Vayishlach - 32

Vayishlach 32:4
וַיִּשְׁלַ֨ח יַעֲקֹ֤ב מַלְאָכִים֙ לְפָנָ֔יו אֶל־עֵשָׂ֖ו אָחִ֑יו אַ֥רְצָה שֵׂעִ֖יר שְׂדֵ֥ה אֱדֽוֹם And Yaakov send emissaries (angels) before him to his brother Esav, to the land of Seir, the field of Edom
At the conclusion of the previous Parsha we find that holy angels met Yaakov to accompany him and return him to his home in peace. Yaakov created a brotherhood with them as if they were human like him. He assumed that he was about to live in peace having just escaped from the terrors of Lavan, however, it still remained for him to strive with an even more challenging tyrant, his brother Esav. The angels had been sent so that Yaakov should utilize them in humbling that haughty heart of the wicked Esav, and Yaakov immediately sent them on their way to carry out his instructions like a master who instructs the members of his household with no fear.
This is what we are taught that מלאכים, while conventionally understood as emissaries, in this context is literally meant to indicate angels. Why, then, did he find it necessary to tell the all-knowing angles where to find Esav? Yaakov's plan was to utilize them to utterly destroy the minions of evil. He assumed that angels could not possibly have been sent to him to perform a minor task, he must be meant to utilize their great power for a very significant purpose. That is why he instructed them to go to ארצה שעיר שדה אדום, the land of Seir represents the masculine aspects of the forces of evil, whereas the fields of Edom represents the feminine aspects of the evil forces of impurity. He sent them there to completely rid the world of the klipah, the superficial shell of reality that is disconnected from the inner spirituality. This was a task fit for angels.
But Yaakov then had second thoughts as he was divinely inspired to realize that it was not yet the time to do untterly destroy evil. On the contrary, it was his mandate to humble himself before Esav and to allow the klipah (literally, the shell) to temporarily take precedence, just as had happened at birth (Esav was born before Yaakov), and as we find in nature that one must get past the shell before enjoying the fruit.

Vayishlach 32:5
Yaakov therefore changed his plans and instructed the angels to act deferentially before Esav. וַיְצַ֤ו אֹתָם֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר כֹּ֣ה תֹאמְר֔וּן לַֽאדֹנִ֖י לְעֵשָׂ֑ו כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ עַבְדְּךָ֣ יַעֲקֹ֔ב And he commanded them saying, "So shall you say to my master, to Esav, so says your servant Yaakov." He gave mastery to Esav and servitude for himself. He knew that this was what was currently needed and then anyone who tries to speed up the clock, finds the clock pushing back. A wise heart knows the time for justice. 
עִם־לָבָ֣ן גַּ֔רְתִּי וָאֵחַ֖ר עַד־עָֽתָּה׃ I dwelled with Lavan and delayed until now Yaakov spoke like a servant who needs to excuse himself to his master for not completing his responsibilities in a timely manner because there were extenuating circumstance. This was Yaakov completely humbling himself as was necessary at the time.

Vayishlach 32:6
Yaakov also sent a message to Esav to inform him that he had acquired five categories of goods while he was in the house of Lavan, וַֽיְהִי־לִי֙ שׁ֣וֹר וַחֲמ֔וֹר צֹ֖אן וְעֶ֣בֶד וְשִׁפְחָ֑ה וָֽאֶשְׁלְחָה֙ לְהַגִּ֣יד לַֽאדֹנִ֔י לִמְצֹא־חֵ֖ן בְּעֵינֶֽיךָ I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, servants and maid-servants which I sending to inform my master so I find favor in his eyes. Yaakov was offering all he had to Esav to do with at his pleasure as everything that a slave has belongs to his master. He could not possibly have humbled himself more than that.
In Yaakov's words there was also something more fundamental. He wanted to let Esav know how God had watched over him, that even in a house of impurity he had not lost his holiness. עִם־לָבָ֣ן גַּ֔רְתִּי I dwelled with Lavan, the word גרתי can be rearranged to spell תרי"ג, the 613 commandments which Yaakov heeded despite very adverse circumstance. God empowered him to overcome the most difficult klipos, which are represented by the ox and donkey, and he was hoping that upon hearing this Esav would think twice about trying to harm him. There was, therefore, a superficial meaning to his message, namely that of humbling himself, and a deeper message within.

Toledoth - 25

Toledoth 25:19
וְאֵ֛לֶּה תּוֹלְדֹ֥ת יִצְחָ֖ק בֶּן־אַבְרָהָ֑ם אַבְרָהָ֖ם הוֹלִ֥יד אֶת־יִצְחָֽק׃
And this is the history of Yitzchok son of Avraham, Avraham fathered Yitzchok
Our Sages already deal with the issue that we already know from the previous Parsha that Yitzchok is the son of Avraham. Why does this pasuk need to tell us that again, and then repeat it?
It would appear that the first statement, "Yitzchok son of Avraham," is teaching us that Yitzchok was identical to Avraham in terms of his appearance and conduct, that he followed the path of God to engage in acts of justice and righteousness as did his father. The latter part of the pasuk "Avraham fathered Yitzchok" is there to explain why it was that Avraham merited to father a child who was just like him. He had this child after he was called אברהם, AvraHAm, after the letter ה was added to his name and he was infused with the Schechina which is frequently symbolized with the letter ה. The presence of the Schechina was a direct result of his circumcision, because prior to his circumcision, before the ה was added to his name, when the Schechina was not completely infused within him, he fathered a son like Yishmael. 

Toledoth 25:21

וַיֶּעְתַּ֨ר יִצְחָ֤ק לַֽיהֹוָה֙ לְנֹ֣כַח אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ And Yitzchak prayed to God towards his wife

When he prayed he faced and focused upon her. He wanted her to know that he cared about her and loved her completely, and had no intentions of taking another wife because she was childless.

Toledoth 25:23

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יְהֹוָ֜ה לָ֗הּ שְׁנֵ֤י גיים גוֹיִם֙ בְּבִטְנֵ֔ךְ וּשְׁנֵ֣י לְאֻמִּ֔ים מִמֵּעַ֖יִךְ יִפָּרֵ֑דוּ וּלְאֹם֙ מִלְאֹ֣ם יֶֽאֱמָ֔ץ וְרַ֖ב 

יַעֲבֹ֥ד צָעִֽיר׃

And God said to her, there are two nations in your stomach and two nationalities will separate from your womb. One nation will struggle with the other and the younger will serve the elder.

Perhaps this message was delivered by an intermediary, namely Shem, who then passed the message on to her. It is also possible that she prophesied as she was a righteous woman who was fit for prophecy. The usage of לה, to her, indicates the message was delivered directly to her.

I would suggest that God wanted to speak directly to her in order to calm her. He creates peace in the heavens and surely He can make peace in the womb of this complete woman. The word of God filled the womb of this fine woman and quieted the strife.

These two גוים, nations, the progenitors of two great nations, incorporated within themselves all of the sparks (spiritual DNA) of the nations they would beget. For this reason the word used in the written Torah is spelled גיים (rather than גוים, as it is pronounced) and understood by the Sages to mean גאים, exalted ones, as the first ancestor is exalted and incorporates within itself all the sparks of its offspring.

Our Sages further teach us that these two גאים are represented by Antoninus and Rebbe. They represent these two nations in peace and harmony with each other, with Antoninus, the Roman emperor, humbling himself before Rebbe and learning from him to symbolize the future times when the best of Edom will bow before Israel in order to rectify the world.

Chayei Sara - 23

Chayei Sara 23:1
וַיִּהְיוּ֙ חַיֵּ֣י שָׂרָ֔ה And the years of Sara were
The Zohar explains that this Parsha begins with the word ויהיו which has the Gematria (numerical value) of 37 as that was the age of Yitzchok at the time of the Akeidah. These were the years in which she truly lived. Prior to that, when she was childless, she was not experiencing life to its fullest.

מֵאָ֥ה שָׁנָ֛ה וְעֶשְׂרִ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה וְשֶׁ֣בַע שָׁנִ֑ים שְׁנֵ֖י חַיֵּ֥י שָׂרָֽה One hundred years, twenty years and seven years; the years of Sara's life
Our Sages teach us that her years were counted out for us in order to tell us that all her years were equally righteous. Why is this emphasized by Sara and not with regards to any of the other righteous women in Tanach? It is because it was her task to rectify the error of Chava. Chava gave birth to Kayin who represented Gevurah (strength) manifesting itself in a negative manner. Sara gave birth to Yitzchok who also manifested Gevurah, but in a healthy way.


Chayei Sara 23:2
וַתָּ֣מׇת שָׂרָ֗ה בְּקִרְיַ֥ת אַרְבַּ֛ע הִ֥וא חֶבְר֖וֹן בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן And Sara died in Kiryat Arba which in Chevron in the Land of C'naan
Our Sages teach us that a person's legs are responsible for him, they take him where he belongs. Avraham did not live in the Land of C'naan, he was living at the time in the land of the Plishtim. What was Sara doing there?She came there because that is where she was destined to die in order that she be buried in the Me'aras HaMachpela where Adam and Chava were already buried. 
Avraham would have buried Sara where ever she died. He did not know then about the uniqueness of the Me'Aras HaMachpela. But Hashem put in her heart to travel there before her death, as the footsteps of man come from God.

Vayera -18

Vayera 18:6
לושי ועשי עוגות Knead and make loaves
It sounds like Avraham thinks he is talking to a child who he needs to educate. His real intent, however, was to tell her to do it herself and not have the maidservants prepare the food. yetzer hora (evil inclination), he did not want to serve them chometz (leavened bread) which symbolizes the yetzer hora.
He also wanted her to be careful to make loaves that were matzo, unleavened, for two reasons. First of all, it was Pesach, secondly as they would be served to angels who have no

Vayera 18:7
וְאֶל־הַבָּקָ֖ר רָ֣ץ אַבְרָהָ֑ם וַיִּקַּ֨ח בֶּן־בָּקָ֜ר רַ֤ךְ וָטוֹב֙ וַיִּתֵּ֣ן אֶל־הַנַּ֔עַר וַיְמַהֵ֖ר לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת אֹתֽוֹ׃ And Avraham ran to the cattle and took a young, soft calf and gave it to his lad and hurried to prepare it.
Our Sages tell us that he slaughtered three calves in order to serve each of his guests a tongue with mustard. Why then does the verse describe the event in the singular בן בקר, אותו. It would seem that even though each guest received an entire tongue it would have been gauche to serve three complete calves on the table at the same time. It would have indicated that he thought they were gluttonous like bears or a pack of wolves.

Vayera 18:10
וַיֹּ֗אמֶר שׁ֣וֹב אָשׁ֤וּב אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ כָּעֵ֣ת חַיָּ֔ה וְהִנֵּה־בֵ֖ן לְשָׂרָ֣ה אִשְׁתֶּ֑ךָ וְשָׂרָ֥ה שֹׁמַ֛עַת פֶּ֥תַח הָאֹ֖הֶל וְה֥וּא אַחֲרָֽיו
And he said, I will surely return to you at this time (next year) and behold there will be a son to Sara your wife. And Sara heard from the doorway of the tent which was behind
Why was it necessary for the angels to provide the good tidings if God Himself had already told Avraham? Due to Avraham's great modesty and sense of privacy he did not tell Sara what God had told him. God desire that the righteous Sara should also be aware of the good news and rejoice over the good that was coming to her.

Vayera 18:15
וַתְּכַחֵ֨שׁ שָׂרָ֧ה ׀ לֵאמֹ֛ר לֹ֥א צָחַ֖קְתִּי כִּ֣י ׀ יָרֵ֑אָה וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ׀ לֹ֖א כִּ֥י צָחָֽקְתְּ׃ And Sara lied, saying, "I did not laugh," as she was afraid. And he said, "No, indeed you laughed."
Why did this righteous woman lie and contradict the word of God? It would seem that she had laughed only in her heart and not out loud, which she assumed was meaningless. From her perspective she was telling the truth. 
Our Sages say that it was God who said, "No, indeed you laughed." She did not respond as she was embarrassed and frightened as God knows what lurks in a person's heart.
Why did God care about her denial, that He found it necessary to contradict her, over a fleeting thought that caused no harm? There are two reasons. First of all to teach her to have more control over her inner reactions as God is aware of them.
The primary reason is because Avraham had already been told to give the name Yitzchok to the child who would be born, as he would bring laughter and happiness to the world. This is the light of Gevura (strength) that came into the world with the birth of Yitzchok which permeated both the masculine (giving) and feminine (receiving) worlds. There had to be an impetus on earth to awaken this spiritual power to manifest itself. Just as Avraham's laughter had served as the masculine side impetus, so too the laughter of Sara would serve the feminine side. This is why God insisted, "No! You laughed!" in order to establish the laughter so that it would serve the intended purpose. 

Lech Lecho - 12

Lech Lecho 12:1
וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל-אַבְרָם, לֶךְ-לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וּמִמּוֹלַדְתְּךָ וּמִבֵּית אָבִיךָ, אֶל-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר אַרְאֶךָּ.
And Hashem said to Avraham, go for yourself from your land, from your birthplace and from the house of your father, to the land which I will show you
Avraham Avinu expended great effort in deep thought to arrive at a clear understanding of the manner in which God directs the world. He could not achieve a full understanding because the land in which he lived, Ur Kasdim, was outside of the land of Israel where the impure air prevented him from achieving full understanding. God led him to the land of Canaan where the air provides wisdom and nothing would prevent him from reaching the highest degree of understanding. 
This is the meaning of אל הארץ אשר אראך, to the land where I will show you all that you wish to see, which cannot be seen elsewhere. This is also why we are taught that לך לך means to go for your own benefit, it was for Avrahams benefit as he would finally receive what he was seeking. 
אשר אראך can also be understood to mean "the place where I will show myself to you," as well as to any others who would come to seek Him.

Lech Lecho 12:2
וְאֶֽעֶשְׂךָ֙ לְג֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל וַאֲבָ֣רֶכְךָ֔ וַאֲגַדְּלָ֖ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ וֶהְיֵ֖ה בְּרָכָֽה:  And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great and you shall be a blessing

(In the hierarchy of Sefiros the third one is Bina which denotes taking an idea and breaking it down into its constituent parts in order to be able to take the idea from the theoretical to the practical. In the four letter name of God the first letter ה symbolizes Bina. CL)

There in the land of Israel God will bring him to the level where the roots of his soul will thrive. There he will receive the blessing of Bina, the blessing that rests directly above Chesed (which is the unique trait of Avraham. CL) Bina, symbolized by the letter ה will be tied to the name of אברם (Avram), making the size of his name greater as it goes from four letters to five. אברם becomes אברהם. At that point all of the spiritual power of Bina will diffuse through the 248 limbs of his body (Avraham has the Gematria (numerical value) of 248.) 

Perhaps Avraham will be concerned that he only carries one letter of God's name in his own name and therefore he will not be able to fully share the spirituality of God with others, therefore וֶהְיֵ֖ה , and you will be, a word which consists of all the letters of God's name (albeit rearranged) a blessing. Once he is connected to one part of the name, he is connected to the whole name.

Lech Lecho 12:10

וַיְהִי רָעָב בָּאָרֶץ וַיֵּרֶד אַבְרָם מִצְרַיְמָה לָגוּר שָׁם כִּי כָבֵד הָרָעָב בָּאָרֶץ  And there was a famine in the land. And Avram went down to Egypt to dwell there as the famine was heavy in the land.

Whatever occurred to the ancestor was a symbol for the descendants. Just as Avraham left Egypt piled high with riches and belongings, so, too, the Jewish nation would be exiled there and leave filled with precious things. 

The Torah used the word לגור to be alliterative with the word גור אריה, a lion cub. He had come there to plunder the sparks of holiness and return them to holiness. Similarly, the exile of the entire nation in Egypt was for this purpose as we find that when they left they emptied out Egypt.

God did not command Avraham to go to Egypt, he went of his own accord because of the famine. The taking of Sara was a punishment in the wake of his choice. However, God agreed with his choice and therefore there was no harm done in the taking of Sara. On the contrary, it led to his receiving much material wealth.

Noach - 6

Noach 6 -13
ויאמר אלוהים לנוח, קץ כל-בשר בא לפני And God said to Noach the end of all flesh has come before me
Notice that this verse does not say, "I have decided to put an end to all flesh." Rather it indicates that the flesh itself, the very matter of which all living things were made, had come before God demanding that he end the experiment of Mankind.

Noach 6-14
עשה לך תיבת עצי-גופר, קינים תעשה את-התיבה; וכפרת אותה מבית ומחוץ, בכופר
Make for yourself an ark of "Gopher" wood; create chambers within the ark, and you should cover it inside and out with pitch
In order for Noach and his family to be saved they had to hide themselves and limit their presence so that they did not look at the judgement being meted out and be destroyed (as happened to the wife of Lot. CL)
The word for chambers is קינים (Kinim) rather than the more common חדרים (rooms). The root קנ indicates a nest. They were only protected as they sat under the wings of God like baby birds being protected in a nest.
The word for pitch, כופר, has echoes of the word כפרה, atonement. The ark was covered in this material inside and out to remind those in the ark that they too were deserving of destruction and had only been saved because of God's mercy. Their demeanor within the ark should reflect the humilty and contrition worthy of such circumstances.

Noach 6-17
המבול מים על-הארץ The Mabul, water upon the earth
The word Mabul (flood) is phonetically similar to בלבול, confusion. The people had completely mixed up the normal order of the world due to their behavior and were now having their world turned upside down in consequence.

כול אשר-בארץ, יגווע All that is upon the earth shall die
This excludes the fish which live in water and not on dry land. As they did not relate to the humans upon the earth they were not corrupted along with them. Being associated with others can have very good or very bad results, but the fish were unaffected as mankind had not yet learned to travel the seas. Noach built the first ark to travel across the waters and it was from him that people learned to build boats. Even from the punishments of Hashem there come out good results.

Noach 6-20
שניים מכול יבואו אליך, להחיות Two of each will come to you to live

Ensure that there are male and female of each species so that they will not become extinct as God did not wish to create new species. (Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer says that there were 365 species of animals on the ark. RADA"L in his commentary explains that God had originally created 365 species which had then evolved into many different animals. At the time of the flood only that core group were rescued and they subsequently evolved into many species again. CL)

Noach 6-22

ויעש, נוח:  ככול אשר ציווה אותו, אלוהים--כן עשה. And Noach did as everything God commanded him, so he did

The word כן (so) has the identical Gematira (numerical value) as סוד, secret (they both equal 70). This is to indicate that Noach understood the depth of God's reasoning and how he was therefore meant to comport himself during his time on the ark.

(Interestingly, the Sages teaches us that יין, wine, also shares the same Gematria, which is why נכנס יין יצא סוד, that when wine enters, out comes the secrets, Perhaps this sheds some light on why Noach followed up his time on the ark by drinking wine. CL)

Bereishis 1

Bereishis 1:1

את השמים ואת הארץ....the Heavens and the Earth

The story of Creation begins with the creation of the Heaven and the Earth. Why do these two concepts take center stage?

The Heavens represent the power to give, the Earth, the ability to receive. Giving and receiving are the fundamental qualities of a relationship and the Torah is informing us from the outset that the key element to existence is the fostering of relationships.

Bereishis 1:4

ויבדל אלוהים, בין האור ובין החושך... And God separated between the Light and the Darkness

Throughout the story of Creation the name אלוהים (Elohim) is used to denote God. This is a name which is used to indicate din, constriction and limitation. This is to indicate that the process of Creation was one by which God constricted His infinite Self in order to create a place for all of the Creations.

An additional reason is because the first step of creation is to have an idea, this is referred to in Kabbalistic terminology as חכמה, chochma, literally wisdom. But an idea, powerful as it may be, is useless without someone who knows how to break it down into its parts and to figure out how to implement it. This process of delineation is an element of din and is referred to as בינה, binah, literally understanding. The chochma provides the ideas which are received by the binah which then breaks down, kneads and shapes the original idea so that it can be actualized and implemented. Chochma without binah is useless. The name Elohim is therefore used to indicate that the world was being created in such a manner as to take the loftiest and most esoteric parts of God's being and make them accessible to his Creations.

Bereishis 1:6

יהי רקיע בתוך המים...There should be a separation within the waters

Water is often used as a metaphor for חסד, Chesed, God's infinite capacity to give in an undifferentiated manner. The רקיע which created separation is an act of din which we discussed in the previous paragraph. Interestingly in this verse we are now seeing the blending of the two forces, within the water, within the Chesed, there now appear the lines of delineation which characterize din. 

The waters are now separated, an act which is symbolized by the letter א. The א has three parts. There is a י on top, another י on bottom, and a ו, in the middle. Each י symbolizes the water, which is then separated (and joined) by the ו. We will elaborate more on the symbolism of these letters later. This symbolizes another fundamental concept of existence, which is why the letter א, takes its place as the first and foremost letter. There is an upper, spiritual, existence, and the lower physical existence. They may be separated, but they are also joined. It is the mandate of existence to keep them joined and to have a permanent connection running through the entire gamut of existence. 

The word רקיע has them same letters as עיקר, which means fundamental.

Bereishis 1:14
יְהִי מְאֹרֹת בִּרְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמַיִם... Let there be lights in the firmament of the Heaven
Time came into existence as a result of the צמצום, constriction, of the Infinite, and only exists within the Void which the Infinite left behind after it constricted. In the "place" of the Infinite there is no time, only eternity which is a concept not understood by those Creations within the Void. Therefore they are enslaved to the revolutions of time which are measured by the pathways of the lights.