בס”ד
By Rabbi Moshe Goodman, Kollel Ohr Shlomo, Hebron
Painting by: Baruch Nachshon z”l
At the end of this parsha is a section usually over-looked in some way from a regular or plain reading of the text. However, from the esoteric glance of the Kabbalah this section is highly analysed, probed, and investigated. This section is the passage that deals with the seven/eight kings of Edom. Here the Torah says that there were seven kings that ruled before “the ruling of a king of Israel,” and that these seven kings all died, but yet there was an eighth king “Hadar” who ruled and did not die. According to the Kabbalah this matter hints to a pre-creation state in which seven worlds/sefirot were emanated by Hashem, but did not continue to exist, but rather were destroyed/”died”, a matter commonly known as the “Breaking of Vessels.” Then, an “eighth state” was emanated that caused a rectification of the broken vessels, bringing forth the world we live in today, the “World of Rectification.” This matter explains why the number seven or eight are so dominant in Judaism.
Indeed, in many of R’ Nachshon’s paintings we find that the number seven is very dominant. However, this painting is somewhat unique in the sense that these seven are divided into different arrangements. For example, we see three plus four, such as in the dancing Hasidim, the blue/green lines, and the “petals” of the golden crown seen here. The significance of this arrangement can be found in the tefillin, for example, which has one shin of three prongs to one side and another of four prongs on the other. There is also two plus five, such as in the “fiery trees,” and the water drops at the top of the painting. This arrangement can be found in the lighting of the Menora where two lights of the Menora were lit at a separate time than the other five. Therefore it seems not for naught that this arrangement is depicted by “fiery trees,” for the soul of man is likened both to a tree and a candle, and seven candles are found in the Menora. The harmonizing theme with fire is its opposite, water, which may explain why the drops of water take on this same arrangement as well. Kabbalistically this arrangement can hint to the five sefirot of hesed to hod called “singular sefirot,” while the two sefirot yesod and malchut are separate since they are called “general [klalut] sefirot.”
In parshat Hayei Sarah this year we examined the deeper meaning of Hebron being connected to the number seven as seen in the verse “Hebron was built seven years before Zoan of Egypt” and in the fact that King David ruled seven years in Hebron before ruling in Jerusalem. There we said that this number represents a preliminary stage that leads to a level of “fruition” hinted to by the number three, which is associated to Jerusalem. These two sister cities may be hinted to by the two adjoined birds seen in this painting. Thus, this understanding shows us how the development of Hebron is “preliminary” and key in the further development of Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the future Beit Hamikdash!