the sabbath and thus have provided them with physical sheaths or bodies? The truth is, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil had excited them to revolt even before embodiment, through their great desire to descend into the world, or on to the earth, and make themselves lords and masters thereof. The Holy One then divided these into two classes of which he placed one, the good, by the tree of life, and the other, the had, by the tree, of knowledge of good and evil. Whilst intent upon providing for the former with bodily forms, the sabbath day dawned, and thus the work was interrupted and suspended.
If these rebellious and ambitious spirits had acquired bodies, the world would not have continued to exist even for a moment. The Holy One had, however, provided a remedy against this prospective catastrophe by hastening the coming of the sabbath and therefore the world exists and continues. What those wicked spirits thought of doing by the procreation of and filling the world with their offspring was accomplished by those good spirits by the tree of life who from the night of the first sabbath discharged this duty. This is why the wise and they who understand, restrict their connubial relationships to the day of the sabbath so that the wicked spirits may recognize how inferior they are to those who, whilst incarnated, are able to discharge marital duties. It is these wicked spirits who go forth in their hordes throughout the world with the hope of surprising anyone who violates and infringes the esoteric injunction respecting the conjugal act, the offspring of which becomes afflicted with epilepsy through becoming obsessed by Lilith, the great mother of the demons, who kills and destroys the child.
As soon as, however, the Sabbath day begins, and whilst it endures, these wicked spirits becoming filled with terror, fly quickly away and hide themselves, with the exception of one of them named Assimon who, with his attendants, is authorized to go through the world in order to seek and find out transgressors of the law relating to conjugal practice. When the night however has passed, he is obliged to go and hide himself in the great abyss of darkness. The sabbath ended, hosts of demons reappear in the world, and therefore to ward off and be proof against their evil influence and nullify their power, the reading of the ninety-first Psalm has been enjoined. As soon as the demons observe the children of Israel engaged in prayer, and the reading of it and holding in their hands a cup of wine, they hurriedly rush away and disappear in deserts and solitary places in which they make their dens and hiding places. May the Holy One ever keep and preserve us from their noxious power and influence!
Our masters and great teachers (their names and memories be ever blessed) admonish us that there are three different ways by which a man may incur guilt and attract evil: either by invoking curses upon himself, by wastefully casting bread or crumbs upon the ground, be they ever so small, and also at the conclusion of the sabbath by lighting a candle before first reading or reciting the psalm or liturgy of "separation" and by thus doing, causing the fires of Gehenna to be lighted before their time. There is in Gehenna a place reserved for those who break and profane the sabbath and who enjoy a respite from its fiery punishment whilst the sabbath endures and vent their maledictions and curses on them who light a candle before the prescribed time, saying: "May God hurl thee in his fury and bring thee hither and thus be tossed about as a ball so that thou becomest an object of shame and reprobation to thy kith and kindred."
The sanctity of the sabbath as long as it lasts imposes absolute rest both in the higher and lower worlds, during which, the punishments of the wicked cease and their overlookers remain inactive until the children of Israel have finished reciting the words: "Blessed art thou oh Lord who separateth the holy from the unholy." On him, however, who lights not his candle they invoke benedictions. (Gen. 27:28) (Deut. 28:3)
(Ps. 14:1) "God give thee of the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth and plenty of corn and wine. Blessed be thou in the city and blessed be thou in the field, etc." "Blessed is the man that considereth the poor, the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble." Why does the scripture use the words "in time of trouble," in place of "the evil day?" Because the evil spirit then is able to obtain the mastery over the soul of a man, and then it is the Lord will deliver him. By the word dal (poor) is meant the humble sin-sick soul who repents of his sins against the Holy One. Another and further interpretation of the words: "The Lord shall deliver him in time of trouble" is that they allude to the last or judgment day.
The end of the Introduction.
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