“Introduction to The Book of Zohar,” Article “The Night of the Bride,” Item 132: When this happened to King David, fear enveloped him. Right then, Duma ascended before the Creator, and said: “Master of the world, it says in the Torah (VaYikra, 20:10): ‘And the man that commits adultery with another man’s wife…’ David broke his covenant, is it not so?” The Creator replied to him: “David is righteous, and his holy covenant remains pure, for it is known to Me that Bat Sheva was destined for him since the creation of the world.

You are not allowed to bring death upon him….” Then Duma immediately gave up his complaints, and returned, despondent, to his place.”

Question: Why did the angel Duma want King David to die so much that he “returned, despondent, to his place” when this was unsuccessful?

Answer: Duma only helps in making clarifications. He is an angel of the Creator, he is a spiritual force.

It is written that Duma “returned, despondent, to his place” because a Klipa (shell) must also grow to be in balance with Kedusha (sanctity). Otherwise we won’t have free choice or the power of clarification. How can I clarify something if facing me is nothing that opposes me, not even someone who is as wise and strong as I am and who has nothing against me?

Duma acts against Uriah and not against David. While thanks to both of them, David clarifies his true state.

Everything that Kedusha receives, Klipa can suck and extract from it afterward. The benefit here is enormous. Thanks to this, we clarify more and more new Shevirot (shatterings). So we are compelled to perform transgressions thanks to which the Kli, vessel, the desire, is revealed to a greater depth, greater density.

This is somewhat like a well full of water. This water is Ohr Hassidim (Light of Mercy), Hesed (mercy), and the well is the Kli, the desire. As long as the desire is full of Hassadim, we don’t see it.

But when we err, we are performing a transgression and the Hassadim disappear, meaning that the water leaks out of the well, and then we see its walls. And it turns out that there are still other cracks through which we are drawn to a greater depth. The water streams even further away and you sink more deeply into desire and that is how the Kli is discovered and that is how you become familiar with it.

It is impossible to investigate the Kli while it is full of Hassadim. For Hassadim is Hesed, mercy. So the entire desire is full of Hassadim and everything is wonderful. The Hassadim cover everything like the water and don’t make it possible to carry out clarifications. Even love can be blind.

So transgressions specifically help in examining our desires. We see this in particular in regard to the wanderings of the people of Israel in the desert where they committed transgressions every step of the way. They hauled these transgressions from Egypt because they took the Egyptian vessels from there.

If your sack is full of silver and gold vessels, then you discover one vessel after another, another bad desire, and yet another. The discovery of an egoistic desire is called a transgression, yet then it becomes possible to correct it.

So the angel Duma carries out very good and great work by revealing the desires. We need to understand that “there is no cruelty in the palace of the king”; rather, all help and support each another. Yet without the understanding of Kabbalah it is impossible to understand this story that happened with King David, who seems like a criminal since he murdered a husband in order to take possession of the man’s wife.
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From the 1^st part of the Daily Kabbalah Lesson 5/28/14, The Zohar

Related Material:
The Gate To Hell
The Work Of Uriah And The Work Of David
Preparing The Ground For David’s Work

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