Notes on Satan

(4) “And Itzchak spoke to Avraham his father, and said: My father” (Gen. 22:7). Samael went to the our father Avraham and said: “Old man, old man! Have you lost your mind [lit. have you lost your heart]? You are going to slay a son given to you at the age of a hundred!’ ‘Even this I do,’ replied he. [Samael said:] ‘And if He sets you an even greater test, can you stand it?!’ [as it is written] “If a thing be put to you as a trial, will you be wearied” (Job 4:2)? ‘Even more than this,’ he replied. [Samael said:] ‘Tomorrow He will say to you, “You are guilty of murder, you murdered your son!” He replied: ‘Still I go’. Seeing that he could achieve nothing with him, he approached Itzchak and said: ‘Son of an unhappy mother! He is going to slay you!’ He replied: ‘Still I go’. Samael said: ‘If so, all those fine tunics which your mother made be a legacy for Ishmael, the hated of her house, and you don't care [lit. don't let it enter your heart]?’ If a word is not completely effective, it may yet be effective in part, that’s why it is written, “And Itzchak spoke to Avraham his father, and said: My father”: why [his] father, [my] father twice? So that he should be filled with compassion for him. "And he said: Behold, the fire and the wood. Avraham said to him: ‘May that man who has thus seduced him be drowned! Any way, “God will provide himself the lamb, my son”; and if not you are “the lamb for the burnt-offering my son.” So "they went both of them together" (Gen. 22:8) — one to slaughter and the other to be slaughtered.

(57) Come and behold, When Jacob arose against Samael, the grade of Esau, Samael fought and wrestled with him, but Jacob overpowered him in several ways. He conquered the serpent with cunning and subtlety, but he was only overpowered by the goat (the two goats he served to his father Isaac). And though all is one, (meaning the serpent and Samael) nevertheless he also conquered and overpowered Samael in another battle. This is derived from the verse, "and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he did not prevail against him" (Beresheet 32:25-26).

(34) Come and behold, Because Jacob put his trust in the Holy One, blessed be He, and all that he did was for His sake, his enemies made peace with him, specifically Samael, who is the strength and might of Esau, made peace with Jacob. Because Samael made peace with Jacob and acknowledged all his blessings, Esau made peace with Jacob. Yet, as long as Jacob did not make peace with him, the minister in charge of Esau, then Esau did not make peace with him. This is because strength below always depends on strength above. As long as the strength of the ministers in charge over them is not weakened above, it is not possible to weaken the strength in this world.

(60) Once day broke and night departed, Jacob was strengthened, and the power of Samael diminished. Then he said, "Let me go" (Ibid. 27), for it was his time to say the morning hymns and he had to leave. He confirmed his blessings and added a blessing of his own, as it is written, "And he blessed him there" (Ibid. 30).

(58) Come and behold, The merit of Jacob was such, that he (Samael) wanted to exterminate Jacob from the world. That night was the night when the moon was created (it was Wednesday evening). And Jacob stayed alone, and no one was with him, as we have learned that a man must not venture out alone at night. This is even more true on the night when the luminaries were created, for then the moon is defective, as it is written, "Let there be lights (Heb. מְאֹרֹ''ת)" (Beresheet 1:14), and the word מְאֹרֹ''ת is spelled without the letter Vav, which is a sign of a curse. Because Jacob remained alone that night (he was in great danger) because when the moon is defective, the evil serpent is strengthened and rules. Then Samael came and denounced Jacob and wanted him to perish from the world.

(5) Another explanation: "And it was in the middle of the night" - David said (Psalms 77:7), "I recall my music at night:" The congregation of Israel said, "I recall the breakings, that You broke the enemies for my sake at night." And [the term], 'my music' (niginati) only means breaking, as you would say (Lamentations 3:63), "I am their song." And I [would also] say (Genesis 14:20), "who gave over (migen) your enemies into your hand." Sancheriv came against us - You broke him at night, as it is stated (II Kings 19:35), "And it was on that night and the angel of the Lord came out and he smote in the camp of Assyria." Rabbi Nechemia said, "Come and see the love of the Holy One, blessed be He for Israel; as behold, the ministering angels - who are mighty of strength, doers of His will - the Holy One, blessed be He, made them guardians over Israel. And who are they? Michael and Gavriel, as it is stated (Isaiah 62:6), 'Upon your walls Jerusalem, I have appointed guardians.' And when Sancheriv came, Michael went out and smote them; and Gavriel, from the command of the Holy One, blessed be He, saved Chanania and his friends." Why was it like that? Rather the Holy One, blessed be He, made a condition with them. When? When He wanted to go down to save Avaraham from the fiery pit: Michael and Gavriel said in front of Him, "We will go down to save him." He said [back] to them, "If [even] one of you would go down there to the pit, you would save him, but [since Avraham] went down for My name, then I will go down and save him," as it is stated (Genesis 15:7), "I am the Lord who took you out of the Ur Kasdim (understood here as the fire of Kasdim);" "but I will give you a time [to go down and save others."] When did they go down? "Since you were prepared to save him for My honor, you, Michael [will descend] against the camp of Assyria; and you, Gavriel [will descend] against the camp of Kasdim (the Chaldeans)." When Gavriel went down to save Chanania, Mishael and Azaria, he tore the fire and came out and set aflame all those that had thrown them in, as it is stated (Daniel 3:22), "those men that raised Shadrakh, Meshakh, etc." And some say, "Four nations died there: At first, it is written (Ibid. 3), 'Then were gathered the satraps, the prefects, the governors[, etc.]' and the advisers of the king and, here, four [of them] are lacking, as it states (Ibid. 27), 'And the satraps gathered.'" Hence Chanania said (Psalms 117:1), "Praise the Lord, all nations;" Mishael said (Ibid.), "exalt him all peoples;" and Azaria said (Ibid. 2), "Since His kindness has overwhelmed us;" and the angel said (Ibid.), "'and the truth of the Lord is forever' - what He said to me when I went down to save Avraham is true." And so [too with] Michael, [God] did what He told him, as it is stated (II Kings 19:35), "And it was on that night and the angel of the Lord came out." It was taught, "All of the commanders and the dukes were drinking wine and left their receptacles thrown out. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Sancheriv, 'You have done yours,' as it is stated (Ibid. 23), 'By the hand of your messengers have you cursed;' 'I too [will act] by the hand of my messenger.'" What did He do to him? "And under his glory there shall be kindled a burning like the burning of fire." (Isaiah 10:16) What is [meant by] "and under his glory?" That He burned his body from the inside and left his clothing on the outside, since the glory of a person is his clothing. And why did He leave his clothing? Rather, since they were the descendants of Shem, as it is stated (Genesis 10:22), "The sons of Shem were Eilam and Ashur (Assyria)." The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "I am indebted to Shem, their father, as he and Yafet took their clothing and covered the nakedness of their father," as it is stated (Genesis 9:23), "And Shem and Yafet took the cloak." Hence, the Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Michael, "Leave their clothing and burn their souls." What is written there? "And they arose in the morning and, behold, dead corpses." This is [the meaning of] that which is written (Psalms 101:8), "In the mornings, I will annihilate the evildoers of the world." And Hizkiyahu and Israel were sitting and saying Hallel (Psalms of praise recited on festivals), as it was the night of Pesach, and they were afraid to say [it] now - Jerusalem was being conquered by his hand. When they woke up early in the morning to stand and read the Shema and to pray, they found their enemies were dead corpses. Hence, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Yeshaya (Isaiah 8:3), "'and call his name, "quick take booty, fast loot"' and be quick to loot booty; and the [other] one call 'with us is the Power (Imanuel),' to say that I am with him," as it is stated (II Chronicles 32:8), "with him is the forearm of flesh but with us is the Lord, our God." And just like the Holy One, blessed be He, acted in this world by the hand of Michael and Gavriel, so [too] in the future to come, he will act through them, as it is stated (Obadiah 1:21), "And the saviors will come up on Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esav" - this is [referring to] Michael and Gavriel. And our Holy Rabbi said, "This is Michael by himself, as it is stated (Daniel 12:1), 'And at that time, Michael will stand, the great minister who stands for the children of Your people.'" As he [is the one that] demands the needs of Israel and speaks for them, as it is stated (Zechariah 1:12), "And the angel of the Lord answered and said, 'Lord of hosts, until when when will you not have mercy on Jerusalem?'" And I will [also] say (Daniel 10:21), "and none is being strong with Me except for Michael, your minister." Rabbi Yose said, "To what are Michael and Samael similar? To a defender and a prosecutor standing in court. This one is speaking and that one is speaking. [When] this one finished his words and that one his words, that defender knows that he has won. [Then] he begins to praise the judge, that issues the verdict. That prosecutor [then] requests to add something. The defender [then] says to him, 'Be quiet and let us hear from the judge.' So is it that Michael and Samael stand in front of the Divine Presence; and the Satan [Samael] prosecutes and Michael deliberates on the merit of Israel, and [then] the Satan comes to speak and Michael silences him. Why? As it is stated (Psalms 85:9), 'I will hear what the Power, the Lord, will speak, as He will speak peace about His people.'" This is [the meaning of] "I recall my music at night" - about the miracle of Hizkiyahu. Another explanation: "I recall my music at night" - I recall what you have done for us in Egypt, and the plots (menagnin) that you did to the Egyptians. How is it? At first, when the Holy One, blessed be He, requested to bring plagues upon the Egyptians, He said to bring the plague of the firstborn first, as it is stated (Exodus 4:23), "behold I am killing your son, your firstborn." [Pharaoh] started to say (Exodus 5:2), "Who is the Lord that I should listen to His voice?" The Holy One, blessed be He, said [to Himself], "If I bring the plague of the firstborn first, he will send them [right away], but rather I will bring other plagues upon him (first). And in its heels (beekev zot), I will bring them all," as it is stated, "And the Lord smote every firstborn." Hence David praises (Psalms 90:11), "Who knows the boldness of Your anger" - who knows your plots that You do in the sea, as it is stated (Psalms 77:20), "In the sea is Your way and Your path in the great waters, and Your footsteps (eekvotekha) were not known" - things that you do afterward (beekev), who [can] know?

(10) Sitrei Torah The Holy One, blessed be He, alluded to the supernal Wisdom through Abraham and Isaac; Abraham is the Neshamah of Neshamah, (referred to as 'the light of Chayah'). Sarah is the Neshamah, and Lot is the serpent, the spouse of Samael. The holy Ruach is Isaac; the Holy Nefesh is Rivkah. The Evil Inclination is the bestial Nefesh. And concerning this King Solomon said in his wisdom, "Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upwards, and the spirit of the beast goes downwards" (Kohelet 3:21). The bestial Nefesh is the Nefesh that comes from the side of the Evil Inclination.

(13) Whoever is righteous but for whom things go badly, namely, he who is from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, since there is evil with him {at the moment}, "For there is not a just man upon earth who...never sins" (Ecclesiastes 7:20). As for an evil man for whom things go well, it is that the Evil Inclination overpowered his Good Inclination. Therefore they said that it is well with him, because the good is under the power {of the evil man}. And since the evil dominates the good, he is an evil man, since whoever is stronger receives the name. An evil man with whom things are evil is another El, who is Samael. It is evil with him, namely the poison of death, which is idol worshiping, {as it is said}, "Evil shall slay the wicked" (Psalms 34:22). For that reason a raped woman is considered so only if that soul has a mixture of good and evil.

(20) The ninth: "And You will hurl into the depths of the sea all of their sins" - this is a good trait of the Holy One, blessed be He. As behold, Israel sinned; He delivered them into the hand of Pharaoh, and they repented. Why [should] he punish Pharaoh? And likewise Sancheriv; and likewise Haman and those similar to them. The Holy One, blessed be He, is not only assuaged to say, "They have repented. If so, let them not have any more evil. If so, let Haman withdraw from them," or Pharaoh, or Sancheriv. This does not suffice. Rather, he puts the travail of Haman back on his head; and likewise Pharaoh; and likewise Sancheriv. And the reason for this practice is the secret of "And the goat carries upon him all of their iniquities to a desolate land" (Leviticus 16:22). And its explanation is that it carries the actual sins. But this is very difficult: And shall Israel sin and the goat carry [it]? Rather [this] trait is like this: A person confesses [sins], and his intention in the confession is to receive purification upon himself; like the matter that David stated (Psalms 51:4), "Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity." And so, in our saying, "Purge [me] in Your great mercy," [one] is only praying that the afflictions be light, such that there not be a hindrance of Torah [study]; and this [is also the intention of] that which we say, "But not through bad (harsh) afflictions." And so, in his saying, "And You are righteous about all that happens to me" - he intends to truly accept afflictions with a pleasant countenance, in order to atone; as there are iniquities that [only] afflictions purge or that [only] death purges. And such is the trait: As soon as this one confesses in his prayer - they explained in the Zohar in Parshat Pekudei (p. 262b) that this is the portion of Samael, similar to the goat. What is his portion that the Holy One, blessed be He, decreed for him? Afflictions. And [so] Samael immediately arrives there and goes and collects his debt. And behold, [this is] the goat carrying the iniquities - that the Holy One, blessed be He, gives him authority to collect his debt, and Israel is [thus] purified. But, behold, it all devolves upon Samael. And the reason is because the Holy One, blessed be He, decreed upon His world, that anyone who does this, will be nullified. And this is the reason of, "and you shall kill the beast" (Leviticus 20:15). And likewise the stone of the commandment of those stoned; and the sword of the commandment of those killed, require burial (Sanhedrin 45b) to nullify their existence and power after their judgement is finished.

(13) Whoever is righteous but for whom things go badly, namely, he who is from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, since there is evil with him {at the moment}, "For there is not a just man upon earth who...never sins" (Ecclesiastes 7:20). As for an evil man for whom things go well, it is that the Evil Inclination overpowered his Good Inclination. Therefore they said that it is well with him, because the good is under the power {of the evil man}. And since the evil dominates the good, he is an evil man, since whoever is stronger receives the name. An evil man with whom things are evil is another El, who is Samael. It is evil with him, namely the poison of death, which is idol worshiping, {as it is said}, "Evil shall slay the wicked" (Psalms 34:22). For that reason a raped woman is considered so only if that soul has a mixture of good and evil.

(136) Some mystical elements pertaining to the Chanukah lights: We shall now proceed to explain part of the deeper meaning of the חנוכה lights which issue forth from the ירך המנורה, the stem of the candelabra (the equivalent of ירך, thigh, in a human body). The expression רגל, foot, is also found in connection with נר, light, when the Psalmist describes הר לרגלי דברך, "Your word is a lamp to my feet" (Psalms 119,105). According to Halachah, the period during which the Chanukah lights have to burn concludes when תכלה רגל מן השוק, when the foot (pedestrian) leaves the market-place, when the streets empty out. Let us get back to the meaning of the word ירך. The Torah reported that Samael succeeded in dislocating Jacob's כף ירך, thigh joint. The immediate cause for this had been Jacob's having remained alone while he had gone to retrieve some trinkets of minor value (Rashi on 32,25). No doubt these פכים קטנים, "insignificant trinkets," are of great symbolical significance. We are reminded of the פך קטן, "small cruse" of oil which the Hasmoneans found when they entered the Temple precincts after their victory over the Greeks.

(21) Another noteworthy Midrashic remark of our Sages is the following: “The serpent had a rider, the rider was as big as a camel, and it was the rider that enticed Eve: this rider was Samaël.” Samaël is the name generally applied by our Sages to Satan. Thus they say in several places that Satan desired to entice Abraham to sin, and to abstain from binding Isaac, and he desired also to persuade Isaac not to obey his father. At the same time they also say, in reference to the same subject, viz., the Akedah (“the binding of Isaac”), that Samaël came to Abraham and said to him, “What! hast thou, being an old man, lost thy senses?” etc. This shows that Samaël and Satan are identical. There is a meaning in this name [Samaël]), as there is also in the name naḥash (“serpent”). In describing how the serpent came to entice Eve, our sages say: “Samaël was riding on it, and God was laughing at both the camel and its rider.”

(21) And behold, there is actually the secret of the image of Nevuchadnetsar in this: Israel was given over to the hand of the king of Babylonia, "the head of gold" (Daniel 2:32). That head was humbled and given over to the hand of Persia, who are "the chest and the arms of silver." And likewise, these were pushed off for those, until Israel descended to "their feet, some of them were iron and some of them were clay" (Daniel 2:33). And what is the good finish? In the end, the Holy One, blessed be He, stands them up and carries out judgement upon them, as it is written (Deuteronomy 32:23), "I will finish My arrows upon them" - My arrows end, but Israel does not end (Sotah 9a). "All at once, the (bronze, silver, gold, etc.) were crushed" (Daniel 2:35). Behold at the beginning, it is written (Daniel 2:34), "and struck the image on its feet" - there is nothing of the image besides its feet, as the power of the head, its arms and its belly had already been nullified. And nonetheless at the end, it was crushed [entirely] as one. In the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will stand up Samael and the evildoers that do his deeds and acts, and carry out the judgement upon them. And that is [the meaning of] "and You will hurl into the depths of the sea all of their sins" - it wants [to say], He will hurl the power of judgement to bring [it] down on the hands of these, who are "the depths of the sea." [As it is stated (Isaiah 57:20),] "But the wicked are like the troubled sea which cannot rest, whose waters toss up mire and mud" - these are the ones that enact judgement upon Israel, all the payment of whom falls back on their heads. And the reason is because after Israel has received their judgement, the Holy One, blessed be He, regrets even about what preceded, and He [avenges] their insult. And it is not enough [that they carried out the judgement on Israel], but rather, "I was a little mad, but they assisted for the bad" (Zechariah 1:15).

(3) R. Yannai asserted: The account book of the man who makes a vow which he fails to fulfill is examined in the presence of the Holy One, blessed be He. He asks: Where is that person who made a vow on a certain day? Observe that it is written concerning the time that Jacob went to Aram-naharaim: And Jacob vowed a vow, saying: “If God be with me” (Gen. 28:20). At first He granted his every request. He went there and became wealthy, but when he returned without fulfilling his vow, He turned Esau against him, and Esau sought to kill him. And though Esau took the two hundred she-goats from him, Jacob did not trouble to perform his vow. Whereupon He turned the angel against him and they wrestled together, but still he did not take note, as it is said: And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him (ibid. 32:26). It was Samael, Esau’s guardian angel, who wanted to kill him, as is said: When he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh (ibid., v. 27). When he still was not persuaded to fulfill his vow, the anguish occasioned by Dinah’s experience befell him, as is said: And Dinah went out. When he continued to refrain from carrying out his vow, the tragedy of Rachel’s death occurred, as it is said And Rachel died and was buried (ibid. 35:19). This confirms the opinion of R. Samuel the son of Nahman that one who vows and fails to fulfill his vow brings about the death of his wife, as it is said: If thou hast not wherewith to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee? (Prov. 22:27).

(23) Moses, however, was still very much troubled in mind, on account of Samael, who had not left off lodging accusations before God against Israel since the exodus from Egypt. The Lord adopted the same procedure in dealing with the accuser as the experienced shepherd, who, at the moment of transferring his sheep across a stream, was faced by a ravening wolf. The shepherd threw a strong ram to the wolf, and while the two engaged in combat, the rest of the flock was carried across the water, and then the shepherd returned and snatch the wolf's supposed prey away from him. Samael said to the Lord: "Up to this time the children of Israel were idol worshippers, and now Thou proposest so great a thing as dividing the sea for them?" What did the Lord do? He surrendered Job to Samael, saying, "While he busies himself with Job, Israel will pass through the sea unscathed, and as soon as they are in safety, I will rescue Job from the hands of Samael."

(7) We are taught in Chulin 91a that the choice of that word, i.e. אבק, dust, indicates that the dust stirred up during this struggle rose all the way to the throne of Glory -which is not complete, as we shall set out to show. The meaning of the word "he touched," is similar to the English "he touched a sore point." Samael had found something in Jacob's lifestyle which he thought he could turn into an accusation against him. This was the fact that Jacob had married two sisters while both were alive. He should not have done so, since the patriarchs had accepted for themselves the laws of the Torah which had not yet been officially formulated. Nachmanides writes about this at length in his commentary on Genesis 26, 5 where the Torah credits Abraham with having observed all of G–d's statutes. According to Nachmanides the patriarchs assumed this obligation as valid only while they resided in the land of Israel; the word מפשט used in the verse is by definition legislation that varies from country to country. G–d's משפטים apply only in G–d's country, ארץ ישראל. When Jacob married two sisters he did not live in the land of Israel. Samael's accusation was by necessity based on the yardsticks that Jacob claimed to live by. He argued that a man of Jacob's stature whose features were engraved on G–d's throne should not have taken advantage of the fact that technically he was allowed to marry two sisters, for did he not carry the atmosphere of ארץ ישראל with him wherever he went? We are familiar with such expressions as אבק רבית, something not actually an interest payment but nonetheless giving the impression that someone rendered a service for free which would have been charged for had the recipient of the service not been a lender to the person rendering the service. We have a similar expression when dealing with the laws of לשון הרע, evil gossip. The Tosephta Avodah Zarah 1, 10 describes four areas in which the term אבק is used halachically. All of them are not transgressions that are dealt with by the Courts, but are matters of individual piety. When the Talmud described the "dust" of the struggle between Jacob and the guardian angel of Esau as having risen to the throne of G–d, what is meant is that the issue was such a paralegal impropriety committed by Jacob as marrying two sisters outside the boundaries of ארץ ישראל.

(2) Rise, Faithful Shepherd, for surely whoever studies Halachah [Halacha corresponds to Malchut], not for its own sake, and understands the Halachah, surely it is seized by him. Yet it has been explained that man should always study Torah even if not for its own sake, so that from studying not for its own sake it shall become for its own sake. And this Halachah is from the aspect of the good lad [This refers to Metatro"n (who is also the great archangel michael and carries the name sha- dai in his name)] who separated from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, which comprises the forbidden and the permissible, the unclean and the clean, the fit and the unfit. After, the lad is called a girl, נַעֲרָה, by whom it will be fulfilled, "that the wicked might be shaken out of it, וְיִנָּעֲרוּ" (Job 38:13). These are the forbidden, the unclean and unfit, Samael and his legions.

(8) Even with all (the majesty) in the verse, the friends have explained it concerning other Elohim, as it is written: "See now that I, even I, am He" applies to the Holy One, blessed be He, and his Shechinah. Of his Female principle, it is said, "I am (Aleph-Nun-Yud)," Vav-Hei-Vav. The phrase: "And there is no Elohim with Me" (alludes to) Samael and the serpent; "I kill, and I make alive" - kill with My Shechinah whoever is guilty and "I make alive" with Her whoever is righteous. The verse: "Neither is there any that can deliver out of My hand..." refers to the hand (Heb. yad), of Yud Hei Vav Hei, which has a numerical value of fourteen; Yud Hei Vav Hei, Yud-Vav-Dalet, Hei-Aleph, Vav-Aleph -Vav, Hei-Aleph; and it is also Caf- Vav-Zayin-Vav, Bet-Mem-Vav-Caf-Samech-Zayin, Caf-Vav-Zayin-Vav. All the explanations are true. [But what is said before is that it is the Cause of Causes - which is the Cause above all other . This secret was not even revealed to all the sages and prophets].

(65) וישקהו ויבכו . Rashi quotes different opinions regarding the significance of the dots on the word וישקהו. Some sages in the Sifri believed that these dots are to alert us to the insincerity of the kiss by Esau, whereas Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai said (despite the fact that we have an ironclad rule that Esau hated and continues to hate Jacob), in this instance Esau's human emotions were stirred, and he kissed his brother Jacob wholeheartedly. I believe that both views are completely compatible with one another. We must view Esau here on earth as merely the counterpart of Samael in the Heavenly Regions.

(67) It is well known that in order to rehabilitate oneself spiritually one must exercise תשובה, תפלה וצדקה, repentance, prayer and the performance of charitable deeds. All of these three factors of man's rehabilitation depend on his mouth. Prayer and the reciting of G–d's praises are, of course, functions of the mouth. We know that repentance has to include verbalizing one's confession and one's resolution not to sin again. The Torah in 30,14 mentions that Torah is easy of access, i.e. בפיך ובלבבך לעשות. Rabbi Yitzchak says (Eruvin 54) that the Torah is easy to fulfill, לעשות, once one has repented both by mouth and in one's heart. Confession of one's sins with a broken heart is the principal ingredient of repentance. Charity, too, involves the mouth. Our sages (Baba Batra 9b) say that anyone who gives charity acquires six blessings; if someone also tries to make the recipient feel better by kind and encouraging words he will qualify for eleven blessings. Interestingly enough we have three words which symbolize three aspects of repentance, i.e. צום, קול, ממון, each one of which has a numerical value of 136. This suggests that all three aspects of תשובה are of equal importance. Stated differently, תשובה, צדקה, and תפלה equal קול. The very first part of our פרשה alludes to all the three ingredients of repentance. The Torah speaks about going to war, the plain meaning of which refers, of course, to actual warfare and battles with the enemy. Over and beyond this, however, the paragraph refers to the ongoing battle between man and his evil urge. Many of our commentators are at pains to point this out in their commentary on the relevant section in פרשת שופטים when they comment on the verse discussing the siege laid to a city (20,19). In actual fact, the war with his evil urge is the greatest battle man has to fight in this life. The matter is illustrated in the Talmud by the story of the elderly sage who met soldiers of the army of Alexander the Great at the time of his victorious return from a major battle. These soldiers were in a very exuberant frame of mind. The sage, while he congratulated them on their victory, pointed out that the victory they had won was minor, and that they had to get ready for the battle of their lives against the evil urge. This is what the sages meant when they described the whole paragraph of the יפת תואר as an illustration of man's ongoing battle against his baser instincts (Kidushin 21). By extending this allegory a little further we may come to understand the whole reason why a מלחמת רשות, a war which is expansionary, is allowed: We are always permitted to conduct aggressive action against our evil urges. We can be sure of G–d's ongoing support in that undertaking once we make the first move in the struggle against the evil urge. Our sages point out that we would be unable to subdue the יצר הרע without G–d's active assistance, but that we have G–d's promise: ונתנו בידו, "He will deliver him (the evil urge) into your hand" (21,10). It is significant that the Torah here employs the singular whereas in פרשת שופטים it speaks in the plural (20,2—20,3--20,4). This may be a reminder that the fight against the evil urge can only be fought on a person-to-person basis. We have a tradition that a nation neither succumbs to another nation nor to the Jewish people unless its protective spirit in the Celestial Regions had first suffered defeat. We have pointed out examples of this such as Israel observing "Egypt" instead of "Egyptians" "dead on the beaches of the sea" (Exodus 14,30). We learn from all this that our enemy (the evil urge), assumes many guises, i.e. attacks us in the plural, and this is why the Torah always describes our enemy in the plural (אויביכם, אל תערצו מפניהם). We have to battle all these manifold "enemies" because each transgression we commit creates a negative force in the world which comes back to haunt us. All of these negative forces created by our very selves are presided over and directed against us by Samael/Satan/Angel of Death, etc. The Torah describes victory over this multifaceted but essentially single force with the words: ונתנו ה' אלוקיך בידך ושבית שביו, "The Lord your G–d will deliver him into your hand and you will take him captive." Taking this enemy prisoner is possible only with the help of Torah study and מצוה observance. David describes this victory over the evil works in Psalms 68,19: He speaks about: עלית למרום שבית שבי, "You went up to the heights, having taken captives."

(17) No doubt both views are correct. Sometimes Samael acquires the souls of the former, on other occasions he acquires the souls of the latter. When Jacob asked Samael whether he was a thief or gambler that he had to shun daylight, he referred to the two situations possible. Lilith is the power that is active and exerts power only at night. When Lilith oppresses the souls at night and hands them over to gentile powers, this is the "soul snatching type of thievery" that is meant by Rashi. The souls that are being abducted are the souls of Jews who have died as minors.

(1) D’tzakh, Adash, Ba’achav: Beginning with the abbreviation for the plagues, we have a series of mathematical interpretations of the number of plagues: first, Rabbi Yossi HaGallili who said there were ten plagues in Egypt and fifty at the sea; then, Rabbi Eliezer who said there forty plagues in Egypt and two hundred at the sea; and finally, Rabbi Akiva who claimed there were fifty plagues in Egypt and two hundred fifty at the sea. If God struck Egypt during the plagues with “a finger” and at the sea it was the “hand of God” then the plagues at the sea were five times more than the plagues in Egypt. But what purpose do these mathematical calculations serve?
To understand the significance of the number of plagues, we must look back at a discussion in the Midrash and the Talmud between Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Meir. The Torah tells us that there were seventy descendents of Jacob who went down to Egypt, but when we actually count the number we find there were only sixty nine! Rabbi Meir suggests that Yocheved, the mother of Moses, was born on the way into Egypt and that she was the seventieth descendent. Rabbi Yehudah argues that Dan had two, and not one, descendant, making the number that went down to Egypt seventy in the first place.108The Midrash actually says the Torah text of Rabbi Meir was not the same as the Torah text of Rabbi Yehudah. Rabbi Yehudah’s text, like ours, says b’nai Dan Hushim, the sons of Dan Hushim, while Rabbi Meir’s text says ben Dan Hushim, the son of Dan, is Hushim. The name Hushim looks like a plural noun supporting the idea that this is a plural statement. On the other hand, this would be the only statement in this passage in which a descendant is listed not by his actual name but by his group. Rabbi Yehudah, then, takes the plural as proof that Dan had two sons, while Rabbi Meir reads the text as singular and says that there really are only 69 who went down to Egypt until Yocheved was born bayn hachomot, between the walls of the city (in other words on the way into the city). The Midrash makes the argument a little differently - since the child of Dan had a large family, he was considered to be like two descendents.
There are many places in our literature in which a difference of one is ignored, both in the Bible and in later rabbinic literature. For instance we are told to count fifty days in the Omer, and yet we really only count forty nine days. The R’ash (1270-ca 1340), a respected Torah authority, suggests that this is a common practice in the Bible. When the Bible says seventy people went down to Egypt, it simply ignores the missing seventieth. Similarly, we are told that when a person is flogged for breaking a negative commandment, he receives thirty nine lashes in stead of the forty which the Torah seems to prescribe.
Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehudah, however, disagree on this last matter, Rabbi Yehudah insisting on forty lashes and Rabbi Meir suggesting consistent with his earlier opinion that we only administer thirty nine lashes, similar to the perspective that the R’ash presented. According to Rabbi Meir, the number must be thirty nine since the number of lashes must be divisible by three since they were administered in three equal groupings, while Rabbi Yehudah says we administer three groupings of plagues and one extra lashing in the middle his back.109See Talmud Makot 22a- 23a for a more complete discussion of this topic.
We can now return to the subject of the plagues in Egypt. The plagues were similar to lashings, and the same disagreement regarding the counting of the plagues can be found here as we saw with Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Meir. According to Rabbi Yehudah, each plague was like four plagues, thus making forty plagues similar to the number of lashes – and, like Rabbi Yehudah’s opinion, it is not necessary to divide them into thirds so the number forty stands. It is for this reason that Rabbi Yehudah divides the plagues up into three groupings - d’tzakh, adash, ba’achav - that are not equal in number110Since the last grouping consists of four instead of three plagues. – they simply represent the forty ‘lashes’ that the Egyptians received in Egypt.
But what is the reason that the plagues at the sea were so much greater than the number of plagues that the Egyptians experienced in Egypt? This is based on a rule in Jewish law: if an Israelite is sold as a slave and his value increased in the course of his servitude, and then he was sold to a non-Jew, his Jewish master must reimburse him for the increase in his value.111In other words if he was worth 100 manna when he was first bought but the master now sells him for five hundred manna, he would get the additional four hundred manna. Similarly, the Israelites were few in number at the time of their descent into Egypt and they increased so greatly in the course of their sojourn. The Egyptians were only entitled to enslave the number of people who would have been born by natural increase and not the full population increase. The Midrash tells us that every woman gave birth to sextuplets. The five times that the Egyptians were punished at the sea was meant to make up for the extra five children born in to every woman!!112Ha!! That is great math!
Rabbinic and Kabbalistic literature speaks of three types of lashes. First, there are the lashes of an earthly court, which are thirty nine. This number is based on the fact that the lashes could not be given to an individual until he reached the age of 13 – and since the lashes were divided into three groups they were three times 13 or thirty nine. The second type of lashes was lashes of fire, or pulsa dinura.113Literally, lashes of fire. The origin of this phrase seems to come from the Babylonian Talmud, in tractate Hagigah 15a. In an Aggadic section concerning the heresies of Elisha ben Abuya, an account is given of Elisha’s encounter with the angel Metatron and the subsequent erroneous course of action taken by him. The seeming mistake of Metatron established him as being liable to receive a sentence of 60 Pulsei (pl. of ‘Pulsa’) D'nura: The Talmud says, “They took out Metatron and lashed him with 60 pulses of fire." The heavenly court only gave this punishment to an individual when he reached the age of 20 – three sets of 20 equal 60 lashes. And finally, the third type of lashes is called the lashes of Samael. Samael, the demonic being, was punished with fifty lashes for trying to make himself like God. These were the type of lashes that were meted out to Pharaoh and the Egyptians. They received this punishment for acting as if Samael was a divine being. Each form of lashes was for a different transgression, and, in the case of the different numbers of plagues, the mathematics suggests that each had a different opinion why the Egyptians were punished.
Rabbi Yossi HaGallili suggests that the punishment of the Egyptians was pulsa dinura. When we put together the plagues in Egypt and the plagues at the sea the equal sixty, just like the lashes of fire describe by the Kabbalists.
Rabbi Eliezer was of the opinion that the Egyptians were punished for transgressing the negative commandment, “You shall not work your firstling oxen.114Deuteronomy 15:19 God said: “I have written in my Torah, do not enslave my firstling; Israel is my firstling. Therefore I will charge you with breaking this negative commandment and will punish you with lashes that come in the form of plagues.” First, Egypt was punished with forty plagues in Egypt. But the number forty is not divisible by three. When we add the two hundred plagues that Egypt experienced at the sea to this number, together they equal 240, so that the Egyptians were punished with three groups of eighty plagues each!
Finally, we have the opinion of Rabbi Akiva who believed that Pharaoh and Egypt were punished for making themselves like gods with fifty plagues – this is the lashes of Samael. Pharaoh and his country received fifty plagues in Egypt just as Samael was punished with fifty plagues. While fifty is not divisible by three, we can add these fifty plagues with the two hundred and fifty plagues at the sea, they equal three hundred plagues. This number is divisible by three as well.

(10) Esau was the exact opposite. He represented קנאה, jealousy, and שנאה, hatred. Jealousy is the exact opposite of truth. The attribute of truth is defined as a preparedness to admit that something is objectively so, without one denying it or misrepresenting it (even if one puts oneself in a bad light thereby). When the prophet Ovadiah in the verse quoted describes the house of Esau as becoming straw, קש, the letters in that word are the respective first letters of קנאה and שנאה. Now that the brothers had become guilty of being jealous of Joseph and hating him, as we know from 37,4 and 37,11, they became victims of Esau in this world. Since ten of the brothers were guilty of such feelings, the Romans tortured ten outstanding Jewish scholars to death, the ones commonly known as עשרה הרוגי מלכות, whom Jewish liturgy eulogized in the poem אלה אזכרה recited on the Day of Atonement. The ten scholars involved were re-incarnations of the ten brothers of Joseph who had taken part in selling him. This is stated in the book Heychalot. Rabbi Yishmael said: "The day the instructions came to torture Jewish sages to death was on a Thursday. Originally, four sages were to be arrested, Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha the High Priest, Rabbi Yehudah ben Bava and Rabbi Yehudah ben Damah. Eight thousand scholars in Jerusalem were prepared to offer themselves in lieu of these four leaders. When Rabbi Nechunyah ben Hakanah realised that the decree would not be revoked, he "lowered me" to the מרכבה, and I interceded with the שר הפנים in the Celestial Regions. The שר הפנים told me that the Supreme Court in Heaven had decreed that ten eminent scholars were to be handed over to Samael, the Celestial representative of Rome. The reason for the decree was to carry out on the bodies of leaders of Israel the penalty imposed on kidnappers as per Exodus 21,16: "If someone kidnaps a person, sells him and is found out, he shall be executed." [According to Sanhedrin 85, the words "found out" mean that there were witnesses to the deed already before the sale. Ed.]

(65) All three patriarchs were refined through the experience of some degree of exile. Jacob together with his sons, of course, descended into exile in Egypt, where they were in real exile, having had to leave their homeland. Jacob actually should have been brought to Egypt in chains, as our sages state in Shabbat 89b. The 400-year exile started with the birth of Isaac, though Isaac did not actually leave the Holy Land. He is however, always referred to as being גר, a stranger, in that land. Even though the patriarchs were not physically enslaved, the status of being sojourners sufficed to consider them as being in exile. Even Abraham, who was looked up to as a prince among the local population, and who had been "crowned" king in the עמק השוה, as we have mentioned earlier, suffered thirty years of mental exile during the years between the ברית בין הבתרים and the birth of Isaac. Jacob was especially pursued by the קליפה, for Samael had managed to injure Jacob's ירך, thigh, hip joint. As a result, Jacob was in need of greater refinement than his father or grandfather, which manifested itself in a more serious form of exile. Although Esau was a son of Isaac, and honored his father, [which indicated Isaac's affinity to that קליפה of his, Ed.], the fact that Esau lived a life designed to lead to physical as well as spiritual death (as we know from his own admission in Genesis 25,32 when he sold the birthright, and again when he wished for his father to die prematurely, Genesis 27,41) meant that Isaac had rid himself of that קליפה and therefore only needed a minimal amount of exile experience. Abraham died before Esau had become wicked, and thus had no affinity to Esau's קליפה. Abraham also expelled Ishmael from his home when G–d commanded him to pay heed to what his wife Sarah had told him, namely to expel the servant woman and her son. As a result of his keeping away from both these קליפות Abraham did not have to experience actual exile. He did not even have to feel as a stranger. All that was needed to refine him was the anxiety experienced between the promise of the birth of an heir and the fulfillment of that promise, which meant the onset of the 400 years of his descendants being regarded as strangers or of their being actual slaves.

(27) It is possible to explain the controversy of Ben Zoma and the sages in the following way: Ben Zoma holds that the primary reason for remembering the Exodus is to comfort Israel. When they left Egypt, they saw the wonders that took place despite suffering and exile. My grandfather and teacher,133Abraham ben Mordecai Azulai (c. 1570–1643) Grandfather of Chida, was a Kabbalistic author and commentator born in Fez, Morocco. In 1599 he moved to Palestine and settled in Hebron. (wikipedia) of blessed memory, wrote in Hesed L’Avraham, “The reason that Israel was enslaved in Egypt was because God knew that in the future Israel would be subjugated to four kingdoms. The Exodus from Egypt was meant to reassure them so that they would not despair of God’s promise of redemption. They should not think that Egypt’s heavenly prince was more mighty (than God) so that it was impossible to go forth from there. With great wisdom, God decreed that Israel should be enslaved in Egypt, a land second to the land of Israel. Egypt was ruled over by Rahab and Samael, who also ruled over all the other nations and heavenly princes.” Based on this, one can explain the passage: “Praise Adonai, for He is good; His steadfast love is eternal! Thus let the redeemed of Adonai say, those He redeemed from adversity, whom He gathered in from the lands, from east and west, from the north and from the south.” (Ps. 107:1-3) “Praise Adonai, for He is good,” means that God’s goodness comes from Gods’ attribute of Hesed that He performs constantly. He redeemed us from Egypt who were first among all the angelic rulers. This was kindness that God set us at ease that we would be redeemed from the four kingdoms. This is the meaning of, “Thus let the redeemed of Adonai say, those He redeemed from adversity,” of Egypt. This was a sign for the four kingdoms, that God would gather them “from east and west, from the north and from the south.” God would gather us because God’s promise is as good as His deeds. As it is written in the Holy Zohar about the verse: “I have made his hills a desolation,” (Malachi 1:3) And also in Midrash Shocher Tov on this verse. That which is said, “For His loving kindness is forever,” means that the loving kindness that God shows shall exist forever, like the Exodus from Egypt which was a sign for the four kingdoms that Israel would face.

(69) ושבית שביו . We have mentioned earlier that the Sifri interprets this to mean that even non-resident Canaanite prisoners are included in the permission granted to take them as prisoners. We must remember that our internal conflicts, our battle with the evil urge, is also due to the curse resting on Canaan whose strength is derived from Samael in the Celestial Regions. We find an allusion to this in Numbers 21,1 where the Torah reports that the Canaanite led by the king of Arad took prisoners, שבי, from among the Jewish nation. This king, or the nation he represents, is perceived as having used scales that were not true in his hands (Hosea 12,8). In Job 39,5 the word ערד is used to describe a wild ass. The verse in Job refers to the "releasing" of such an animal to wreak havoc. Know therefore that it is sin and not the wild ass which causes death. Israel learned this lesson in Numbers 21 where Moses was told to construct the copper snake and people who looked up to it, i.e. looked to G–d for help were saved (cured from the bites of the snakes mentioned in 21,6), whereas the others died from the bites sustained (Rosh Hashanah 29). In this connection the Talmud (Berachot 33a) recounts an occurrence where a wild ass terrorised a community and people told Rabbi Chaninah ben Dotha about it. The Rabbi asked to be shown the lair of the animal in question. When he was shown the lair he placed his heel on the entrance to the lair. The wild ass emerged, bit Rabbi Chaninah ben Dotha and died as a result. Rabbi Chaninah ben Dotha hauled it on his shoulder and brought its carcass to the house of study. There he told his students that it was not the wild ass that had brought death to the community but the sins of the people who had been bitten by it. At that time the people said: "Woe to the people who have encountered the wild ass, and woe to the wild ass that has encountered Rabbi Chaninah ben Dotha." Rashi comments: "I have found in Halachot Gedolot that they say in ארץ ישראל "When a wild ass bites a human being and the wild ass reaches water first the victim dies; if the victim reaches water first the wild ass will die. A miracle occurred in the case of Rabbi Chaninah and a well of water suddenly opened beneath his heel. This is no idle legend. When the Israelites conquered the land of Canaan the Canaanites died from such bites, but miracles occurred for the Israelites who crossed the Jordan. Afterwards the Canaanites started dying. These were what are referred to as מלחמות שוות, normal wars.

(36) I have already mentioned that possession of the land of Israel commenced with the acquisition of the cave of Machpelah from the sons of Chet. So when Rebeccah said: קצתי בחיי מפני בנות חת, we have an allusion to the letter ח also in Rebeccah's words. When you combine the numerical value in the name יעקב with the number 8, you get 190 or the word קץ, end. That word represents Samael – the spiritual representative of Esau – as we have already pointed out. The reason the letter ק is written small is that Esau represents a diminution of the Divine image of G–d, something more קוף – like, ape-like. That part of the human being, – his resemblance to the ape,– is the קליפה, the inferior outer shell. Israel never recaptured its former glory after the destruction of the first Temple; we have mentioned repeatedly that during the time of the second Temple five major manifestations of G–d's Presence remained absent. The first Temple stood for a period of 410 years, the numerical value of the word קצתי. You can also read this as קץ ת"י, that after 410 (years) the spiritual life Rebeccah envisaged would come to an end. The Baal Haturim has a wonderful explanation when he writes that the small letter ק refers to the destruction of the second Temple which stood one hundred cubits tall (a building erected by King Herod). Although Herod built a physically great structure, it was only a "small" ק. I believe that Rebeccah was concerned that Jacob (value 182), who already had received the blessing of his father, should become the recipient of the one hundred blessings we have discussed. If he were to marry a daughter of the sons of Chet (value 8), he would add that number to his own and the result would be 190=קץ. If that were to happen, she said, then קצתי בחיי, "my spiritual life would be at an end." If however, he were to take the (4) daughters of Laban, his marriage bed would be pure, and the numerical value of that union would symbolize 186= קוף = מקום, i.e. the name of G–d.

(69) "There he praised the Almighty G–d of Israel." According to the view of Rabbi Eleazar in Megillah 18, this verse tells us that G–d called Jacob “א-ל”; his reasoning is as follows: – If this were an appellation Jacob had given, then the Torah should have written ויקרא לו יעקב א-ל אלוקי ישראל. The Torah wanted to go on record that Jacob represents only the “א-ל” part of “סמאל” . When we view the struggle between יעקב, who was all א-ל, and Samael, who was only partially א-ל, it is natural that Jacob should have prevailed, i.e. כי שרית עם אלוקים ועם אנשים ותוכל, "You have contended with G–d and with men and have prevailed." This description of a dual encounter refers to the struggle with the terrestrial force of Esau on the one hand, and with the Celestial forces of Esau, i.e. Samael, on the other. The name ישראל fittingly reflects this dual struggle. It is a name conferred upon Jacob by Samael himself, an acknowledgment that Jacob was the bearer of Isaac's blessings.