ב"ה
THEMES of Featured Mystical Classics Articles
The 3 verses of 72 letters each refer in sequence to the divine attributes of chesed, gevura, and tiferet.
In the story of the exodus from Egypt, three consecutive verses describing G-d's power as manifest just before He split the Sea of Reeds, each containing 72 letters. The Zohar states that these three verses refer in sequence to the divine attributes of chesed, gevura, and tiferet. The harmonious blending of these three principle emotive attributes forms the basic paradigm of how G-d relates to the world.
|
Intermediate
Kabbalah teaches that Moses' battle strategy was rooted in the divine emanations.
Rebbeinu Bachya teaches that when Moses raised his hands in the
battle against Amalek, he did something similar to what the priests do when they
raise their hands in the priestly blessing. By concentrating on the number ten
[the number of fingers] he concentrated on the ten sefirot and the
source of blessing that flows from that region to disembodied spirits.
|
The Israelites misunderstood Moses' pleas on their behalf.
"...the way you see Egypt this day you will never see Egypt again"
The Zohar is at pains to point out that the Torah does not speak about Egyptians being viewed as dead, but rather Egypt, i.e. the celestial minister of Egypt. G-d made a point of showing the dead celestial minister to the Israelites. |
Just liberated from slavery, and the most powerful army in the known world are bearing down on you.
"the best of the Egyptians -- kill; the best of the serpents -- crush its head." The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains this teaching of Rabbi Shimon that a gentile with a proven history of Jew-hatred should be treated in the same way as the ancient Egyptians - with total annihilation.
|
The larger, bold text is the direct translation of the classic text source.
The smaller, plain text is the explanation of the translator/editor.
Text with broken underline will provide a popup explanation when rolled over with a mouse.
