Musar zu Owadjah 1:23

Let us return to the statement “ה' אחד ושמו אחד.” The mystery of G–d's Unity, and the Oneness of His name, is compared in the Sefer Yetzirah and all other Kabbalistic texts to the relationship between a flame and a glowing ember. The same relationship exists between Jacob and Joseph; Jacob is the glowing ember, the fire attached to the coal, whereas Joseph is the (disembodied) flame. Scriptural proof for this idea is found in Ovadiah 1,18 where the prophet describes בית יעקב אש ובית יוסף להבה, "the house of Jacob as fire and the house of Joseph as flame." The letters of the word אש, are also the respective first letters of אמת and שלום, which are the attributes of Jacob and Joseph respectively.

Isaac slowed the expansion of the influence of the tree of knowledge by means of the birth of the twins Jacob and Esau. This was an indication that even evil can be rehabilitated. Our sages phrased it thus: Esau's head reposes within the lap of Isaac; such is the mystery of how evil can be rehabilitated. The secret of how this happens was alluded to by our sages' explanation that the reason the pig is called חזיר, (from the root חזר to return) is that in the future it will restore the crown to its Master, as we know from Ovadiah 1,21 ועלו מושיעין בהר ציון … והיתה לה' המלוכה, "For the saviours will march up Mount Zion… and the kingdom will be G–d's." (cf. details in Kohelet Rabbah end section 1). All of these events will occur at the time when G–d will "slaughter" the angel of death. This is the plain meaning of Isaiah 25,8 בלע המות לנצח, "He will destroy death forever." This angel of death will then remain as a regular angel, since all the negative forces we know as קליפות are after all an outgrowth of a holy source. This is what was alluded to in the quote that the head of Esau reposes in Isaac's lap. When the head expands it becomes a symbol of impurity. The very name סמ-אל Samael, (Satan) reflects the dual nature of evil. On the one hand the name א-ל, G–d, is part of that definition, on the other hand the word סם represents the סם המות, lethal poison. In such a future the סם aspect of Satan/ Samael will be abolished. We, the Jewish nation however, are called by the name of G–d. Our sages interpreted Genesis 33,20 ויקרא לו א-ל א-לוהי ישראל, "He (G–d) called him (Jacob) El the G–d of Israel" (Megillah 18a, proving that the word לו could not refer to the altar Jacob had built). We have an allusion to this in Genesis 11,10 אלה תולדת שם, suggesting that we, his descendants, are all a "full name," not half a name such as סמא-ל.

לא תגנובו, "Do not steal," alludes to Adam who was a thief. נטע רבעי, the legislation of sanctifying the fruit of a tree in its fourth year, alludes to Noach who was drunk on a Wednesday. When a stranger (convert to Judaism) takes up residence among you, etc.," is an allusion to the first convert, Abraham. The prohibition of offering one's children as a sacrifice to the Moloch (20,2) is not part of the general prohibition to worship idols, but concerns itself specifically with the worship of fire. There are two kinds of fire. There is the fire described by the prophet Ovadiah 1,18 in the words: והיה בית יעקב אש, "The house of Jacob will turn into fire." This is a sacred fire, because the Lord your G–d is also called "fire." Also the fire in the Temple (Deut. 4,24) was sacred fire. However, there is another kind of fire, the fire of Esau, the fire of purgatory, a destructive fire emanating from the קליפה. When discussing the Moloch, the Torah adds (20,3) למען טמא את מקדשי ולחלל את שם קדשי, "and he so defiled My Temple and profaned My holy Name." How does the Temple feature in this paragraph? What does a fire-offering to the Moloch have to do with the Temple? The Torah wishes to point out that though fire-offerings to the Moloch are an abomination, there are fire- offerings such as the ones brought by Jacob which reflect the highest level of sanctity. When the Torah writes: והתקדשתם והייתם קדושים, it is an instruction to sanctify את קדוש יעקב, the G–d considered as the personification of holiness by Jacob. This is merely another way of saying: קודש ישראל לה', or that His name is called ישראל, the concept known as ישראל סבא, the first manifestation of G–d when He commenced creating the universe as a יש מאין by means of the first נקודה, as we explained above.

And inasmuch as He had created all of these, it was necessary to create the Temple and the name of the Messiah before creating man. For in the days of the Messiah, the earth will be filled with knowledge and there will be no evil desire among men. And all people, great and small, will know the name of God, may He be exalted, with a great knowledge and then they will know, all of them, that the principal reason for the creation of the world was service to the Creator, may He be exalted. Therefore, He first created all of these seven before He created the world. "And saviours shall come up on mount Zion (Obad. 1:21) and "a redeemer will come to Zion, and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob" (Is. 59:20). Amen. And thus may it be His will.

King David held on to the קו המלכות, i.e. the fourth "line." This is what is commonly known as מגן דוד, the shield of David. [קוים is an expression used in Kabbalah to describe the conversion of concepts into a practical effect in our lives. The concept חסד becomes רחמים, i.e. applied חסד, by means of such a קו, line. Ed.] The Zohar (Sullam edition page 70), commenting on Genesis 29,35 "she stopped bearing children," explains that the word ותעמד is a reference to the establishment of this fourth leg of G–d's throne, and that anyone who challenges the kingdom of David is considered as challenging the שכינה, the reason being that the fourth leg of the throne is supplied by the kingdom of David on earth. David is the מרכבה, carrier of G–d's Glory down here in our domain. Once that fourth leg has been contributed to G–d's Throne, His name י-ה-ו-ה will be complete. The root of the line חסד is the letter יוד. The root of the line דין is the first ה"א in that Name, whereas the line רחמים is the letter ו"או. These three lines together, formed through the attributes of the patriarchs, form a מרכבה. By adding the last letter ה"א of the Ineffable Name, G–d's name is made complete, whole. Once the Kingdom of David will flourish as that of the Messiah, once the prediction: והיתה לה' המלוכה (Ovadiah 1, 21) will be realized, the other half of that prophecy ביום ההוא יהיה ה' אחד ושמו אחד will be fulfilled also (Zachariah 14,9). The final letter in each of the last three words of that latter prophecy together spell דוד. A close look at the name יהודה will reveal some remarkable allusions. Firstly, it contains the letters of the Ineffable Name plus the letter ד. That letter, or rather the number 4 that it represents, is an allusion to the fourth leg of G–d's Throne.

Nachmanides (Chavell edition page 158), describes the meaning of the dream according to Rabbi Eliezer the Great as follows: This vision is similar to the vision Abraham experienced at the ברית בין הבתרים (Genesis 15), where G–d showed Abraham the four kingdoms who would rule over Israel in exile. The rise and fall of these empires is compared to angels ascending and descending the ladder. The reason they are called "angels of G–d," is similar to Daniel 10,20 where the angel Gabriel describes himself as ready to do battle with the angels described as שר מלכות יון, and as שר מלכות פרס respectively. G–d promised that He would be with Jacob (people of Israel) in all his sojourns with them, would protect and save him from those empires. G–d showed Jacob how these four empires would rise and subsequently fall. He also showed him that the angel representing Babylon would rise to a height of seventy rungs on the ladder before descending, (seventy years' exile), whereas the angel representing the kingdom of the Medes would ascend one hundred and eighty rungs before descending. When shown the angel representing the kingdom of Edom ascending and not descending, Jacob asked G–d to hurl him down into the grave. G–d responded that even if he, Edom, were to climb sky-high, He would bring him down (Ovadiah 1,4).

I have explained the word סם-אל as being composed of סם, poison, something harmful and of א-ל, something godly, i.e. good and wholesome. We can divide the expression מלאך המות, angel of death, similarly. The מות, i.e. death part of the expression is something negative, whereas the מלאך, i.e. angel part of the word is something good, positive. The good is mixed in with the bad. This is the mystical dimension of Esau's offer in 33, 15: אציגה נא עמך מן העם אשר אתי, "Let me assign you some of the people who are with me." There is a hidden reference in this to the proselytes and their influence on the Jewish people. Esau made this suggestion after Jacob had said to him in verse 14: עד אשר אבא אל אדוני שעירה, "until I come to my lord in Se'ir." Jacob's comment was a reference to Messianic times described in Ovadiah 1, 21, where Israel is described as ascending the mountain of Se'ir, home of Esau, preparing to execute final judgment on Esau. When we look at the respective last letters in the words אבא אל אדוני שעירה, we have the word אליה, as pointed out by Baal Haturim. This was Jacob's reply to Esau's suggestion for his people to convert to Judaism at the time the Messiah would arrive. Jacob hinted that we have a rule that we do not accept converts when there is reason to suspect that these converts only want to reap the benefit of a period of good fortune of the Jewish people (Yevamot 24). Jacob answered at the end of verse 15: למה זה אמצא חן בעיני אדוני The word חן is an allusion to the potential convert's motivation for becoming a גר, proselyte.

Immediately Moses had heard all this he understood that all the exiles the Jewish people would have to suffer in the course of their history can be traced back to the original sin committed by Adam. This has been explained in the opening passage of Midrash Eichah Rabbah on Hosea 6,7: והמה כאדם עברו ברית בגדו בי, "They transgressed the covenant just like Adam, they betrayed Me." This is the reason why G–d Himself grieved over Adam and is quoted as saying איכה about his downfall (Genesis 3,9). Jeremiah simply paraphrased G–d when he commenced his famous elegy with the words איכה ישבה בדד. We can extend this allegory even further: Consider that immediately after the passage dealing with the בן סורר ומורה the Torah continues (21,22) that the body of a person found guilty of a capital offence who has been executed is to be hung on a tree. The verse is an allusion to Adam who had eaten from the tree of knowledge and thereupon experienced the death penalty. However, the Torah goes on in 22,1 that in the future the "ox of your brother who has broken down" will not remain outcast forever, that it is Israel's task to assist in the rehabilitation of Adam by keeping the Torah's commandments.

It is stated, “If you elevate yourself like an eagle and if you place your nest among the stars, from there I will cast you down, says Hashem” (Ovadyah 1:4). I would like to explain this verse homiletically, but first I must preface with a passage from the Talmud (Berachos 6b): What is meant by the verse, “But you have burnt the vineyard; the theft of the poor is in your houses” (Yeshayahu 3:14)? If someone is poor, what can one steal from him? After all, he is lacking for everything! Rabbi Chalbo said in the name of Rav Huna, “When a poor man greets someone with ‘Peace!’ and the latter does not respond likewise, he is called a thief.

In order to survive in our lengthy exile we must employ the weapons of repentance, prayer and charity so as to mobilize the support of G–d on our behalf. The equivalent of "war" is repentance, which reflects the battle with our evil urge. He who can conquer his baser urges has proved himself to be a mighty warrior. This condition will prevail until the prophecy that we will conquer Mount Se'ir will be fulfilled. The redemption will come as a result of repentance, as we know from: ובא לציון גואל ולשבי פשע ביעקב "The redeemer will come to Zion and to those in Jacob who have repented their iniquities" (Isaiah 59, 20).

Esau is characterized as "descending;" this is alluded to in Ovadiah 1,4, where the prophet says to Edom: "Even if you place your nest among the stars, I shall bring you down from there." When Rebeccah said; "your curse upon me, my son," she referred to what had already occurred in her womb before the twins were born, i.e. that everything that is accursed was already concentrated in Esau. He, Jacob, did not have to worry, seeing he was already blessed.

Thereupon Isaac said to Esau: משמני הארץ יהיה מושבך ומטל השמים מעל. "Your dwelling place will be of the earth's most fertile with the dew of the skies above." Isaac confirmed what Esau had requested. This meant that Esau would absorb some of Jacob's spiritual essence. The terms הר ציון and הר עשו respectively, reflect this relationship of Jacob and Esau. Though both are הר, something elevated, the former is mistress of the latter. In verse 40 Isaac told Esau that in the event Jacob did not live up to the assumptions his blessings were based on, there would be a role reversal; Esau would then be able to shake off this yoke of being only an appendix to Jacob. However, once the pollutant of the serpent's residue in Israel would come to an end, Israel would emerge purified, and the vision of the prophet (Ovadiah 1,21) ועלו מושיעים בהר ציון לשפוט את הר עשו והיתה לה' המלוכה "For liberators will march up to Mount Zion and wreak judgment on Mount Esau; and the dominion shall be the Lord's would become fulfilled.."

The common denominator between these allusions to Chanukah and our פרשיות, is that the whole purpose of exile is to achieve the physical and spiritual refinement which leads to ultimate redemption. All vestiges of the influence of the original serpent and subsequent Samael must be eliminated before "the house of Jacob will become fire and the house of Joseph a flame, whereas the house of Esau will become straw." (Ovadiah 1,18).