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In Hebrew the word for Bible is Tanach – תנ"ך. Tanach stands for Torah (light) - תורה, Navi’im (prophets) - נביאים, and Ctovim (writings) - כתובים. These are the Five Books of Moses, the Prophets, and the Writings respectively. In order to practice authentic kabbalistic meditation, one should learn the Bible well enough to have questions. Questions are springboards in meditation, for probing the voice of G-d. The Torah in the Bible includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The questions that a person asks will teach you more about a person than the answers another gives. When God asked Ezekiel whether the dry bones in the Valley could yet live, Ezekiel learned more from God with the question than an answer. He learned that he should never give up hope because God still cared about the lost house of Israel, that He still loved them, and that He still wanted to save them.

The Prophet section of the Bible begins with the Book of Kings I. The prophets possessed ‘hochmah’ – wisdom, ‘gevurah’ – physical strength, ‘asher’ – wealth, and ‘anav’ – humility. They were capable of supporting their students with their own funds. Physical strength was an essential ingredient as much as wisdom and humility.^[28] The table below illustrates that each kingdom had its own prophets whether amongst the divided monarchy in Israel or Rulership from outside of Israel.

The last section of the Bible is the Writings and begins with the book of Job. For a timeline of biblical history see Biblical Dates.

A good way to remember the biblical dates is to use mnemonics.

Bereshis Bara Elohim et hashamayim vet haaretz – בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים ואת הארץ

Genesis, the first book of the Torah, describes creation, with the first sentence encapsulating the order of creation in seven words. The very first word of scripture contains the word Rosh – ראש that means head as in the head of the Bible. The first three letters, of the first word are Bara – ברא, which means create, suggesting that G-d is creating the very beginning as well. Elohim – אלהים is the name of G-d as creator of natural law.^[29] Hence, a kabbalistic translation of the first three words of the Bible is “G-d created the beginning.” What is Kabbalah? Kabbalah means ‘receiving’ as to receive an esoteric tradition and make it ones own. Still, kabbalah is far more personal and the ‘receiving’ is unique to each individual. This is our personal relationship to G-d, our personal wisdom and understanding of being in our world.

“And why does the Torah begin with the letter Bet? In order that it begin with a blessing (Berachah – ברכה)...^[30] The word ‘beginning’ (Reshit – ראשית) is nothing other then Wisdom. It is thus written (Psalm 111:10), ‘The beginning is wisdom, the fear of G-d.’ Wisdom is a blessing. It is thus written, ‘And G-d blessed Solomon.’ It is furthermore written (I Kings 5:26), ‘And G-d gave wisdom to Solomon.’...”^[31]

Rabbi Nehuniah ben HaKana, the author, explores the reason why the Torah begins with the second letter of the alphabet instead of the first letter.^[32] The author suggests that G-d begins the Torah with a blessing, since the first letter of the Torah is the same as the first letter for the word for blessing. Thus, G-d alludes: one should always begin studying the bible by reciting a blessing for divine guidance. The author of the Bahir connects the beginning with wisdom. Consequently, he connects the idea of ‘blessing’ with ‘wisdom’. We learn here that when we recite a blessing before we learn that G-d will help us to obtain wisdom.

The word “et” – את in the first verse is a directive referring to the “heavens and the earth.” In another example of kabbalah, we find that “et” is composed of the first and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. We may read “et” as an acrostic referring to all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.^[33] Now the first verse says, “In the beginning G-d created with the Hebrew Letters the Heavens and the Earth.”^[34]

Vhaaretz haita tohu vbohu vhoshech al penai g’hom v rooach elohim mrahepet al pnai hamayim –

והארץ היתה תהו ובהו וחשך על-פני תהום ורוה אלהים מרחפת על-פני המים

Rabbi Berachiah said: It is written (Genesis 1:2), “The earth was Chaos (Tohu – תהו) and Desolation (Bohu –בהו ). What is the meaning of the word “was” (haita –היתה ) in this verse? This indicates that the chaos existed previously [and already was]. What is Chaos (Tohu – תהו)? Something that confounds (Taha) people. What is Desolation (Bohu – בהו)? It is something that has substance. This is the reason that it is called Bohu, that is, Bo Hu — “it is in it”.

Chaos or Tohu is the place of the sefirot before the shattering. The sefirot received but did not give light, which eventually caused their shattering. Tohu is the source of evil and the shattered components of the sefirot are called the Klipah Nogah, the glowing shell. Where in the Tanach do we learn that Tohu is a source of evil?^[35]

And Samuel said to the people, Fear not; you have done all this wickedness; yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart; and turn not aside; for then should you go after vain [tohu] things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain [tohu].

After the shattering some of the vessels were reassembled into the Partzufim—group forms, which make up the sefirot as they behave today. The name of G-d in Tohu associates with the letters aleph mem shin – אמש – amesh.^[36] In Bohu, the name of G-d associates with the letters yod heh vav – יהו. The Sefer Yetzirah labels אמש mother letters. The father letters יהו descend from them. The father letters make up the tetragrammaton name of G-d. The mother letters represent the name of G-d in the preceding world of chaos. Some say Aleph derives Vav, Mem derives Yod, and Shin derives Heh.^[37] This is one choice.^[38] Retracing from Havayah leads to the great name MShASh – משאש, gematria 641 reducing to 11. Eleven does not reduce further by the rules of numerology and means restriction, conflicting forces, or a “clenched fist.” MShASh is the state of the sefirot before the shattering of the vessels. They retained the shēfa – שפעה, the feminine abundance of God’s energy, instead of letting the energy flow unto the world below.^[39] Masculine energy flows upward and that is tefillah the masculine form that is shĕfa – שפע.^[40] “There was not yet a man in the world to speak praise of God” and this is the reason for the “clenched fist”, why the shēfa did not flow downward. As the vessels swelled, they eventually became so big that they burst open, shattering the structure of the universe.

Another possibility is Aleph derives Yod, Mem derives Heh, and Shin derives Vav. This leads to the great and holy name אמשם. Not to be barren, ועקרה, has the same gematria.

There are several variations on the Mother names of G-d as there are with the father letters. After the restoration of the vessels into the Partzufim, the names MShASh – משאש and AMShaM – אמשם diminished in power. They associate with drought and pestilence respectively.

The Officer of Peace is the leadership quality of G-d, a partzuf after the shattering and reconstitution of the sefirot. He is Zer Anpin. He is Metatron. He is Meattah, Kimos, and Sanas.^[46],[47]

His mouth is most sweet; and he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

Hesed, mercy, and El associate with water and Gevurah, judgment, and Elohim associate with fire. In the gematria expansion of Elohim, we see:

G-d (as judge) – אלף למד הי יוד מם - אלהים ≡ 80+20+15+74+112 = 301 = 300+1 ≡ אש – Fire

This light preceded the creation of the Sun and refers to the good light Hashem has stored away for us in the world to come:^[48]

The creation story illustrates the progression from general to specific. The seven days associate with the seven lower sefirot and seven character qualities.^[49]

By drawing the creation process in the form of the Tree of Life, we can see the descent from general to specific:^[50]

The creation of Light on the 1^st day is completed on the 4^th with the objects that manifest light. The creation of the Sky, Clouds, and Oceans on the 2^nd day is completed on the 5^th day with the Birds and Sea Life. Also G-d creates the great Sea Creatures, the Taninim – תנינם on the 5^th day. The creation of Land is completed on the sixth day with Land Life.^[52]

All creation rests on the foundation of the seven days since each day sustains a seventh of creation.^[53] The Shaarey Orah teaches us that taking an oath – שבועה is to place creation upon ones words.^[54] We should not break our word since this adversely affects the building – בנין of creation.^[55]

Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out her seven pillars
חכמות בנתה ביתה חצבה עמודיה שבעה
(Proverbs 9:1)

We must be careful with taking oaths and speaking words before those who attempt to ensnare, has vshalom.^[56] Hazal taught to avoid taking oaths.^[57] The place for oaths is in our relationship to G-d.^[58] The oath is intended to raise us above ourselves to commit to a greater level of observance. One must train the mouth not to swear, not to utter cuss words and not to speak with foul language. The word one speaks taints the heart within. By studying writings like the ‘Sayings of the Righteous’^[59] one will be reminded of the sanctity of speech.

The sixth day of creation includes harmful spirits – אף מזיקין – the ghosts and demons after the creation of man.^[60] The demons can travel from Earth to Heaven and back in a few seconds. They eat, drink, give birth, and die. They reproduce like humans. They are half angels. They are super-human. Some were born when Adam separated from Eve to punish himself for 130 years after the events in Eden. During this time the original Shedos, female demons, came to Adam in his sub-consciousness, and mated with him at night. Their children are the Ngai Bnai Adam, the untouchable children of Adam, spirits half angel and half human. They live partially in heaven and partially on Earth. They have the power to transform themselves into anything they wish, human or otherwise.^[61] Demons see the rewards and punishment of people and understand past, present, and future. They have feelings for the suffering, and see the fate and will of G-d in the world. They are neither good nor bad, but possessing of more emotion than angels.

Adam gave seventy years so that King David might live.^[62] David bore Solomon who would master the demons, but in the end, his mastery of them by imprisonment would cost him his freedom of mind. Solomon sought for the worm that would help him quarry stones to build his temple. Upon learning the location of the great demon, Ashmedai, he sent Benaiahu with instructions on how to bring the demon to him in order that he may question it, whereupon the following events occurred.^[63]

The fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil bestows enlightenment – להשכיל. This is not true wisdom, but a knowledge that lulls the mind into illusion. This is similar to the influence of cults who offer pleasures to deceive the minds of their followers; or philosophical movements such as Haskalah – Enlightenment who with popularity promote arts and sciences in place of faith and religion.

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food,
And that it was desirous for the eyes, and that the tree would dearly enlighten,
And she took from its fruit, and ate, and also with her, and he ate.^[64]

Adam, Eve, and the Garden of Eden existed initially, in the spiritual realm. According to Kabbalah, this place is in sefira Tiferet. Adam and Eve possessed spiritual bodies not unlike the angels. However, after eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, Adam and Eve became physical beings with physical temptations.^[65]

Note, then; what the Garden of Eden was, it will unquestionably continue to be – rarefied, spiritual abode, where the spirits abide even now. And the Torah testifies concerning Adam that he dwelt there and ate and enjoyed the fruits that grew there. But since we see it to be the present habitation of the souls, it must be that its fruits were not earthy gross things, but far more delicate, being at least as air compared to earth. And the eating of them, too, was not by a body coarse and gross, as at present, but by a rarefied, almost spiritual body, like that of Elijah or Hanoch, ...

Adam and Eve were not the first physical people in the world but the first people in the image of G-d. They existed in the spiritual realm until G-d placed them in exile in this world. “Dust from the earth”, “afar min haadamah”, is a sublime physical source for man’s body.^[66]

Did G-d give all living things under his dominance – ‘rudoo’ – רדו and is he simply meant to conquer – keevshua’ – כבשה as traditionally translated in Genesis 1:28?

We are partners with other life forms in this more proper translation. We ‘press’ through this world together and we also make trails like the animals. The root of ‘rudoo’ is ‘radah’ – רדה, which means to “tread”. G-d is telling us to develop roads and pathways to improve the world for travel. Radah also relates to the word for generation – dor – דור. Here, G-d is telling us that we must preserve the world in a good manner for the next generation.^[67] Another cognomen is ‘yored’ – ירד, which is to go down. In this process, we must measure our ‘dominion’ with our relationship with G-d. We must see G-d’s beauty in nature and not go down and away from His Presence. Overly asserting ‘radoo’ leads to a rude behavior. The Torah teaches that cutting down a tree requires a legal decision in order to expand a house, etc. Olive trees were not supposed to be destroyed in a time of war. Overall, halacha must be viewed as a unity and all aspects of law must be considered before one can simply assert “dominion” or mastery over the world.

Yet, how can we to understand Genesis 1:28 in the light that man still held a sublime body—dust, a spirit form from the earth? This is so we know that all life communicates on the spiritual plane of the Chaya. Even rocks, planets, and stars have a consciousness on this level.^[68] Here in the Garden of Eden all life lives in harmony. The natural law of this world is not the same as our world. Similarly ‘when the lion shall lie down with the lamb’ may be symbolic or represent a return to the Garden of Eden. Hence, we know that there is a sublime dimension to all creation that existed in the Garden of Eden. And how was man to be fruitful and multiple in such a spiritual state? This is to teach us that our longings and thoughts can create nforshesh – souls in this world.

Though Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of Tree of Knowledge, repentance and forgiveness were still within reach. While disobeying the commandment and avoiding confession were the sins, dwelling on the guilt instead of repentance, resulted in the attachment to evil. God saw that only through expulsion, a change of venue from the Garden, a change that would force them into new movements and deeds, could their fixation on their own sinfulness be broken. Sadness or depression over sin attaches a person to evil, has vshalom, while joy and repentance turn sin into good deeds and change the past. The word for sadness – ‘atsoom’ is related to the word for idol and is like worshipping an idol.

The body of man descends from the sublime after his first sin in Genesis 3:21:

What are ‘Katnot Oir’ – coats of skins. They may in fact be the literal skin of the body or leather clothing. The Even Ezra says, “In the beginning G-d made bone and the inner body and now attached upon them skin. And they say ‘coats of skin’.”

The root of Katnot is כתן, is difficult, perhaps to ‘cover’. A derived word is cotton. The phrase ‘dressed them’ is to conceal their nakedness. Here the idea of a sublime body covered with skin is contested as the word ‘lovash’ always means to dress someone, yet the Even Ezra uses the word ‘kerem’ – overlaid with skin. If someone can explain this mystery, please email me!

Even a great sage like Abraham teaches us a lesson on depression. After his tremendous victory over the four kings, Abraham distributes what he has captured back to the original owners and receives this vision:

And, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, He shall not be your heir; but he who shall come forth from your own bowels shall be your heir. And he brought him outside, and said, Look now toward heaven, and count the stars, if you are able to count them; and he said to him, So shall your seed be. And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.


Why does the Torah teach us that God brought Abraham outside first? This is to teach us that we must take ourselves outside of ourselves to pull ourselves out of depression, which is an idolatry. There is not a constellation (Ayn Mazel) for Israel. This teaches us that the Jews attach themselves to Ayn – Nothing, which is God directly for their reward.

And God said, Let us make – נעשה man in our image – בצלמנו, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. And God created – ויברא the Man in His own image – בצלמו, in the image – בצלם of God (He) created – ברא him; male and female (He) created – ברא them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth...

Genesis 1:26-27 teaches that faith does not rest on any particular verse(s) of the Torah. While one verse intimates that God consults his court to take part in the creation of a man, the subsequent verse explains that God alone creates man. The first verse states, “vElohim omair” – “And God said” with the singular verb. There is never any doubt that there is just one God. Nevertheless, a Hasidic commentary on Rashi teaches that these verses give us “Bahira Hophshi” – “free choice”. While our soul calls out to one God, we by faith are choosing this belief again.

The word for ‘image’ is tzelem from the word for ‘shadow’ that is tzel. An image is like a projection. Tzel also means a cloud or ghost. The tzelem is the spiritual form that man possesses that is in the image of G-d that is the Tree of Life.^[69]

Adam was asleep when G-d took a rib from him and made the first woman. There is also a teaching that while Adam remained asleep G-d brought the woman to see him to see if she would accept him. From here we learn that a man must not criticize his wife for she accepted him first with all his faults. ^[70] Also we learn that a woman accepts a man as her husband. Overall, a husband and wife should overlook each other’s faults and accept each other.

The name Havah alludes to a ‘tent, a village of nomads, a home’ and also means ‘to announce or relate’. More importantly, the name contains the last two letters of the name of G-d representing Zer Anpin and Nukvah, i.e. the prince and princess energy of G-d together. This teaches that a husband should express himself as a youthful prince towards his wife who in turn is forever his princess. The wife lives the eternal fairytale of youth with her husband, her prince.

Havah is similar to the word Hayah which means life as some claim the vav and yod are interchangeable. Hence, the analogy to the mother of all life in the posuk.

This following meditation is for Shabbas in order to review the events of the week for improvement:^[71]

While reading Scholem’s Jewish Mysticism and Cohn-Sherbok’s Jewish Mysticism (pp. 152-156), Erev Shabbas, I ran across Luria’s idea of the tzimtzum, the withdrawal and reentry of G-d in the process of creation.

Withdrawal occurs for the sake of expansion. Through the empty void, a line (kav) or thread (hoot) or the form of the letter yod emerges, a sort of beam of light that illuminates divine efflux and causes it to descend. Yet the line itself does not descend continuously; rather, recurring moments of contraction cause an alternation of hiddenness and revelation. “Every instance of new lights appearing is preceded by tzimtzum.”^[72] It is the same process of breathing in and out suggested above.^[73]


The following morning I did this meditation to unravel its secrets:^[74]

There were no angels yet created as there were no worlds but I still heard the Kol and wondered about its existence. I sought out the voice and noticed a small space in the light, a small tzimtzum. I saw a thread of light entering the space, which was like a mouth transmitting the words. Here, I learned how G-d speaks to Moses and the angels face to face, but to the rest of us through angels. The Torah was one of ten forms that existed prior to all creation.^[83] (see Precreations)

I asked the Kol to guide me and we preceded forward out of this light into consciousness, and yet, I remained in a waking trance to memorize the vision. I would have to wait until the end of Shabbas to write it down. The Kol asked me how I would do this. I answered that I would review it forward until the point after creation and than review it backward from my own life. I reviewed it as I walked to shul. This morning I picked up the “Book of Enoch” and brought it upstairs subconsciously, to begin a new learning.

Smoke rising to heaven is ‘ashan’ – אשן. The Aleph denotes ‘olam’ – the world, the Shin denotes ‘shana’ – the year or time, the Nun denotes ‘nefesh’ – the soul. These are the three principles in creation. The Bahir calls them, the Teli, the Wheel, and the Heart. The Teli – תלי, related to the Tallis,^[84] is the constellation Draco traveling a circular pattern around the North Star. All the stars hang from the Teli like all the commandments hang from the strings of the Tallis.^[85] The Wheel is the endless cycle of time rolling around each year. The Heart is our soul rising in the smoke back to God.

The kabbalah describes how G-d created the world not in one step, but rather in a gradated process called Seder Hishtalshelus — the chainlike scheme by which the creative Divine light undergoes successive stages of self-concealment in the course of its descent from G-d’s ethereal transcendence to the creation of the tangible physicality. Each successive link in the chain is a further concealment of the infinite, and a further revelation of the finite.^[86]

Seder Hishtalshelus on a higher level are chains of Hebrew letters that form creation like the chains of genes composing the DNA structure. On a lower level the sefirot form a chain from Keter to Malchut carrying the Shefa, the flow of G-d’s energy to creation.

The birthday of the world approaches.^[87] The Shaarey Orah describes the story of Abraham and Isaac as a battle between kindness and judgment.^[88] The gematria of kindness – Hesed – חסד, 4+60+8 is 72, which parallels the 72 names of G-d in the Great Name of triplets. The Great Name is composed from three sequential sentences in Exodus, each having 72 letters.^[89] Abraham associates with kindness and mercy, and Isaac with judgment. When Abraham bound Isaac, mercy was binding judgment to show that mercy is greater.^[90] Mercy is above judgment and acts first to release us as Abraham released Isaac.

Isaac, representing judgment, loved Esau for he saw that Esau’s descendents would be the instrument of judgment and also redemption for Israel. Isaac saw that Israel would go into exile and this would save them from utter destruction. They would atone in the oppression of the galut. Nevertheless, Isaac worried that the oppression would destroy Israel, until he saw the instrument of oppression would be the descendants of Jacob’s brother Esau.^[91] Hence, Isaac delighted in the food that Esau brought and blessed him with physical rewards. Esau would judge Israel with his descendants the Edomites, Greeks, and Romans. Esau is the father of philosophy. Philosophy oppresses the spirit of the children of Jacob.^[92]

and brought her to him.^[97]

The Kabbalists of the Hasidei Ashkenaz taught that when we see, we emit light from our eyes that define objects.^[98] Hence, seeing good in creation manifests the ‘shimmering of beatific light around creation’. I call this the ether, the spiritual light around an object.

Noach was a ‘simple, righteous, man’ – איש צדיק תמים. The highest spiritual levels are achieved only through simplicity. Rabbi Nachman said that he achieved almost everything by simply reading the Psalms of David and talking to G-d. It is the same with all tzaddikim.

נח איש צדיק תמים היה בדרתיו את-האלהים התהלך-נח
Noach was completely righteous in his generation and Noach walked towards G-d.

The Torah teaches that Noach was not swept away in the tide of immorality prevalent in his generation, but walked with G-d instead. Noah’s obedience is amazing in that he stood outside his society and did not assimilate. This achieved because he had no concept of himself, thus he had only obedience towards G-d.^[99] This is the principle of ‘bittul’, self-nullification that leads to humility and keeping the Torah.

Now the land – ארץ was in a state of ruin – שחת. This is to say that that the areas of civilization were like a house infested with termites.^[100] There is no manner of repair possible and the damage is to the core. As the behavior of man goes so the nature of the world is affected. Hashem sends a flood to cover the land. The word again is Eretz. If the whole world would be flooded, the word would have been Olam. From here, we learn that only the civilized place of the world is flooded. Why were the children swept away with their parents in the flood? Does the apple fall far from the tree? Children are the shadow of their parents. They have their characteristics when they are young. When they get older they change, but they still have some of their characteristics.^[101]

When Ham, father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, he told – v’ya’geed – ויגד, in a giddy manner about the state of his father. Perhaps Canaan was involved here and Ham failed to reprove his son. When Noach awakes from his sleep, he realizes ‘that which has been done’ – אשר-עשה to him. The text does not say that he heard what had been said about him. This teaches that to make fun of someone makes (does) a situation that is not easily reparable. Similarly in a Chofetz Chaim story, a person came to him to ask for forgiveness about gossip he had spread. The Chofetz Chaim told him to take a pillow and cut it open in the wind. When he returned, the Chofetz Chaim said, “Now gather the feathers that have spread—for as difficult as it is to gather all of these feathers is as difficult as it is to repair the damage of gossip.”

In Parsha Noach, God presents the laws given to the whole world. Those in green are from the Garden of Eden and those in brown are the Noahide laws, traditionally accepted as the seven universal commandments:^[102]

These laws are the first perfect depiction of the sefirot in the Torah. While the Ten Sayings of Creation are earlier, the first ten laws show also the separation between the mentalities – mochinim – מח and midos (character).^[104]

In Hebrew the word for idols – e’li’lim – אלילים occurs in the second psalm of the Pseukei D’zimra service on Shabbat. Here we are told that the gods of other nations are idols having no power within them.

G-d commands Noah to make a Tsohar – צהר in the ark to provide light. The Tsohar is an opening for the light of the sky to enter. In the afternoon – צהרים the light of the sky is overhead and would illuminate brightly into the ark from an opening in the top center. At night the Tsohar would permit those inside to see the star light. Tsahar means to press out oil and suggests that a Tsohar presses out light into a place.

Take yourself out of your place. One of the hardest things to do is move. This was one of the ten tests given to Avraham Avinu. In this Torah portion Hashem reveals to Avraham the name El Shaddai meaning Almighty. We call upon the Almighty to overcome our most difficult challenges. This name is associated with fruition and the sefira of Yesod.

The passage, “G-d will raise you up on wings of eagles to bring you back to the homeland.” In operation Magic Carpet, Yemenite Jews felt that silver birds taking them to Israel fulfilled this prophecy.

At the beginning of the parsha, the Torah teaches us to make souls:^[105]

2. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing;

4. So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken to him; and Lot went with him; and Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

6. And Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, to the terebinth of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land.

The word for curse here is “kallel” which is to harm, has vshalom. On the other hand, Hashem uses the word “arror” to denote a burden that will benefit. When Hashem says that he will make the land difficult to work for Adam and Hava after their sin, he is saying that the land will be arid and difficult to work; yet, they can succeed.

20. And Adam called his wife’s name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.

The word here is again “arror” denoting the snake will have greater difficulty with motion though he can be successful and denoting the ground will be difficult work, but it is “for your sake”. The word “ba-Ahvorecha” translated as “for your sake” means literally “in your passing” through the land. The difficulty of “arror” is the purpose of exercise to make us stronger and better. This in fact is the purpose of the physical world, which provides opportunities for souls to grow that cannot be accomplished in Sheol where souls reside after death. That life is a gift is indicated by the belief in resurrection of the dead, that our bodies are part of our souls and that we will yet live in this world again, if only to be able to perform a “cartwheel”.^[106]


The earliest record of conversion in Judaism is Abram’s creation of souls in Haran:^[107]

When a person prays to G-d and does not see souls in heaven that may join with him, one may choose instead to create souls here on Earth. How does one create a soul? One meditates on the person who has accepted the Torah, visualizing their image (tzelem) ascending to heaven, accepted by the angels of G-d with great rejoicing. The Ribono Shalom takes great pleasure in these souls and brings them to Sinai to accept the Torah.^[108] All of our souls are connected. Abraham made a soul in Haran. The soul is the Chaya consciousness of all the people in Haran that Abraham raised to the gates of heaven, Shaarei Shamayim.^[109]

Perhaps the more plain interpretation is to see Nefesh as referring to the “life they had built” for themselves in Haran, as opposed to “souls they had acquired”. In other words, they did not leave any personal attachments behind.

The first ten verses of this Torah portion parallel the kabbalistic paradigm:

1. And the Lord appeared to him in the plains of Mamre; and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;
2. And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the ground,

From here we learn that G-d appeared to Abraham in a spiritual sight for he had not yet lifted up his eyes. And what is this appearance. This is the presence of G-d that Abraham felt, the Shechinah. That the Shechinah can rest in the house of a Tzaddik is clear, but this does not suggest that the Shechinah would become incarnate, a pagan idea.

Abraham separates himself from the place where Lot dwells with his daughter. The Southern desert purifies the soul. To understand the South is to know its Hebrew names:^[110]

If one follows the central valley south through the Dead Sea, one enters the Aravah. Here there are craters (machteshim) of great depth showing layers of rock carved out by numerous of flash floods (shitafot). The land is fearsome and inspirational. Together, they move one to dread and prophecy. Stop at Solomon’s pillars on the way to Eilat and one will see wall paintings from primitive man and some of the earliest copper mines in the Lavant.

How are we to understand the goodness of Joseph? In his later years he is a hero, in his youth of questionable behavior.^[112]

From here we learn the consequences of favoritism. Though Joseph brought a bad report of his half brothers, Israel did not reprove him for these reports but loved him even more rewarding his questionable behavior with a “coat of many colors.” How can Joseph learn etiquette, with his father encouraging him as a spy over his brothers and spoiling him at this same time? How can the brothers of Joseph learn unity, when they live with favoritism of one brother over another? To this day the Jewish people maintain a taint of this favoritism as we call ourselves incorrectly by the name of Jew from Judah instead of the name of Israel inclusive of all the brothers. By separation, Joseph will learn manners – Derech Eretz, the brothers will learn about love and unity, and Israel will learn the most important lesson of all—temperance and balance in raising his children.

There is a question as to who sold Joseph into slavery. Perhaps the brothers delayed in selling Joseph and walked away from the pit where they placed him, only to return and see that others had taken him with their original intentions.^[115]

And Reuben returned to the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. And he returned to his brothers, and said, The child is not; and I, where shall I go? And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; and they sent the coat of long sleeves, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found; know now whether it is your son’s coat or no. And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast has devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces. And Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning. Thus his father wept for him. And the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.

The difficulty in the text is the word they which is in proximity to the Midianites instead of the brothers of Joseph. Rashi maintains, “The children of Jacob drew Joseph from the hole and sold him to the Ishmaelites who then in turn sold him to the Midianites who sold him to the Egyptians.” However, the text states that the Ishmaelites were going to Egypt not the Midianites.

A simple reading of the text suggests that Joseph’s brothers may not have done the crime directly. Perhaps, passing Midianites saw the captive boy and decided to take advantage of the situation before the brothers got back to the pit from where they were eating. The text suggests, ‘The Midianites drew him from the pit, sold him to Ishmaelites who brought him into Egypt. The Ishmaelites then sold him back to Midianites who sold him into slavery in Egypt.’ Two problems here, first finding a lost boy and selling him into slavery after he explains who he is and what has happened seems unrealistic, and second the text does not say that the Ishmaelites sold him back to Midianites in Egypt.

Joseph’s wife’s name was Asenath^[116], an Egyptian name like Einat. A legend teaches she was the daughter of Dinah.^[117]

Torah portion Chaya Sarah begins with Abraham burying his wife, Sarah Imanu in a place called Kiryat Arbah that means Four Corners. The name may derive from four giants who lived there in ancient times. These were Anak and his three sons. Alternatively, the name foreshadows four famous couples who would be buried there:

These four couples are the four corners of the house of all Israel. They are mystical structure that sustains us in every generation with their great love and trials together. The dynamics of their relationships are spelled out more explicitly than others in the Torah. From them we learn the paradigm of love between a man and a woman. They correspond to the four worlds of creation.

Adam and Eve depict the world of Atzulut in that their lives were adjacent to G-d in every way until they sinned. Their love is the highest paradigm between man, woman, and G-d.

Abraham and Sarah are the world of Beriyah for they created new souls in Haran that they took with them. Out of nothing, this pair created souls that became their friends and companions. From them we learn that love includes a joint effort to reach out to others in the world and bring them close and to create within them new souls for love of G-d.

Isaac and Rebecca led a life of service. Their love was like that of farmers as they struggled to get by and take care of their children. Angels spend their life in service as depicted by the world of Yetzirah, the world of formation. Esau built a house for himself and his wives while his ancestors lived in tents. He served his father like an angel, but like an angel he did not serve himself.

Jacob and Leah depict the world of Asiyah. Asiyah is the world of doing, akin to Malchut that is having children and preparing a kingdom for G-d.

Chaya Sarah teaches the community should complete the reciting of the Torah once every three years. To this end, the folk of the bible studied in smaller quantities and greater depth. Today we are always trying to study increasingly, yet we do not seem to know even the simplest matters with any surety.

G-d blessed every action of Abraham. This is because he completed every action with intention as a mitzvah of G-d. L’havdil, today we view our actions as chores and irrelevant to the higher purpose of creation.

Abraham made his servant Eliezer promise to take a wife for Isaac from his own people. To signify the event, Abraham placed Eliezer’s hand under his thigh, his Yerach. Rashi and other commentators say that Yerach refers to the loins of a man. The Targum Onkelos also uses this word. Interestingly the Peshitta chooses a different word. The Peshitta is the Syrian bible translation completed during the 1^st century consigned by those living in captivity during the Assyrian exile. The Assyrian Christians adopted the Peshitta as their biblical standard much like the Greeks adopted the Septuagint.

In the Peshitta, the Aramaic word for ‘Yerach’ is ‘Kaissa’ which means girdle. Middle Eastern men would wear a vest to hold items. The custom when making a promise was to place ones hand under the vest on the person’s side^[118] or perhaps near the heart.^[119]

The Mei HaShiloach teaches that the attribute of Isaac was Gevurah so therefore he wanted to bless Esau. That Esau would associate more with Gevurah while interesting was not the reason. Instead, the Mei Hashiloach teaches that Isaac could not go against the judgment that the eldest son receives the blessing. Megillah 31b teaches that Moses heard from the mouth of Gevurah that the judgment cuts through the mountain, which means to follow the judgment under all circumstances. Jacob on the other hand always looked toward the will of God. The Mei Hashiloach explains, “The blessed God supports the pure of hand, for the hands are branches of the heart, and his heart was pure and refined; then the result was that Jacob would bless without his own knowledge.” Hence, Jacob was guided by God on how to bless Ephraim and Menasheh.

When Jacob is blessing his sons Simeon and Levi he says in Genesis 49:6:

The term Kavodi – כבדי means ‘my respect’, ‘my honor’, or ‘my glory’ as translated above.^[121] The gematria of the term is 36 alluding to the ‘lamed Vavniks’ or 36 righteous people in the world at any one time for whom G-d sustains the world. Jacob recalls his glory with a term of endearment for the good deeds of his life, that is his glory in this world.

The names of the sons of Israel are missing the four letters: Koof, Tzaddik, Het, and Tet. The first two allude to the unknown end of time with the word Ketz – End. The second pair teaches that the children of Israel were free of the type of intentional sin – Het that entwines one into further sins. The Midrash teaches these allude to the coming of moshiach, a great king in Israel. If Israel removes sin than the end will come sooner. This is the purpose of the chastisement of Jacob on his deathbed so that his children should listen and remember his words to become good. From here, we learn to chastise the deeds, but not the person for we love our children and only wish to see their good.

And still if the children do not repent the end will come, and a great leader will arise out of Jacob and he will turn th