בס”ד
By Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
Painting by: Baruch Nachshon z”l
This painting exhibits Hebron in a Torah scroll, with the word Hebron at the bottom of the painting. This matter may express the idea mentioned in the Zohar – “Hebron, this is Torah for one who is occupied with it is called a Haber [Torah scholar].” An in depth analysis of this may be that the Torah and its scholars unite – “mehaber” – heaven and earth through their study, for Torah is the covenant between Hashem and the world and Israel, also being the “connection” – “hibur” – or “blue-print” through which Hashem created the world.
We see a plant with seven leaves on each side of the Torah scroll. This may hint to the verse “Hebron was built seven years before Zoan of Egypt.” We find that King David ruled seven years in Hebron before ruling in Jerusalem. We may find a correlation between these two matters if we interpret “Zoan of Egypt” to homiletically hint to the Exodus from Egypt, for Zoan has the same root as the verb root for “yitzan,” which means to walk/exit (see Isaiah 33, 20). Kabbalistically, there is a dynamic between the seven lower sefirot associated to the “body,” versus the three upper sefirot associated to the “head.” In many cases, first the “body” aspect is built as the basis to develop further towards the spiritual development of the “head” (see for example how we bow our bodies first in the Shemoneh Esreh and then our heads). The Arizal (Sha’ar Hapsukim Shmuel in the context of the Holy Presence called Rachel -Hebron, versus the other manifestation of the Holy Presence called Leah – Jerusalem, and Rachel and Leah maintain a “body and head” relationship Kabbalistically) also makes a correlation between Hebron and Jerusalem, tying Hebron to the “body” aspect and Jerusalem to the “head.” This matter may explain why King David ruled seven years in Hebron before ruling 33 years in Jerusalem, seven corresponding to the seven “body/prepatory” sefirot and 33 containing both digits as the number three, hinting to the three “head” sefirot. In a similar way, we can divide Jewish history into two states – the prepatory pre-Exodus “family” state stemming from the covenant and merit of the Patriarchs, and the post-Exodus “national” state built upon this covenant with the Patriarchs as mentioned in many verses.. In this way we can understand that “Hebron was built seven years before Zoan of Egypt” hints to the idea that Hebron, City of the Patriarchs, corresponds to the seven prepatory sefirot, i.e the “body” level, building up to the Exodus from Egypt when Israel became a nation, i.e the “head level.” These two references in Tanach of Hebron being associated to the number seven, i.e in “Zoan of Egypt” and David’s rule, may explain the meaning of the double seven leaves seen at the two sides of the sefer Torah here. Leaves of a tree also represent the prepatory life [“body-state”] of a tree which lead up to further “adult” [“head-state”] development of “fruition,” just like the ability to give “fruition” to the next generation in humans is the sign of adulthood. May we internalize these ideas today as well, understanding how the development of Hebron is key in the further development of Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the future Beit Hamikdash!