342) \u201cAnd Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev [south].\u201d All of his journeys were toward the south, Hesed, more than toward any other side. He did this with wisdom, to cling to the south, which is Hesed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
343) \u201cAnd Abraham said to his wife, Sarah \u2026 she is my sister.\u201d One should not rely on a miracle. If the Creator performs a miracle for a person once, he should not rely on the miracle the next time, for not every time does a miracle happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
344) And if one puts oneself in a place where the harm is evident, he thus cancels all his previous merits, as it is written, \u201cI am smaller than all the mercies and all the truth.\u201d And once Abraham came up from Egypt and was saved once, why did he agonize himself now as before, saying once more, \u201cShe is my sister\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
345) But Abraham did not rely on himself at all, since he always saw the Shechina in Sarah\u2019s abode, that it did not move from there. And because the Shechina was there, Abraham relied on that and said, \u201cShe is my sister,\u201d as it is written, \u201cSay unto wisdom, \u2018You are my sister,\u2019\u201d referring to the Shechina, called Hochma [wisdom]. This is why he said, \u201cShe is my sister.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
346) It is written, \u201cAnd God came unto Abimelech.\u201d Can it be that the Creator comes to the wicked, as it is written, \u201cAnd God came to Balaam,\u201d \u201cAnd God came to Lavan\u201d? But they were wicked. Indeed, it was the appointee, the messenger appointed over them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Every nation has its own minister in the heaven. And when the angels do their missions on behalf of the Creator, they all receive the name \u201cGod,\u201d since they come from the side of judgment, and the name \u201cGod,\u201d indicates judgments. This is why it is written, \u201cAnd God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night,\u201d meaning only an angel appointed over his people and not the Creator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
347) It is written, \u201cThe lip of truth shall be established forever.\u201d This is Abraham, whose every word in the beginning and in the end was true. It is also written, \u201cBut a lying tongue is but for a moment\u201d is Abimelech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
348) It is written about Abraham, \u201cAnd Abraham said to his wife, Sarah \u2026 she is my sister.\u201d This is as it was in Egypt, when he said about the Shechina, who was with Sarah, \u201cShe is my sister.\u201d Here, too, he said about the Shechina, \u201cShe is my sister.\u201d And Abraham did everything wisely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
349) What is the reason that the Shechina is called \u201csister\u201d? Since Abraham is from the right side, he said, \u201cShe is my sister,\u201d as it is written, \u201cMy sister, My dove, My undefiled.\u201d This is also why Abraham always called her \u201cmy sister,\u201d since he clung to her and they will never move from one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since Abraham is considered Hesed, and in Gadlut, Hesed rises and becomes Hochma, meaning upper AVI, whose coupling is perpetual, when the Shechina rises to them, she is there with Abraham in a never ending coupling, as well. At that time, the Shechina is called \u201cmy sister,\u201d and not \u201cmy wife.\u201d This is because a sister is from the right, and a wife [Isha] is from the left side, as in Esh Hey [fire of the Lord].<\/p>\n\n\n\n
350) In the end it is written, \u201cAnd moreover she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother.\u201d Was it really so? After all, she was Haran\u2019s daughter. But he said everything, meaning \u201cShe is my sister\u201d about the Shechina. In the beginning it is as it is written, \u201cSay unto wisdom, \u2018You are my sister,\u2019\u201d and afterwards it is written, \u201cAnd moreover she is indeed.\u201d Why \u201cmoreover\u201d? It adds another clarification to what he said in the beginning. \u201cMy sister, the daughter of my father\u201d means that the Shechina is a daughter to the upper Hochma, upper AVI, called Aba. For this reason, the Shechina is called \u201chis sister,\u201d and she is called Hochma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut not the daughter of my mother.\u201d \u201cMy mother\u201d is extended from the place where everything begins, concealed from all, AA, from whom the Bina that returns to being Hochma is extended. And she dresses in YESHSUT, which are called Ima. And the Shechina is not a daughter. Rather, she is as Ima herself because she clothes her. And since she is left, from the side of Ima, he said, \u201cAnd so she became my wife,\u201d with friendship and kindliness, as it is written, \u201cAnd His right shall embrace me,\u201d for she desires the Hassadim on the right so that the Hochma in her will clothe in Hassadim, and everything is the Hochma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is why The Zohar<\/em> added the clarification that the reason why he said about her, \u201cShe is my sister\u201d was from the side of AVI, that from their side she is a daughter and a sister and is not worthy of a wife, since she is from the right. But from the side of YESHSUT, which is Ima, she is neither a daughter nor a sister, but a wife, the fire of the Creator, and worthy of coupling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 351) When they descended to Egypt for the first time, he said, \u201cShe is my sister,\u201d to cling to faith. He called her \u201cmy sister\u201d so it will not be mistaken with those degrees outside of holiness. With Abimelech, too, he said, \u201cShe is my sister,\u201d so as to not shift away from faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 352) Abimelech and all the dwellers of the land were idolaters, while Abraham clung to faith. This is the reason why he entered there and said about the Shechina, \u201cShe is my sister.\u201d As a sister never parts from the brother, so it is here: Abraham was adhered to the Shechina in a way that he would never part with her. A woman can be separated from her husband, but a sister can never part from her brother, since two brothers can never part from each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because a brother and a sister are drawn from the upper AVI, whose coupling never stops, this is also why a brother and a sister never part. But a man and a woman are extended from YESHSUT, whose coupling is terminable and is not perpetual; hence, a man and a woman can also part.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 353) This is why Abraham said, \u201cShe is my sister,\u201d for they were all keen for the lights of stars and idols, and worshiped them, while Abraham clung to faith and said about the Shechina, \u201cmy sister,\u201d so we will never part. It is written, \u201cAnd for his virgin sister,\u201d which is said to the priest, which is the place where Abraham, who is right\u2014Hesed\u2014is present. This is why the Shechina is called in relation to him, \u201cAnd for his virgin sister,\u201d since from the right side, the Shechina is called \u201csister,\u201d as well as \u201cdaughter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 354) It is written, \u201cFear the Lord your God.\u201d \u201cHim you will serve, to Him you will adhere, and in His name you will swear.\u201d Et [\u201cof the,\u201d the \u201cof\u201d is missing in the English] is the first degree of the ten Sefirot from below upward, the Nukva, the place of the fear of the Creator. This is why it is written, \u201cFear,\u201d since the Nukva is where one should fear one\u2019s Maker, since she is judgment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 355) \u201cHim you will serve.\u201d \u201cHim\u201d is the upper degree, Yesod of ZA that stands atop Nukva. They never separate from one another. Et and Him are attached to each other and never part. \u201cAnd \u2026 Him\u201d is the place of the covenant, a sign to the world, meaning Yesod. This is so because there is no work in the degree of Et, which is not to work but to fear. Rather, the work is above, in Yesod of ZA, called \u201cHim.\u201d This is why it is written, \u201cHim you will serve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 356) \u201cAnd to Him you will adhere,\u201d where adhesion is applied, which is the Guf [body] that is in the middle, the middle line, Tifferet, which stands in the middle between the two hands Hesed and Gevura, meaning the two lines, right and left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd in His name you will swear\u201d is the seventh place of the degrees, when the Nukva is Shabbat [Sabbath]. The Nukva is called Et in the unification of Et and \u201cHim,\u201d when the unification is from the right line, which receives from the upper AVI. She is called \u201cAnd in His name you will swear\u201d when she receives the Mochin of the Sabbath from the middle line, at which time she is called \u201cseventh.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 357) This is why Abraham clung to faith, to the Shechina, in the degree of a sister, when he descended to Egypt and when he went to the land of the Philistines. It is like a person who wishes to go down a deep pit and fears that he will not be able to climb back out of the pit. What does he do? He ties a rope above the pit. He said, \u201cNow that I have tied this rope, I can go in.\u201d So did Abraham; when he wished to go down to Egypt, prior to descending, he tied a knot of faith to strengthen in it and then went down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 358) He did that when he went into the land of the Philistines, too. This is why it is written, \u201cTruthful lips will be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.\u201d This is Abimelech, who said, \u201cthe integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands.\u201d And when God replied to him, it is written, \u201cYes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you have done this,\u201d but it does not say, \u201cInnocence of hands\u201d as Abimelech said. Thus, Abimelech was lying when he spoke of the innocence of his hands. This is why it is written about him, \u201cA lying tongue is but for a moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 359) It is written, \u201cHe will keep the feet of His holy ones, but the wicked ones are silenced in darkness.\u201d It writes, \u201cHis holy ones\u201d without the letter Yod [in Hebrew], which means a holy one, Abraham, from whom He never removed his keeping. \u201cThe feet of\u201d are Abraham’s wife, with whom the Creator sent His Shechina and always kept her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 360) \u201cHe will keep the feet of His holy ones.\u201d It writes, \u201cHis holy ones\u201d without a Yod [in Hebrew], which means a holy one, Abraham, with whom the Creator always went, so that others would not be able to harm him. \u201cBut the wicked ones are silenced in darkness.\u201d Those are the angels that the Creator killed on the night when Abraham chased them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 361) It writes, \u201cAre silenced in darkness,\u201d which means night, Nukva, which was connected in the darkness and killed them. Abraham chased and the night killed them, as it is written, \u201cAnd he divided himself against them by night, he and his servants, and struck them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd he divided himself against them by night.\u201d This is the Creator, who split the mercy from the judgment to avenge Abraham’s vengeance. This is why it is written, \u201cBut the wicked ones are silenced in darkness.\u201d It is written, \u201cAnd struck them,\u201d but it should have said, \u201cAnd they struck them,\u201d in plural form, since it was Abraham and his servants who struck them. However, it is the Creator who struck them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is written, \u201cFor not by force does one prevail,\u201d for he and Eliezer were alone, since Eliezer is 318 in Gematria, meaning the 318 who were born in his household.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 362) Where there is harm, one should not rely on miracles. And there is no such place where harm is found as when Abraham went after the four kings, chasing them and waging war on them. Why did he rely on a miracle? When Abraham went into it, he did not go to wage war or rely on a miracle; rather, Lot\u2019s anguish drove him out of his home, and he took money with him to redeem him. And if he could not redeem him, he would die with him in captivity. But when he went, he saw the Shechina shining before him and several armies of angels around her. Then the Creator chased them and killed them, as it is written, \u201cBut the wicked ones are silenced in darkness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 363) It is written, \u201cHe will keep the feet of His holy ones\u201d was Abraham. When he went to fight the kings, Isaac bonded with him and they fell before him. Had Isaac not bonded with Abraham, he would have been unable to destroy them. It is written, \u201cBut the wicked ones are silenced in darkness,\u201d since it is not by force that one prevails. Although the force is always in the right, Abraham, if the right was not mingled with the left, Isaac, the kings would not be defeated by him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 364) \u201cHe will keep the feet of His holy ones.\u201d When a person loves the Creator, the Creator loves him in everything he does and keeps his ways, as it is written, \u201cThe Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 365) See how fond Abraham was of the Creator. Wherever he went, he did not think of what was his at all, but only of adhering to the Creator. For this reason, it is written, \u201cHe will keep the feet of His holy ones.\u201d This was his wife, since \u201cfeet\u201d implies his wife, as it is written, \u201cNow Abimelech had not come near her,\u201d and it is written, \u201cTherefore I did not let you touch her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 366) It is written about Pharaoh, \u201cAnd the Lord plagued Pharaoh.\u201d Sarah said to the Creator, \u201cStrike!\u201d and He would strike. This is why it is written, \u201cHe will keep the feet of His holy ones, but the wicked ones are silenced in darkness.\u201d These are Pharaoh and Abimelech, upon which the Creator executed judgments at night, in the darkness, for not by one\u2019s force does one prevail. \u201cOne\u201d is Abraham, as it is written, \u201cNow therefore, restore the man’s wife.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 342) \u201cAnd Abraham journeyed from there toward the land of the Negev [south].\u201d All of his journeys were toward the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":7813,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"topic":[28],"class_list":["post-7839","book","type-book","status-publish","hentry","topic-zohar"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n