the divine realm above. As the deity contains in itself female elements and God copulates with His“Presence”(Shekhinah), man is not complete without woman, not a real image of the divine(Zohar 1 55 b) and so does not deserve the appelation“man.”(Zohar III 154b).
Already the talmudic literature contained a version of the platonic idea that man at creation was bi-sexual and only later were the sexes separated.“Man was cut in half and the two halves long for and seek, perhaps even find, each other in marriage”(Ber. Rabbah 8). According to the Zohar, the male and female souls are born together from the cohabitation between“Glory” and“Presence”; then a special angel separates them, an effect of the sin committed by Adam and Eve (Zohar 111 43b). Whether they will be reunited depends on their meritorious conduct and God ’s assistance. As religious scholars are busy studying Torah , they perform their marital duty only on the Shabbat eve(Zohar 111 82a), the night of God ’s union with the Shekhinah, which provided special significance. Copulation means participation in God ’s creative activity. It multiplies God ’s image in the world(Zohar 1 186b). All this conveys a high measure of esteem for women in Jewish mysticism, although at times a demonic aspect also finds expression in the Zohar."
These brief thoughts demonstrate that the Kabbalah and particularly the Zohar augmented the rabbinic thoughts on sexuality and brought major changes for those who followed its thought and practices. They remained a minority within Judaism but demonstrated the continuing struggle with sexuality waged through both theology and practical regulations.
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