Vayetzei

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Vayetzei by Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron                                                           בס"ד

לשכנו תדרשו

Discover the Holy Presence in the Holy Land

Rachel and Leah

According to the Arizal, Yakov’s working seven years to marry Rachel is hinted at in David’s rule in Hebron for seven years as well. The Arizal explains this by saying that David worked on “rectifying” the aspect of the Holy Presence found in Hebron called “Rachel,” by ruling there seven years, and later he worked on “rectifying” the aspect of the Holy Presence found in Jerusalem called “Leah.” Through this teaching, the Arizal also explains the secret of King Solomon’s celebration of the inauguration of the Beit Hamikdash, Abode of the Holy Presence, for two weeks, seven days corresponding to “Rachel” and seven days corresponding to “Leah.” He says that Zecharia’s (4, 2) vision of “seven and seven channels [to each lamp]” also hints at this matter. Here we should take precaution by explaining that the women named Rachel and Leah that Yakov worked to marry are not aspects of the Holy Presence itself, God forbid, but rather they, through their lives, represented manifestations of these aspects of the Holy Presence, “Rachel and Leah.” Also, in the practice of “Tikun Hatzot,” an individual mentions verses and prayers meant to “rectify” the aspect of the Holy Presence called “Rachel,” ” the aspect of the Holy Presence called “Leah.”
The Zohar, in many places, says that Rachel is the aspect of the “Revealed World” while Leah represents the aspect of the “Hidden [Upper] World.” Similarly, there are many sources that point to there being two Messiahs, Mashiach ben Yosef, an offspring of Rachel, and Mashiach ben David, an offspring of Leah. Mashiach ben Yosef is meant to bring the initial stage of redemption on a “revealed level,” on the natural level, whereas Mashiach ben David is meant to bring redemption on a “hidden/upper” more spiritual/supernatural level. Indeed, according to the Arizal mentioned above, it was necessary for David to first rule and “develop” the spiritual state in Hebron, indicative of the more basic/”revealed” stage of Rachel, in order to “move up” and build upon this basic state towards the higher “hidden” stage of Leah in Jerusalem. Similarly, the conceptualization of Mashiach ben Yosef, identified with Rachel (Hebron), being followed by Mashiach ben David, from the line of Leah (Jerusalem), implies that even during our days, when we hope for our coming redemption, we should remember that the true spiritual development of Jerusalem comes through first developing Hebron!


Real Miracles:

To liberate the airport at Lydda the tactics of Gideon were employed. Seven thousand Arab troops were ready to attack. Sixteen Israelis dressed as Arabs infiltrated into the city of Lydda. Like Gideon’s band of 300 they made such a commotion during the night that the Arabs, totally confused, fired upon each other. Finally, the majority fled back across the border.
Source: Israel Nation of Miracles

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