וַיִּהְי֥וּ בְנֵי־לוֹטָ֖ן חֹרִ֣י וְהֵימָ֑ם וַאֲח֥וֹת לוֹטָ֖ן תִּמְנָֽע׃
Los hijos de Lotán fueron Hori y Hemán; y Timna fué hermana de Lotán.
Rashi
Adam, Seth, Enosh Ezra wrote this book of genealogy through Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi during the eighteen years from the name that Zerubbabel and Joshua the Priest came to Jerusalem in the days of Cyrus I until Cyrus the son of Esther came. All of this [book] is for the [purpose of tracing the] lineage of King David and the Levites for gate sentries, guards, and singers, how David stationed them in their positions, and the priests in their watches. Therefore, he traced their lineage from Adam to Abraham, and since he had to trace Abraham’s lineage, he mentioned also the rest of the nations, his sons and his grandsons, and because of his sons, he had to trace the lineage of the rest of the nations, the sons of Canaan, to let [us] know how Abraham inherited their land. And since he had to mention and trace the lineage of the generations of Canaan, he mentioned together with them (the generations of) the rest of the nations, but he mentions them only briefly and casts them away until he reaches the main ones, as is explained in Genesis Rabbah (39:10) (See also Tanhuma Veyesheb 1). This can be compared to a king who was traveling from place to place and dropped a pearl. The king stood and sifted the sand with a sieve until he found the pearl. So said the Holy One, blessed be He, “Why should I trace the lineage of Shem and Arpachshad and Terach except to find Abraham?” [As it is written] (Neh. 9:8): “... and You found his heart faithful [before You].” And because of the honor of Isaac, he traced the lineage of the sons of Esau and Ishmael and the sons of Keturah, and he cast them away little by little and left them. He mentions the sons of Seir because the sons of Esau inherited them [i.e., their territory]; he also traces the lineage of Timna, who became a concubine to the seed of Abraham, to let us know the praise of Abraham, for she was the daughter of princes and chiefs and wished to be a concubine to the seed of Abraham, as it is written (Gen. 36:22): “... and Lotan’s sister was Timna,” and it is written (ibid. 12): “And Timna was a concubine to Eliphaz the son of Esau,” because she said, “If I am not worthy to marry him, I shall be his concubine.” (Gen. Rabbah 84: 14, Sanh. 99b) Moreover, for this reason, he traced the lineage of the sons of Seir because they were chiefs and princes, and Mount Seir belonged to Seir, but out of love for Isaac, the Holy One, blessed be He, gave it to Esau, as it is written (Deut. 2:12): “... and the children of Esau drove them out, etc., and settled in their place,” and to inform us of the fulfillment of the words of the Holy One, blessed be He, Who promised Isaac that He would multiply his seed and give him dominion over all, and because of the honor of Isaac he likewise wrote (verse. 31): “Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom, etc.”
Peirush Hafla'ah
Using a seemingly unimportant verse from the Edomite genealogy in Genesis, Chapter 36, Rabbi Horowitz suggests that a deep mystical message can be found, Because Jacob did not complete the process of redeeming the divine sparks from his brother’s line, the divine sparks were responsible for the most terrible evil – Amalek. This incomplete process of redemption leads Pharaoh to deal shrewd treatment of the Israelites. Rabbi Horowitz quotes an explanation offered by the Ari, but it is full of strange allusions that are extremely hard to piece together.
Let us deal shrewdly with them: Why did Pharaoh say “Let us deal shrewdly” with Israel instead of simply saying “Let us kill Israel.” To understand the answer to this question we must first understand where the power to destroy Israel comes from.
We find the following discussion in the Talmud62See Sanhedrin 99b; see Numbers 15:30 and Genesis 36:22; this verse is taken from the genealogy of Esau – it seems to contain nothing but useless information.: ““But the soul that acts presumptuously.” This verse refers to Manasseh son of Hezekiah, who examined biblical verses63The word Aggadah is used here – it is the opposite of Halachah; that is it refers to the non-legal, narrative sections of the bible as well as comments on Scripture. to prove them worthless. Thus, he jeered, “Did Moses have nothing better to write than, “And Lotan's sister was Timnah?””
Why was it necessary to speak of Esau’s family tree? Esau’s genealogy is actually a mystical record of how the divine sparks became mixed in the husks in the world. The root of Jacob’s soul came from the Higher Wisdom64The reference to high wisdom is a reference to the Sephirah of Chokhma which is above Hesed in the sephirotic chart. and that is why he set out to redeem the divine sparks. The letters which precede each of the letters in the name, Lotan, spell Chokhma – by going back one letter we have the letters of Chokhma. Similarly, the word achot, sister, is also a reference to the Sephirah of Chokhma.
Rabbi Isaac Luria explained that Esau or Edom gained its power from the divine sparks that fell into the world. In the end, when the divine sparks return to their source, Edom will lose its power as is alluded to in the prophecy, “I will make wisdom vanish from Edom, understanding from Esau’s mountain,”65Obidiah 1:8 and in the verse “Who turns wisdom back, makes nonsense of their knowledge.”66Isaiah 44:25
Similarly, the name, Timnah hints to the divine sparks and the demonic which are mixed together in the world. The first letters of Timnah, tauf-mem, can be transmuted into el by moving back one letter in the alphabet. And the last two letters of this name, nun-eyin, can be transmuted into Sam67Sam means poison. This is a form of decoding in which the practitioner moves back or forward one letter in the aleph bet to create a hidden word. Note that in moving ‘back’ one letter, the tauf which is the final letter in the alphabet becomes an aleph, the first letter in the alphabet., which is part of the name, Samael.68Samael is the name of the power of evil. This transmutation of letters works by moving back from the letter taf to the letter aleph.
This is an allusion to a deep mystery in the cosmic unfolding of the world. Timnah sought out Jacob in the hope of being repaired, but Jacob was only able to repair the first two letters of her name – they became el. Timnah then went to Eliphaz. She brought the sparks of the divine wisdom and, as a result, Amalek was born from this relationship,6969 See the continuation of discussion in Sanhedrin99b - What is the purpose of [writing], And Lotan's sister was Timna? — Timna was a royal princess, as it is written, “Alluf *duke+ Lotan, alluf *duke+ Timna;” and by 'alluf' an uncrowned ruler is meant. Desiring to become a proselyte, she went to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but they did not accept her. So she went and became a concubine to Eliphaz the son of Esau, saying, 'I would rather be a servant to this people than a mistress of another nation.' From her, Amalek was descended, who afflicted Israel. Why so? — Because they should not have repulsed her. and as a result, the second part of her name was transformed into sam, poison. The divine sparks, then, have the power to give birth to either holiness or impurity. Thus, the verse in Genesis alludes, “Wisdom (Lotan) is the sister of Samael (Timnah).” Timnah is referred to a concubine, in Genesis 36, because she used subterfuge to be transformed through the wisdom.
Because Jacob was unable to transform and repair the nun-ayin of the name Timnah, Eliphaz was able to pursue and damage Jacob.70According to a Midrash, Eliphaz was sent by Esau to kill Jacob. He thought better of this plan when he caught up to his uncle and acted on his uncle’s suggestion – by stealing all of his possessions, he could say he left him like a dead man. Poverty, according to the rabbis is as bad as death! See Ginsburg, Legends of the Jews, Book 1, page 346 Nun-ayin, when reversed spell Ani, impoverish! The reason he did not kill Jacob was that he did not have the power to do so since Jacob had repaired the first letters of Timnah’s name: the tuaf mem, when reversed spell mayt, dead. Thus, Jacob could not be killed!
That is why we are commanded both to remember Amalek and never forget what the Amalekites did to us. Memory is the means to redemption of the divine spark, and not forgetting is beyond the redemption. Evil is born through forgetfulness. The gid hanasheh, the sciatic, is actually the nerve of forgetfulness71The root nasheh as in the name Menasheh means to forget. Joseph names his son Manasseh because he has forgotten his father’s house. (nasheh also means to forget).
We can now understand the allusion in the statement, “Let us deal shrewdly with them.” Pharaoh knew that he had the power to impoverish Israel but not destroy them completely because of the sparks that had already been redeemed – that is how he decided to use this knowledge to deal shrewdly with them. He enslaved them, and killed the males but he did not seek to destroy the entire nation, as Amalek had suggested.
Let us deal shrewdly with them: Why did Pharaoh say “Let us deal shrewdly” with Israel instead of simply saying “Let us kill Israel.” To understand the answer to this question we must first understand where the power to destroy Israel comes from.
We find the following discussion in the Talmud62See Sanhedrin 99b; see Numbers 15:30 and Genesis 36:22; this verse is taken from the genealogy of Esau – it seems to contain nothing but useless information.: ““But the soul that acts presumptuously.” This verse refers to Manasseh son of Hezekiah, who examined biblical verses63The word Aggadah is used here – it is the opposite of Halachah; that is it refers to the non-legal, narrative sections of the bible as well as comments on Scripture. to prove them worthless. Thus, he jeered, “Did Moses have nothing better to write than, “And Lotan's sister was Timnah?””
Why was it necessary to speak of Esau’s family tree? Esau’s genealogy is actually a mystical record of how the divine sparks became mixed in the husks in the world. The root of Jacob’s soul came from the Higher Wisdom64The reference to high wisdom is a reference to the Sephirah of Chokhma which is above Hesed in the sephirotic chart. and that is why he set out to redeem the divine sparks. The letters which precede each of the letters in the name, Lotan, spell Chokhma – by going back one letter we have the letters of Chokhma. Similarly, the word achot, sister, is also a reference to the Sephirah of Chokhma.
Rabbi Isaac Luria explained that Esau or Edom gained its power from the divine sparks that fell into the world. In the end, when the divine sparks return to their source, Edom will lose its power as is alluded to in the prophecy, “I will make wisdom vanish from Edom, understanding from Esau’s mountain,”65Obidiah 1:8 and in the verse “Who turns wisdom back, makes nonsense of their knowledge.”66Isaiah 44:25
Similarly, the name, Timnah hints to the divine sparks and the demonic which are mixed together in the world. The first letters of Timnah, tauf-mem, can be transmuted into el by moving back one letter in the alphabet. And the last two letters of this name, nun-eyin, can be transmuted into Sam67Sam means poison. This is a form of decoding in which the practitioner moves back or forward one letter in the aleph bet to create a hidden word. Note that in moving ‘back’ one letter, the tauf which is the final letter in the alphabet becomes an aleph, the first letter in the alphabet., which is part of the name, Samael.68Samael is the name of the power of evil. This transmutation of letters works by moving back from the letter taf to the letter aleph.
This is an allusion to a deep mystery in the cosmic unfolding of the world. Timnah sought out Jacob in the hope of being repaired, but Jacob was only able to repair the first two letters of her name – they became el. Timnah then went to Eliphaz. She brought the sparks of the divine wisdom and, as a result, Amalek was born from this relationship,6969 See the continuation of discussion in Sanhedrin99b - What is the purpose of [writing], And Lotan's sister was Timna? — Timna was a royal princess, as it is written, “Alluf *duke+ Lotan, alluf *duke+ Timna;” and by 'alluf' an uncrowned ruler is meant. Desiring to become a proselyte, she went to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but they did not accept her. So she went and became a concubine to Eliphaz the son of Esau, saying, 'I would rather be a servant to this people than a mistress of another nation.' From her, Amalek was descended, who afflicted Israel. Why so? — Because they should not have repulsed her. and as a result, the second part of her name was transformed into sam, poison. The divine sparks, then, have the power to give birth to either holiness or impurity. Thus, the verse in Genesis alludes, “Wisdom (Lotan) is the sister of Samael (Timnah).” Timnah is referred to a concubine, in Genesis 36, because she used subterfuge to be transformed through the wisdom.
Because Jacob was unable to transform and repair the nun-ayin of the name Timnah, Eliphaz was able to pursue and damage Jacob.70According to a Midrash, Eliphaz was sent by Esau to kill Jacob. He thought better of this plan when he caught up to his uncle and acted on his uncle’s suggestion – by stealing all of his possessions, he could say he left him like a dead man. Poverty, according to the rabbis is as bad as death! See Ginsburg, Legends of the Jews, Book 1, page 346 Nun-ayin, when reversed spell Ani, impoverish! The reason he did not kill Jacob was that he did not have the power to do so since Jacob had repaired the first letters of Timnah’s name: the tuaf mem, when reversed spell mayt, dead. Thus, Jacob could not be killed!
That is why we are commanded both to remember Amalek and never forget what the Amalekites did to us. Memory is the means to redemption of the divine spark, and not forgetting is beyond the redemption. Evil is born through forgetfulness. The gid hanasheh, the sciatic, is actually the nerve of forgetfulness71The root nasheh as in the name Menasheh means to forget. Joseph names his son Manasseh because he has forgotten his father’s house. (nasheh also means to forget).
We can now understand the allusion in the statement, “Let us deal shrewdly with them.” Pharaoh knew that he had the power to impoverish Israel but not destroy them completely because of the sparks that had already been redeemed – that is how he decided to use this knowledge to deal shrewdly with them. He enslaved them, and killed the males but he did not seek to destroy the entire nation, as Amalek had suggested.
Rashi
ותמנע היתה פילגש AND TIMNA WAS CONCUBINE — This is stated to tell you in what importance Abraham was held — how eager people were to attach themselves to his descendants. This Timna was a descendant of chieftains, as it is said (v. 22) “And Lotan’s sister was Timna”, and Lotan was one of the chieftains inhabiting Seir — he was one of the Horites who had dwelt there from ancient times. She said to Eliphaz, “If I am unworthy to become your wife would that I might become your concubine!” In Chronicles (1 Chronicles 1:36) Scripture enumerates her amongst the children of Eliphaz, thus intimating that he took Seir’s wife and from the two of them Timna was born. When she grew up she became his concubine. This is why it is stated, “and Lotan’s sister was Timna”, and why Scripture does not enumerate her amongst Seir’s children, merely stating that she was sister to Lotan, Seir’s son, (see 5:20) because she was his sister from one mother and not from one father (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayeshev 1).