238. Rabbi Elazar quoted the verse, "And it came to pass, when Rachel had given birth to Joseph" (Beresheet 30:25). HE ASKS, Why did Jacob ask to leave only after Joseph was born? Before Joseph was born, he did not ask to leave. HE ANSWERS, As it was explained, he saw that the adversary of Esau was born - JOSEPH WOULD BE THE ADVERSARY OF ESAU, AS IT IS WRITTEN, "AND THE HOUSE OF JACOB SHALL BE FIRE, AND THE HOUSE OF JOSEPH FLAME, AND THE HOUSE OF ESAU FOR STUBBLE" (OVADYAH 1:18).

239. Come and behold, Joseph perfected the place OF JACOB after him, BEING THE SFIRAH OF YESOD, THE LAST SFIRAH OF JACOB. Also, Joseph deserved to be called 'Righteous,' NAMELY, YESOD, THE LAST SFIRAH (where the the body ends). After Jacob saw that the body was perfected WITH THE BIRTH OF JOSEPH, the body asked to leave. The final part of the body is the member of the Covenant, NAMELY, JOSEPH. With all that, Benjamin completed the number, because with him the number twelve was reached.

240. One may wonder if Jacob knew that until this time the number of the tribes was not yet complete, even though Joseph had been born. Why, then, did he not wait for Benjamin to be born and the tribes to reach completion? HE ANSWERS, Jacob acted wisely, and he did know THAT THE TRIBES WERE NOT YET COMPLETED. He said, Surely if the tribes are completed here, then perfection will be achieved here; yet I do not want them to be perfected in this country - only in the Holy Land.

241. Come and behold, the twelve tribes are the perfection of the lower world, THE NUKVA OF ZEIR ANPIN FROM THE CHEST DOWNWARD. After Benjamin was born, AND THE TWELVE TRIBES WERE COMPLETED, Rachel died, and the lower world, THE NUKVA OF ZEIR ANPIN, assumed its place and was perfected through them. Therefore, Benjamin was born only in the Holy Land. This is the meaning of the verse, "And as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan on the way" (Beresheet 48:7). Rachel died there, and was replaced by the lower world, which received a house in which to dwell. As long as Rachel was alive, the lower world was not yet perfected BY THE TWELVE TRIBES. Rachel died, BECAME ONE WITH THE UPPER NUKVA, and received a completed house.

242. HE ASKS, You may wonder why Leah did not die at the same time, WHEN THE TWELVE TRIBES WERE COMPLETED. HE ANSWERS, This is because the house is in the lower world, IN THE NUKVA FROM THE CHEST DOWNWARD, CALLED 'RACHEL.' And it behooves all to be perfected by it, WHICH MEANS THAT THE PERFECTION OF ALL THE LOWER BEINGS, IN BRIYAH, YETZIRAH, AND ASIYAH, DEPEND ON IT and not on the upper world. Therefore, Leah did not die at the same time. All that concerns Leah is hidden, as the upper world is covered and not discovered. Therefore, Leah did not die at that time, AS SHE WAS NOT ANNULED.

243. Come and behold, this is assuredly so. All that pertains to the upper world, LEAH, is hidden, and all that pertains to the lower world is revealed. Therefore, Leah was hidden and buried in the cave of the Machpelah, and Rachel was buried by the open road. The one is hidden, and the other is open. Thus, the upper world excels in secrecy, as it is written, "And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed, and she called his name Asher" (Beresheet 30: 13).

244. Thus, all became one, because all comes from the upper world. This is true everywhere, BOTH WHEN ALL IS PERFECT AND WHEN ALL IS NOT PERFECT. There are two worlds, the one disclosed and the other hidden. We bless the Holy One, blessed be He, only through both worlds, as it is written, "Blessed be Hashem the Elohim of Yisrael from the world to the world" (Tehilim 106:48). We therefore call the upper world "he," IN THE THIRD, HIDDEN PERSON, and the lower world "you," IN THE SECOND, PRESENT PERSON. And because He is blessed from the upper world by the Righteous, it is written, "Blessed be Hashem out of Zion, He who dwells at Jerusalem" (Tehilim 135:21). BECAUSE THE LOWER WORLD IS BLESSED BY CHASSADIM FROM THE UPPER WORLD, IT IS REVEALED TO US. This is so because it is from Zion, YESOD OF THE UPPER WORLD, that it is blessed. THEREFORE, THE UPPER WORLD SHOULD ALWAYS EXIST IN THIS ASPECT.

245. Come and behold, "Hashem, Hashem," AT THE BEGINNING OF THE THIRTEEN ATTRIBUES, refers to the two worlds, the revealed and the hidden. Therefore, there is a comma between the two. But in, "from the world to the world," all is one, BECAUSE THE DISCLOSED WORLD HAS NOTHING OF ITS OWN. EVERYTHING IT HAS IS GIVEN FROM THE HIDDEN WORLD.

246. "And it came to pass, when Rachel had given birth to Joseph." Rabbi Yehuda said, Come and behold the perfection of Jacob, who did not wish to leave without Laban's permission. It may be said that at another time he did not take his leave, but rather fled from him. HE ANSWERS, This was because Jacob was afraid that Laban would not let him go; then the twelve tribes would have been completed in a foreign land. Therefore, after Jacob saw that the time had come for Benjamin to be born, he fled, as it is written, "So he fled with all that he had" (Beresheet 31:21).

247. This was because after Benjamin was born, the Shechinah attached herself to all the tribes and lived with them. Jacob, who understood the mystery of wisdom, saw that once the twelve tribes were perfected, the Shechinah would be adorned and attached to them, Rachel would die, and the Shechinah would receive the house.