Lyrics

First Zohar - 12 Greater Even Than Yoseph

© 2021-03-13, Issachar Tal van Kekem

Outside the gate of Lydda, a weary traveler fell asleep on a high ledge.
A serpent slid up to poison the man, but God dropped a branch and killed it.
The sound of the branch startled the weary traveler, and he jumped up and back,
while at the very moment, the ledge on which he had been lying, collapsed and crashed into the ravine below.

Why did God see fit to perform two miracles for you,
Oh weary traveler?
What did you do to deserve that much love,
Fortunate traveler?
I do not know for certain, the traveler said,
The one thing I can think of, is that,
Whoever wronged me, I made peace with and forgave:
To my anger I always refused to be a slave.
And if he would not make peace, I would still forgive,
For with anger in my heart, I simply would not live!
So I forgave all injury, and I did not brood,
For no-one has anger ever done any good!

Those words did touch Rabbi Abba quite a bit.
He remembered how in the Proverbs it is writ:
“He that walks uprightly, walks securely”
Which means he is safe from evil forces, surely!
No harm will ever come his way:
He will prosper in good health until his final day!