560. Generations

The work is mainly in the manner of “You are in partnership with Me,” since were it not for this, a person might be as that day old fly that is born in the morning and dies in the evening, since from the perspective of the Creator, a person might receive the tower filled with abundance in a single day. Thus, why does one need seventy years, and in each year 355 [in the Hebrew calendar] days? It is because “You are in partnership with Me.”

“The greedy, all he gets is irritation.” This is the will to receive, which belongs to man, for in Him, there is no such thing. In order for man to turn it into Kedusha [holiness], a person uses it each time with the same works; what he did yesterday, he does today, and tomorrow, too, until it becomes loathsome in his eyes and he connects to Kedusha.

This is the meaning of “At that time, he tells between a servant of the Creator and one who does not serve Him.” That is, both are doing the same things, the same nonsense, but this one brings all the nonsense to Kedusha.

This is the meaning of “‘Folly of follies,’ said Kohelet,” meaning that he assembled all those follies into Kedusha, and from them come great unifications. The root of all the follies is the frog, but through the beatings, they proliferated, as it is written, “And they came into your home and into your stomach,” for the root is knowing everything and doing, which applies both in mind and in heart, for in spirituality, mind and heart are one.

However, in man, they seem as two. This is the meaning of the jokers of the generation saying that Sarah was impregnated by Abimelech, meaning that Isaac is the son of Abimelech, that he is a foreigner and not the son of Abraham, who is the father of faith, but rather that what he does is only in the manner of hearing, which precedes doing.

For this reason, the Creator made Isaac’s features similar to Abraham’s. That is, “face” is the root of Bina, whose basis is only hearing, but it is in order to bestow, so the jokers of the generation would see that Isaac was doing in the manner of reception, meaning in hearing, and there was no distinction between one who works in reception in order to bestow or in reception for himself.

This is why he raised all the follies and nonsense to Kedusha, regarded as “You are in partnership with Me,” where he first made the doing in completeness.

This is the meaning of “There is no flavor in the elders,” meaning that Abraham was only in the manner of “Taste and see that the Lord is good,” “And there is no counsel in infants,” which is a correction in the form of an advice, as it is written, “And he divided the people into two camps,” meaning he divided between the tent of Leah and the tent of Rachel. It follows that there is still no wholeness.

Conversely, Isaac said to put order in all the follies, meaning he raised all the calculations of sleep, roasting, and eating to Kedusha. He said about this, “Half is on me and half is on You,” meaning that he became a partner in the work of creation.