41. Sitrei Torah (Concealed Torah). THERE ARE SEVEN BLESSINGS THAT APPEAR IN THIS PASSAGE. One, "And I will make of you a great nation;" two, "and I will bless you;" three, "and make your name great;" four, "and you shall be a blessing;" five, "And I will bless them that bless you;" six, "and curse him that curses you;" and seven, "and in you shall all families of the earth be blessed." And after he received these seven blessings, it is written, "So Abraham departed, as Hashem had spoken to him." THIS MEANS THAT HE WENT down to the world, as he was commanded to do.
42. Immediately, "Lot went with him." This is the serpent that was cursed and caused the world to be cursed. THE SCRIPTURES CALL THE SERPENT BY THE NAME LOT, BECAUSE LOT MEANS 'A CURSE' IN ARAMAIC. THE SERPENT WAS CURSED AND BROUGHT CURSES ON THE WORLD. SO HE ACCOMPANIES THE SOUL DURING ITS STAY IN THIS WORLD. And the serpent stands at the opening, in order to mislead the body, AS IT IS WRITTEN, "SIN CROUCHES AT THE DOOR" (BERESHEET 4:7). And this is why the soul will not start fulfilling the mission it was commanded to perform until it has completed thirteen years in this world. Because from the twelfth year onward, the soul is aroused to fulfill its task. Therefore, it is written, "and Abraham was seventy five years old" (Beresheet 12:4) -SEVENTY IN REDUCED NUMERICAL VALUE EQUALS SEVEN, and seven and five equals twelve. THEN THE SOUL LEAVES CHARAN, WHICH IS THE KLIPOT, AND IS AROUSED TO SERVE HASHEM AND FULFILL ITS ALLOTTED TASK.
43. And then, AFTER TWELVE YEARS, the soul can be seen in this world, because it comes from the "five years," which are the five hundred parasangs of the Tree of Life. IT IS THEN ACKNOWLEDGED AS AN OFFSPRING OF ZEIR ANPIN, WHICH IS CALLED THE TREE OF LIFE, WHICH IS FIVE HUNDRED PARASANGS WALK. "And seventy years" refers to the same tree, which is the seventh among the grades, NAMELY, THE NUKVA, WHICH IS THE SEVENTH SFIRAH AMONG THE SEVEN SFIROT: CHESED, GVURAH, TIFERET, NETZACH, HOD, YESOD AND MALCHUT. AND THEN THE SOUL IS ACKNOWLEDGED AS THE OFFSPRING OF ZEIR ANPIN AND THE NUKVA.
44. Then the soul departs from the filth of the serpent and enters to the holy work. And so it is written, "when he departed out of Charan," from the wrath and aggression of the Satan, who until now had ruled over the body by deceiving it.
45. The Orlah (lit. 'foreskin') rules over the tree for three years, WHICH ARE CALLED THE "ORLAH YEARS." In the human being, the first thirteen years are called the "Orlah years." After the body has lived these years, the soul is aroused to fulfill its holy task. It then receives full control over the body and inspires the goodwill necessary to overcome the serpent. Andthen the serpent will not be able to control the body as it did before.
46. As it is written, "And Abraham took Sarah his wife..." (Beresheet 12:5). "SARAH HIS WIFE" refers to the body, which in comparison to the soul is like the female toward the male. "And Lot his brother's son" refers to the serpent that does not completely leave the body EVEN AFTER THIRTEEN YEARS, because the clinging of the body is not entirely gone from it. Nevertheless, the arousal of the soul strikes it always, warns and reproves it, and forces it to obey so that it cannot take control any more.
47. "And all their substance that they had gathered..." refers to the good deeds that a person performs in this world because of the awakening of the soul. "And the souls (Nefesh) that they had made in Charan..." REFERS TO that Nefesh, which at first was attached to the foreskin of the body and clung to it and which later was amended BY THE NESHAMAH. IT IS DESCRIBED BY THE WORDS, "AND THE NEFESH THAT THEY HAD MADE IN CHARAN," WHICH REFER TO THE CRAVING NEFESH, WHICH FEELS GREAT ATTACHMENT TO THE LUST OF THE BODY AND THE KLIPOT. So after thirteen years, when the Neshamah is aroused to amend the body, both THE NESHAMAH AND THE BODY amend the Nefesh that participated in the harsh JUDGMENTS of the serpent and its evil desires. As it is written, "and the Nefesh that they had made in Charan..." THE REASON WHY "THEY HAD MADE" IS WRITTEN IN THE PLURAL IS BECAUSE IT REFERS TO THE NESHAMAH AND THE BODY, WHICH TOGETHER AMEND THE NEFESH-THE NESHAMAH BY AWAKENING THE BODY, AND THE BODY BY ITS GOOD DEEDS.
48. With all of this, the Neshamah continues to attack the serpent in order to break it, so that it will surrender and be enslaved under the influence of repentance. Therefore, it is written, "And Abraham passed through the land to the place of Shchem" (Beresheet 12:6), BECAUSE SHCHEM IS THE DWELLING PLACE OF THE SHECHINAH. AND THAT IS BECAUSE THE POWER OF THE SERPENT HAS ALREADY BEEN COMPLETELY BROKEN BY THE NESHAMAH. (End of Sitrei Torah)