Glossary of Terms Used in the VaYera Weekly Torah Portion

Angel

An “angel” is a force of Nature, such as gravity or electromagnetism. An angel is one of our soul’s forces. The forces of our souls contain right, left, and middle, Gabriel, Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and so on.

Laughter

“Laughter” is the connection to a higher degree to which we still cannot connect through our cognizance and understanding. We laugh at opposites when we have no time to scrutinize them at that moment.

Sodom and Gomorrah

Sodom and Gomorrah are desires expressing an attitude toward others called “Let mine be mine; let yours be yours.” It is an attitude that is not conducive to connecting; hence, when the next degree arrives—the beginning of our connection with others—we cannot work with others and must leave them. At the same time, we are committing to take out the desires that belong to us with us, meaning Lot. In the next degree, the upper light comes in and begins to tend to us, to our souls, inverting these desires that we will later use for further degrees.

Not Looking Back

It seems quite simple to not look back. “Let bygones be bygones,” we are told, and “what happened was meant to happen” because “there is none else besides Him” (Deuteronomy, 4:35), “I am the first, and I am the last” (Isaiah, 44:6). The previous moment was not up to us and should have happened as it did. We must not regret it; we must look only forward.

A Pillar of Salt

A “pillar of salt” is a desire that we do not use. It is a desire that we put on hold until we can tend to it. This includes all the desires we cut out and seemingly throw away—Ishmael, Esau, Sodom and Gomorrah, a pillar of salt, and so forth. Every time we seemingly kill kings or nations it actually represents corrections within us. These desires all awaken, then wait to be used properly after some time, and especially toward the goal of correction.

Expulsion

“Expulsion” is a desire we do not use. We expel it, depart from using that desire.

Tying

“Tying” refers to limiting the use of the desire in a certain way so that after some time we will be able to use it. It is like the world of Akudim (tied), in which we first close in all the light of Ein Sof (infinity), or it is like the four species on Sukkot.