252. “When the day is sanctified, etc.” When the day [of Shabbat] is sanctified [namely, begins], and the holiness rules over the world, that other side [Sitra Aḥara] diminishes ‎itself and hides throughout the night of Shabbat and the day of Shabbat, except for ‎Asimon and his entire sect, who walk upon the candles in secret, to see the exposure of the ‎intercourse. Afterwards, they hide in the cavity of the great deep. Once Shabbat is over, ‎several armies and camps fly and roam through the world. Therefore, the psalm of harmful forces, namely, Psalm 91: “O you who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,” was instituted, so that they would have power over the ‎holy nation. ‎

Explanation: Strictly speaking, the Sitra Aḥara had the ability to clothe themselves in bodies, as stated. Had they managed to do so, the earth would have been given into the control of wickedness. All the ‎bodies and offspring that would have come into the world would all have been from the aspect of evil of the Sitra Aḥara, and they ‎would never have had the strength to be rectified with the good side. This is the meaning of the statement: “If He had given precedence to the other side [Sitra Aḥara] on that night, before giving precedence to ‎the good side, the world would not be able to stand before them for even a moment” [section #250#, above]. Their contamination would have ruled over all the offspring in the ‎world and it would have been impossible to cling to the good side even for a moment. ‎

“However, the Holy One, blessed be He, had made the remedy precede” that event, in that “He had the sanctification of the day skip before Him, and precede to come before the other side,” namely, the holiness of Shabbat skipped ahead and preceded the Sitra Aḥara, and thus the light of ceasing [from work] ‎and rest was revealed in the worlds, which vanquishes and drops the Sitra Aḥara and all the kelippot to ‎the cavity of the great deep. “And the world perpetuated,” since this provided the opportunity for the begetting of bodies and spirits from the good side, through the coupling of Shabbat night, and thus the ‎world was perpetuated in the desired manner. ‎

The reason why [the Zohar] states that “He had [the sanctification of the day] skip before Him” is because anything which does not follow ‎the order of the system of the worlds is called “skipping.” Because the holiness of the ‎Shabbat comes solely by means of an awakening from above – because man had not yet undergone any repentance and ‎rectification that would render him worthy of it [from below], but rather the Emanator Himself brought the remedy forward for the rectification of the world – it is therefore called “skipping.”‎

[The Zohar] continues (section #250#): “As for the intention [of the other side]...” to be established and strengthened in the world, the ‎good side was established and strengthened on that night. [In actuality, ] that night [followed] after the failure [of man with] ‎the tree of knowledge, and [so that night, ] strictly speaking, should have belonged only to the construction of the Sitra Aḥara in ‎all of its strength. The Sitra Aḥara thought likewise, but instead the opposite occurred: The holiness ‎took the place [of the Sitra Aḥara], and “holy bodies and spirits were constructed on that night from the good side.” [This result was] because the ‎preparation was made so that anyone who mates on that night draws forth bodies and spirits from ‎the good side, in which there is no purchase for the Sitra Aḥara at all. This is the precise opposite of ‎the scheme of the Sitra Aḥara. ‎

[The Zohar] continues: “For this reason, the time [for marital relations] of wise people, who know this, is from Shabbat to Shabbat, because then the bodies and spirits are constructed from the side of good. Then, the other side sees that the side of holiness had done what he wished to do etc. [sections #250#–#251#]. [The Sitra Aḥara] had imagined that he would be established and strengthened on that night, but ultimately it was the side of holiness that was built. “He, the Sitra Aḥara, goes and roams with several of his evil armies and parties, and watches all of those who are engaging in intercourse while they are naked, ‎ by candlelight. All the children born from them ‎suffer from epilepsy, because the spirits from that other side rest upon them, by means of the Sitra Aḥara, These are the naked ‎spirits of the wicked, which are called harmful spirits, and Lilith presides over them and kills them.

However, “when the day is sanctified, and the holiness of Shabbat rules over the world, that other side diminishes ‎itself and hides throughout the night of Shabbat and the day of Shabbat. This is why [the Shabbat] is the fixed time for the wise to engage in marital relations. “Except for [the harmful] ‎Asimon and his entire sect, who walk with candles in secret, to see the exposure of the ‎intercourse. Afterwards, they hide in the cavity of the great deep.” This Asimon, although he has the power [needed] to see the intercourse ‎by candlelight, even on Shabbat, he does not have the power to harm on the holy day, but rather he must ‎return without delay to the cavity of the great deep. It is only after the Shabbat that he can harm. ‎

The meaning is as follows: Rabbi Shimon sensed a difficulty here with regard to the teaching that the time [for marital relations] of wise people is from Shabbat to Shabbat. After all, every day at midnight the Holy One, blessed be He, strolls with the righteous in the ‎Garden of Eden “and there is coupling for the wise,” not only on Shabbat nights. [Rabbi Shimon] raised this difficulty in the Zohar (Vayyak’hel, page 65, section 194; see there). To ‎resolve this problem, he elaborates here on the difference between a coupling on Shabbat and a coupling ‎on a weekday, with respect to intercourse by candlelight.

According to the plain meaning of the text, the difference is that on weekday nights the Sitra Aḥara has the power to ‎afflict the newborn children with epilepsy, and similarly Lilith has the power to kill them. ‎ On Shabbat nights, by contrast, although the harmful spirit Asimon and his sect are there, and they have the ‎strength to see [those engaging in intercourse] on Shabbat as well, he does not have the power to harm them at that time, but ‎only after the Shabbat. There is a rectification for that as well, in “the havdala [“separation” ritual, marking the conclusion of Shabbat] of the [evening] prayer ‎and in the havdala over the cup,” through which the power of this harmful spirit is entirely nullified, as will be explained [in the next section] below. This [illustrates] that ‎there is a significant difference between a coupling on the night of Shabbat and a coupling of ‎a weekday night at midnight. ‎

The mystical meaning is that there are “lights of light,” which is Ze’er Anpin, and that is the mystical meaning of the higher unification. There are [also] “lights of fire,” which is the Nukba of ‎Ze’er Anpin (as stated in sections #209# above; see there), which is the mystical meaning of the lower unification. There are three aspects to “its flame,” [the lights of the Nukba]: The first is “white light”; the second is “azure light,” which is beneath the white light; and the third is “a crude substance,” such as “fat or oil or wick,” to which the ‎azure light clings. This azure light is the mystical meaning of “fire consuming fire that eats and ‎consumes everything that is below it.” This [attribute] is the aspect of judgment within [this light], and therefore it eats and consumes everything below it, in that it eats the fat and the wick to which it clings. “White light” is the mystical meaning of the mercy within it, because white represents mercy. ‎

This is the mystical meaning of [the statement]: “One who engages in marital relations by candlelight will have epileptic children” [Pesaḥim 112b]. Likewise, Lilith can kill them, because the azure light of the candle, which is the attribute of judgment, presides [in that context] and the Sitra Aḥara has the power to cling to the coupling. [This power comes] because of the exposure of their bodies through the attribute of judgment, that is, the contamination of the serpent [of the Garden of Eden] that is in the bodies of those engaging in intercourse, and “it finds its own type and is awakened” [see e. g., Avoda Zara 73a].

Further, the coupling that was permitted at midnight was specifically [permitted] in the dark, when there is no light, ‎because then it is stated with regard to Malkhut: “She rises while it is yet night” [Proverbs 31:15], and the mercies are revealed. ‎However, if there is candlelight there, this causes the contamination [of the serpent of the Garden of Eden] to be exposed in the bodies and the Sitra Aḥara clings to the coupling. [The Zohar] thus states: “And the Sitra Aḥara watches all of those who are engaging in intercourse while they are naked, ‎ by candlelight.” By the light of the candle, the Sitra Aḥara sees the exposed contamination in their ‎bodies, accuses them, and clings to their coupling, as explained. ‎

On Shabbat night, however, all the judgments are removed from [the environment], and the azure light also turns into ‎white light. Accordingly, it would have been permitted to engage in intercourse even by ‎candlelight. Moreover, even the contamination in a person’s body completely disappears by virtue of the ‎sanctity of Shabbat, and the fear of exposing the body by the candlelight no longer pertains.

To this [seeming permission to engage in intercourse in the light of the candle on Shabbat] the Zohar states: “Except for ‎Asimon and his entire sect, who walk upon the candles in secret, to see the exposure of the ‎intercourse.” Even on Shabbat, when the azure light turns white and there is no judgment there at all, the light of the candle still needs something crude to which to cling [in order to burn]. This [crude fuel substance] is necessarily of the aspect of judgment, because a crude substance is murky and this alludes to judgments. However, on Shabbat ‎the form of judgment is not apparent in [this substance] and it is regarded as a coin that has no face [stamped upon it]. [The aspect of judgment] is unknown, and therefore this harmful spirit, represented by the crude substance to which the candle clings, is ‎called Asimon, which means a coin without a form [imprinted upon it; see e. g., Berakhot 47b]. ‎

[The Zohar] thus states that they “walk upon the candles in secret,” for this is the mystical meaning of the crude substance that ‎is drawn in concealment together with the candle, since the candle would not burn without it, as stated. Therefore, [this attribute of judgment] sees ‎the exposure of the coupling, by means of which it can harm the person after the conclusion of Shabbat. Thus, there is no concern on the night of Shabbat [itself] as a result of the exposure of their bodies, because ‎the contamination of the body is not distinguishable on Shabbat. But after Shabbat [this force of judgment] has the power to ‎reveal the form of evil in that individual and harm him (see Zohar, Bereshit II, page 150).

As for the statement: “Once Shabbat is over, ‎several armies...” the meaning is as follows: Although Asimon and his sect cannot inflict harm on Shabbat, because at that stage there is still no form of ‎evil in [that aspect of judgment], after Shabbat, however, he and his sect reacquire their form and fly and ascend from the great ‎deep into inhabited areas, and roam through the world and then they can inflict harm. Therefore, “the psalm of harmful forces was instituted...” which is: “O you who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,” for by virtue of this repentance ‎and prayer of “O you who dwell in the shelter,” one is spared from them. ‎