185) Rabbi Pinhas was regularly before Rabbi Rehumai, by the shore of the Sea of Galilee. A great and elderly man was Rabbi Rehumai, and his eyes grew weak. He said to Rabbi Pinhas, “Indeed, I heard that Yochai, our friend, has a gem, a good stone, a son. I looked in the light of that gem, and it is as the illumination of the sun from its sheath, illuminating the entire world.”

Explanation: Malchut in all her corrections is called “a good stone,” and she is called “a gem.” He said, “Yochai, our friend, has a gem, a good stone, a son,” meaning he has already been rewarded with Malchut, with all her corrections and adornments. He looked in the spirit of holiness, in the light of the gem, that it was as illuminating as the light of the sun upon its exit from its sheath, which is the correction of Malchut’s future, so the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, that then she illuminates the entire world.

And behold, after the light of Malchut became the light of the sun and her peak rose to heaven, she illuminated from the heaven to the earth in another pillar of light, to the entire world. He was illuminating and going until it was enough for Rabbi Shimon to properly correct the throne of Atik Yomin. The intimation is that he was already rewarded with the two revelations at the end of correction. These are 1. the six verses from the verse “The heavens tell” to the verse “The law of the Lord is whole,” and 2. the six names that are written from the verse “And there is nothing hidden from its heat” through the end of the psalm. This is so because the light standing from the heaven to the earth and illuminating the entire world implies to the six verses, and until Atik Yomin comes and properly sits on the throne, it indicates those six names.

186) And that light stands from the heaven to the earth and illuminates the entire world until Atik Yomin, meaning Keter, arrives and properly sits on the throne, meaning until the end of correction. And that light is entirely included in your home, meaning in his daughter, since the daughter of Rabbi Pinhas was the wife of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, and from the light that was included in your home, a small and thin light comes out, which is Rabbi Elazar, his daughter’s son. He comes out and illuminates the entire world, happy are you. Come out, my son, come out, follow that gem that illuminates the world, for the time is ripe for you.

Commentary: The daughter of Rabbi Pinhas Ben Yair was Rabbi Shimon’s wife. It follows that Rabbi Shimon is included in the house of Rabbi Pinhas Ben Yair. This refers to Rabbi Elazar, who came out of the light that was included in the house of Rabbi Pinhas Ben Yair, that the light is Rabbi Shimon and his wife, and Rabbi Elazar came out and illuminated the entire world.

187) He went out from him and was about to go into the ship, and there were two men with him. He saw two birds coming and flying over the sea. He raised his voice and said, “Birds, birds, since you fly over the sea, have you seen the place where Yochai is?” He waited a little, then said, “Birds, birds, go and tell me.” They flew away into the sea and departed.

Commentary: Rabbi Shimon fled from the kingship, which ordered that he should be killed. He and his son hid in a cave, and they did not know his whereabouts. This is why Rabbi Pinhas, son of Yair, went to look for him in the islands of the sea.

188) Before he went out to the ship, the birds came and one of them held a letter in her beak. It said, “Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai has come out of the cave with his son, Rabbi Elazar.” Rabbi Pinhas went to him and found that he had changed. His body was filled with holes and sores from sitting in the cave. He wept over him and said, “Woe that I have seen you so.” Rabbi Shimon told him, “Happy I am that you have seen me so, for had you not seen me so, I would not be so.” Rabbi Shimon opened with the commandments of the Torah and said, “All the commandments of the Torah that the Creator gave to Israel are written in the Torah in a general way.”

Commentary: For all the years that he had to dwell in a cave, he had to sit there inside the sand to cover his nakedness and engage in Torah, and his flesh was punctured and with sores because of it.

Rabbi Pinhas wept over him and said, “Woe unto me that I have seen you so.” Rabbi Shimon replied to him, “Happy I am that you have seen me so, for had you not seen me so, I would not be so,” meaning I would not have been rewarded with the revelations of the secrets of the Torah, for he was awarded all the great sublimity of his wisdom during those 13 years of hiding in the cave.

Rabbi Shimon opened and said, “All the commandments in the Torah that the Creator gave to Israel are written in the Torah in a general way,” in the verse “In the beginning God created,” until the verse “And there was light.” The Zohar explained that the verse “In the beginning God created” is the commandment of fear and its punishment, and all the commandments in the Torah are included in it.