The Consummate Life of Sarah

127 Years: The Revealed Meaning
Sarah, the first matriarch, lived for 127 years. The Torah writes her lifespan as "100 years, and 20 years and 7 years." This particular division of her years obviously points to the message behind those years. Rashi, the most important classical Biblical commentator, quotes the explanation of the sages: At the age of 100, Sara was still as pure of soul as a 20 year old, and at the age of 20, Sara was as beautiful as a child of 7.

127 Years: The Inner Meaning
Kabbalah and Chassidut explain that the first 100 years of Sarah's life, 10 times 10, correspond to Sarah's perfection at the level of keter, the superconscious level of the soul. The next 20 years of Sarah's life, 2 times 10, correspond to her perfection at the two intellectual faculties of the soul, chochmah, "wisdom," and binah, "understanding." This indicates that Sarah, the first Jewish woman was perfect in her mind, as in the verse (Proverbs 19:14):

If a man is worthy, his wife is a truly and completely intelligent woman

The 7 years of Sarah's life correspond to her perfection at the level of the inner dimension of the 7 emotive attributes of the heart; love, awe, compassion, confidence, sincerity, truth and humility.

Levels of Interinclusion in the Soul
In Kabbalah we learn that each ascending level of the soul has a greater level of interinclusion. The brilliance of the soul shines at each stage of the interinclusion. As a result, the higher levels of the soul shine with much more brilliance than do the lower levels. The verse on Sarah's age illustrates this point:

Mathematically, 7 is 7 times 10 to the 0 power (10 to the 0 power is 1). There is no interinclusion of 10 in 7 -- rather, the 7 stands alone. At the level of 20, the two mental faculties of the soul, interinclusion already exists. 20 is 10 to the first power. Thus, in each of the powers of the mind, there is interinclusion of all 10 powers of the soul. At the level of 100, keter, there is an added dimension of interinclusion. 100 is 1 times 10 squared. At this supernal level of the soul, there is a double manifestation of all 10 intrinsic powers of the soul. Thus, there is an added dimension of light in the superconscious crown in relation to the faculties of the mind, and 10 times more light in the faculties of the mind than in the emotions of the heart. Sarah's lifespan reflects the brilliance of her soul. The lights of the powers of her soul shine at all levels of perfect interinclusion.

Synthesizing the Body and Soul of the Torah
Kabbalah is the concealed level -- the soul -- of the Torah. It enlivens the revealed level – the body -- of the Torah. From the Lubavitcher Rebbe we learn that both the revealed and concealed interpretations of a verse must be related and synthesized. Let us now explore the significance of Sarah's age in the prism of both the revealed and concealed interpretations of this verse.

The Nullification of 100
In the Ethics of our Fathers our sages explain that when a person reaches the age of 100, he becomes null, as though he has already passed away. Even if the person is still alive, he experiences life outside the realm of normative human connection to earthly matters. This level of total nullification of earthly consciousness experienced by the centenarian is the full manifestation of the Crown in his soul. The Crown is the level of light above vessels -- it does not relate to reality as we experience it. Rather, at the level of Crown the experience of the soul is the pure consciousness that God is all and all is God -- above the vision of reality as perceived by our physical senses. At the age of 100, a person is no longer deceived by his senses. He fully reveals his Crown. Because he has succeeded in reaching this total nullification, he is pure and without blemish, as a person of 20, who is not yet held responsible for his sins.

The Purity of 20
Only when a person's mind is fully developed can he be held responsible for his actions. This full development of one's mental faculties occurs at the age of 20. It is then that a person is liable for his sins. Until the age of 20, a person is still immature and not responsible for his sins. Sarah was pure at the age of 100 as a person of 20 who was never held responsible for his sins. Although her mind was completely mature, she merited not to sin. Her purity stemmed not from her immaturity, but rather from the matured and consummate powers of her soul.

The Beauty of 7
Tiferet, "beauty" is the most central of all the seven emotions of the soul. The source of the charm and grace of a young girl of 7 is the natural compassion in her soul for all living things. At the age of 20, Sarah was as consummately beautiful in all the emotions of her soul as a child of 7.
Sarah was the first matriarch. By emulating her ways we can strive to ascend to the consummate levels of nullification, purity and beauty of her soul.

age
revealed meaning
(Rashi)
concealed meaning
synthesis of revealed and concealed

100

sefirah of Crown
total nullification to God, without blemish or sin

20
Pure soul


mental faculties of wisdom and understanding
purity of a person of 20 who has not yet been held responsible for his sins due to his as yet immature mental faculties

7
Beauty
7 emotive powers of soul
compassion for all living things, the source of beauty of the child


courtesy Inner.org

BEYOND SELF-INTEREST

Hemshech Tzaddik-Dalet Part V

By Simon Jacobson

This weekend several thousand of leaders, from six continents and over 100 countries, are gathering together in a powerful convention. They are called shluchim. Messengers. This simple name, however, carries within itself volumes of invaluable lessons for each on of us. Lessons that have the power to change your life forever. This essay is in honor of the Annual International Shluchim Conference this weekend in New York.

When it comes to big life issues, we humans have the tendency to avoid drawing very distinct lines. And justly so. Life is far too complex and nuanced to impose a black and white perspective. Grey is the color of choice.

Despite this general rule (which itself, by the logic above, should not be etched in stone), the fact is that there are areas where lines can be drawn. And one primary one is the big choice we make about our careers – where we will invest the bulk of our life energies. In this area we really have only two choices: Will you live your life driven either by self-interest, or by dedication to a higher cause than yourself?

The undisputed argument can be made, that even self-interest can benefit the public. Isn’t that the basis of capitalism: Personal gain and even greed serve as a powerful catalyst to create products and services that benefit the public. Even a self-interest driven individual can be charitable and benevolent. And conversely, even dedication to a higher cause can also be driven by self-interest, in effect, making it just another expression and extension of personal gain and benefit.

Yet, the very clear distinction remains between the primary and secondary drives: One has chosen a life driven by self-interest, which also – as an ancillary element –can happen to benefit others. The latter has chosen a life that is primarily driven by helping others – a cause beyond himself – which also can satisfy his self-interest.

Another key point: You can be involved in your self-interests without anyone else gaining anything. Or your self-interest can be directed toward efforts than benefit many. Like the difference between the two options of putting on a fur coat or lighting a fire to keep warm in a cold room: By donning a fur coat (a tzaddilk in peltz), you serve and keep yourself warm, but no one else. Lighting a fire warms you and everyone else in the room.

Sadly, even religious commitment today, due to its mechanization, has become trapped beneath these two options.

I submit that one of the greatest contributions in our time to counter the inevitable stagnation that results from being content with a self-interest driven life, including religious self-interest, was the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s innovation of the concept of shlichus.

Shlichus literally means “mission.” A shliach is a messenger sent on a mission to serve a cause greater than him or herself: To help others. Every person on Earth is sent here on a mission; your soul was dispatched for you to accomplish a particular assignment, which is your calling.

In this week’s Torah portion we read about the first shlichus in the Bible: Abraham sending Eliezer as his emissary to find a bride for Isaac. Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi explains that Eliezer’s mission to join Isaac and Rebecca reflects the general mission of each of our lives: To fuse matter and spirit, body and soul into one seamless union (see Messenger or Matchmaker).

Dedicating your life to a cause beyond yourself, unleashes many powerful forces. Firstly, it frees you from the stifling containment of your own orbit – of breathing your own recycled air and that of your natural environment (“ghetto”). Leaving your comfort zones creates challenges that always bring the best out of you. Secondly, it empowers you to become a leader instead of a follower. Finally, and above all, it introduces into your life, your family’s life – and into the universe – an energy of giving instead of taking. You reverse the arrow that is, left to its own accord, inwardly directed toward self-interest – toward “me, me and more me,” and you turn it outward, toward others and the larger world. Like the windows in the Holy Temple, which were narrow on the inside and wide on the outside, in order to allow the transmission of the inner holy light to the outside.

In Kabbalistic and Chassidic terms this is the concept of Ohr, light-energy, whose fundamental property is bittul – the ability to transcend your own ego and self-interest. In our universe made of matter and energy (container and light) – with all matter being essentially energy – we always have a choice: Matter, by nature and by definition, is self-contained, concealing the energy within and denying any root source. Energy is selfless, always pointing to a source (of the energy). Will we choose a life driven by matter and substance, which is selfishly oriented; or will we seek out the energy within which directs us to a higher source?

In our last installment on the continuing series of Hemshech Tzaddik-Dalet – the discourse delivered 75 years ago in Warsaw – we reviewed the three different dimensions of the selfless “energy consciousness.”

After explaining the first dimension, the profound humility of the energy sensing its utter insignificance in face of the energy source, the Rebbe Rayatz goes on (in discourse delivered 75 years ago this week) to define the second, higher level of selflessness: The sense that the energy is entirely dependent and has no being without its source.

There is a fundamental difference between these two dimensions of bittul, though both are a result of the energy’s connection to the source. The first level of bittul is only circumstantial. In face of its source the energy feel utterly nullified. But not that the energy on its own is actually insignificant. Take a candle for example. In the light of the sun, the candle’s flame gives off no light. It actually appears dark in comparison to the sun’s brilliant backdrop. But move the candle away from the presence of the sun into a dark room, then the candle has a very significant presence.

By contrast, the second level of bittul permeates the energy to such a point that it’s very being, even not in the presence of the source, senses that it has no existence of its own, only as a result and extension of its source. The example for this would be sunlight itself: Unlike an independent flame, the sun’s light always “feels” that it cannot exist without the sun.

Applying this to the concept of shlichus – the role each of us plays when we sense ourselves as Divine emissaries on a mission to serve a higher cause (than our own needs) – two possibilities arise in the way we serve as messengers on our missions:

Your dedication to the cause – your bittul – can be one in which you feel yourself utterly humble in face of the cause you represent. Like a student who feels absolutely trivial in the presence of his great teacher. But this feeling does not permeate your entire being. Your ego and personality remains intact, only nullified in the presence of your teacher. Once you leave your master’s presence, you feel very much of a personality.

A higher level of dedication and bittul is one in which your entire being senses that is has no substance and value expect as an extension of it’s source. It’s like being “in the zone,” where you don’t sense yourself at all; the object and the subject, the noun and the adjective, are all one. The messenger feels that his entire being has no substance if not for being a messenger of the sender.

Practically, the difference between these two attitudes is not mere semantics. Take, for example, a situation where a student of a great teacher is faced with a serious dilemma and does not have the ability to consult his master. In the first instance, the student would have no choice but to decide what to do based on his own instincts and knowledge. If he were in the presence of his master, he would of course defer to the master. But now that he is “on his own,” he is left to his own devices.

In the second instance, the student has so absorbed and integrated the teachings and methodologies of his teacher, that even when he is not in the master’s physical presence, the student is never “on his own;” he feels that all his tools and his knowledge are but a mere extension of his teacher’s, and thus he solves the problem not with his own logic, but with the approach of his master that he has utterly assimilated.

To move from the first to the second level student/shliach is not just a matter of “wiring” or feelings (hergesh), as if to say that some people are simply not capable of reaching the higher level of dedication. Every student has the ability, with effort and hard work, to reach a point that he can This requires commitment, devotion, and immersion into the teachings and spirit of the master’s thoughts and methodologies, to the point where the student’s mind, heart and sprit reflect and become one with the master’s.

This is one reason why the Torah commands us to “know thy G-d,” not just to believe but to study, probe and understand G-d and His ways. Faith alone connects you with the Divine. But on its own it hasn’t yet transformed you, the person. In the name of faith you defer and surrender to a Higher Will. But where do you, as an individual, remain standing? When faith is integrated into your system – your mind and heart – then you become transformed into an instrument: Your mind channels a higher intelligence and state of consciousness, your heart channels a higher state of emotions, and your actions, your arms and legs and your entire body, manifest a higher, refined state of behavior. You and your faculties have become, in effect, agents of higher energy.

* * *
People marvel at the fact that Chabad shluchim cover the globe. Wherever there is Coca-Cola you can find Chabad. Others talk about their great dedication, no matter what they will never leave their job.

I humbly submit, that the greatest story of all, is the fact that the Rebbe understood the need to empower and to create proactive individuals, who would transcend self-interest, or harness their self-interest for the good of the greater cause. Especially in times of freedom and prosperity (notwithstanding the current economic meltdown) it is so easy to gravitate to a state of complacency and passivity, immersed and engulfed by self-interest.

The model of shlichus – that an individual, or a couple, leave their comfort zone and self-orbiting life and go out to build communities – is a model for us all: the ultimate antidote to modern-day self-indulgence.

And this model itself we have the two possibilities discussed above, one deeper than the next in the emissary’s dedication to the higher cause.

But before you get too excited, there is yet another, third and even more profound dimension of bittul. Stay tuned.
~~~~~

All about Sarah

Let us examine the names of the angels in context of their mission: Micha’el came to give Sarah the news of Isaac’s upcoming birth; Gavri’el came to destroy Sodom; and, Repha’el came to heal Abraham. Taking the sum of the angels’ names with the objects of their mission, we get that:


מיכאל שרה ┴ גבריאל סדם ┴ רפאל אברהם = 1515 = שרה שרה שרה


Meaning that Micha’el plus Sarah plus Gavri’el plus Sodom plus Repha’el plus Abraham = 1515, which is three times Sarah. Thus, the average value of each of the angels and the name of the object of his mission is Sarah! This places Sarah clearly as the center of everything that happens in our parshah.


Now, the numerical value of Sarah (שרה ) is 505, which is 5 times the numerical value of Micha’el (מיכאל ):


שרה = 5 · מיכאל , or 5 · 101


Therefore, it follows that 1515 = 15 · מיכאל , or 15 times Micha’el.


We have previously noted that Micha’el (מיכאל ), whose numerical value is equal to 101, is considered the angelic minister of the Jewish people, Israel. The numerical value of Israel, ישראל is 541. Amazingly, the 101st prime number is 541!


It is interesting to note that the name “Isra’el” follows the common naming of an angel (that ends with “el”). Indeed, Jacob received the name Israel only after having defeated Esau’s angel,1 “Because you have wrestled with angels and men and you have overcome.” Jacob’s ability to overcome Esau’s angel came by his including the strength of Gavri’el, who manifest the power of the sefirah of might. After the sun rose, Jacob was healed by the power manifest in the angel Repha’el.


The name “Israel” stems from the root meaning “to overcome” or “to minister” as does the name “Sarah.” The numerical value of “Israel” (ישראל ) is 541, which is also the sum of “Sarah” (שרה ) and “Leah” (לאה , the mother of Jacob’s six children, as explained in an earlier teaching): ישראל = שרה לאה .


Since “Sarah” is equal to 5 times “Micha’el,” this means that the difference between “Israel” (in this case referring to Jacob) and his wife “Leah” is 5 times “Micha’el.” Jacob’s other wife, and Leah’s sister was Rachel, whose numerical value is 238. Amazingly, the difference between “Israel” and “Rachel” is also a multiple of “Micha’el”: ישראל = רחל ┴ 3 · מיכאל ! This follows from the fact that the difference between Rachel (238) and Leah (36) is 2 times Micha’el (202). That Micha’el figures into the relationship between Jacob and both of his wives who are matriarchs suggests that as the ministering angel of the Jewish people, and the angel corresponding to the power of loving-kindness, Micha’el plays a role in establishing and elevating these relationships.

Micha’el and the individual
Now that we have seen a few examples of Micha’el’s role at the national level of the Jewish people, let us focus on his role for every individual. In respect to our devotional service of the Almighty, Micha’el appears as the power entailed by our love for God that can break us free of our so-called comfort zone. Recall that the value of his name is 101. Let us quote from the Tanya,2 the foundational work of devotional service and the basis of Chassidic teachings:


The Talmud writes that “he who serves God”3 refers to one who reviews what he had studied 101 times, while “he who serves Him not”4 refers to one who reviews his studies only 100 times. This is so because in the Talmudic days, it was normal to review each lesson one hundred times.


The Talmud illustrates this by drawing an analogy with a market of the donkey drivers. The drivers would charge one coin for every ten miles that they would have to cover, but demanded two coins for driving 11 miles because driving an additional eleventh mile deviated from their standard [which was for driving 10 miles]. Likewise, the 101st review of one’s studies, which illustrates a commitment to study that is beyond the normal practice to which the student has been accustomed since his childhood [his “comfort zone”], is itself equivalent to all the 100 repetitions already performed, combined.


In fact, the 101st review’s quality surpasses the first 100 times in its greater strength and power. Therefore, it is only this one extra review that entitles the student to be called “he who serves God.” For in order to change his natural habits the student must arouse love for God, by meditating on God’s greatness in his mind; this meditation makes it possible to control the habitual aspect [of one’s character] that resides [symbolically] in the left chamber of the heart, the seat of the animal soul, which is full of the blood of the animal soul whose source is in the kelipah, the source of these types of habits. This is considered impeccable service for a Beinoni [one who is not a tzadik].


An alternate type of service for a Beinoni is to awaken the natural love for God that is inherently found hidden in the [right chamber of the] heart, thereby overpowering the natural habits that are in the left chamber of the heart. This too—struggling against one’s natural habits and inclination by arousing one’s natural love [for God]—is deemed serving God.


If, however, one does not struggle at all with one’s habits, [the existence of] this type of love [the natural love of God that lies dormant in the heart] cannot be credited to his service of God. [Therefore he is described as “he who serves Him not.”]


Thus, it is the angel Micha’el who represents the power to break out of one’s inbred habits in search of growing closer to the Almighty. Note that the Tanya describes two such methods for freeing one’s self and going beyond one’s comfort zone: 1) by meditating on God’s greatness and thereby arousing new-born love for God, 2) by awakening one’s natural love for God.


Torah meditation requires intellectual effort and a struggle against the opaqueness of our mind (the study of Torah clarifies one’s thought—without investing and immersing oneself in Torah, the mind remains an unpolished lens, unable to truly understand the Divine). Thus the first method is related to the World of Creation, which corresponds to the intellectual processes of the psyche.


The second method requires us to awaken our natural, inborn love for God, in order to struggle against our habits. Habits are formations in the psyche—they grow steadily and surely as time passes, just as stalagmites grow in a cave, eventually creating an emotional impasse that one cannot even venture to cross. This type of struggle is in its essence an emotional one and thus occurs at the level of the World of Formation, which encompasses the psyche’s emotional faculties (from loving-kindness to foundation).


Of course, one who has not awakened even the soul’s innate love of God is called “one who serves Him not.” It may be that such an individual performs many acts of goodness and commandments of the Torah out of habit, but without the struggle to advance in one’s level of action and observance, there is no service of God, only good habits. This is the level of the World of Action, which is void of any emotional or intellectual spirit.


What this reveals is that the angel Micha’el, the angel of revealed love for God, appears in two distinct manners, intellectual and emotional. These are the aspects of Micha’el in the World of Creation and in the World of Formation. Multiplying the value of Micha’el by 2, we get the Hebrew word for “master”: מיכאל מיכאל = רב , alluding to his symbolic capacity as the power to escape one’s habits and push forward. In the Bible, the word “master” appears as part of two word idiom “master and commander”5 referring to the powerful sovereignty of a king. The numerical value of “master and commander” is 557, the same as the value of “Gavri’el” and “Repha’el” together: רב ושליט = גבריאל רפאל , indicating that Gavri’el and Repha’el have been included within Micha’el in order to provide the Divine soul with sovereignty over the animal soul.

Micha’el and the Mashiach
In the passage quoted from the Tanya, the normal habit referred to corresponds to the spiritual level of the World of Action—activity without emotional or intellectual struggle. In Talmudic times the consummate perfection of the World of Action was represented by the number 100. 100 is also the gematria of “Michal” (מיכל ) King Saul’s daughter and King David’s first wife who in the future is destined to give birth to the Mashiach, the son of David. It is David’s task to awaken in Michal the letter alef (א ), which will then transform her name to that of the angel Micha’el, the minister of the Jewish people, the angel of love, whose ultimate task (as the High Priest of the spiritual Temple) it is to elevate the souls of the Jewish people from the World of Creation to the World of Emanation, thereby revealing their inherent nature as tzadikim. Transcending from Creation to Emanation can be understood as adding self-nullification to the individual, regardless of how much intellectual knowledge of the Torah he or she has. Without self-nullification (bitul, in Hebrew), one cannot become one with the Almighty, nor can one truly fulfill one’s mission in life.

Micha’el, the message of fraternal love
In the Song of Songs there is a beautiful allusion to this transformation of Michal into Micha’el. The words “If only you were like a brother to me….”6 In Hebrew, the initials of these words spells Michal: מי יתנך כאח לי , in order. But, the כ in כאח is a relational כ , meaning “like.” The word itself is אח , meaning “brother,” whose initial is א . So, we have also the name Micha’el alluded to: מי יתנך כאח לי , also in order. From this analysis we learn that the special power of the angel Micha’el is to instill a feeling of fraternity between the supernal groom and bride—the Almighty and the Congregation of Israel.


This is a beautiful example of the aspect of loving-kindness that the angel Micha’el can add to a relationship. Indeed, we can now say that it was indeed thanks to the fraternal bond and love between Abraham and Sarah that made it possible for the angel Micha’el to come and give Sarah the news of Isaac’s impending birth. It was Abraham who told Sarah, “Say that you are my sister,”7 which the sages say was not a falsehood, for she was indeed his niece and as such their love also included the fraternal love (the most idealized form of love, as explained elsewhere) between brother and sister.8

Yehoyada and Yehosheva
Apart from the letters that spell Micha’el in this phrase, the numerical value of the rest of the letters י תנך ח י is 498 also the numerical value of Yehoyada (the High Priest) and his wife Yehosheva, יהוידע יהושבע . As a couple, they represent the consummate rectified brotherly love in the Bible. Together they were able to save the boy Yo’ash, an offspring of the House of David, and to have him appointed rightful King of the nation.9 In the Midrash,10 Rabbi Nechemyah connects Yehoyada and Yehosheva with the verse: “Two [together] are better than one… and the triple cord will not soon be broken,”11 which can also mean that the two (Yehoyada and his wife, Yehosheva) are together because of the one (אחד , in Hebrew)—i.e., their fraternal love. As explained elsewhere, in the Bible the word “one” is also written as “brother” (אח ).12


The Midrash writes that Yehoyada and Yehosheva’s marital bond gives birth to the Mashiach.13 What their names share in common are the first three letters of God’s essential Name, Havayah יהו , the third partner in “the triple cord that will not soon be broken.” Indeed, יהו יהו is equal to אהיה (אשר) אהיה , “I will be that which I will be,” the Name of God that represents the power “to become,“ i.e., to give birth (and redeem). The final three letters in their two names, ידע and שבע together equal 456, the value of “Jacob,” “Rachel,” and “Leah” יעקב לאה רחל .


498, the value of Yehoyada and Yehosheva, is also the numerical value of the complete spiritual family, “father, mother, son, daughter” אב אם בן בת , which corresponds to the four letters of God’s essential Name, Havayah.14 498 is also the numerical value of the four basic categories of beings in Talmudic taxonomy (which also correspond to the four letters of God’s essential Name, Havayah): speaking (man), living (animal), growing (vegetable), and silent (inanimate), מדבר חי צומח דומם , over which the angel Micha’el, as described above, has sovereignty.

As hinted above, Michal, David’s first wife was destined to give birth to his son who would become the Mashiach. Above we connected “Michal” with the phrase “If only you were like a brother to me….” Clearly, this suggests that Michal yearned for her husband King David to experience the fraternal love that Abraham and Sarah had—a love that is essential for the birth of Mashiach. When we add the value of the entire phrase whose initials spell “Michal” (מיכל ) to “David” (דוד ) we find that together they equal 613, the full number of commandments in the Torah and the numerical value of “Moshe Rabbeinu,” whose soul will be the soul of the Mashiach: מי יתנך כאח לי ┴ דוד = משה רבינו !
1. Genesis 32:29.

2. End of chapter 15.

3. Malachi 3:18.

4. Ibid.

5. Daniel 2:10.

6. Song of Songs 8:1.

7. Genesis 12:13.

8. For a more complete discussion of the topic of fraternal love in marriage see Consciousness & Choice, pp. 82-3 and pp. 168-174. See also What You Need to Know About Kabbalah, pp. 107-9.

9. See II Kings chapter 11 and II Chronicles 22:10 ff.

10. Kohelet Rabbah 4:8.

11. Ecclesiastes 4:9-13.

12. Ezekiel 18:10. See Consciousness & Choice, p. 172.

13. See Yalkut Shimoni to II Samuel 161.

14. See What You Need to Know About Kabbalah, p. 129-131.

courtesy Inner.org

Angels and the sefirot - revisited

Solving A Contradiction Between Rashi and the Midrash



Yesterday, as a first approximation we explained that the three angels, Micha’el, Gavri’el, and Repha’el correspond to the three sefirot of loving-kindness, might, and beauty (referred to by their Hebrew acronym chagat), respectively. However, today let us more accurately say that they represent the active aspect of these three sefirot, which are victory, acknowledgement, and foundation (referred to by their Hebrew acronym nehi). Together, all six sefirot, chagat and nehi, are called the six extremes, or the six measures [of the heart]. However, the lower half, the nehi are considered to be the practical extensions of the upper half, the chagat. The beautiful gematria that goes with this understanding is that the initials of the three angels’ names are: מיכאל גבריאל רפאל , רמג = 243 = 35, but which is also the numerical value of the names of these three sefirot in Hebrew: נצח הוד יסוד = 243!


We saw that the sum of the numerical values of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Micha’el, Gavri’el, and Repha’el is equal to 1296 = 362 = 64. Thus, we have that in this model, the three patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob correspond to the chagat (loving-kindness, might, and beauty) and the three angels, Micha’el, Gavri’el, and Repha’el correspond to the nehi (victory, acknowledgment, and foundation). Incidentally, 36 is the numerical value of Leah (לאה ), who gave birth to six of Jacob’s children.


In every individual’s life the challenge is to realize his or her potential. In order to understand what one’s mission in life is, one has to go to one’s source, represented by the sefirah of crown. But, in order to realize one’s mission, to transform potential into action, the sefirot of nehi, victory, acknowledgment, and foundation are necessary. In the first benediction of the Amidah, the main part of every prayer service we say: “The Most High God who grants great loving-kindness, owns everything, and remembers the goodness of the patriarchs….” The Arizal explains that the phrase “the Most High God,”1 refers to the sefirah of crown, while the three predicates, “grants great loving-kindness, owns everything, and remembers the goodness of the patriarchs,” correspond to the three sefirot of nehi. Indeed, excluding the initials, which equal the names of the three sefirot of nehi, the rest of the letters equal the Hebrew word for “action,” מעשה : יכאל בריאל פאל = 415 = מעשה , alluding to the sages saying that “action is the main thing.”2


Since we have looked at the nehi, let us now look at the upper half of the six measures, loving-kindness, might, and beauty. The numerical value of the sum of these three sefirot is: חסד גבורה תפארת = 1369 = 372. Beautifully, when we add the sum of the names of the bottom half of the six measures, the nehi, we get:
1369 ┴ 1296 = 372 ┴ 362 = 37 = 2665


Where, 37 reads the 37th inspirational number, and the nth inspirational number is defined as: n = n2 ┴ (n - 1)2.


2665 is also the product of יה י־הוה (41) and אדנ־י (65), which refers to Abraham’s words: “Please my Master (אדנ־י ), do not pass over your servant.”3 As explained in Rashi on this verse, there are two possible meanings to the word “my Master.” Either it refers to the Almighty, in which case Abraham was asking the Almighty to wait for him until he finishes hosting his three guests. Or, it is a mundane name, and thus refers to one of the three angels, specifically to Micha’el, the greatest between them. In fact, the numerical value of אדנ־י (65) is the exact difference between Gavri’el and Repha’el, teaching us that it was Micha’el that gave the angels the power to come together to Abraham.

Rashi’s idealism
Now, let us note two things about Rashi’s commentary quoted yesterday:


1) Rashi mentions all three angels in the order of the sefirot, loving-kindness (Micha’el), might (Gavri’el), and beauty (Repha’el):
One [man] to bring the news [of Isaac’s birth] to Sarah [Micha’el – loving-kindness], and one to destroy [Gavri’el – might] Sodom, and one to heal Abraham [Repha’el – beauty]…


2) Rashi does not mention saving Lot until later, and he sees the saving of Lot as an extension of healing Abraham.
But, in practice the order of the angel’s missions was different: first Repha’el healed Abraham (a mission that is not mentioned explicitly in the Torah); then, Micha’el gave news of Isaac’s impending birth to Sarah; finally, the destruction of Sodom was carried out by Gavri’el. Thus, Rashi elevates the three angels who themselves correspond to nehi, to their source in chagat.

Three that are four
We are left with a second question, introduced yesterday, regarding the dispute regarding the identity of the angel who saved Lot. Rashi, following the Midrash identifies him as Repha’el, who first healed Abraham and then saved Lot. The Talmud identifies him as Micha’el who first heralded Isaac’s birth and then continued on with Gavri’el to Sodom and there saved Lot. What is the dispute? How can we understand that both opinions are “the words of Living God,”4 a phrase commonly used to describe that Torah sages do not contradict, they complement?


Let us analyze both opinions using the language of Kabbalah. According to the Midrash and Rashi, saving Lot was carried out by Repha’el, and thus the action represents the sefirah of beauty. According to the Talmud, saving Lot was carried out by Micha’el and therefore is an act of loving-kindness. We now have four actions that actually correspond to only three archetypes. How shall we make correspond the actions with the archetypes and at the same type take into account the dispute we have just seen?


Let us first draw the correspondence and then explain it:

concealed knowledge
healing Abraham

expanding knowledge
saving Lot

might
destroying Sodom
loving-kindness
heralding Isaac’s birth


The actual order of events was: 1) healing Abraham, 2) heralding Isaac’s birth, 3) saving Lot, 4) destroying Sodom. We now see that in reference to the sefirot this order corresponds to concealed knowledge, loving-kindness, expanding knowledge, and finally might.

Two stages of consciousness
We have in this model introduced a relatively new concept in our use of Kabbalistic teachings that of concealed knowledge (da’at hane’elam)5 vs. expanding knowledge (da’at hamitpashet). Normally when we speak of the sefirah of knowledge as manifesting as human consciousness, we are referring to the expanding aspect of knowledge. As such, knowledge is born—it expands, as it were—out of the union of wisdom and understanding and stands as the “firstborn son”6 followed then by the six other measures of the heart (from loving-kindness to foundation). In this capacity, the sefirah of knowledge is the key to the measures of the heart and without it, the psyche cannot function, as the person cannot connect or unite with anything outside of him or her self.


But, the concealed aspect of the sefirah of knowledge represents a pre-sentient state in which somehow connections are formed even though there is no true consciousness yet. The example cited in Chassidic teachings to help us get a sense of concealed knowledge or concealed consciousness in our lives is the powerful connection between a baby and his father specifically,7 a connection that is expressed in the baby’s cry “father, father,” once he has begun to taste wheat, representing the Tree of Knowledge. Unlike an adult, who experiences expanding knowledge as day to day consciousness, the baby does not really understand what it means that it has a father. The baby does not connect or bond with the father figure out of a full consciousness of the relationship between them. There is something strongly intuitive about this bond, and the baby is more prone to feel alone and miss its father, than the adult who understands the nature of the relationship better with his expanding consciousness.

The nature of expanding knowledge
Now, armed with this understanding of the complexity of the sefirah of knowledge we can explain the dispute between the Midrash and the Talmud. The Midrash follows the explanation that expanding knowledge, as its name indicates, expands or manifests concealed knowledge, corresponding to the angel Repha’el (whose first act, to heal Abraham, is indeed concealed in the Torah). Furthermore, expanding knowledge acts as the soul of the sefirah of beauty (which lies directly beneath knowledge on the middle axis of the sefirot), as the key to all the measures of the heart. That is why it identifies the angel who saved Lot with Repha’el who is the archetype of beauty and its inner power of mercy.

The Talmud on the other hand sees expanding knowledge more as the firstborn son of the union of wisdom and understanding. Normally, if asked which sefirah is born first out of this union, we would answer that it is loving-kindness. The first emotional product of mental prowess is love. Therefore as explained oftentimes in Kabbalah and Chassidut, expanding knowledge has the characteristics of loving-kindness. In Kabbalistic terminology, there are five measures of loving-kindness which comprise the essence of expanding knowledge. Thus, the Talmud identifies the angel who saved Lot and exemplifies expanding knowledge with Micha’el, the archetype of loving-kindness.
1. See Genesis 14:18-20.

2. Avot 1:17.

3. Genesis 18:3.

4. Eiruvin 13b; see also Yoma 35b.

5. Concealed knowledge can also be understood as theoretical or ideal consciousness, which does not necessarily follow the constraints of our practical and physical reality. Our concealed consciousness meets space and time in their idealized state. This is not a state of grasping nothingness, because there is consciousness here, and there are space and time. Nonetheless, there is something quite disruptive and non-realistic about the way that concealed consciousness sees the world, but it is the key to understanding the direction in which the world is headed, even though at times it may seem that reality is stronger than our beliefs and our intuitions.

6. See Zohar II, 136b.

7. Berachot 40a and Sanhedrin 70b. The Talmud specifically mentions the father because concealed knowledge is considered to be an aspect of the father principle (in the Talmud the reading is “father and mother,” thus referring to the higher father and mother, the sefirot of wisdom and understanding as they are in the father principle). See Alter Rebbe’s Likutei Torah Bamidbar 13b.

courtesy Inner.org