בס"ד
The Zohar describes five different types of negative people to referring to them as the “Mixed Multitude” (עֵרַב רַב). It’s a Biblical term and today considered a pejorative. Here it describes five classes of people who fundamentally wish to prevent the dissemination of spiritual wisdom to others. Even so they build synagogues and schools of religious study that house the scroll of the Torah, complete with a crown upon its top. But they do it for their own vanity and not for the sake and love of the Creator. The Zohar categorizes them as Amalekites עֲמָלֵקִים, Nefilim נְפִילִים, Giborim גִּבּוֹרִים, Refaim רְפָאִים, and Anakim עֲנָקִים.
Amalekites עֲמָלֵקִים does not refer to people who have lineage to the nation of Amalek. Rather it is people who attach themselves to the klipah of Amalek. The example given in the Zohar is Bilam and Balak, who sought to destroy the nation of Israel in the desert. The second syllable of their names spells Am[a]lak, which is viewed as a hint. Klipah קליפה means the peel of fruits and the shell of nuts and as such is not eaten. This klipah is considered the head and crown of the peels and the ones that cling to it are violent, war like, inherently evil, and the mirror image of what a Jew should be.
The next category is Nefilim נְפִילִים literally the fallen ones. The story in the book of Genesis is that they were angels, who chose to become promiscuous with women when humanity was in its infancy. Because of this they became fallen angels. Instead of occupying a high position in heaven, they became demons and descended into hell. More generally it refers to people who at one time occupied a high position but as a result of a sin had a spiritual fall. Consequently they chose to become evil in thought, speech, and deed.
The next category, Giborim גִּבּוֹרִים or mighty ones is similar. From the standpoint of the Zohar they are like a knight in pursuit of vain glory. They are strong and they use their strength to pursue glory for the sake of personal vanity. The Chumash (Genesis 6:4) describes them as “mighty men of old, men of renown (lit. 'men with a name אַנְשֵׁ֥י הַשֵּֽׁם')". These descend from the side of those, about whom it is said, "let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves;”, (Genesis 11:4). In other words they build religious institutions but not for the sake of heaven rather it is for the sake of personal fame.
Another group is anakim עֲנָקִים who are typically called giants, meaning that they are physically large. Og the King of Bashan is described as a giant. A famous story recounts that Moshe was ten feet tall, his sword was ten feet, and that he jumped ten feet but was only able to strike Og in the ankle. Another explanation is that giant refers to social stature. In this case עֲנָקִ means beads of a necklace and is an accoutrement the wealthy and powerful. In the case of the mixed multitude they are the giants of society who belittle the pride of the faithful.
The fourth group is the Refaim רְפָאִים often understood as shades or shadows. The idea is that they are has-beens. In other words they had a time of greatness, but it has passed. Sometimes it was genuine. Other times it was due to overexertion as such their achievements could be flawed. The failure of character is that they can not accept others now legitimately occupy the position that was once theirs. More generally they are weaklings, cowards. If they notice a time of distress coming upon Yisrael, they abandon them. Even if they have the power to save them, they do not want to do so. They abandon the Torah and avoid those who study it. Instead, they do favors to those who worship nonsense and the vanities of this world.
לע"נ
האבא פייוול בן אהרן זצ"ל ב אדר תשפ"ג
האמא מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טו ניסן תשנ"ח
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