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R. Issac said: 'It is written: AND THE CHILDREN STRUGGLED TOGETHER WITHIN HER; AND SHE SAID, IF IT BE SO, WHEREFORE DO I LIVE? AND SHE WENT TO ENQUIRE OF THE LORD.
Whither did she go? To The Academy of Shem and Eber. "And the children struggled together within her", for there already Esau declared war against Jacob. The term vayithrozzu (and they struggled) is akin to a root meaning "to break", and thus it implies that they broke asunder and drifted away from each other. Observe that the one was of the side of him who rides the serpent, whilst the other was of the side of Him who rides on the sacred and perfect throne; of the side of the sun that illumines the moon. And observe further that because Esau was drawn after that serpent, Jacob dealt with him crookedly like the serpent, who is cunning and goes crookedly, as we read: "And the serpent was more cunning etc." (Gen. III, 1). Jacob then dealt with him after the manner of the serpent in order to draw him further serpentward, so that he should separate further from himself and thus not have any share with him either in this world or in the world to come; and our teachers have said, "When a man comes to kill you, kill him first."
It is written of Jacob: "In the womb he took his brother by the heel" (Hos. XII, 4), that is, he drew him downwards by the heel [Translator's note: Al. "to the heel", i.e. to the lower grades]. So it says: AND HIS HAND HAD HOLD ON ESAU'S HEEL, i.e. he put his hand on Esau's heel in order thereby to force him down. According to another explanation, the words "and his hand had hold" imply that he could not escape him entirely, but his hand was still clinging to his brother's heel. Esoterically speaking, the moon was obscured through the heel of Esau; hence it was necessary to deal with him cunningly, so as to thrust him downwards and make him adhere to the region assigned to him.'
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My comments...
After Abraham (Hesed) came Isaac (Geburah), and after Isaac (Geburah) came Jacob (Tifaret) and Esau (Hod).
Abraham = Hesed (Mercy) = Gimel = Jupiter
Isaac = Geburah (Severity) = Dalet = Mars
Jacob = Tifaret (Mildness) = Kaf = Sun
Esau = Hod (Severity) = Raysh = Mercury
Esau is cunning like the serpent and therefore is associated with the sefirah Hod and the planet Mercury. Jacob (from his grade of Tifaret) grasped hold of Esau's heel and dragged him down to his (i.e. Esau's) appropriate grade (i.e. Hod) which is associated with the left leg and foot ('heel') of Adam.
The sefirah Hod is "of the side of him who rides the serpent", while Tifaret is "of the side of Him who rides on the sacred and perfect throne".
Jacob (Sun) and Esau (Mercury) were twins which brings to mind the old esoteric saying: "Mercury and the Sun are one".
The sefirah Hod (and also Netzah) exist on a level that is located between the Moon (Yesod) below, and the Sun (Tifaret) above, and therefore it "obscures the Moon" from the light of the Sun until it becomes purged and purified (i.e. within the consciousness of humanity).
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AND HE CALLED HIS NAME JACOB. It was God who called him so. (So, too, it is written lower down, "Hath he not rightly called his name Jacob?" (Gen. XXVII, 36) and not "his name was called".) God saw that the primeval serpent was full of guile to do mischief, and so when Jacob appeared He said: "Behold, here is one who can stand up to him", and therefore He called him Ya'kob, akin to the term vaya'kebeni (and he acted toward me with guile} (Gen. XXVII, 35). It has already been pointed out that the simple term vayikra (and he called), as when it says, "and he called unto Moses", points to the lowest grade (of the Sephiroth).
At no time did Jacob receive a name from a human being. So in another passage we find: "And the God of Israel called him El (God)" (Gen. XXXIII, 20), signifying that the God of Israel called Jacob by the name of "EL" (God) as though to say, "I am the God of the supernal world and be thou the God of the world below". [1]
Observe that Jacob knew that Esau was destined to ally himself to that tortuous serpent, and hence in all his dealings with him he conducted himself like another tortuous serpent, using all cunning devices; and so it was meet. The same idea was expressed by R. Simeon when, in expounding the verse, "And God created the great fishes, and every living creature that creepeth" (Gen. I, 2I), he said: 'The "great fishes" are symbolic of Jacob and Esau, and "every living creature that creepeth" symbolises all the intermediate grades.' Verily Jacob was endowed with cunning to enable him to hold his own with that other serpent; and so it was meet. [2]
For the same reason at every New Moon a goat is to be offered up so as to draw the serpent to his own place and thus keep him away from the moon. The same applies to the Day of Atonement, when a goat is to be offered. All this is cunningly devised in order to gain dominion over him, and make him impotent to do mischief. So Scripture says: "And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities into a land which is cut off" (Lev. XVI, 22), where the goat (sa'ir = Seir), as already explained, symbolises Esau. [3]
In all dealings with him cunning and craft are employed, in accordance with the words of the Scripture: "And with the crooked thou dost show thyself subtle" (Ps. XVIII, 27); and as the evil serpent is resourceful and crafty, trying to mislead the heavenly as well as the earthly beings, Israel anticipate him and counter him with similar ruses and devices so as to prevent him from working his evil will; just as Jacob, who was endowed with the true faith, in all his actions towards Esau had no aim but to prevent the serpent from defiling the Sanctuary or even approaching it, and so achieving dominion over the world. [4]
There was however, no need either for Abraham or for Isaac to use such tortuous ways, seeing that Esau, who was of the side of the serpent, had not yet appeared in the world. But Jacob, being the master of the household, had to counter the serpent, and to give him no chance to tarnish the Sanctuary of Jacob. Hence Jacob had need of such shifts more than any other person. Israel, therefore, was chosen as the portion of the heritage of the Holy One, blessed be He, as it is written: "For the portion of the Lord is his people, Jacob the lot of his inheritance" (Deut. XXXII, 9). [5]
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My notes...
[1] The "God of Israel" is represented by Keter on the Tree of Life diagram. Jacob is represented by the sefirah Tifaret, and his 'perfection' (i.e. Israel) is represented by the sefirah Da'at. Tifaret is the God of the "world below", while Keter is the God of the "supernal world".
[2] In my understanding of the Tree of Life diagram, both Hod and Tifaret represent differing aspects of the mental plane. The sefirah Hod represents the 'lower mental plane' (i.e. within which resides the 'rational mind') whereas Tifaret represents the 'causal body' located within the 'higher mental plane'. Thus both Esau and Jacob are said to be "endowed with cunning".
[3] The sacrificial "goat" used to "distract" Esau is symbolic of the mental body being given an earthly 'project' to with which to occupy itself (i.e. the 'goat' symbolises the archetype of Capricorn). This 'project' provides the 'rational mind' (i.e. Hod) with a sense of purpose that, ultimately, becomes aligned with the will of the 'causal body' (i.e. Tifaret).
[4] Jacob's actions towards Esau "prevent the serpent from defiling the Sanctuary or even approaching it, and so achieving dominion over the world". In other words, the 'causal body' (or 'solar angel') works to prevent the 'rational mind' from gaining dominion in the world. At our present stage of human evolution the 'rational mind' does have "dominion over the world" because we (as a collective) have not yet transcended the dominating influence of the rational mind, or integrated sufficiently the intuitive faculty of human consciousness (i.e. which exists at a level above the mental plane). (The sefirah Hesed symbolises the 'spiritual intuition'.
[5] Abraham (i.e. Hesed) and Isaac (i.e. Geburah) emerged into existence before Esau (i.e. Hod) and therefore did not have to deal with him. It was only after the 'lower mental' plane (i.e. Hod/Esau) materialised that it was required to be managed and that task was given to Jacob (i.e. Tifaret, the 'causal body'). The sefirah Tifaret is superior to Hod in that it exists within the layer of consciousness 'above' Hod.
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[Zohar Extracts: Soncino Zohar, Tol'doth, 137b-138b, v2, pp. 42-45.]
Blessings,
Patrick.
Venus-Saturn [1/7]
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