The concept [of the tzadikim of Eretz Yisrael functioning as conduits of divine influence for the entire world] is hinted at in the Tikunei Zohar (50b), "To my heart I have revealed Myself, and to My limbs I have not". Rav Chaim Vital asks, "Why did Chazal mention, 'I have not revealed My heart to My mouth'? (The heart represents the deepest secret - the revelation of Mashiach) Haven't we seen some great rabbis (including Rav Shimon Bar Yochai) discussing the advent of Mashiach? Yet the secret of the issue is thus: to those souls that are the aspect of the heart of the world, I have revealed the secret of the 'End of Days'. That is why they were able to talk about it in a shrouded way. Yet to those souls who correspond to the rest of the body, G‑d has not revealed that secret." Their hearts have been separated… 36 in Eretz Yisrael and 36 in Chutz LaAretz
That is what was meant by the above statement from the Tikunei Zohar, "To My heart I (definitely) revealed Myself, yet not My limbs". Who are considered "My heart"? The Torah. For the Torah has a head, body, heart and other limbs, just like the Jewish people. For it is said about the Jews, "the eyes of the congregation" (Numbers 15:24). [This description implies that we can describe other parts of the body to different groups of Jews.] They are the 70 [This number, 70 is the value of the letter ayin this is hinted at from the word "aynei" - the ayins - "eyes" mentioned in the verse above] members of the Sanhedrin - the Supreme Court of dissemination of Torah law. Moses and Aaron are above them. They are whom we refer to when it says "To My heart I revealed Myself". So too the Torah has seventy facets, they stem from two main roots, the Written Torah and the Oral Torah. About the exile, it is written, "Their hearts ('Libam' in Hebrew) have been separated" (Hoshea 10:2), "Libam" has the numerical value of 72. This refers to the 72 tzadikim; they are similar to the members of Sanhedrin [plus Moses and Aaron]. The essence of this is like the verse, "Praiseworthy are those that yearn for Him ("Lo" in Hebrew)" (Isaiah 30:18). The numerical value of Lo is 36. That refers to the 36 tzadikim in Eretz Yisrael. Yet there are another 36 tzadikim who live in Chutz LaAretz. This is what is derived from the verse, "Their hearts (Libam) have been separated" (Hoshea 10:2): "Libam", being 72, has been separated, 36 in Eretz Yisrael and 36 in Chutz LaAretz. If the majority of the Jews are in Eretz Yisrael then you can be assured that they are meritorious
G‑d was alluding to this when He told Moses, "Gather for Me 70 elders… and I shall emanate to them from the spirit I have imbued in you" (Numbers 11:16-17). It is known that the face of Moses is like the sun. That is seen in the verse, "And I shall place rubies ("kadkod" in Hebrew) as your Sun" (Isaiah 54:12). Kadkod has the value of 48, which refers to 48 of the 70 tzadikim that draw their spirituality from the root of Moses. All of them are from the world of masculinity, therefore the Shechina [which is feminine, so to speak] goes after them to connect with them. That is the mystery of the verse, "Light is sewn for the tzadikim" (Psalms 97:11). Yet if heaven forbid there are no merits for the Jews, then the opposite can occur. And they would be left in Eretz Yisrael with only 24 of the 72 tzadikim. Upon that the verse states, "Let not the oppressed ["dach" in Hebrew] turn back in shame" (Psalms 74:21). "Dach" has the value of 24. King David is requesting of G‑d not to turn away his prayers (for the Prophet depicts David as being exceedingly oppressed), nor the prayers of any oppressed people (like the Jews when they have no merits). A simple way of knowing the status of the merits of the Jews is to observe the following: if the majority of the Jews are in Eretz Yisrael then you can be assured that they are meritorious. Yet if the majority of the Jews are in Chutz LaAretz, then we know that they are culpable. Samae'l… separates their heart, causing most of the tzadikim to be in Chutz LaAretz
The depth of the above is that the existence of the world is dependent upon the tzadikim. It is they who, through their service of G‑d, draw down divine influence to the land. Behold when the majority [of tzadikim] are in Eretz Yisrael, then they draw vast amounts of pure and clean divine influence. Yet the minority of them in Chutz LaAretz will suffice to spread out that which is being provided to them by the tzadikim in Eretz Yisrael. This is hinted to in the verse, "When the righteous abound the nation rejoices, but in the rule of the wicked they will groan" (Proverbs 29:2, "b'yirbot tzadikim yismach ha'am…"). The first letters of the first four words spell HaTzvi, meaning that when there are a majority of tzadikim in Eretz HaTzvi (literally "the lovely land"), then the rest of the nation in Chutz LaAretz shall rejoice in the tzadikim drawing forth the blessings of divine influence ad infinitum. Yet the second part of the verse, "…under the rule of the wicked" implies as that which is written in the Tikuney Zohar. There it says, "Who separates their heart"? It is none other than the yeast and leavening who are Samae'l and the snake. That is what is meant by the verse, "In the rule of the wicked they will groan(Proverbs 29:2), that refers to Samae'l who rules and separates their heart, causing most of the tzadikim to be in Chutz LaAretz, then the nation shall groan. For the amount of divine influence that descends to the world in that situation is pittance, being that so few tzadikim are in Eretz Yisrael, they can't draw down from the gate of heaven so much influence. This is like a candle, upon the thickness (quantity) of whose wick will be determined the grasp (i.e. strength) of the flame. So no matter how great in number are the tzadikim in Chutz LaAretz, they can only share that which was drawn down by the number of tzadikim in Eretz Yisrael.
The Zohar (157b) says, "Even when the Jewish people are in exile, the Shechina exiles herself after them, and gives to the ministering angels in charge of each country the sustenance they need. This of course is only subsequent to deriving the influence from the heavenly portal above Eretz Yisrael - Livnas HaSapir. From there spreads out all the influence for the exiles." This is what is meant by the Torah, "And you shall bless the Lord your G‑d…" (Deut. 8:10), even in Chutz LaAretz; "…upon the good land…", because of those in the "good land" - Eretz Yisrael; "…that He has given you", the sustenance He has given you. For it is the Land of Israel that provides sustenance for the whole world. Eretz Yisrael is like the heart of the world that provides life force to the rest of the world
Yet there is another approach to this matter. That is that the tzadikim in Eretz Yisrael protect all the various places. The reason is that Eretz Yisrael is like the heart of the world that provides life force to the rest of the world, whereas the tzadikim in Chutz LaAretz offer no global protection, only local, to their own vicinity. They are like the limbs that benefit mostly themselves.
This is why the demise of tzadikim in Eretz Yisrael is such a damaging catastrophe for the whole world. It is written, "And Sarah died in Kiryat Arba, which is Hebron in the land of Canaan". That verse is strange, for why did it mention first the specific place "Kiryat Arba" and then the more general place "the land of Canaan (Eretz Yisrael)"? The answer to this is basically that the intention was to hint to the lofty stature of Sarah, for in her merit all the inhabitants of her surrounding neighborhoods benefited greatly. That benefit also extended to the entire land of Israel. Thus, at the time of her demise, was the demise of the benefit of the entire land. The reason for that is that the tzadik in Eretz Yisrael benefits his place and the entire world.
There are other times that the 72 tzadikim are split into two groups even within Eretz Yisrael. They are two groups of 24 each as in the verse, "And I shall place rubies -kadkod - as your Sun" (Isaiah 54:12). Kad = 24 and kod = 24, yet the third group of 24 remains outside of Eretz Yisrael. Upon this situation the verse says, "The sound of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents of the righteous ones ["b'ohalei tzadikim yemin" in Hebrew], G‑d's right hand does valiantly [chayil in Hebrew]" (Psalms 118:15). The first letters spell tzvi, implying that when there is 48 (the number of b'ohalei) tzadikim in the Land of the Tzvi, Eretz Yisrael, then there will be rejoicing and salvation in Chutz LaAretz. That is because of the kad = 24 kod = 24 tzadikim in Eretz Yisrael. Originally there were 36 tzadikim, as in the value of the word ohel, tent. Yet later they were expanded to two thirds of 72 = 48, meaning two tents (groups of 24), that is why the verse says b'ohalei = 48, which is the plural of ohel. That is also the reason that two terms used are "rejoicing" and "salvation". And what has caused this? "…G‑d's right hand does valiantly (chayil in Hebrew)"; chayil = 48. In other words, chesed [with a numerical value of 72], the attribute of mercy, works in this world and does valiantly because of the chayil = 48 tzadikim that are in Eretz Yisrael. When there are … 48 tzadikim in the Land of the Tzvi…then there will be rejoicing
Yet we must delve deeper to understand the root of the 72 tzadikim and from whence they come. Know that the Arizal brings in his Drasha of the Thirds (Etz Chaim Gate 11, Chapter 3) that each chesed is divided into six thirds. Behold the Five Chasadim are split into 30 chasadim. That is the essence of the verse, "And Abraham is surely to become (hayo yeheyeh in Hebrew)" (Gen 18:18). [Yeheyeh = 30. Abraham had a hei, with a numerical value of 5, added to his name, enabling him to "surely become"]. In other words, Abraham who represents chesed, spreads throughout the "body" of Zeir Anpin, to the extent of the number 30, which equals that of yeheyeh . Only then can the chasadim enter the yesod of Zeir Anpin, where it is also split into six, giving us a total of 36 chasadim. Then at the time of the unification of the yesod of Zeir Anpin with the yesod of Nukva, he transfers over those general chasadim. That is what is meant by the verse, "And Abraham gave all that he owned to him (lo in Hebrew)" (Gen. 25:5). [Lo = 36.] This means that basically Abraham, the man of chesed, gave all that he had -36 chasadim- to Isaac. He [Isaac] is basically Rachel, for the word l'Yitzchak, "to Isaac", has the numerical value of 238, the same as the numerical value of "Rachel". This is because all of their rectifications are from the aspect of gevurot, which are called Isaac, and she, Rachel, is called by his name.
Behold, opposite those 36 chasadim, which are incorporated into the yesod, also known as tzadik (and by virtue of the yesod all those chasadim are called tzadikim)--are the 36 gevurot, which are incorporated into the yesod of Zeir Anpin (and are also referred to as tzadikim).They are the root of the 72 tzadikim we have been discussing. And if their heart was separated, as in "Their hearts (Libam, in Hebrew) have been separated" (Hoshea 10:2), who separated it? The yeast and leavening, which are the "mixed multitude" (see Ex. 32:38). The mystery of this, is the verse, "And it separated between water and water" (Gen. 1:6). See Tikuney Zohar 51 a. The intent of this is that at the time when the "mixed multitude" are ruling in the world, then the Nukva of Zeir Anpin is in the position of back to back. Therefore she [Nukva] has nothing [from Zeir Anpin], only gevurot [represented by the back], which is basically the state we are in - our current exile.
That is the situation of "Their heart [Libam, equaling 72, representing the 72 tzadikim] has been separated", referring to the 36 gevurot, the aspect of Chutz LaAretz, the back of Zeir Anpin and the 36 chasadim, the aspect of Eretz Yisrael, the yesod of the front of Zeir Anpin. This is the verse (Gen. 1:6)"And it separated between water…" —meaning chasadim, "…and water" - gevurot . The first letters of the words "…between water and water" ("bein mayim lamayim") spells "Libam"--their heart. Yet at the time when the chasadim and gevurot join together, as in the union between Zeir Anpin and Nukva during the Mussaf prayer of Shabbat, or how they will be at the time of the final redemption, then Zeir Anpin gives the Nukva the 36 chasadim. Upon that situation is written, "Chesed - the kindness of G‑d fills the land" (Psalms 33:5), meaning that all 72 tzadikim, whose number equals that of the word chesed (which has the numerical value of 72), "fill the land", the land of Israel that represents the Nukva being given those chasadim. That would cause the 36 gevurot to transform into chasadim by virtue of their being "sweetened". Upon that situation is written, "He who forms their hearts (libam, again) together" (Psalms 33:15), as well as the verse "Their heart (Libam) will rejoice in G‑d" (Zachariah 10:7), literally.
I have heard from my beloved Ramaz [the author's mentor], that all of this commentary is hinted at in the verse, "About this our hearts were ill" (Lamentations 5:17 "Al zeh hayah daveh libeinu"). In other words the tzadikim, who are called the heart and eyes, as was mentioned earlier, have been negatively affected by [the absence of] "this"--"zeh". Zeh has the numerical value of 12 [which, when added to the first 36] can create chayil (which has a numerical value of 48), meaning "valor". This is also the understanding of the rest of the verse, "… upon these (ayleh = 36), our eyes were dimmed", the eyes referring to the tzadikim. It is specifically the lacking of "this"-- zeh (which equals 12), that makes the heart ill. The heart is the "architect", as is mentioned in the commentaries of the sages (Bereishit Rabba 27:4). Since from the "waist and below the heart", there are two thirds, which are the secret of the 24. Yet when there is a lacking in the "ayleh" (which equals 36), then there is darkness in the eyes. For then the heart and eyes of the Jews are shut. The wise shall understand and their lips will kiss (this concept).
End of Chapter Four.
Start a Discussion