovavim [six weeks of penitence], it is not a fast day, since it is the new year’s day for the fruit of the tree. Through the תִקוּן (tiqqun), repair, that is performed on this day with fruit, the sefirah Tsaddiq [Yesod], Vitality of the Worlds, is aroused… through the special power of this repair performed on this very day, through the power of the blessings and contemplation of the mystery of the fruit’s supernal roots, an effect will be produced in their structure and character above.
Moreover the person performing the repair can also be affected. For through the beauty of this repair he can make straight what was crooked by the [sign of the] covenant through immorality. By virtue of performing this repair for the fruit tree, he will heal his wound in the blemishing of the Righteous One who makes fruit. There is the added benefit of the penitential period, mentioned above. Thus a repair for the blemished [sign of the] covenant is performed….
And may the splendid power of the blessings [said] while eating the fruit illuminate the source of blessings, the צַדִּיק (Tsaddiq), Righteous One, Vitality of the Worlds, and let the rainbow appear, proudly rejoicing in its colors. From there, may abundance, favor, and compassion be bestowed upon us, to pardon and forgive the iniquities and misdeeds that we committed and sinned. We violated the covenant and damaged the fruit of the Righteous One, Vitality of the Worlds, and caused the rains of its beneficence to be withheld, so that all the sources [of abundance] were harmed. Now let everything return to its original might [as is written], taut was his bow (Genesis 49:24). For You bless the צַדִּיק (tsaddiq), just man, O YHWH. Like a shield you crown him with favor (Psalms 5:13).
And may all the holy sparks which were dispersed by us or by our ancestors and [also] through the sin that Adam committed with the fruit of the tree now return to be included in the splendid power of the Tree of Life. May all evil be removed from them through the power of Your great Name which emerges from the verse, חַיִל בָּלַע וַיְקִאֶנּוּ (ḥayil bala va-yeqi’enu), Goods he swallowed he will vomit [from his belly אֵל (El), God, will expel them] (Job 20:15). And may everything return to its original might and not be rejected. For only You, YHWH, restore the dispersed of Israel” (Natan Ghazzati, Pri Ets Hadar).
One of the biggest difficulties presented by the Zohar to the modern reader is its emphasis on sexual sin, specifically masturbation, which it sees as particularly heinous. This attitude is far removed, perhaps even diametrically opposed, to contemporary sexual ethos; many of us see such attitudes as “puritanical” and “Victorian”; we tend to see masturbation as a solitary act, an outlet for a natural physiological; need, which by definition harms no other person, and hence is hardly viewed as an ethical issue at all (modern ethicists by and large see what the person does by himself as having no real ethical importance at all. Is this an error?). Moreover, it is an act largely associated with the experience of the adolescent boy/man, who feels intense sexual need that he doesn’t really understand, long before he is emotionally or otherwise prepared to enter into any sort of mature sexual relationship with a girl/woman.
I should perhaps add that the classical midrashic tradition associates the “corruption of ways” of all flesh with other sins, whether more all-encompassing sexual licentiousness (of both man and beast!), idolatry, and/or theft (see Rashi on 6:12–13, after BT Sanhedrin 108a). Why then the Zohar’s emphasis on this sin?
But the halakhah, in both its Talmudic and Midrashic roots, and even more strongly under Kabbalistic influence, sees matters very differently (see Even ha-Ezer §23). Long before the Zohar, in the first chapter of Bavli Niddah and elsewhere, we find an abundance of Rabbinic aggadot condemning masturbation in the strongest terms. It is even referred to in the poskim as “one of the most serious sins in the Torah” (Torah here presumably being used in the broader sense of Jewish tradition generally, as there is no biblical verse that specifically prohibits it, notwithstanding the incident of Onan).
How then are we to make sense of this severe view? The condemnation of “wasting seed” is based on a holistic perception of the cosmos, a certain conception of harmony, in which sexuality serves as a central paradigm for the act of unification of disparities generally: the letters of the Divine Name in their correct order, as in the above-quoted gloss; the various sefirot, particularly the combination of Binah or Tif’eret with Malkhut or, elsewhere, the two intellective sefirot of Hokhmah and Binah, referred to as Abba and Imma, Father and Mother; or the primeval waters, are all seen as representing masculine and feminine. The letter ו, which corresponds to the phallus (even in its written shape), and to Yesod, the sefirah connecting the upper sefirot to Malkhut, is a central conduit between these worlds, bringing Divine blessing and abundance to the receptive Earth/ mother/ female. Male and female thus refer, not only to earthly gender, but correspond to cosmic forces; sexual union is a paradigmatic act, assuring the proper flow or functioning of Divine energy from upper to lower realms.
Hence masturbation, as an incomplete, solipsistic act (i.e., one focused on the self and its own experience), avoiding or missing the opportunity for union, is seen as a tragic error of cosmic proportions. Where contemporary thought might see the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake as a legitimate goal, if not as one of the central goals of life (eudemonism), the Zohar would see this in negative terms, subsuming individual pleasure to the larger, universal, cosmic unity. The Generation of the Flood are seen, a bit later in this same passage, as “burning with lust,” and hence being punished with the boiling waters of the Flood (Rabbi Yehonatan Chipman).
“On one occasion a Nazir came from the South country, and I saw that he had beautiful eyes, was of handsome appearance, and with thick locks of hair symmetrically arranged. I said to him: ‘My son, what [reason] did you see to destroy this beautiful hair of yours?’ He replied: ‘I was a shepherd for my father in my town. I went to draw water from a well, gazed upon my reflection in the water, whereupon my evil impulse rushed upon me and sought to drive me from the world. But I said to it: ‘Wretch! Why do you vaunt yourself in a world that is not yours, with one who is destined to become worms and dust? I swear that I will shave you off for the sake of Heaven.’ I immediately arose and kissed his head, saying: ‘My son, may there be many Nazirites such as you in Israel! Of him is written, When either a man or a woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a nazirite, to separate themselves unto YHWH (Numbers 6:2)” (BT Nedarim 9b).
“Surely it has been taught: It was said of Rabbi El’azar son of Dordia that he did not leave out any whore in the world without coming to her. Once, on hearing that there was a certain whore in one of the towns by the sea who accepted a purse of denarii for her hire, he took a purse of denarii and crossed seven rivers for her sake.
As he was with her, she broke wind and said: As this wind will not return to its place, so will El’azar son of Dordia never be received in repentance. He thereupon went, sat between two hills and mountains and exclaimed: O, you hills and mountains, plead for mercy for me! They replied: How shall we pray for you? We stand in need of it ourselves, for it is said, For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed (Isaiah 54:10)!
So he exclaimed: Heavens and earth, you plead for compassion for me! They, too, replied: How shall we pray for you? We stand in need of it ourselves, for it is said, For the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall grow old like a garment (ibid. 51:6). He then exclaimed: Sun and moon, plead compassion for me! But they also replied: How shall we pray for you? We stand in need of it ourselves, for it is said, Then the moon shall be confounded and the sun ashamed (ibid. 24:23). He exclaimed: You stars and constellations, you plead for compassion for me! Said they: How shall we pray for you? We stand in need of it ourselves, for it is said, And all the hosts of heavens shall be dissolved (ibid. 34:4). The matter then depends upon me alone! Having placed his head between his knees, he wept aloud until his soul departed. Then a heavenly voice was heard proclaiming: ‘Rabbi El’azar son of Dordai is destined for the life of the world to come!’
Now, here was a case of a sin and yet he did die!—in that case, too, since he was so much addicted to immorality it is as [if he had been guilty of] מִינוּת (minut), sectariansim. Rabbi [on hearing of it] wept and said: One may acquire eternal life after many years, another in one hour! Rabbi also said: Repentants are not alone accepted, they are even called ‘Rabbi’! (BT Avodah Zarah 17a).
“It happened that Rabbi Shim’on son of Gamaliel, while standing on a step on the Temple-mount, saw a heathen woman who was particularly beautiful, and he exclaimed: How great are Your works, O YHWH (Psalms 104:24). Likewise, when Rabbi Akiva saw the wife of the wicked Tyranus Rufus, he spat, then laughed, and then wept. Spat—because of her originating only from a putrefying drop; laughed—because he foresaw that she would become a proselyte and that he would take her as a wife; wept—that such beauty should [ultimately] decay in the dust. What then about Rav’s ruling? [He might say that] each of these Rabbis merely offered thanksgiving. For a Master has said: He who beholds goodly creatures should say, ‘Blessed be He who has created such in His world.’ But is even mere looking permitted? The following can surely be raised as an objection: Keep away from every evil thing (Deuteronomy 23:10)—one should not look intently at a beautiful woman, even if she be unmarried, or at a married woman even if she be ugly” (BT Avodah Zarah 20a).
“Now, you might say, ‘How can a person love the blessed Holy One with the evil impulse? For look, the evil impulse is hostile, preventing a person from serving the blessed Holy One! How can he love Him with it? Well, this is a greater service of the blessed Holy One, when the evil impulse is overturned by the love that one feels for the blessed Holy One. For when the evil impulse is overturned and broken by a person, this is true love of the blessed Holy One, since he knows how to draw that evil impulse to His service.
Here is a mystery for masters of qualities: Everything that the blessed Holy One has made, above and below, is all intended to manifest His glory, and all is for His service. Now, who has ever seen a servant denouncing his master, opposing everything that his master wishes? It is the will of the blessed Holy One that humans should serve Him constantly, walking in the path of truth, thereby becoming worthy of many benefits. Since this is His will, how can an evil servant come and oppose, by his Master’s will—luring people to an evil path, distancing them from the good path, and causing them to disobey the will of their Lord? But actually, he is doing the will of his Master!
This may be compared to a king who had an only son, whom he loved exceedingly. He commanded him, in love, not to approach an evil woman, for whoever approached her would be unworthy of entering the king’s palace. The son consented to do his father’s will in love. In the king’s abode, outside, was a harlot, comely in appearance and beautiful in form. Some days later, the king said, ‘I want to see my son’s devotion to me.’ He called for that harlot and said to her, ‘Go and seduce my son,’ to see his son’s devotion to him. That harlot, what did she do? She went after his son and began embracing him, kissing him, seducing him with all kinds of enticements. If that son is worthy and obeys his father’s command, he rebukes her, pays no heed to her, and thrusts her away from him. Then the father rejoices in his son and brings him into his palace, giving him gifts and presents and great honor. Who caused all this honor for that son? You must admit, that harlot! And that harlot, does she deserve praise for this or not? Surely she does, from every aspect. First, because she carried out the king’s command; and second, because she brought upon the son all this honor, all this goodness, all this love of the king toward him. Therefore, it is written: and look, it was very good (Genesis 1:31). And look, it was good—this is the Angel of Life; very is the Angel of Death, who is surely very good for whoever heeds his Lord’s command.
Come and See: Were it not for this accuser, the righteous would not inherit those supernal treasures reserved for them in the world that is coming. Happy are they who have encountered this accuser, and happy are they who who have not encountered him! Happy are they who have encountered him, for through him they inherit all that goodness, all that bliss, all those delights of the world that is coming, of which is written, No eye has seen, O God, but you, what You will do for one who awaits You (Isaiah 64:3). Happy are they who have not encountered him, for through him they inherit Hell and are banished from the land of the living—the wicked who do not heed their Lord and are drawn after him. Therefore, the righteous should be grateful to him, for through him they inherit all that goodness, bliss, and delight in the world that is coming. What is the benefit for this accuser when the wicked obey him? Well, even though he has no benefit, he fulfills the command of his Master.
Furthermore, he is strengthened because of this; since he is evil, he becomes stronger when perpetrating evil. A wicked person is strengthened only after he has killed someone. Once he has killed people, he is emboldened, empowered potently, and feels pleasure. Similarly, that accuser grows in power only after he has lured people, accused them, and killed them. Then he is pleased, strengthened, and potently empowered. Just as the side of life is strengthened when people are good and walk on the straight path, so too this accuser is strengthened and empowered when the wicked heed him and are dominated by him—may the Compassionate One save us! Happy are they who are worthy of defeating him and overturning him, earning the world that is coming because of him! One should be strengthened by the blessed Holy One constantly. Of this is said Happy is the human whose strength is in You—highways in their heart (Psalms 84:6). Happy are they in this world, and happy are they in the world that is coming!” (Zohar 2:163a–b).
“Six things are a good sign for a sick person, namely, sneezing, perspiration, bowel movements, seminal emission, sleep and a dream… Seminal emission, as is written: Seeing seed, he will prolong his days (Isaiah 53:10)” (BT Berakhot 57b).
“Rabbi Pinḥas son of Ya’ir said: Study leads to precision, precision leads to zeal, zeal leads to cleanliness, cleanliness leads to restraint, restraint leads to purity, purity leads to holiness, holiness leads to meekness, meekness leads to fear of sin, fear of sin leads to saintliness, saintliness leads to the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit leads to revival of the dead” (BT Avodah Zara 20b).
“Rabbi Ḥisda said: With hot passion [the generation of Noah] sinned, and with boiling water they were punished. [For] here is written, And the waters יָּשֹׁכּוּ (yashoku), subsided (Genesis 8:1); whilst elsewhere it is said, And the king’s wrath שָׁכָכָה (shakhakha), subsided (Esther 7:10)” (BT Sanhedrin 108b).
“Rabbi Eli’ezer said: He who holds his middle finger [i.e., penis] and urinates is as though he brought a flood upon the world? [since lust is inflamed]—Abayye said: It was accounted as [analogous to] a marauding band. For we learnt: If a marauding band enters a town [and they may have touched or moved open barrels of wine, thus rendering them forbidden] in peacetime, open barrels [of wine] are forbidden, closed barrels are permitted; in war time, both are permitted, because they have no time to pour [a drink]. Thus we see, since they are afraid [to put their minds to such things], they do not pour; so here too, since he is in fear, he will not come to [have impure] thoughts. And what fear is there here? The fear of the river” (BT Shabbat 41a).
“Turning Away from Evil
[A pact I sealed with my eyes—I will not gaze on a virgin. (Job 31:1)]
The necessity לְהִזָּהֵר (le-hizaher), to be cautious, in turning away from evil. [One ought] to keep four בְּרִיתוֹת (beritot), pacts:
1) A pact of the eyes—to beware of gazing at women. Now, the ban of gazing is not necessarily because it might lead to a fantasy. And the proof is that the ban even applies to a one hundred year old man [who no longer has a sex drive]. Rather, the true reason is that [the ban] is drawn from an exceedingly supernal root. The warning is because if one is not warned, one could, perish the thought, come to gaze upon the holy Shekhinah. And [what we have said here] is enough to understand….” (Rabbi Barukh Ashlag, Shamati, Tishrei 5703, Jerusalem).