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I thought it might be an interesting exercise if I continued with my series of Zohar interpretations. I shall choose those passages that I feel refer specifically to the workings of the Tree of Life, and that are a little obscure in their symbolism.
The following passage is from the Soncino Edition of the Zohar (as will be all the excerpts that I quote). It is found in Volume II, pg 382.
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[NAPTHALI IS A HIND LET LOOSE] WHO GIVETH GOODLY WORDS.
The Voice speaks to the Utterance, there being no voice without utterance.
This Voice is sent from a deep recess above in order to guide the Utterance, the two being related as general and particular.
The Voice issues from the south and speaks to the west, inheriting two sides, and therefore Moses said to Napthali: "Possess thou the west and the south" (Deut. XXXIII, 23).
Observe that Thought is the beginning of all. This Thought is recondite and inscrutable, but when it expands it reaches the place where spirit abides and is then called Understanding (binah), which is not so recondite as the preceding.
This spirit expands and produces a Voice composed of fire, water, and air, which corresponds to north, south, and east.
This Voice embraces in itself all forces, and speaks to Utterance, and this shapes the word properly.
When you examine the grades closely you find that Thought, Understanding, Voice, Utterance are all one and the same, and there is no separation between them, and this is what is meant by the words: "The Lord is one and His Name is One."
[Soncino Zohar, Vayehi, 246b, Vol II, pg 382.]
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In Numbers, Chap. 2, the tribe Napthali is given to the north/Geburah (i.e. the Camp of Dan) and I have associated it with the sign Virgo. (See my previous post.) We see in this passage from the Zohar a different symbolism.
The symbolism used in this passage relates the four directions to the sefirot as follows:
South: Hesed
North: Geburah
East: Tifaret
West: Malkut
The four technical terms: Thought, Understanding, Voice, and Utterance, refer to the following sefirot...
Thought: Hockmah
Understanding: Binah
Voice: Hesed, Geburah, Tifaret (embracing the other "forces" - Netzah, Hod, and Yesod)
Utterance: Malkut
These terms are also associated with "His Name" as follows:
Y = Thought (Hockmah)
H = Understanding (Binah)
V = Voice (Hesed, Geburah, Tifaret, etc)
H = Utterance (Malkut)
The Voice is said to expand from Binah as a spirit containing within itself fire, water, and air - corresponding to north, south, and east. Thus, these elemental constituents of the Voice arrange themselves on the Tree as follows:
Fire - North - Geburah
Water - South - Hesed
Air - East - Tifaret
Of course, these elements refer specifically to energies emanating from the three Hebrew Mother letters: Shin, Maym, and Alef.
So we have:
Fire (Shin) - North - Geburah
Water (Maym) - South - Hesed
Air (Alef) - East - Tifaret
These correspondences mirror (and are emanations of) their higher correspondences...
Fire (Shin) - Binah
Water (Maym) - Hockmah
Air (Alef) - Keter
The Voice "guides the Utterance". It issues from the south (Hesed) and speaks to the west (Malkut). In other words, it proceeds through the sefirot from Hesed (#4) to Malkut (#10).
In Malkut the Voice 'materialises' as an Utterance. It becomes the 'spoken word' of the Creator.
What is being cryptically described in this passage is an occult kabbalistic meditation, as well as the process of Creation (in general).
Blessings,
Patrick.
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