Vayetze - Growing up

"Jacob left Beer-sheba and headed toward Charan."

This Torah phrase is a code for many events in the spiritual world. Here is how Arizal explains the progression. God leads the world through ten Sefirot that combine and interact. The perfect world does not exist, and spirituality is not final and constant; instead, it grows. Zeir Anpin, the Cosmic Man, who represents this spiritual progress – achieved not by the whole of humanity but by a few select individuals – starts his life with immature consciousness. At this stage, his mind consists of the name of God, "Elohim," taken three times. This mind's gematria or numerical value is 86 * 3 = 258.

The next stage of Zeir Anpin's development is to grow. He must make space in his head for the higher levels of Names of God to enter - these names representing the adult consciousness. The three "Elohim" must descend through his throat and enter his body. The throat represents the narrow passage through which this development takes place. The gematria of the word throat ("Garon") is also 258 (with one added for the word itself).

How is this all hinted at by the above phrase of the Torah? - Jacob leaving Beer-sheba talks about the early conciseness of Zeir Anpin leaving his head and going into his body. Jacob is going to Charan - that is the hint since the gematria of Charan is 258.

Jacob, who could combine conflicting opinions and balance them, originates from Wisdom. He was also righteous, which is connected to the Sefirah of Foundation. The last letters of the words "Jacob left Beer" are aleph-beth-resh, representing "ever," or member, sexual organ. That is because controlling one's sexual urges is both a prerequisite and a means of obtaining righteousness.

Art: Landscape with Jacob, Rachel, and Leah by Nicolaes Berchem