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Assorted Notes
Atzilut is Private Providence The Striking of Thoughts upon Man Against Your Will – 1 If There Is a Virgin Maiden The Meaning of Sins Becoming as Merits A Gentile Who Observes the Sabbath Must Die The Correction of Lines This Is the Path of Torah – 1 A Hedge for Wisdom – Silence - 1 For He Whom the Lord Loves He Admonishes - 1 The Fear of You and the Dread of You Shall Be upon All the Animals of the Earth - 1 The Whole World Is Nourished by My Son Hanina – 1 A Hand on the Throne of the Lord – 1 Thus You Shall Say to the House of Jacob Ordinances The Numbered Things of the Tabernacle – 1 Concerning the Shechina [Divinity] The Garments of the Soul - 1 Beginning to Speak from the Connection with the Creator Concerning the Will to Receive - 1 Sanctification of the Month And You, Israel Behold, I Am Setting Before You The Main Thing We Need The Summoning for the Blessing on the Food Who Will Not Lift Up the Face Three Lines – 1 The Earth Feared and Was Still The Creator Observed Their Works Turn Away from Evil and Do Good – 1 How I Love Your Teaching Man’s Greatness Is According to His Work What Is Amalek, Whose Memory We Must Blot Out TANTA [Taamim, Nekudot, Tagin, Otiot] Find Favor and a Good Mind Who Hears a Prayer Fish Means Worries The Blessing of the Torah Anyone with Whom the Spirit of the People Is Pleased – 1 Concerning Two Witnesses Raising the Hands Serve the Creator with Joy The Discernments of “Woman” and “Sons” in the Torah Ruin by Elders—Construction; Construction by Youths—Ruin Sons of Wise Disciples This Moment and the Next Moment Worse than Everyone Right, Wholeness, and Truth Our Faith in Books and Authors God Made It so that He Would Be Feared Questions in the Work A Kli [vessel] that Holds a Blessing Ani [I] and Ein [nothing/null] A Request for Help You Stand Here Today – 1 Turn Away from Evil and Do Good – 2 Woe unto You Who Await the Day of the Lord The Order of the Work The Difference between Kedusha [holiness] and Sitra Achra [other side] The Meaning of Exile The Work of the Greatest in the Nation Greeks Have Gathered Around Me The War of the Inclination What Is Handsome In the Work? Against Your Will You Live; Against Your Will You Die A Horse to Ride On A Prayer for Life and Nourishments The Degree of “Wicked” Joy and Fear All Bitter Herb [Maror] Old and New The Torah Must Be Received with Both Hands Midnight Correction Faith Above Reason Good Deeds Are Called Sons The Unification of ZON The Ruin of Kedusha [Holiness] Man Determines Nothing New Under the Sun The Meaning of “Torah Lishma [for Her sake]” From Lo Lishma to Lishma Joy that Comes from Dancing Definitions – 1 Exalt the Lord Our God Knowledge and Faith The Testimony of the Creator Upper and Lower It Is All Corrections Passion for Knowledge Suffering and Joy Faith Is Called “Action” The Desire to Bestow – 1 The Need and Importance of Teaching Faith Awakening – 1 Love of Others Colors in the Work What to Ask of the Creator—to Be His Servant Faith Within Reason How Good Are Your Tents, Jacob – 1 Man and the Torah Faith Is Regarded as Above Nature Concerning Shekalim – 1 The Greatness of the Creator Is His Humbleness Foundations The Association of the Quality of Judgment with Mercy Devotion Concerning Suffering – 1 Hochma and Hassadim Raising MAN – 1 Concerning Fear The Torah Is Acquired through Suffering Two Kinds of Repentance Three Things in the World For Your Crimes, Your Mother Was Sent Away The Meaning of Dust A Groom and a Bride Man’s Actions A Palace Run My Beloved Good Taste in Small, Corporeal Things Entry into the Work The Reason for the Faith Moses Is the Quality of Faith Am I In the Place of God? The Whole Earth Is Full of His Glory Mind and Heart Discernments in States As He is merciful, So You Are Merciful Repentance Concerning Shekalim – 2 Inner Keys and Outer Keys Anyone Who Is Settled in His Wine One Learns Only Where One’s Heart Desires One Does Not Toil Over a Meal and Misses It Anyone Who Associates the Aim for the Creator with Another Thing Specifically through a Man and a Woman I Wish They Left Me and Kept My Law Why Israel Are Compared to an Olive Tree Be Mindful with a Minor Commandment as with a Major One – 1 Be Mindful with a Minor Commandment as with a Major One – 2 Be Mindful with a Minor Commandment as with a Major One – 3 I Have a Minor Mitzva [commandment], Whose Name Is Sukkah A Person Builds a Building Turning His Ear from Hearing Torah The Creator Is Meticulous with the Righteous Man and His Role One Who Restrains Himself in Strife The General Public and the Chosen Few Delight Them with a Complete Building – 2 The Meaning of Evil You Have Not a Blade of Grass Below Discernments in a Spiritual Kli [vessel] Man’s Work Prayer Concerning Equivalence of Form Happy Is the Man A Cure before the Blow Noah Was a Righteous Man Anyone with Whom the Spirit of the Creator Is Pleased Mind and Heart The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil The Lord Appeared to Him by the Oaks of Mamre How to Draw Near Him He Who Has No Sons Abraham Begot Isaac And Isaac Was Forty Years Old And Judah Approached Him – 1 And Behold, the Lord Stood Over Him Joy While Learning Torah The Way of the Land Preceded the Torah Jacob Sent Anyone Who Sanctifies the Seventh – 2 The Lord Hears the Poor When Pharaoh Sent the People This Is the Day that the Lord Has Made Hear, O Israel The Lord Your God Was Unwilling to Listen Three Prayers - 1 Save Your Servant, You, My God Your Children, Whom You Said The Counsel of the Lord Ever Stands This Day, the Lord Your God Commands You You Stand Today - 2 The Concealed Things Belong to the Lord Our God Sins Become for Him as Merits There Is Fear Only in a Place of Wholeness What Is Joy? The Ascent of Malchut to Bina The Middle Line Concerning the surrounding lights He Who Comes to Defile “Right” Means Wholeness What It Means to Bear a Son and a Daughter in the Work What Is, He Swallowed Maror [bitter herb], He Will Not Come Out, in the work? Three Lines – 3 Movement Due to Shame You Shall Tithe a Tenth Questions about “Return O Israel” Nourishment Laboring and Finding The Power of Thought The Exile of the Shechina [Divinity] Desire for Spirituality Cast Their Seed Among the Nations General Attainment and Personal Attainment Two Labors Concerning the Goal I Will Remove the Stony Heart The Act Is What Decides Righteous and Wicked The Face of the Lord Is in Evildoers The Upper One Scrutinizes for the Purpose of the Lower One Malchut of the Upper One Becomes Keter to the Lower One Why He Waited until the War Against Amalek And Jethro Heard Those of Little Faith Remember that You Were a Slave Peace at Home Overcoming The Mitzva of Sukkah Anything that the Merciful One Does, He Does for the Best Man’s Inclination Inheritance of the Land Justice, Justice You Shall Pursue By Your Actions, We Know You The Generations of Jacob Joseph If Any Man of You Brings an Offering - 1 Who Despises the Day of Smallness Branch and Root To Admonish Another Annulment - the Baal Shem Tov Way The Quality of Moses Miketz [After] There Has Never Risen a Prophet Like Moses One Who Walks along the Way Action and Thought Tzimtzum The Journeys of the Children of Israel The Measure of Overcoming Man as a Whole Two Discernments in the Kelim Inverse Relation between Lights and Vessels Merging of the Body The Difference between the Soul and the Body It Is Good to Thank the Creator Pleasure Cancels the Mind The Birth of the Moon Bo [Come] We Will Do and We Will Hear – 2 Internality and Externality The Godliness Made the Concealment The Need for Gentiles Dead Fish Turn Away from Evil and Do Good - 4 None as Holy as the Lord The Need for a Kli without Light Three Prayers - 2 Good Writing and Signing Rosh Hashanah The Rosh Hashanah Prayer With a Shofar You Will Renew An Article for Sukkot What Is Hanukah What Is the Miracle of Hanukah The Meaning of Amalek When He Let His Hand Down, Amalek Prevailed Blotting Out Amalek Revealing the Concealment Until He Does Not Know The Meal of a Wicked One His Law He Contemplates Two Opposites I and Not a Messenger Concerning the Environment The Torah Spoke Regarding Four Sons The Need for an Act from Below The More One Speaks of the Exodus from Egypt And he said, “When You Deliver the Hebrew Women” And God Spoke to Moses And I Will Take You as My People Come unto Pharaoh Behold, a People Has Come Out of Egypt The Passover Offering Concerning the Beginning of the Month Peh-Sah [speaking mouth] The First Innovation Concerning the Exodus from Egypt The Duty to Tell the Story of the Exodus from Egypt Concerning the Matza [unleavened bread] The Time of Redemption Questions for the Exodus from Egypt Concerning the Omer [Count] The Exodus from Egypt and the Giving of the Torah The Point in the Heart The Ninth of Av

Ramchal

Agra

359. Isaac Sowed in That Land

November 1979

“And Isaac sowed in that land, and he found on that year one hundred gates, and the Lord blessed him.”

We should ask why specifically “one hundred gates.” Why not one hundred and fifty, which is more important than one hundred? Also, if the verse wants to make a gross exaggeration, why does he find only one hundred gates? We should also ask about “And the Lord blessed him.” It should have said it before “and he found one hundred,” but from here it is implied that after he was awarded one hundred gates there is also room for the blessing of the Creator. But what was he missing? To have something for which to bless.

We should also ask about the verse, “he became very great.” RASHI interpreted that it was said, “The manure and mules of Isaac, and not the silver and gold of Abimelech.” Although there are many interpretations about this, in the literal, this remains perplexing.

It is presented in the “Introduction to The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” that besides repentance from love there is also repentance from fear, at which time he is called “intermediate.” He gives there an allegory about this, of two people who made a covenant of love between them because of the delight and pleasure that they bestowed upon each other.

There are two manners about this: 1) There was always love between them. 2) At first, they had grievances against each other, but after some time, love formed between them and they made a covenant.

By this he interprets that repentance from fear, when sins become for him as mistakes, means that only once they have repented is there love between them. But before this, he had sins. Hence, repentance from fear is called “intermediate,” since there are two times here: before he repented, they did not have love. After he repented, they do have love.

But when he is rewarded with repentance from love, when sins become for him as merits, it follows that the part of the time before the repentance was also corrected, when they all became merits, see there. At that time, he is called “complete righteous,” since he no longer has any sins.

This is the meaning of “And sowed … and he found one hundred gates,” meaning one hundred percent, since there aren’t more than one hundred percent. This means that he corrected even the time before he repented, meaning the time when he had sins, which is called “manure and waste.”

Baal HaSulam interpreted that Predot [mules] means Perud [separation], that during the concealment of the face, a person feels that he is separated from the Creator and must connect and adhere to the Creator, and this, too, was corrected in Isaac.

But when he makes repentance from fear, although after the repentance he has “silver and gold,” from the words Kisufim [Kesef means longing] and Ze-Hav [Zahav means gold], that the Creator will give him love and fear because he already longs for the Creator, at that time the Creator is called Avi Melech [Abimelech, meaning “my father the king”]. However, this is a quality that is applied only after he has been rewarded with repentance.

Before he repents, there are still sins, called “manure and mules.” This is the meaning of their saying, “The manure and mules of Isaac are more important than the silver and gold of Abimelech,” since the manure and mules of Isaac, who is from repentance from love, are more important than repentance from fear, called the “silver and gold of Abimelech.”

According to what is explained in the Sulam [Ladder commentary on The Zohar], before we are rewarded with the light of Hochma, we are still not rewarded with absolution of iniquities. Isaac, who is the quality of Gevura, the quality of Hochma, called “one hundred gates,” all one hundred percent of his years were corrected. However, we still need a middle line, called “blessing,” which is regarded as Hassadim that clothe the Hochma, as explained in the Sulam.

For this reason, the Torah begins with the Bet of Beresheet [“In the beginning”], since Bet means Beracha [blessing], which is Hesed. Hence, after all this, “And the Lord blessed him,” meaning he was rewarded with inclusion in the middle line.