La Genèse 42:30 Cabale : Sha'arei Orah

As a result, if the quality of “that it is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב, which is the matter of HaShem’s-יהו"ה quality as the Living God-El Chai-א"ל ח"י, separates from His quality of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ"י, then the world is in a state of utter destruction and goodness is not found in the world, as it states that,¹⁸⁴Isaiah 57:1 “because of the evil, the righteous-Tzaddik-צדיק is gathered in,” and it says,¹⁸⁵Isaiah 3:10 “Say of the righteous-Tzaddik-צדיק that he is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב.” Therefore, when the righteous-Tzaddik-צדיק is in the world, he instills peace between two disputants. We thus find that the righteous-Tzaddik-צדיק is the decisor who tips the scales of justice. This is the matter of,¹⁸⁶Introduction to Sifra, thirteenth rule. “When two Biblical passages contradict each other, they are not resolved until a third passage comes and reconciles them.” The explanation of this matter is that HaShem’s-יהו"ה quality of Victory-Netzach-נצח is to the right, His quality of Acknowledgement-Hod-הוד is to the left, and “that He is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב” is the righteous-Tzaddik-צדיק (Yesod) who is the third passage that reconciles them. As a result, the words, “that it is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב” were not said on the second day of creation, but were rather said twice on the third day. That is, the first “that it is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב” was said corresponding to HaShem’s-יהו"ה quality as the Living God-El Chai-א"ל חי and the second “that it is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב” was said corresponding to His quality of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ"י, which is the matter of,¹⁸⁷Genesis 42:30 “the Lord of the earth-Adonay HaAretz-אדנ"י הארץ.” The mnemonic for this is the verse,¹⁸⁸Isaiah 3:10 “Say of the righteous-Tzaddik-צדיק that he is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב,” and as we say in grace after meals, “a precious, good land-Eretz Chemdah Tovah-ארץ חמדה טובה.” The explanation of the matter is that in the entire act of creation, God included the words, “that it is good-Kee Tov-כי טוב” with the creation of each thing, this being the matter of the Craftsman-Ooman-אומן.

This is the secret of the verse,⁴²⁴Genesis 1:2 “The earth was chaos and void, and darkness-Choshech-חשך was upon the face of the abyss, and the spirit-Ru’ach-רוח of God hovered upon the face of the waters-Mayim-מים.” You thus find that the wind-Ru’ach-רוח hovers between the fire-Aish-אש and the water-Mayim-מים. In the same manner, you will find that the Name HaShem-יהו״ה, blessed is He, is between Elohi”m-אלהי״ם and E”l-א״ל. What quality is the receptacle for them all? This is earth-Aretz-ארץ, as it states, “And the earth-v’HaAretz-והארץ was chaos and void etc.” In the same way, the receptacle for these three names; E”l Elohi”m HaShem-א״ל אלהי״ם יהו״ה, is His title of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ״י. That is, all sentences rendered in the Court of Law (Beit Din) of Almighty God HaShem-E”l Elohi”m HaShem-א״ל אלהי״ם יהו״ה, are all given into the hands of the Lord-Adona”y-אדנ״י to conclude the rendering of judgment. You thus will find that His quality of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ״י concludes rendering all the judgments below, in the lowly world, of what was decided Above. Whoever understands this will understand the secret of the verse,⁴²⁵Genesis 42:30 “The man, the Lord of the Land-Adoney HaAretz-אדנ״י האר״ץ, spoke harshly to us.” He also will understand the secret of the verse,⁴²⁶Joshua 3:11 “Behold, the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the Earth-Adon Kol HaAretz-אדו״ן כל האר״ץ,” and will understand these matters according to their proper characteristics.

The reason is because the differentiation between the foundational elements are three, in that water-Mayim-מים is opposite fire-Aish-אש, and the wind-Ru’ach-רוח is the decisor between them, whereas the earth-Aretz-ארץ is the receptacle for the three. Thus, according to the dominance of any one of the three foundational elements on the earth-Aretz-ארץ, so will be the effect on the earth. The same is so of the three letters Yeh”o-יה״ו,⁴²⁷The numerical value of Yeh”o-יה״ו-21 is the same as Eheye”h-אהי״ה-21, and when spelled out Yod-Hey-Vav-יו״ד ה״א וא״ו-39 is equal to HaShem is One-HaShem Echad-יהו״ה אח״ד-39. See at greater length in Rabbi Yosef Gikatilla’s Ginat Egoz, translated as HaShem Is One, Vol. 1, The Gate of Intrinsic Being (Shaar HaHavayah). blessed is He, which correspond to Almighty God HaShem-E”l Elohi”m HaShem-א״ל אלהי״ם יהו״ה. That is, E”l-א״ל is opposite Elohi”m-אלהי״ם, and HaShem-יהו״ה mediates and is the decisor between them. Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ״י, which is the final quality, is the receptacle for the three names. Therefore, according to the dominance of any one of these names, will be the effect caused by the hand of the Lord-Adona”y-אדנ״י. How so? If there is a dominance of the quality of kindness-Chessed, which is E”l-א״ל, on an individual, or on the world at large, the quality of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ״י then concludes the judgment in bestowing goodness to whomever the judgement decreed, as we said before. However, if there is a dominance of the quality of judgment-Din, which is the quality of Elohi”m-אלהי״ם, the quality of Lordship-Adona”y-אדנ״י then concludes the judgment by punishing those who are befitting of punishment, according to the sentence that was judged. This is the secret of the verse,⁴²⁸Genesis 42:30 “The man, the Lord of the Land-Adoney HaAretz-אדנ״י האר״ץ, spoke harshly to us.”