Vayishlach - Why did Jacob get into a fight with a man at night?

Jacob got into a fight with a man he met at night. Why did Jacob put himself in danger by going out alone at night?

The story goes that after Jacob took his family across the river, he came back because he had forgotten some small vessels. So again, why? These were clay vessels, not worth much.

The answer is this.

The soul of the righteous consists of 248 parts. But for the righteous, each part of his soul contains numerous sparks of many other righteous souls. Anything that comes to a righteous person in this world comes not only for him but also for the multiple sparks of other souls in him. So it is not his alone.

This is why the righteous love their possessions. And this is why Jacob came back for the small vessels, for if he did not, it would look as if he did not want them – but instead, he needed to show that he loved them too. 

In the beginning, the spiritual forces wanted to imitate God by giving of their own. But they could not because God does not need anything. Out of this desire, they burst, and it was parts of these spiritual forces that Jacob came to retrieve.

Art: Jacob Wrestling with the Angel by Rembrandt Van Rijn

Listen, Earth! (Haazinu)

What does Moses mean when he says, "Listen attentively, Heaven, and I will speak; give ear, Earth, to my words?"

The Torah has two levels: the secret and the simple one. First, there is the secret. It is for people who are like angels. Secrets are not for everybody, and they may be hard to understand. To them, Moses will "speak" - "medaber," which usually means harsh words.

The simple meaning is for the masses. To them, Moses addresses "words" - "amira", which usually denotes pleasant, endearing conversation.

But if, after all, the essential meaning is the secret one, why is the simple understanding needed at all? The answer is in the next phrase, "As the small rain upon the tender grass, as the showers upon the herb." When one is only beginning, they learn the simple meaning. They are like tender grass that cannot absorb and withstand heavy rain. After they have learned the basic facts, they become stronger and ready for the secret.

Art: L'Yerres, Pluie by Gustave Caillebotte

How to drink? (Ekev)

The word "drink" has a numerical value of 715. This is composed of four spellings of the name "everpresent," three spellings of the name "I will be," and the number of letters in these names. That is what one should have in mind anytime that he or she drinks anything. 

This is found in Ekev because of the phrase, "Man lives not only by bread but by all that comes from the mouth of God." The soul does not get sustenance from bread since bread is physical, but from the blessings that man pronounces.

Details are below.

יוד הי ויו הי=72

יוד הה ואו הה = 63

יוד הא ואו הא = 45

יוד הה ו'ו הה = 52

232

אלף הי יוד הי 

111+15+20+15=161

אלף הא יוד הא

111+6+20+6=143

אלף הה יוד הה  

111+10+20+10=151

455

28 letter

232+455+28=715

שתיה

ש=300

ת=400

י=10

ה=5

715

Art: Drinking Water by Jean Leon Gerome Arnaut

Tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram (Korach)

Dathan and Abiram were priests (Levy), but they wanted more. They argued that "all the Jewish people are holy," and everyone has the right to serve in the Temple. They tried to bring fragrant spices, usurping the privilege of a Kohen, and they were burnt by fire that came from Heaven.

Dathan and Abiram were reincarnated as two bulls, which Elijah used in his competition with 450 prophets of Baal. Dathan was a more elevated soul, and his lot was to be a sacrifice to God. But Abiram was not on such a level, and his lot was to be sacrificed to Baal. Abiram did not want that. Elijah had to whisper in his ear that he, too, would serve a good purpose - by not being accepted.

Now, compare the two incarnations. Dathan and Abiraam were burned by fire from Heaven for trying to advance their selfish goals. As two bulls, they did it right. They were also burnt by fire from Heaven, but this time, Elijah used them as a sacrifice to God.

Art: Cows Resting by Rosa Bonheur

Whose Bad, Moshe or All Else? (Behaalotcha)

When Jews wanted meat, God killed them. Moses said to God, "If this is how you are going to treat me, please go ahead and kill me—if I have found favor in your eyes—and do not let me face my own bad.” 

It should say, "Your bad." Jews were bad, not Moses. But the story goes back to many reincarnations. Moses was a reincarnation of Abel. But so, too, was his enemy, Balaam. It is in their names. Moses' name hints that he was a reincarnation of Abel and Shet

משה, שת, הבל

But Balaam, too, was from Abel.

חבל בלעם

It all started with Eve. The Snake injected her with a bad smell. After that, all humanity had mixed good and bad. The leaders of "Erev Rav," a mixed multitude, were Yunus and Yumbrus, sons of Balaam, the enemy of the Jewish people. That is why Moses considered them "his own bad." He did not agree with them, but they were his people.

These fractions of the people will continue to fight. However, in the future, "death will be eradicated." This phrase also has the name of Abel.

בִּלַּע הַמָּוֶת לָנֶצַח

So why does evil exist? Why did Balaam have to utter the greatest blessing ever for the Jewish people? Moses could say it! However, when Balaam said it, the bad angel was forced to confirm and say, "Amen." For the complete eradication of evil, the blessings to Jews must be pronounced by their worst enemies.

Art: The Butcher's Shop by Bartolomeo Passerotti

Meditation for Lag B'Omer Day – Gratitude ad Infinitum

The Sefirah associated with the day Lag B'Omer (today) is Glory within Glory or gratitude inside gratitude. When a man is grateful to God, he should add that he is grateful for the possibility of standing in front of God and being grateful. He thus completes and perfects his gratitude with the help of gratitude itself.

However, he does not have to stop there. He can now be grateful for his capacity of being able to be grateful for being grateful. This chain has no end. It is reminiscent of God's desire to create the world, which had to be preceded by a desire to have a desire, and so on, also ad infinitum.

Compare this to Littlewood's idea of gratitude with potential infinity.

“The following idea, or coda to the series, was invented too late (I do not remember by whom), but what should have happened is as follows. I wrote a paper for the Comptes Rendus, which Prof. M. Riesz translated into French for me. In the end, there were 3 footnotes. The first read (in French), 'I am greatly indebted to Prof. Riesz for translating the present paper.' The second read, 'I am indebted to Prof. Riesz for translating the preceding footnote.' The third read, 'I am indebted to Prof. Riesz for translating the preceding footnote,' suggesting reflexiveness. Actually, I stop legitimately at number 3: however little French I know, I am capable of copying a French sentence.” (Littlewood, Mathematical Miscellany).

Why does Littlewood stop at 3 while we continue ad infinitum? Obviously, because he is grateful not for the quality of being grateful but for translating his gratitude. Our gratefulness is for gratefulness that we get into the infinite loop – which is better at stretching the mind than the finite.

Art: Gustave Courbet - Eternity

Like two lovers who make peace (Vayikra)

After Moses spoke to God, his face radiated light, which people could not look at directly. The power of this light was 1,000. How do we know that? In Hebrew, the word "thousand" is "elef." The word close to it is "alef," the first letter of the alphabet. The Hebrew spelling of "one" and "thousand" is the same: אלף.

The "falling out" of God and Moses was repaired through Moses' prayers and the building of the Temple. When the Temple was finished, God called Moses for a conversation.

In Hebrew, "he called" is Vayikra, וַיִּקְרָא.

The Alef, which used to signify 1,000 and measured the light of Moses' face, became small. It was reduced 1,000 times. That was the effect of the Golden Calf. The Torah, spelling the letter alef small, reminds of the previous problematic act.

Moses (Moshe) represents two spiritual entities who give birth to the souls of the righteous. The summary of the calculations shows that the name Moses is the sum of these two spiritual entities:

אחור יסוד אבא

פנים יסוד אמא

קפד = 184

קסא = 161

345 = םשה (Moshe)

Using these and other connections, Kabbalists give meaning to the words of their prayers and make them more powerful.

Art: Galatea of the Spheres by Dali

He will die two times (Mishpatim)

"One who hits a man so that he dies will be killed two times" is the death penalty in the Torah. Literally, it says, "he will be killed, killed," and that is usually translated as "he will surely be put to death." Why is it two times, and what more is the Torah conveying?

Moses was the reincarnation of Abel. In the Torah, Moses is called "man." The Jews called him that when they said, "This man Moses, we do not know what happened to him." So when the Torah says "one who hits a man," it means Abel and his reincarnation, Moses.

The first murder in the Torah is Cain killing Abel. Since Abel was later reincarnated as Moses, and Cain was reincarnated as that Egyptian whom Moses killed, then this was the first time. The second time happened when Cain was reincarnated as Korach. Moses killed him again by making the ground swallow him.

One can notice how precisely the judgment is meted out. Cain hid Abel in the ground. Corresponding to that. Moses covered the Egyptionan with sand. With Korach, Moses made the earth swallow him to make the message very clear.

Art: Cain and Abel by Titian

Take the Torah, Or Else... (Jethro)

Jews did not have much choice when offered the Torah. God told them that if they did not accept it, He would destroy the world and turn it back to void. 

To make the offer actionable, God formulated it as such: "And it was on the third day" (בהית הבקר ויהי). The first letters of these three words spell bohu (בהו) - which implies destruction.

(Incidentally, other nations were also offered the Torah but refused it as not fitting their nature.)

Art: Moses with the Tablets by Guido Reni

Travel to Israel for burial (Beshalach)

Moses took Joseph's remains with him from Egypt to Israel. That was not easy. Egyptians buried Joseph in a metal coffin in the river Nile. However, Moses came to this place and said, "Ox, come up!" And Joseph's coffin floated up. 

Earlier, when Joseph told Egyptians to get circumcised, he also converted them. Moses cared for them and took them out of Egypt. These were the "mixed multitude" who went together with the Jews out of Egypt. Since Joseph started their conversion process, he now merited to see the mitzvah to the end.

Even though the mixed multiple caused multiple troubles to the Jewish people, they nevertheless represent the purpose for which the Jews ended up in the dispersion - to collect these souls and bring them back.

Art: The Water of the Nile by Frederick Goodall

Finger of God (Vayera)

When Moses turned the dust into lice, the Egyptian magicians could not repeat this feat. Until now, they could duplicate the plagues, what with the snakes and blood, but lice were out of their reach. They said in explanation, "This is the finger of God."

It is well known that magicians were operating through demons. Since demons cannot control objects smaller than a barleycorn, they could not reproduce this feat. However, what led them to believe that God was involved and not, say, Moses's magic?

The answer lies in the name of God, אלהים. The possible permutations of the letters of God's name number 120. Like this:

אלהים

אלהמי

אלמיה

אלמהי

...

Since the first letter can be one of 5, the following letter one of 4, and so on, you end up with 5*4*3*2*1=120 permutations. The Gematria (numerical value) of "lice" (כנים) is 120. That is how the magicians knew.

Pharaoh's death also came through this. Even evil people are sustained by God, albeit unwillingly. Pharaoh's sustenance came from the last two letters of God's name. Pharaoh was drowned in the Red Sea (ים סופ). The Red Sea combined the last two letters of God's name (ים) with the word (סוף), meaning "end."

Art: Pharaoh and His Army Drowning in the Red Sea by David Colijns