13. We have already learned that Jacob surely redeemed Abraham. At the time that ABRAHAM fell into THE FURNACE OF the Chaldeans' fire, his fate was being decided before the Holy One, blessed be He. In what merit should this one be saved as he lacks ancestral merits? THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, said TO THE COURT ON HIGH: 'He should be saved because of his sons.' As we have learned, a son can bring merits for his father. The others replied: But Ishmael will descend from him. The Holy One, blessed be He, replied, 'But Isaac WILL DESCEND FROM HIM, who will extend his throat FOR THE SACRIFICE on the altar.' The others said: But Esau will derive from Isaac. THE HOLY ONE, BLESSED BE HE, said, 'But Jacob will DESCEND FROM HIM, who is a whole throne, and all his sons are perfect before Me.' They concurred by saying: Surely for this merit, Abraham shall be rescued. Such is the meaning of, "who redeemed Abraham."

74. "Every man has his sword upon his thigh" (Ibid.): It is as you say, "Gird your sword upon your thigh, O mighty one" (Tehilim 45:4). THE SECRET MEANING OF THE SWORD HAS ALREADY BEEN EXPLAINED, "because of the fear by nights" (Shir Hashirim 3:8), they explained it as the fear of Gehenom. Yet, "because of the fear by nights" is saying where they receive it from - from fear, from the place called fear, as the verse says, "And the fear of Isaac, had been with me" (Beresheet 31:42), WHICH IS GVURAH OF ZEIR ANPIN, THE LEFT COLUMN KNOWN AS ISAAC. Just as this verse reads, "And Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac" (Ibid. 53), "by nights" REFERS TO those times designated for Judgments to be done, AS NIGHT IS THE TIME FOR JUDGMENT.

75. We have learned that it is written, "She considers a field, and buys it" (Mishlei 31:16). This is like what is written, "Where all the wild beasts (lit. 'beasts of the field') play" (Iyov 40:20), WHICH REFERS TO THE ASPECT OF JUDGMENT OF MALCHUT, WHOSE SECRET IS NIGHT AS MENTIONED EARLIER, AND IS ALSO REFERRED TO AS FIELD. "THE WILD BEASTS" REFLECTS THE SECRET OF YESOD, AND "PLAY" REFERS TO MATING, and about this is written, "So is this great and wide sea...There go the ships; there are the Leviathan, whom You have made to play therein" (Tehilim 104:25-26). LEVIATHAN IS THE SECRET OF YESOD, "TO PLAY" ALLUDES TO UNION, AS IT IS WRITTEN, "AND, BEHOLD, ISAAC WAS SPORTING WITH HIS WIFE" (BERESHEET 26:8). This is as the verse, "She is like the merchant ships: she brings her bread from afar" (Mishlei 31:14); "from afar" surely. FOR "HER BREAD," WHICH IS THE SECRET ILLUMINATION OF CHOCHMAH, DOES NOT SHED LIGHT SAVE FROM "AFAR," MEANING IT DOES SO WITH JUDGMENTS THAT REMOVE THE EXTERNAL FORCES FAR AWAY SO THEY WOULD NOT NURTURE FROM THIS GREAT LIGHT. THIS IS THE SECRET OF, "HASHEM APPEARED TO ME FROM AFAR" (YIRMEYAH 31:2). AND THE SECRET OF THE UNION PERTAINS TO NIGHT AND TO THE FIELD, AS MENTIONED EARLIER, AS IT BRINGS HER LIGHT from the brain inside the head, NAMELY CHOCHMAH, and from that which is above the head, NAMELY THE BLESSED ENDLESS LIGHT. THEREFORE, SHE NEEDS PROTECTION FROM EXTERNAL FORCES. "She brings her bread," NAMELY through the means of the righteous man, DENOTING YESOD. When they join together, there is universal joy. This is the meaning of the verse, "There are the dolphins (Heb. Leviathan) who you have made to play therein," THE LEVIATHAN BEING YESOD, WHILE "TO PLAY" REFERS TO MATING, AS EARLIER MENTIONED.

147. At twilight, all of these 1,590 tens of thousands THAT ARE DRAWN THERE, ARE called those who lament. They sing at that time and dissent is then dominant in the world. That hour is when the Holy One, blessed be He, awakens Isaac, REPRESENTING THE LEFT COLUMN OF ZEIR ANPIN. He rises and judges the wicked that violate the words of the Torah. Seven rivers of fire - CORRESPONDING TO CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD, YESOD AND MALCHUT - are drawn out and hover over the heads of the wicked, and a flame of fiery coals stirs from above downward. Then Abraham, THE SECRET OF CHESED, returns to his position, MEANING THAT CHESED RETURNS TO ITS SOURCE AND DISAPPEARS FROM THE ONES BELOW, as the verse says, "And Abraham returned to his place" (Beresheet 18:33). The day departs and the wicked in Gehenom cry out and say, "Woe to us! For the day declines, for the shadows of the evening are lengthened" (Yirmeyah 6:4). At that time, one should be prudent with the Minchah prayer.

182. "And there shall be no man in the Tent of Meeting." Rabbi Yitzchak said, "Then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac..." (Vayikra 26:42). This verse has been explained. Come and see: When Yisrael are in exile, it is as if the Holy One, blessed be He, is with them in exile, as the Shechinah never forsakes them. When Yisrael were in exile in Babylon, the Shechinah resided among them and returned with them from exile. In the merits of these righteous people who remained in the land, She resided in the land and never left them. Rabbi Yehuda said: Then the Queen returned to the King and all returned TO BE IN the banquet of joy of the king. For this, they are called the men of the Great Assembly. The Great Assembly surely, AS MALCHUT CALLED ASSEMBLY RETURNED FROM ITS DIMINISHED STATUS DURING THE EXILE TO REGAIN HER PROMINENCE.

184. Rabbi Chiya said: What is the reason that Jacob is MENTIONED first in the verse, AS IT READS, "THEN WILL I REMEMBER MY COVENANT WITH JACOB" AND LATER ISAAC AND LATER ABRAHAM? HE ANSWERS: Jacob, TIFERET, is the principal of the fathers, AS TIFERET ABSORBS WITHIN IT CHESED AND GVURAH, ALSO KNOWN AS ABRAHAM AND ISAAC. He is the holy tree, MEANING ZEIR ANPIN THAT INCLUDES ALL SIX ENDS. As such, the Vav of the Holy Name YUD HEI VAV HEI holds to him, so we pronounce Jacob with a Vav. Rabbi Yitzchak said: Vav FULLY SPELLED with all its letters HAS THE NUMERICAL VALUE OF THIRTEEN, NAMELY the thirteen attributes OF MERCY, AS JACOB, BEING ZEIR ANPIN, inherits the inheritance of the thirteen springs of the Holy sealed spring KNOWN AS ARICH ANPIN. FROM HIS BEARD ARE DRAWN THIRTEEN CORRECTIONS TO ZEIR ANPIN CALLED JACOB AND FOR THIS REASON, JACOB IS SPELLED WITH VAV.

251. Come and see what is written concerning Isaac, "And Jacob went near to Isaac his father; and he felt him" (Beresheet 27:22). He said: He is lacking only the dew from heaven that flowed upon the earth, MEANING THAT HE LACKS ONLY THE BOUNTY OF ZEIR ANPIN CALLED HEAVEN, THE LIGHT OF CHASSADIM, AS HE IS A CHARIOT FOR ZEIR ANPIN. BUT HE DOES NOT NEED THE ILLUMINATION OF CHOCHMAH. Rabbi Yosi spoke, "And the fatness of the earth" (Ibid. 28) IS ALSO WRITTEN DENOTING THE ILLUMINATION OF CHOCHMAH, and he blessed him with everything, BOTH CHASSIDIM AND CHOCHMAH. Why DID HE BLESS HIM WITH THE ILLUMINATION OF CHOCHMAH? When he saw him with hair, DENOTING JUDGMENTS, he said, in order to remove this FROM HIM, he needs "the fatness of the earth" DENOTING THE ILLUMINATION OF CHOCHMAH, but not the filth of the earth, LIKE THE OTHER SIDE THAT FEEDS UPON THE FILTH OF THE NAILS. This filth comes from the earth, DENOTING MALCHUT. When the dew of Heaven and the fine fruit of the earth join, DENOTING ZEIR ANPIN AND MALCHUT, that filth passes.

385. The Hei OF THE NAME YUD HEI VAV HEI, BEING BINAH, is included in the Yud OF YUD HEI VAV HEI. It emerges from it, AS BINAH EMANATES FROM CHOCHMAH. Then CHOCHMAH AND BINAH, WHICH ARE YUD HEI OF YUD HEI VAV HEI crown the Patriarchs, MEANING CHESED, GVURAH AND TIFERET OF ZEIR ANPIN CALLED ABRAHAM, ISAAC AND JACOB. The Hei is opened with its streams, MEANING WITH THE FIFTY GATES OF BINAH IN IT, and crowns the head of the Vav, MEANING IT SUPPLIES THE FIRST THREE SFIROT TO ZEIR ANPIN, THE SECRET OF VAV OF YUD HEI VAV HEI, where the Patriarchs dwell. THIS MEANS THAT THE PATRIARCHS, CHESED, supernal GVURAH AND TIFERET, RISE AND BECOME HEAD - MEANING CHOCHMAH, BINAH AND DA'AT - THROUGH THE ILLUMINATION OF THE FIFTY GATES OF BINAH.