12 Nov 400; The Transformation of Esau – Vayishlach
400; The Transformation of Esau – Vayishlach (rev.2019)
and added insights on the Shema
Igniting the unrectified sparks of Holiness…From the Darkness comes the Light
Inspired by the teachings of HaRav Yitzchak Ginsburgh and Rabbi Moshe Genuth
There is a common philosophy that if you want to help another, you need to meet them ‘where they are at’. In the most simple way this means we ought to approach and meet another or G-d, with an open mind and an open heart. This is a key to establishing a meaningful connection in all relationships; person to spouse, person to other person and person to G-d, and may also include a Rabbi, Counselor or Therapist. The trait of being able to ‘receive’ another is the trait of humility (the nullification of ego).
There are Torah references and insights on this idea of meeting someone ‘where they are at‘. There is an idea that Adam ate of the fruit from Chava so that he may follow to ‘fall’ with her in order to then help them both return (do teshuvah) back to the pristine existence of the Garden of Eden. There is also the understanding that Perkei Avot (Ethics of Our Fathers ) was a ‘mechanism’ that helped Judges maintain a good ethical balance as a Judge (in a Torah world) as a Judge was then required to live amongst the people he adjudicated. Hemay be living in an ‘impure’ environment (ie a bad neighborhood) and needed to maintain his own purity in a (possibly) deficient environment.
In our daily affairs we don’t typically put ourselves in physical or spiritual danger. It is for this reason, so as not to ‘fall’ that those who engage in kiruv (outreach) should have a strong connection to their own yiddishkeit; their learning and living of Torah, and have ongoing guidance (a kesher) with their Rabbi . It is also for this reason that those in recovery of substance or other negatively impacting behaviors) avoid contact with people, places or things that may cause them to fall or ‘relapse’, and maintain a commitment to a program of recovery.
Previous to meeting Esau and the ‘400 men’, Jacob had spent years immersed in Holy study and his righteousness had became forged stronger by having spent years with the unscrupulous father in-law Laban. Jacob had prepared himself so he would not fall.
Before we choose (although it is not always by choice) to descend to a place of challenge, we should ensure we have prepared ourselves to return… body mind and soul. When we have descended , it can be difficult to separate out the issues, so we may need the objectivity of another, a spouse, a parent, a Rabbi, a Counselor or Therapist… and always maintaining the focus of a relationship with a Higher Power, G-d.
Through the Eyes of an Angel-
Before Jacob approaches Esau, Jacob dispatches a malach (angel) to survey the situation of Esau approaching. Jacob chose an angel (malach) over choosing one of his loyal and righteous men for this task because the great sensitivity of the mission required the unemotional most objective report on his brother Esau. That could only come from ‘the eyes a malach’. The malach does not have the ability to influence a report of what he sees, and so the malach remains truly objective. It is something we may all need to know, that before coming to any decision or G-d forbid any Judgment on another person, we must ask ourselves if we have the objectivity of G-d …or His emissary, an angel? Are we able to see things with the clarity of ‘the eyes of an angel’?
Jacob bows 7 times –
Jacob bows 7 times as he approaches Esau. There are deep kabbalistic gematria insight involving 7’s (and multiples of 7) that reveals that the bowing 7 times of Jacob was done to ‘neutralize’ the negative effects of the 7 measures of unrectified or impure holiness within ‘Esau’ ( referring to Esau’ tainted 7 emotive experiences (sefirot) of his heart.).
This also shows Jacob’s subjugation (and nullification) of the 7 emanations or the 7 emotive experience of his own heart. Now, when Jacob will receive (meet) Esau , he will meet him at an even level. He will be able to meet Esau ‘eye to eye’.
There is an understanding in counseling and all relationships to meet another person , in this case as Jacob meets Esau, where he (Esau) is at… meaning that we need to meet a person on their intellectual and emotional level. That requires one to posses the wisdom of mind and heart, humility and empathy in order to have (receive) the necessary understanding and sensitivity of the emotional and intellectual state of the other person.
When we bow during the Amidah , kabbalah teaches that the action of bending over opens our spine (the central nervous system), thus releasing negative energy and humbling or availing ourselves to be able to receive G-ds Light. When Jacob bows down as he approaches Esau, he is then lowering and nullifying or humbling himself to receive Esau , the man and his spiritual sparks. He is also preparing for the great journey of every Jew and the entire Jewish Nation, through all of Jewish history help Esau (the nishama) to do tshuva , as I will explain.
400… a deeper Kabbalistic insight
The number 400 is mentioned a number of times in Tanach. Last time we overtly saw the number 400 in the Torah was when Avraham paid 400 pieces of silver for the purchase of Macphelah. Now in Parshas Vayishlach, Esau meets Jacob with 400 men. Also, 400 is the value of the final 22nd letter of the aleph-beit, the Tav (400), representing the culmination of all the (creative) powers of the letters that precede it. (eg. tav is the first and thus the ‘identifying’ letter of ‘Teruah’ of the shofar blast thereby identifying the power of tav/400 as the culminating and elevating of all tshuvah that precedes it)
We need to remember that Esau is a Jew, and accordingly is privy to doing teshuvah. We are not talking about the person ‘Esau’, but spiritual sparks of holiness captured in the negativity of Esau (his men) as the spiritual vessel of the fallen 400 sparks of holiness theatwe come to know as Esau’ nishama.
As Esau also received a blessing (from Isaac) to be great nation, there are sparks are imbued in Esau (his men) as sparks of 400 Jewish souls to over time, be gathered in (from converts of non Jewish bodies within which they are concealed ). These sparks need to be revealed and ignited to bring unity, Oneness and Mashiach.
When the world was created, the World of Tohu (Chaos) gave birth to this World of Tikun (Rectification). This produced what are called the 400 Fallen Sparks of Holiness. The rectification of these sparks is what we are seeking to reveal and elevate in the process of bringing Mashiach. We, as the children and Nation of Jacob-Yisroel need Esau (the eternal spiritual entity) for these sparks which he holds to be transformed. It is the gathering in and rectifying i.e. the transformation of these ‘negative’ sparks to positive Holy sparks of holiness that we may refer to as ‘the teshuvah of Esau’.
The Universe was created as what is referred to in kabbalah as the 4 Worlds (atzilut/emanation, briyah/formation, yesira/creation, assya/action). The 4 Worlds are made up by the basic building blocks of the 10 sefirot. It should be understood that each one of the ‘faces’ of the 10 sefirot by which they are named chochma, binah etc., and each single sefirot has within itself the other 9 sefirot making each individual a vessel of 10 emanations , so each of the completed 4 Worlds of 10 sefirot actually contains 100 sefirot, which are multiplied by 4 Worlds of 100 emanations or sefirot (10² or 10 sefirot x the 1o sefirot ‘enclothed’ within each of them) = 400 as the fallen sparks of Holiness to be revealed and rectified.
The Shema is a prayer/meditation of bringing about the rectification and unification of the world as ONE. The final word of the Shema, ‘ECHAD’ is the focus of the meditation. Echad is translated as ONE, and the final letter of ‘ECHAD’ is Dalet which has a numerical value of 4 (Dalet = 4). According to kabbalistic tradition, 4 is the ‘reduced’ value of 400. As we said, 4 are the 4 Worlds of Creation (atzilut, beriyah, yetzira and asiya), and 10 sefirot have within them ‘interincluded’ sefirot therefore; 10 sefirot x 10 interincluded emanations x the 4 Worlds of creation = 400.
In the 2nd line of Shema where we say ‘Baruch shem kavod malchuso l’olam va-ed… Blessed is the Name of His glorious kingdom for eternity’ , we can have in mind Hashem’s Name, the tetragrammaton, 4 letter Name of Hashem as Y- K -* -* as the 4 letters corresponds the 4 worlds of creation (as above diagram) as we bless of each of the 4 Worlds as they become unified as One.
We can then see that this meditation of the Shema can help us bring about the rectification and unification culminating as the powers of all the worlds as ONE through the focused meditation of the final word and final letter.
Furthermore, ECHAD as spelled out and numerically understood is Aleph (1), Chet (8) and Dalet (4) as equaling 13, reveals the insight of Chet (8) and Dalet (4) as the 12 individual Tribes then being ‘enclothed’ by the Aleph as +1, as the Nation of Yisroel… The culminating of the concept of Echad…Oneness. We say then that 12 (tribes) is as 13 (Echad gematria ) is as Echad (as word) 1-One.
The 400 men of Esau that traveled with him to meet Jacob represent those sparks of creation to be rectified. The meeting of Jacob and Esau marks an important part of the ongoing journey of Klol Yisroel in securing, revealing, igniting and rectifying these 400 fallen sparks of holiness. We need the spiritual force of Esau (Edom) as a ‘holding place’ for the unrectified sparks of Holiness, until we are able to rectify them. We can then see how Esau becomes an integral partner with Jacob. Jacob is then named by ‘his partner’ (Esau, his ‘angel’), and named Yisroel (as the Man, the Land, the People) representing the emanation (sefirot) of Tiferet; beauty, harmony and symmetry, as we are to be a rectified and elevated Nation, and Land of Israel to usher in the Messianic era.
It is in the darkness that the most powerful sparks of Holiness are contained.
Leib Getzel (Lawrence) Lax
Addictions and Counselling (Hnrs)
http://www.lawrencelax.com
lawrenceJlax@gmail.com