Musar su Genesi 36:71

The Arizal explains the reason that the Torah (Deut. 20,16) has demanded that the Jewish people kill every member of these seven Canaanite nations: לא תחיה כל נשמה. When the Torah instructs us how to relate to other nations (such as שעיר, i.e. אדום, עמון, and מואב however), it only commanded (Deut. 2,9 et al) the Jewish people under Moses not to make war against those nations. The seven Canaanite nations represent seven קליפות, i.e. שבעה כלים שנשברו, negative aspects of the seven emanations which comprise what we called בנין, the constructive forces enabling the creation of a perfect physical universe. Although, as we explained in connection with the name "Samael," even Satan had his root in something holy, i.e. א-ל, the spiritual decline of these descendants of the original Canaan, the cursed, was such that no vestige of sanctity was left in them. This meant automatically that no נשמה, spiritually elevated soul of theirs, would survive. The other three nations whose land G–d had promised as part of ארץ ישראל still retained vestiges of holiness. These were the קיני, קניזי and קדמוני, whose lands G–d had also promised Abraham (Genesis 15,19) when He promised us the Holy Land. These nations had their origin in the "upper" three emanations. The promise that we will inherit their lands in the future can be fulfilled when the last vestiges of sanctity will have vanished from these three nations. At such a time the commandment not to let a soul survive will also be applicable to those three nations. The Arizal wants to equate the three nations Edom, Ammon and Moab with the Keynee, Kenizi and Kadmoni respectively. The very names of these three nations allude to their having had a superior origin, שעיר alludes to Deut. 33,2, where G–d is portrayed as coming from Se-ir to give Israel the Torah. The name Moab means "from the אב, "the father," another allusion to the higher emanation חכמה, seat of undiluted holiness. The name Ammon is close to the word נועם, an allusion to the emanation בינה. שעיר is none other than אדום. The seven kings whom the Torah describes in the Torah (Genesis 36,31-39) as having ruled in the land of Edom before Israel had a king were not part of that nation. Apparently they had subjugated the country. This is why the Torah, when telling us that a particular king ruled over Edom, informs us of his country of origin. We are told in 2,20: והעמונים קראו להם זמזומים, that the Ammonites called the Refa-im Zamzumim. The word זמזום is derived from זמם, planned, thought out. In other words these רפאים had the "superior" emanation חכמה somewhere in their background. Their descendants were the mixed multitude who joined the Jewish people at the Exodus and converted to Judaism. This explains why they still had enough of a spark of sanctity in them to recognize the spiritual rejuvenation that was taking place at the time of the Exodus. On the other hand, anyone who plans something evil and uses his superior intelligence negatively, is similarly descended from them. The name סיחון, one of the kings of the Canaanite nations, suggests the word סייח, a young ass. The Hebrew word for donkey is חמור, the same letters as חומר, matter. The Canaanites were concerned with matter to the exclusion of the spirit. The name Og, king of Bashan, evokes similar considerations. The Arizal concludes that because the lands of these kingdoms were situated East of the river Jordan which symbolized the foundation of the feminine aspect in the emanations, these kingdoms could not have been subdued by anyone but Moses. Spiritually speaking, Moses represented the "middle" line between the left (feminine) side of the diagram of the emanations and the right (masculine) side. Moses was the carrier of the symbol of the Holy Covenant. He broke the tablets and salvaged the sanctity contained in them. When the Torah describes the defeat of the שני מלכי האמורי, "the two kings of the Emorite" (3,8), the first letters of these three words form the name משה. G–d said to Moses (2,31): ראה החילותי תת לפניך את סיחון, "See, I have begun to hand over to you Sichon, etc." This means that the patron of this kingdom, the שר, had been subjugated by Moses. The land of Israel is perceived as the "feminine" part of the union between the people of Israel and its land. Taking possession of the land of Israel, ביאת הארץ, is a euphemism for the union between Israel and its land as husband and wife. [I have rephrased some of this. Ed.]

כי נר מצוה ותורה אור, ודרך חיים תוכחת מוסר, We have already mentioned that the weekly perusal of the relevant Torah portion has to include three distinct approaches. First and foremost, one must study the relevant commandments contained in the פרשה, be they positive or negative. This part of the weekly study comes under the heading of כי נר מצוה, “for the commandment is a lamp." Secondly, one must try to understand both the obvious and the more mystical significance of these commandments and their influence on our relationship with the "higher" world, each person according to his ability. In that connection it is important to be aware that no one part of the Torah is less important than any other part. If the Torah tells us for instance, that "the concubine of Eliphaz was called Timnah" (Genesis 36,12), this is no less important a sentence than שמע ישראל ה' אלוקינו ה' אחד, "Hear O Israel the Lord our G–d the Lord is One" (Deut 6,4). Every single part of the Torah reveals matters relevant to our world as well as matters relevant to the "higher" world. Our sages have given us an example of the importance of the verse quoted from Genesis by showing that the name of that concubine תמנע is composed of the first letters of certain words in the verse תורת השם תמימה משיבת נפש, עדות השם נאמנה מחכימת פתי (Psalms 19,8). The implication is that "the Torah is so perfect in totality" i.e. תורת ה' תמימה, that any part of it is מחכימת פתי, "makes the simple wise." All of Torah from beginning to end is משיבת נפש "renews life." The "life" referred to is the life in the "higher" regions. Anyone endowed by G–d with wisdom, חכמה, will be granted the kind of intelligence that enables him to touch base with חכמה-תבונה-ודעת. This is all included in the concept of תורה אור, that Torah is light. Any recipient of this "light," will discover in Torah the three dimensions of knowledge we have mentioned.

I am nonetheless inclined to go more deeply into the meaning of that statement in the Sifri and to take it literally. We will find that it is quite possible to understand it. In this connection we need to consider a statement that we find in Baba Batra 14b, that "Moses wrote his book and that of Bileam and Job." How are we to understand this? Is there a single letter in the Torah that is not "Torah," not of Divine origin? If so, what could the Talmud have had in mind with that statement? Rashi comments on this: "His prophecies and parables, even though Moses did not need to, and the Torah would have been complete without them." I have not understood this comment of Rashi. All the stories in the Torah e.g. the slaying of Abel by Cain, are all at first glance not "necessary" parts of the Torah, and yet they are all part of the fabric of תורת השם תמימה, "that the Torah of G–d is complete, perfect", i.e. there is nothing in it that is redundant. Our sages usually point to Genesis 36,12: "and Timnah was the concubine of Esau's son Eliphaz" as an example that there is no word in the Torah that is not of enduring and meaningful significance. Sanhedrin 99, even concludes that we are to learn from this that it is better to be a lowly maidservant to a nation that has blood ties with Israel than to be a Lady in a family that has no ties with the Jewish people. Timnah the daughter of a nobleman, had chosen to demote herself in order to be associated with Abraham's descendants in some way. This verse in the Torah is equal in importance to the "Hear O Israel the Lord our G–d the Lord is One."

I shall now explain the meaning of the words: עד כי גדול מאד "until he was very great," in 26,13. Bereshit Rabbah 64,7 on that verse states that when people wanted to describe excessive wealth they used to describe it in terms of the silver and gold possessed by Avimelech. After Isaac had become rich, they described excessive wealth in terms of the dung of Isaac's mules. This seems a curious comparison. How can we assume that Avimelech's wealth did not even amount to the value of the dung of Isaac's mules? Another difficulty is the Midrash's comment on the words מצא את הימים, in Genesis 36,14. These yeymim are described by Bereshit Rabbah 82,15 as half-donkey and half-horse. Anah who crossbred horse and donkey to produce mules is severely criticized for interfering with G–d's plan of maintaining the purity of the species. How can we assume that Isaac a) kept or raised such animals, b) was the first one to crossbreed, seeing that the Torah reports this as something new much later and in Jacob's lifetime?

I shall now explain the meaning of the words: עד כי גדול מאד "until he was very great," in 26,13. Bereshit Rabbah 64,7 on that verse states that when people wanted to describe excessive wealth they used to describe it in terms of the silver and gold possessed by Avimelech. After Isaac had become rich, they described excessive wealth in terms of the dung of Isaac's mules. This seems a curious comparison. How can we assume that Avimelech's wealth did not even amount to the value of the dung of Isaac's mules? Another difficulty is the Midrash's comment on the words מצא את הימים, in Genesis 36,14. These yeymim are described by Bereshit Rabbah 82,15 as half-donkey and half-horse. Anah who crossbred horse and donkey to produce mules is severely criticized for interfering with G–d's plan of maintaining the purity of the species. How can we assume that Isaac a) kept or raised such animals, b) was the first one to crossbreed, seeing that the Torah reports this as something new much later and in Jacob's lifetime?

The scoffers of that generation maintained that Sarah had been impregnated by Avimelech and that Isaac was the issue. They claimed that, had Abraham been Isaac's father, it would have been impossible for Isaac to have fathered a son such as Esau who pursued married women to commit adultery with them under the noses of their husbands. Isaac's extraordinary success as well as the fact that he was sanctified on Mount Moriah and not allowed to leave the holy soil of ארץ ישראל, all served to show that he was indeed a true son of Abraham. Of Esau the Torah reports in Genesis 36 6: וילך עשו אל ארץ, "Esau went to a land." He had to leave ארץ ישראל because that land "vomits" people who behave in a grossly incestuous manner. Isaac was the model of refinement in every respect. The reason G–d blessed him in such an extraordinary fashion was to demonstrate the fact to one and all that sexually pure conduct unlocks all the bounty of the land of Israel to those who dwell in it.

He then cited, “These are the sons of Tziv’on, Ayah and Anah — the same Anah who found the mules (yeimim) in the desert.” “The word yeimim is written missing a yud (ימם).” The concept here is that there is a certain kind of destructive spirit, Heaven spare us, that focuses in particular upon those guilty of immoral acts from which mamzeirim are produced (i.e., adulterous or incestuous relations bearing the penalty of excision). These spirits are called yeimim. It is written without a yud to indicate that they were created on the eve of the first Shabbos just at dusk (relating yeimim to yom — day; it is plural but missing the plural yud to indicate that it is doubtful to which day this creature belongs). The proper place of these destructive spirits is upon the high mountains, where no seed or tree can be planted. That barren region is their proper place and these are the strange creatures that Rabbi Yitzchak saw. Anah, mentioned in the verse above, once visited that mountain where these creatures adhered to him. Therefore, as the Sages tell us in Pesachim (54a), he himself gave birth to mamzeirim and that he also was the first one to graft different species and produce the mule (a hybrid of a horse and a donkey). The Zohar mentions in the continuation of that passage that all desolate mountains are their dwelling place, however, concerning those who engage in study while they travel it is written, “Hashem your shelter is at your right hand” (Tehillim 121:5). Nevertheless, a person should avoid places where there is no human habitation.

The land of Egypt is to earth what the מקום ערוה, seat of the reproductive organs, is to man. This is why Ezekiel 23, 20 describes Egyptians as ejaculating seminal discharge that resembles that of horses, and generally describing them as debauched. [The theme is that it is the nature of the earth itself which contributes to the debauchery of its inhabitants. Ed.] Jacob's descendants were exiled to Egypt because in that country it was easiest to transfer their share of the serpent's pollution to their surroundings. Once they had disposed of those pollutants they could emerge purified. Joseph was especially suited to start such a process because he had demonstrated by his previous behavior how to maintain the Holy Covenant with G–d entered into by Abraham when he circumcised himself. The evil influence of the serpent's pollution remained only in the descendants of Esau. The reason the Torah presents us with such a long list of Esau's descendants at the end of פרשת וישלח, is to inform us that they were all ממזרים, bastards. Rashi already comments in this manner on Genesis 36, 2. Esau went to the land of Se-ir because he did not want to undergo the exile experience in either Egypt or the land of Canaan (where he would not have been sovereign, seeing that Israel owned that land). Had he been prepared to undergo that experience, he, too, could have rid himself of the negative influence of the original serpent.

When these Romans referred to the "Master," and it seemed to mean Jacob, they referred to him sarcastically, seeing that Isaac had designated him as such in the blessings, i.e. הוה גביר לאחיך. They did not mean to challenge the validity of Isaac's blessing; they felt that Jacob/Israel had already outlived the period during which it was valid. Now that Israel's fortunes had declined, they felt sure that their turn had come. The kingdom of Edom had, after all, undergone a period during which eight Jewish kings reigned and the Edomites themselves did not even have a king. [Edom had lost its independence, as Rashi elaborates on 36,31 at the end of Parshat Vayishlach.] The Romans believed that Isaac's warning had been fulfilled when the first Temple was destroyed and the Jewish people endured 70 years of exile. Even after the rebuilding of the Temple five major manifestations of G–d's Presence in their land were never regained. Because of this the Romans were sure that the star of Israel was in permanent decline. They viewed the 70 years of exile as the reversal of the seventy years that David and Solomon ruled over greater Israel in all its glory.[I do not quite understand that figure. According to our best known sources that period was at least 73 years. Maybe David's reign is counted only after the capture of Jerusalem. Ed.]

The land of Egypt is to earth what the מקום ערוה, seat of the reproductive organs, is to man. This is why Ezekiel 23, 20 describes Egyptians as ejaculating seminal discharge that resembles that of horses, and generally describing them as debauched. [The theme is that it is the nature of the earth itself which contributes to the debauchery of its inhabitants. Ed.] Jacob's descendants were exiled to Egypt because in that country it was easiest to transfer their share of the serpent's pollution to their surroundings. Once they had disposed of those pollutants they could emerge purified. Joseph was especially suited to start such a process because he had demonstrated by his previous behavior how to maintain the Holy Covenant with G–d entered into by Abraham when he circumcised himself. The evil influence of the serpent's pollution remained only in the descendants of Esau. The reason the Torah presents us with such a long list of Esau's descendants at the end of פרשת וישלח, is to inform us that they were all ממזרים, bastards. Rashi already comments in this manner on Genesis 36, 2. Esau went to the land of Se-ir because he did not want to undergo the exile experience in either Egypt or the land of Canaan (where he would not have been sovereign, seeing that Israel owned that land). Had he been prepared to undergo that experience, he, too, could have rid himself of the negative influence of the original serpent.

I believe this can be understood in light of an astonishing, beautiful and satisfying insight I heard from the holy mouth of the saintly Rabbi Heshel Zoref, z”l, in the name of a certain Kabbalist. He said as follows: First you must know that Tzefo son of Elifaz son of Eisav, mentioned in the verse, “the chieftain of Tzefo” (Bereishis 36:15), was the first of the husks of impurity of the seventy nations. Corresponding to this on the side of holiness was the “land of Tzuf” (I Shmuel 9:5), for both names are comprised of the same letters. Tzefo was the first king and his realm was the land of Poland [Polin in Yiddish]. This name alludes to the name Ploni [a nickname for the Samech Mem, the guardian angel of Eisav], for these two names also consist of the same letters. Note that the numerical value of Polin is the same as that of Tzefo. For this reason, too, the kingdom of Edom [Eisav’s descendants] is also known as the Metropolis [Metropolin in the language of the Sages] of the seventy nations (Megillah 6a). For this nation is under the guardianship of the angel of Edom, who was the first of the husks of impurity. Know also that the impure husk of Tzefo was a product of the sin of Adam and Chava. The “tree” from which Adam ate was actually the wheat stalk (Berachos 40a), because wheat — chitah [(חטה)] — has a numerical value of 22 (Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 16, 31a), indicating that by eating of it Adam blemished the twenty-two letters with which the Torah is written. It is well known that Adam’s sin affected the attribute of Splendor [Hod], which is the eighth attribute. Eight times twenty-two is 176, the numerical value of Tzefo. This is because the sin came about through Chavah, who was created from the attribute of Splendor, the eighth attribute, and through her came the blemish to the twenty-two letters, as above.

The reason why Joseph has to be dispatched in the future before the arrival of the משיח בן דוד is because he is the natural enemy of Esau inasmuch as he is his exact opposite. Esau is full of the pollutants of the serpent, Joseph, on the other hand, was singularly free of that pollution, as we have explained.