Ohr HaZohar
Issue #67 – Kislev, 5773
Zohar for Mashiach
We are pleased to announce a campaign to awaken Heavenly Mercy, and to merit the arrival of the Mashiach with ease and compassion.
Every Jew must devote 150 seconds per day to studying the Holy Zohar, and in that manner we will merit to complete – every day – the entire Holy Zohar a total of 358 times, which is the Gematria (numerical value) of the word "Mashiach" in Hebrew.
Within a month we will have completed the Holy Zohar 10,740 times [which annuls the 10,000 silver bars of Haman (see: Pri Etz Chaim, 108th Gate, Chanukah & Purim – Chapter 6)] which is holy protection for all the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael, and we will then surely awaken Heavenly Mercy and holy Abundance.
The Calculation is as Follows:
There are 5760 pages in every book of Zohar.
Every pamphlet which contains two pages of Holy Zohar takes 2 1/2 minutes to study. Multiply 2 1/2 minutes by 2,880 pamphlets (the entire Zohar contains 5760 pages, and in each pamphlet there are two pages of Zohar), = 7,200 minutes that it takes to study the entire Holy Zohar, which is 120 hours.
That is to say: In 120 hours it is possible to complete studying the entire Holy Zohar, which has 2880 pages. And therefore, every person who wants to complete the entire Holy Zohar by himself would have to learn for four hours per day in order to get through it all in 30 days – in just one month.
Therefore, we have organized the division of the Holy Zohar in a way that enables one group of 2,880 people to complete the entire Zohar every day, with an investment of just 2 1/2 minutes, just 150 seconds.
We are also working to organize 358 groups, according the value of "Mashiach" [and to annul the power of the "Nachash" – snake – which also has a Gematria value of 358] to complete the Zohar. That is to say:
1,031,040 people – one million, thirty-one thousand, and forty people – who complete the Holy Zohar 358 times, according to the value of "Mashiach", in 2 1/2 minutes And that is the minimum investment that we are obligated to make for the Redemption of the Holy Shechina.
A total of 1,031,040 people studying, multiplied by 2 1/2 minutes = 2,577,600 minutes, which divided by 60 minutes per hour = 42,960 hours – forty-two thousand, nine hundred and sixty hours.
And you, dear Jew, please join us in this unique learning project, and fulfill the wishes of our God, who wants to hasten the Redemption, and you will merit welcoming the arrival of the righteous Mashiach.
And the holy nation of Israel has already accepted upon themselves, with all their hearts and souls they are ready and willing, in the tens of thousands, to dedicate their time – just 2 1/2 minutes – to fulfill their Creator's will.
The goal of Zohar study: to take advantage of this wonderful opportune time, when the Heavenly Gates are open, to connect with the Divine Tanna Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, may his memory protect us, in order to stand in prayer and call forth our merit, as Eliyahu the Prophet said (Ma'amar Patach Eliyahu): "Arise Rabbi Shimon to awaken the Upper World, the Holy Forefathers and Moshe our Teacher, the loyal shepherd, in order to raise the Shechina from the dust, and to fulfill the verse: "The punishment of your iniquity is accomplished, oh daughter of Zion, He will no more carry you away into captivity." (Eicha: 4:22). And the Rose of the Sharon will awaken to save the sons, "your sons will return to their borders", and in the merit of that we will fulfill the verse (Malachi, 3:22-24): "Keep in remembrance the teaching of Moshe, My servant", and we will merit bringing about the revelation of the prophet: "I will send you Eliyahu the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord, that he may turn the heart of the fathers back through the children, and the heart of the children back through their fathers".
Eliyahu the Prophet has already promised us that in the merit of occupying ourselves with the Holy Zohar, we will go out of the Exile with mercy, and our holy rabbis have written that we should read through and occupy ourselves with the Holy Zohar in order to hasten the Redemption. The Zohar is the sword that cuts down Impurity and the Evil Inclination. The Zohar purifies a man and his sword. The main power of the Zohar is the holy mussar, Hashem's pure work, love of Hashem and Israel, and complete devotion to the eternal purpose in life. The Zohar is oxygen for the soul. Just as the body needs oxygen, the soul needs the Holy Zohar, together with the observance of the laws and commandments, with study of the entire "Pardes" of the Torah, pshat and halacha, remez, drash and sod, total dedication to observing and studying the Torah in purity and holiness. And we will merit the light of our righteous Mashiach, who will appear speedily in our days, with the investment of 2 1/2 minutes per day. [see below what can be earned in a short amount of time].
Whoever participates in the holy learning, will be connected with the holy Tanna Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, peace be upon him, and thereby he and his family and all those participating in the campaign with him and assisting him will enter the "Noah's Ark" which will shelter and protect them all from the devastating flood and the war of "Gog and Magog" at the End of Days.
The holy plan: a) Each participant will receive one pamphlet for free, to study from on a daily basis. b) We will all make a strong connection with the holy Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai every day c) All of the participants can submit their names and the names of their family members, and the names will be recited at the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai d) The Zohar must be divided between 2880 people. e) Each participant will study for 2 1/2 minutes per day, and together the participants will complete the entire Holy Zohar 358 times, which is the Gematria value of "Mashiach" f) The holy learning should continue uninterrupted for an entire month, and the month shall be called "the Mashiach's month". And in one month, there will be 10,740 siyumim – completions of the Holy Zohar. g) Any one person can complete the entire Holy Zohar himself, in just a month, by learning for four hours per day. h) The entire nation of Israel will connect with Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai i) Everyone should distribute pamphlets in his city, in every study hall, and will receive an incredible reward, as follows: j) Everyone who wishes to fulfill what Chazal say, that the deed is greater than the one who performs it – will receive for free a set of 2,880 pamphlets, so that he will have the merit to distribute the books of Zohar for free to his friends and relatives, close and distant, so that every Jew will be able to take part in this holy learning. For the world exists in their merit. And anyone who can do this will receive a reward equal to that of all the other participants, as though he actually created them, as is explained in the Zohar (Trumah, 128), and in Sefer Chassidim, and in works by the Gra, and more. k) Each person who participates in this holy learning will be inscribed in the Book of Life of the holy Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, and everyone whose name is written in the book will be prayed for at the yeshiva of the holy Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai – others will pray that he be blessed with good fortune and a long life.
And each and every participant will be rewarded as though he personally studied and completed every day 1,031,040 [over one million] siyumim of the Holy Zohar. And each will also receive the reward earned by each of the others in the group, who received the reward of 1,031,040 siyumim – which means multiplying by that number of siyumim by 1,031,040 (Be'er Mayim Chaim) – for a total of 1,063,043,481,600. That is one trillion, sixty-three billion, 43 million, 481 thousand, and 600 completions of the Zohar credited to each and every member of the holy group.
Now let us further calculate: Each completion of the Zohar takes 120 hours. It is know that learning one hour of Holy Zohar on a weekday, with joy and with sorrow, is equivalent to one hundred thousand hours of studying Torah. And on Shabbat it is equivalent to one hundred million years of Torah study (Kisei Hamelech, Harayach Hatov, Orchot Tzaddikim, Avot d'Rabi Natan). Thus, every completion of the Holy Zohar [120 hours of studying the Holy Zohar], is equivalent to 12,000,000 – twelve million – years of Torah study [and that does not take into account studying the Holy Zohar on Shabbat, which multiplies it all by one thousand]. Taking all of this into account, we can conclude that we must multiply 1,063,043,481,600 – one trillion, sixty-three billion, 43 million, 481 thousand, and 600 – by twelve million years of Torah study, for each completion of the Zohar.
1,063,043,481,600 X 12,000,000 = 1.27565217792E+19
That is the sum total of years of studying the pshat of the Torah that each participant in this program earns, if he learns just 2 1/2 minutes of Zohar for one day!!!
How can it be? It is considered as though each of the participants completed the entire Zohar himself, because he is a member of a group, as the S'deh Chemed wrote (Ma'arechet 40, citation 198): "When a mitzvah is performed by many people together, each person is rewarded as if he performed it all on his own. (see also: Masechet Brachot 47; Mishna Brura clause 55, citation 73); Ahavat Chessed part 2, chapter 16; and see there from Shabbat, page 3.) And the Be'er Mayim Chaim wrote on Parshat Tetzaveh (handwritten commentary, page 24): We can comment on the words of our Rabbis, blessed be their memories, "Within each and every one", that one who brings merit to the multitudes earns their merits as well…so aside from the fact that each person performs a mitzvah when he visits a holy place and blesses Hashem's name in public, he also brings merit to the nine other men who stand with him. So not only were the other men present dependent on him to complete the minyan, he also earns the merits of each of the other men who performed the same mitzvah. [That is to say that each member of the minyan receives the rewards of all ten, and not just one]. And according to the writings of Chazal, in Masechet Sotah, on the issue of Ervut, each individual in Am Yisrael is responsible for himself, and for his friend, and for the myriad of others who commit a transgression [Masechet Sotah (page 37b, in commentaries)]. Therefore, in the same measure, just as a person deserves the reward of the ten, and each of the ten in fact deserves the reward of ten, then the final calculation is 10 time 10 for each person, which is 100… And after the calculation is made granting each individual the rewards deserved by 100, we can assume that each man is rewarded according to his deeds. Meaning that if through some act he performed he brought merit to many others, then he will earn the reward of all those others, compounding his own merit by hundreds or by thousands."
Think for another moment! Every minyan of scholars will be multiplied by one thousand, because everything given from the HEaveans is given in multiples of a thousand (Zohar, Pasrshat Veyetzeh). For the Shechinah is present in a minyan, and anyone who joins those present in a lesson will receive the rewards of all the others, multiplied by one thousand!!! And more is written on this topic in the book Sefer Chassidim – Regarding every mitzvah which should be performed, but is not performed – one who does perform it will be rewarded according to the number of people who forsake it.
That being the case, anyone who joins the holy group that learns the Holy Zohar will receive the reward of all the Jews in the world who do the same. Likewise his reward will be calculated according to those who failed to participate. It will be as though he has performed a deed of loving kindness for someone who is deceased. And if people do have the merit to participate, then his reward will once again be multiplied according to the principle of ervut – mutual responsibility – as explained above. And his reward will surely last eternally. It will be infinite, immeasurable. For Chazal wrote that whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world. Think of how many holy Jewish souls can be saved from spiritual and material decline and corruption…there is no human brain that can fathom the possibilities.
Take note: One can receive the reward of 15 million Jews, multiplied by 1,063,043,481,600 (one trillion, 63 billion, 43 million, 481 thousand, six hundred) completions of the Zohar, and this is the case for each and every member of the group. The total value equals 15943562224E + 19 siyumim – completions of the Holy Zohar.
Can there be anyone who won't run to grab this opportunity with both hands, this opportunity to study the Holy Zohar?
Imagine that someone wants to give you one trillion dollars in cash. Is there any normal person who would refuse such an offer? And if there is such a person who is not interested, then what kind of person is he? Is he normal?
So here we have 2 1/2 minutes that equal one trillion times one trillion, which is a sum that is impossible to name or calculate. And who wouldn't want to receive such a gift? [See what the Ramban wrote about Parshat Tavo about the verse "Cursed be he who does not uphold the words of this Torah", when he brought an explanation from the Yerushalmi Talmud saying that one who is able to uphold the Torah by causing it to be kept by those who neglect it, but fails himself to uphold it, then if even if he is completely righteous he will be cursed, Heaven forbid. And therefore this mitzvah is much weightier than the other positive commandments. The Chafetz Chaim wrote in the introduction to his book, Nidchei Yisrael, a commentary on "for us, and for our generations, and for all the generations". He explains that the verse refers to the Brit Bein HaBetarim – an irrevocable covenant that remains valid for all generations past and present. Likewise, we receive punishment for sins committed by past generations. The measure of reward is greater than that of punishment – therefore, since the measure of punishment carries down through the generations, the measure of reward carries down to a greater extent. And Rashi explains on Masechet Makot (23a): and all the more so with regard to an act which affects one's soul – the measure of reward is 500 times greater than that of punishment, and with regard to the measure of punishments, it is written (Shemot, 20): "Who visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons, upon the third and the fourth generation…". And with regard to the measure of reward, it is written (ibid): "I act with loving kindness towards thousands" – meaning thousands of generations; and the proportion of four generations to two thousand generations is five hundred. So the reward continues for at least two thousand generations, which is until the end of all generations.] [And we should remember what we say when reciting the "Thirteen Principles" – "I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, rewards those who keep His commandments and punishes those that transgress them." And we should also remember what the Rambam said, that one who fails to believe in even one of the Thirteen Principles will not be revived during the Resurrection of the Dead. And we should also all examine the words of the "Baruch Sh'amar" blessing every day: "Blessed is He who gives a good reward to those who fear Him. Blessed is He who lives forever and exists to eternity."]
And every Jew whose souls stood at Har Sinai and received the Torah should run and be happy with his portion, and participate in this holy learning program, because every Jew has the great merit of having within his power to accept upon himself to join the multitudes and study the Holy Zohar for just 2 1/2 minutes per day – and he should do so continuously for 30 days, until the Holy One, blessed be He, has mercy upon us and sends us our Redeemer. And every one of the participants has that merit. Can you imagine that any intelligent individual would pass up the chance to run and grab such a great merit, and instead remain an idler and ignoramus?
For it is commonly known what is written in the Zohar Chadash (Parshat Noach, 29:30): "And he sent for the dove" – to the exile of Edom – "and it no longer returned to him" – Until this very day we have not repented, and our spirit has not been aroused. Rabbi Pinchas said: If we would have repented, we would not have remained in Exile for even one day. Rabbi Eliezer said: Every time the Jewish People were sent into exile, the Holy One blessed be He set a limit to the exile, and they were always aroused to repentance. But this final exile has no set limit, and everything depends upon repentance. As it is written (Devarim, 30:2): "And you will return to the Lord, your God, and you will listen to His voice." And it is also written (Devarim, 30:4), "Even if your exiles are at the end of the heavens, the Lord, your God, will gather you from there, and He will take you from there." And Rabbi Akiva responded, If that is so, how will it be possible to awaken everyone to repent simultaneously? One is at one end of the heavens, and the other is at the end of the Earth. How will it be possible to unite everyone across the globe to repent? If only the heads of the different communities repent, or all the members of one beit knesset, then in their merit the exile will end for everyone.
Rabbi Eliezer said to him: Upon my life! If the heads of the batei Knesset [if all the leaders of the community sincerely repent] or all the members of one beit knesset [or one community], then in their merit the Exile will draw to a close. For the Holy One, blessed be He, is always watching to see when we will repent and then wants to bestow His goodness upon us (Yishayahu, 30) and therefore Hashem will wait to deal kindly with you, will always wait to see when you will repent.
And each one of us should arouse his friend, telling him to study with the holy groups, and that it is only for a few minutes per day. And thus he will merit the pleasures of Gan Eden and the eternal worlds, and he will understand Hashem's ways, blessed be His name. And he will earn a great reward for every single minute he learns the Holy Zohar, and he will be saved from Erev Rav, as the prophet Yeshayahu wrote (57:13-14): When you cry out, let your collections save you; wind shall carry all of them off, a breath shall take them, but he who trusts in Me shall inherit the land and shall inherit My holy mount. And he shall say, "Pave, pave, clear the way; remove the obstacles from the way of My people."
And as it says in the Zohar Ra'aya M'hemna, parshat Naso (pages125 – 126): And the Erev Rav, as it is written about them (Shemot, 20) "…and the people saw and trembled; so they stood from afar." Thus they will be far from the Redemption, and the Torah scholars and the holy nation will all tremble with fear in the face of all this glory, and they will be distant from it. And if they try to connect with them, what is written about them? (Shemot, 19): "No hand shall touch it, for he shall be stoned or cast down." At the time, Israel will experience the following (Devarim, 32): "The Lord guided them alone, and there was no alien deity with Him." This means that no converts will be accepted during the days of the Mashiach." And in Shmuel I (2:9) is says, "And the wicked shall be cut off in darkness." (the words "cut off" mean that they will be excommunicated and die). It is the Erev Rav who will die in the dark. And therefore the prophet said about them (Yechezkel, 13) "…and to the land of Israel they shall not come." (meaning, they will remain outside of Israel, among the non-Jews, and they will not be permitted to enter Eretz Yisrael) (Ramak and commentators, from Matok M'Dvash).
…the devoted shepherd told him [Moshe Rabbeinu said to Eliyahu Hanavi]: I summon you in the name of Hashem, do not delay, because I am in great pain: “And he looked here and there and saw there was no man” (Shemot, 2), no man that would help me to relieve me from this pain, and in this grave, that is written about me: “And he gave his grave to the wicked” (Yeshayahu, 53:9), and they do not recognize me, and I am considered in their eyes, the eyes of Erev Rav, the evildoers, like a smelly dead dog, for the wisdom of Chachamim will expire among them, in every city and in every place Israel are spread among them, among Kings. And those Erev Rav are made into the Shepherds of Israel the herd of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written: “And I will give my herd that I have tended, ADAM to be with them” (Yechezkel, 34) and they have no power to do any good for the Talmidei Chachamim – the Torah scholars… And those Erev Rav, they are the rich men living in happiness and contentment without suffering nor pain, corrupt thieves, that they are the Judges, the leaders of the people, about whom it is written: “And the land was filled with violence because of them” (Bereishit, 7). About them it is written, “Their enemies became their heads” (Eicha, 1). I summon you a second time in the name of Hashem Tzevakot Eloke Israel Yoshev ha Keruvim, that all these things will not be missing from your mouth to talk about them in front of Ha Kaddosh Baruch Hu, and to tell him about their suffering (Raaya Mehemna)
Question: Is there a way the Jews outside of Israel can ensure they will remain alive?
Answer: Moshe Rabbeinu and Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai said, the Holy Zohar is like a Noah's Ark, and those who study it will be spared from the birth pangs of the Mashiach. And the holy Ramchal has told us that the secret to saving Am Yisrael in the final generation, and to ensuring the Redemption, is nothing other than this – the power and segulah of studying the Holy Zohar. And they wrote: Rabbi Shimon's escape set the stage for the ark, and we will all escape into this ark and be saved.
And thus Moshe Rabeinu, blessed be his memory, said to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, may his memory protect us, in the Holy Zohar (Naso, 124): “In the merit of this work of yours, the Book of the Holy Zohar, the Jews will be redeemed from exile with compassion, without tragedies and suffering, without the birth pangs of Mashiach! – and it is written in Tikkunei Zohar Chadash (page 72, column 4): "This work was like Noah's ark in which every type of creature entered. Thus all the souls of the righteous ones, and of those who are devoted and diligent, will enter the ark. As it is written about them (Tehillim 118) 'This is the Lord's gate; the righteous will enter therein.' And others who are not righteous will be turned away. And when this work was revealed in the world, many people entered it. As it is written about them (Devarim, 29): ' but with those standing here with us today… and [also] with those who are not here with us, this day.' – together with us in the group. It is written about them (Daniel, 12) 'And the multitudes of the righteous will be like the stars forever and ever.' Like those stars that last forever and ever."
And it is written in the Zohar (Part 3, page 153, Ra'aya M'hemna) "And the wise will shine like the brightness of the sky." –They are the ones who strive for the Zohar, that is, for the Book of Zohar, which is like Noah's Ark…And for them the verse will be fulfilled (Shemot, 1): "Every son who is born you shall cast into the Nile." And that is the light of this book. The Ramak wrote in Ohr Yakar (Gate 1, item 5): "This composition, titled 'The Book of Zohar', is like Noah’s ark, in which there were many species, and those species and the families survived only by entering the ark. Just so … the righteous will enter the secret of the light of this composition to survive. And so, the power of the composition is that with regard to one who willingly engages in the study, the love of the Creator will draw him in like the draw of the magnet on metal. And he will come inside it to save his mind and soul and spirit, and his tikun. And even if he is wicked, there is no reason to fear should he come inside…But his entry will not really be a straightforward entry, but rather one of two things will happen. Either he will repent and become righteous and then enter, or he will be totally rejected, and will withdraw himself, as was the case in Noah's Ark which rejected the wicked, and all those who transgressed, including animals and beasts."
The Ramak also wrote (Ohr Yakar, Tikkunei Zohar 21:25): The promise made by the Zohar to those who are privy to the light of this composition, the righteous multitudes, is that they will be like eternal stars. That is to say that they continue to exist after they leave the physical world – they will reappear in the spiritual world, and they will merit that secret existence (see also the introduction to Tikkunei Zohar by the Gra).
Don't say you didn't know! Do not claim that you weren't able! This is in our hands, and it is our holy obligation! Whoever is with Hashem, join me! The Holy One, blessed be He, provided a remedy for the illness, and sent us Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai to save us from all the difficult and terrible decrees. Wake up from your slumber! Am Yisrael needs to be saved from the disastrous flood! – and that is only possible with: "Noah's Ark" which is the "Holy Zohar".
Therefore, let us dedicate ourselves to the Redemption. Let us heed the commands of Moshe Rabbeinu, blessed be his memory, to redeem the holy Shechina, and not wait for tomorrow [because "tomorrow" is the Amalek's advice]. It has to be right now that we unite to strengthen and sanctify ourselves with the Torah. And all of Israel will study the Holy Zohar every day, and if you do so, you will be fortunate in this world and all will be well with you in the World to Come. And then we will surely be redeemed immediately. May it be Hashem's will that we are among the fortunate and the joyful, that the Mashiach himself will personally speak out in our favor – "In your merit I have arrived." And so, my dear fellow Jews, learn for the sake of Heaven, sacrifice some of your time for the holy Shechina, bring pleasure to our Creator, to cause Him to redeem our souls. And study the Holy Zohar every day so that we may all together bask in the light of the King's – the Mashiach's – face, speedily in our days, Amen.