La Genèse 25:27 Cabale : Zohar, Pardes Rimmonim, Sha'arei Orah & Sefer HaBahir

through “Jacob”, the.”complete one”, who united the two worlds as one. He united them above, and he united them below, and from him issued the twelve holy tribes after the supernal pattern.¹i.e. symbolizing the twelve permutations of the Tetragrammaton. Jacob, who was “a man of completeness” (Gen. 25, 27), brought harmony to the two worlds, as has been elsewhere explained.²By marrying Leah and Rachel..v. Zohar, Genesis, 153b. Other and lesser men, however, who follow Jacob’s example (in marrying two sisters) merely “uncover nakedness” (i.e. dishonour the spirit of righteousness) both above and below, causing antagonism in both worlds, and engendering separation, as it is written: “Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister in her life time to vex her” (Lev. 18, 18).

The sages, may their memory be blessed, also said, "The forefathers are the chariot themselves." And they did not say that each one of the forefathers was the chariot, but rather that the forefathers are the chariot themselves. How is that? Our father Abraham took the right side in purity and inherited the right side above which is the trait of Kindness [Chesed]. And about this is it stated: Then Abram journeyed by stages toward the South (Genesis 31:9). And Isaac took the trait of the left side in purity, which is Fear. And about this is it stated: and Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac (Genesis 31:53). And Jacob took the middle line in purity. And about this is it stated: and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents, etc. (Genesis 25:27). It comes out that the three forefathers were the chariot. And the words of a sage are a charm [chen, which is also an abbreviation for hidden wisdom, meaning kabbalah]. And that is even though there is a small difference between our path and the path of [the author]. And now we would like to write one more preface about the subject of appellations.

In the Tikkunim [Tikkunei HaZohar] [is] the implication that the activity of the utterances was not by means of any one of the three first ones, as the first utterance is Keter, “Let there be light” [Genesis 1:3]. And the second utterance is Chochma, “Let there be a firmament” [Genesis 1:6] And the third utterance is Binah, “Let the waters gather” [Genesis 1:9]. And this is what it says (in Tikkun 42, page 79): “In the beginning”/ בראשית, there was a man/איש [in the word בראשית is contained the word [ איש] on whom it is said: “And Jacob was a mild man” [Genesis 25:27], and this is the third day [Jacob corresponding to Tif’eret], because there were three artisans until here. The first day, the second day and the third day, each one [of these days] brought forth its craft. [On] The first day, to it said the ‘artisan hidden and covered’ [Sefer HaBahir 71], this [is the] degree that is called Ayin/אי"ן, containing three Sefirot א Keter, י Chochma, ן Binah [with numerical value 50, the 50 gates of Binah] etc., said to each of the three [first] days [of Creation] that it should bring forth its craft. He said to the first day: “Let there be light” [Genesis 1:3], immediately it brought out its craft and it accomplished it, as it is said: “and there was light” [Genesis 1:3]. And this is established, that there is no existence except by means of action. The א of אי"ן [which corresponds to Keter] that was hovering in the air [אויר] brought forth light [אור, with the י having left], י [= Chochma] brought forth firmament [the second day], the ן of אי"ן brought forth dry land, as it is written: “And God said: “Let the waters gather etc.” [Genesis 1:9]. End of citation.