Chapter Sixty-Five:

Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag's "Introduction to the Zohar"

-- as translated and commented on by Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

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65.

"But understand that there’s an interior and an exterior (aspect) to everything."
-- That is, everything is of cloth and lining; colored and striking, as well as muted and steady.

"Over-all, the Jewish Nation -- the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob -- are regarded as be the interior (aspect) of the world, ... "
-- ... since they comply with G-d’s wishes, over-all.

"... while the seventy (Gentile) nations are regarded as its exterior (aspect)."
-- Thus, just as each garment needs both its cloth and its lining, the universe itself needs both Jews and Gentiles.

"But within the Jewish Nation itself there is (an) interior (aspect), which is comprised of those who wholeheartedly serve G-d, ... "
-- That is, who comply with G-d’s wishes both inside *and* out ...

" ... and an exterior (one), which is comprised of those who don’t devote themselves to Divine service."
-- ... and only comply with G-d’s wishes externally, or hardly at all. But, again, both are needed.

"Likewise among the Gentile nations there’s an interior (aspect), which is comprised of righteous gentiles, and an exterior (one), which is comprised of the crass and destructive people among them."
-- And both of them are needed as well.

"But even among those within the Jewish Nation who wholeheartedly serve G-d there’s an interior (aspect), ... "
-- ... who comply with G-d’s wishes both inside and out, as well as within the interior of G-d's wishes, which touches upon Kabbalah as we'll now see.

" ... which is comprised of those who’ve been granted the ability to grasp the soul of the interior (aspect) of the Torah and its secrets, and an exterior (one), which is comprised of those who are only occupied with the practical aspects of the Torah.
-- And both of them are needed just as well.

"In fact, within each and every Jew there’s an interior (aspect) which is the 'Jewish Nation' within him, i.e., the point in the heart, ... "
-- As Rabbi Ashlag indicated earlier on, the “point in the heart” is “the hindmost part of our holy soul ... (that) only begins to come into play ... after (we reach) age 13 ... (and) only to the extent that we observe Torah and mitzvot” (see 30:1, 43:1 and our remarks there). The idea here is that the point in the heart serves as the interior aspect, the motherland, if you will, of every Jew and the core of his or her Jewish identity.

"... and an exterior (one), which is comprised of the 'Gentile nations' within him, i.e., the body itself. It’s just that the 'Gentile nations' within the latter are regarded as 'converts', ... "
-- That is, as gentiles transformed, since this person is still-and-all a Jew.

" ... since they cleave on to the interior (aspect), ... "
-- ... by virtue of their native Jewishness ...

" ... and they’re hence like righteous converts who cleave on to the Jewish Nation."

c) 2006 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman

(Feel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org )

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Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon "The Path of the Just", and "The Duties of the Heart" (Jason Aronson Publishers). His new work on Maimonides' "The Eight Chapters" will soon be available.
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