קבלה אויף קהלת 7:14

According to the Zohar, “R. Yehudah said, why is it written, ‘even this God made corresponding to that?‘²⁵Eccle. 7:14.God made the earth to correspond to the firmament. Everything [below] alludes to what is above. For when R. Abba would see a certain tree whose fruit would change into a bird that flew from it, he would weep and say, ‘if human beings only knew to what this alludes….’ As R. Yose said, these trees from which wisdom can be learned,²⁶I.e., their nature alludes to some characteristic of the divine world of the sefirot. such as the carob, palm, pistachio, and the like were all borne in one chariot.²⁷or, “were all compounded in one compounding.” All those [trees] that bear fruit, except the apple tree, allude to one supernal mystery…. And all the small ones, except for the hyssop, are the offspring of one mother. In heaven, powerful intermediaries are placed over each of the earth’s plants, and each has its own mystery, just as above.”²⁸Zohar, Shemot, 15b.

As explained, the admixture of good and evil permeated all worlds, even the upper, spiritual worlds. This being the case, the soul of man was also affected, for was it not hewn from the same four spiritual elements from which all the supernal beings were formed? These four elements are the four letters of the name HaShem-יהו"ה,¹⁵For a more expansive explanation of the Name HaShem-יהו"ה, and the manner in which all novel creations are brought forth by and dependent upon the Singular Preexistent Intrinsic and Essential Being of HaShem-יהו״ה, blessed is He, see Ginat Egoz of Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla, translated under the title HaShem is One. blessed is He and blessed is His name. About this it says,¹⁶Ezekiel 37:9 “From the four spirits, come O spirit etc.” This “spirit” that comes is the essential soul of man from the side of goodness. However, God made everything with its opposite.¹⁷Ecclesiastes 7:14 Just as the upper spiritual worlds are the source of goodness and purity, so He created a source of evil and impurity. This is the Sitra Achera (The Other Side) which is called Adam BliYa’al (The Incorrigible Man).¹⁸Proverbs 6:12 – “אדם בליעל” – The term “BliYa’al-בליעל” divides into the two words “without a yoke-Bli Ol-בלי עול,” meaning, without the yoke of Heaven, and can also be read “without ascent-Bli Ya’al-בלי יעל,” meaning, the animalistic inclination in man, that descends downward, as stated (Eccl. 3:21), “Who realizes that the spirit of man is the one that ascends on high while the spirit of the beast is the one that descends below down into the earth.” It is made up of four sources of destruction¹⁹See Mishnah Bava Kama 1:1 – “The four Fathers of Damages” (אבות נזיקין). and four indicators of plague,²⁰See Mishna Nega’im 1:1 – “The indicators of plague (מראות נגעים), are two, which in fact are four.” which are its four bad elements. From there, an evil soul, which is called, “The Evil Inclination” (Yetzer HaRa), is drawn to man. If this soul overpowers the good soul, destruction, plagues and spiritual illnesses befall it. Moreover, if it is too overpowering, it can even cause spiritual death, God forbid.

After [the passage] dealt with the sin of one who reveals [mysteries] to the wicked, one can understand the opposite—the eminence of the righteous, for also this opposite, that did God make (Eccles. 7:14). [Thus] “those who reveal mysteries to the righteous cause the righteous.” By revealing the mystery to the righteous, [the teacher] causes emanation from the source on high, which is Tiferet, to Yesod. Thereupon Yesod clarifies these mysteries [in passing them] to Malkhut. This is [why the passage] states “cause the righteous,” which is Yesod, “enlightenment in the mysteries of the Torah,” which is the mystery of the emanation from Tiferet, termed “Torah,” to the Shekhinah. This is its path.