Two Names, Two Wives

Parashat Vayeitzei describes the Jacob's marriage to Leah and Rachel:

"Laban had two daughters. The name of the older one was Leah, and the name of the younger one was Rachel. Leah's eyes were tender, while Rachel had beautiful features and was of beautiful appearance. Jacob loved Rachel, and he said [to Laban], 'I will work for you seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter.'…So Jacob worked for Rachel seven years, but in his eyes they seemed a mere few days because of his love for her."

"Jacob then said to Laban, 'Give me my wife, for my time is up, and let me marry her.' So Laban gathered together all the local people and made a feast. When it was evening, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to [Jacob] and he consummated the marriage with her.…"

"When morning came, behold, it was Leah, so [Jacob] said to Laban, 'What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I worked for you? Why did you deceive me?' Laban replied, 'In our region it is not done, to give a younger daughter in marriage before the older. Complete the bridal week of this one, then we will give you that one, too - in return for the work that you will do for me for another seven years.'"

" Jacob complied and completed the bridal week of the one, and then [Laban] gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife… [Jacob] thus also married Rachel, and he loved Rachel even more than Leah. He then worked for [Laban] another seven years. G‑d saw that Leah was hated, and He opened her womb, while Rachel remained barren." (Gen. 29:16-31)

The [mystical] significance of Jacob and his two wives, Rachel and Leah, is as follows:

As we have seen in previous teachings, Rachel and Leah personified the two partzufim of Nukva, while Jacob, in general, personified Zeir Anpin.

Know that Jacob has two names, for he was originally named "Jacob", and this [name applies to him] when he had only rectified Zeir Anpin from the chest down. He then personified only that level [of spirituality] and lower. And, as is known, Rachel's stature [relative to Zeir Anpin] is from his chest down.

It is therefore written, "And Jacob loved Rachel", the latter being also termed "the Revealed World", as is known. For the revelation of lights is from [Zeir Anpin's] chest down, for it is there that yesod of Imma ends. Leah's stature, in contrast, is from the chest [of Zeir Anpin]up, for there the lights are covered. She is therefore termed "the Hidden World".

Imma is the intellect (specifically, bina, the full development of the insight of chochma). The emotions (the partzuf of Zeir Anpin) function best when the intellectual comprehension that gave rise to them is still present in them in some way. Without this tie to the intellect, the emotions are quickly derailed and diverted by the animal soul to its own concerns.

The yesod of Imma is the drive within the intellect to actualize itself, and this drive is present in the emotional consciousness as far as the upper third of its tiferet - that is, within the emotions' own intellect (chochma-bina-daat), the primary emotions (chesed and gevura) and the intellectual aspect (upper third) of the central emotion (tiferet). From that point on, the emotions take on a life of their own, so to speak, and the yesod of Imma, the thrust of the intellect to actualize itself, is no longer felt.

Thus, the upper half of Zeir Anpin is called "the Hidden World", for at this level the emotions are still concealed within the intellect, while the lower half of Zeir Anpin is called "the Revealed World", for only there do the emotions fully assert themselves.

Thus it is written in the Zohar: (I:153b) "Come see, when Jacob served [Laban] for the first seven years, a voice went out and said, 'From the world to the world' (Psalms 106:48) [meaning] the hidden, supernal world, the Jubilee…." Before this, it is written, "Come see, the Jubilee is everywhere hidden and is not revealed, while the Sabbatical year is revealed."

According to the Zohar, when Jacob had finished serving Laban for the first seven years, and Laban tricked him into marrying Leah, G‑d said to Jacob, "It is written, 'Blessed be G‑d, the G‑d of Israel, from the world to the world.'" This meant, "It was Divine Providence that you married Leah first, because in order to reveal divinity in the world [i.e. to 'bless G‑d'], you must first rectify the higher world, which is personified by Leah, and only then the lower one, which is personified by Rachel."

The Zohar also contrasts the Jubilee year with the Sabbatical year. Both of these years are associated with the number seven: the Sabbatical year is the seventh year of the agricultural cycle, while the Jubilee year is the year after seven agricultural cycles of seven years each, the fiftieth year. Thus, the Jubilee year is a more encompassing "seventh" than is the Sabbatical year, a higher perspective and order of consciousness. The fact that the Jubilee is the fiftieth year associates it naturally with Imma, for there are "fifty gates of understanding ['bina', associated with the partzuf of Imma.]" (Rosh Hashanah 21b) Based on this, the Zohar identifies the Jubilee year with the upper half of Zeir Anpin, where Imma is manifest, and the Sabbatical year with the lower half of Zeir Anpin, where Imma is no longer manifest. In this imagery, the Jubilee is Leah, the Hidden World, and the Sabbatical year is Rachel, the Revealed World.

Thus, there is a hidden world and a revealed world.

Now, Leah extends opposite seven sefirot of Zeir Anpin: keter, chochma, bina, daat, chesed, gevura, and the upper third of tiferet - i.e. until the chest. These [were manifest as] the seven years in which Jacob worked for Leah. They were hidden from him, for he did not think that he was working in order to marry Leah, as is stated in the Zohar.

The partzuf of Leah, being at the level of the upper half of Zeir Anpin, was hidden from Jacob, because he had not yet reached that level in his own development. He therefore could not realize that his first seven years of work were actually "earning" him Leah.

This is because Jacob had not yet reached this level during this time, so these seven years were thus hidden from him. This is why Jacob hated Leah - he had not yet reached her level.

During the 20 years Jacob spent at Laban's, he rectified the entire partzuf of Zeir Anpin. Only then could he appreciate Leah.

But after he rectified the entire span of Zeir Anpin, he was called "Israel", as we have explained on that passage, for the name "Israel" [in Hebrew, Yisrael] is composed of the same letters as the words for "A head for me" [li rosh]. For then, he rectified [Zeir Anpin] all the way up to its head.

"Yisrael" is spelled: yud-shin-reish-alef-lamed.

"Li rosh" is spelled: lamed-yud reish-alef-shin.

Jacob was renamed "Israel" on his way back into the Land of Israel, after having completed his stay with Laban. (Gen. 32:28)

But in the beginning, he was at its bottom - its netzach-hod-yesod. That is why he was called "Jacob" [in Hebrew, Yaakov, meaning] "the heel".

"Yaakov" means "he will heel", from the noun "akeiv", "heel".

[Once he reached her level,] he coupled only with Leah, for Rachel had already died. He was also buried [only] with Leah in the [Machpelah] Cave, not with Rachel.

We will now explain the [mystical] levels personified by Leah and Rachel.

Rachel issues from a radiance of yesod of Imma after it has been revealed, i.e. from the chest down [of Zeir Anpin], [this radiance being] from [Imma's] back. For the front [of Imma] is [manifest as] the name Sag [Havayah spelled out to equal the numerical value of 63]. The simple regressive iteration ["back"] of [Sag] equals 72, and the spelling-out [of this iteration] equals 166.

All that can be revealed from Imma into Zeir Anpin is its "back", i.e. its superficial aspects. The intellect, in all its own intensity, cannot shine directly into the emotions, for the emotions are by nature non-intellectual. Only a diffused radiance of the intellect, the "memory" of the intellectual inspiration that gave rise to the emotional response, can remain in the consciousness when we switch to emotional mode.

We have seen previously that the four spellings-out of the name Havayah (72, 63, 45, 52) are associated respectively with the four major partzufim (Abba, Imma, Zeir Anpin, and Nukva).

The presence of Imma within Zeir Anpin, then, is the "back" of Imma, or the "back" of the name Sag. The "back" of a name is indicated by the regressive iteration of that partzuf, where we see the letters of the name turning their backs to us, one by one, as they withdraw into a higher level. For Sag, this is:

The sum of these two numerical values is that of "Rachel" [= 238].

72 + 166 = 238.

"Rachel" is spelled: reish-chet-lamed = 200 + 8 + 30 = 238.

In contrast, Leah is from a radiance of yesod of Imma further up, on the level of daat of Zeir Anpin. Malchut of Imma, which is, at that level, together with [Imma's] yesod, shines outward behind Zeir Anpin's head, and there it becomes the partzuf of Leah, as is explained in Shaar HaMitzvot on the verse "He shall not have too many wives." (Deut. 17:17)

Present within yesod of Imma is malchut of Imma, the intellect's drive for expression. The intellect expresses itself at the level of the emotions' intellect through thought. Thought is thus the way the intellect expresses itself in the intellectual context of the emotions, as opposed to speech, which is how intellect expresses itself in a pure emotional context (or: in the emotional context of the emotions, as opposed to the intellectual context of the emotions).

This is the mystical significance of the knot of the head-tefillin, which is called the dalet.

The knot of the head-tefillin is placed in the nape of the neck, behind the head, and according to the Arizal, should be in the form of a dalet. The numerical value of the dalet is 4, indicating the three sefirot of the intellect, daat subdividing into the two origins of chesed and gevura. Thus, this knot indicates the emergence of the partzuf of Leah - thought - from the back of the head.

[Leah] is a complete partzuf, extending from keter of Zeir Anpin to its chest.

The reason it is called "Leah" is because [the partzuf of] the supernal Imma is known as the name Elo-him, and is divided into two parts: "who" [in Hebrew, "mi"] and "these" ['eileh'], as is mentioned in the Zohar, (II:105a) in its exposition of the mystical meaning of the verse, "Who are these that fly like a cloud?" (Isaiah 60:8)

Although in some contexts, Imma is associated with the name Sag, as we said, in others, it is associated with the name Elo-him, inasmuch as it is a constriction of the brilliance of the insight of chochma.

The name Elo-him is spelled alef-lamed-hei-yud-mem. These letters form the two words mi (mem-yud) and "eileh" (alef-lamed-hei). The letters of the word "eilah" can be rearranged to spell "Leah" (lamed-alef-hei).

The explanation of this is that from keter to the upper half of tiferet of the supernal Imma is called "who", while from the lower half of its tiferet downward is called "these". The radiance of "these" issues from the back of Zeir Anpin and becomes Leah.

Thus, the lower half of Imma, present in the upper half of Zeir Anpin, becomes Leah. The upper half of Imma remains beyond Zeir Anpin, and is thus represented by a question, "who?"

We will now explain the coupling of Zeir Anpin with Leah. [It is necessary to explain this because its coupling] with Rachel is self-understood, because [Rachel] is below, so that his and her yesod can couple. But how can he couple with Leah?

In fact, this is the very reason why Jacob loved Rachel and Leah was hated: for his coupling with [Leah] was inconceivable to Jacob at first, before he was called "Israel", as we said.

This is alluded to in the Zohar: "And G‑d saw that Leah was hated. From here [we derive] that a person detests the nakedness of his mother." (Zohar I:154b) The explanation of this is as we have said.

A man naturally recoils at the idea of incestuous relations with his mother. Since Leah manifested Imma, the "mother" of Zeir Anpin, Jacob at first recoiled at the idea of marrying her.

But we must first tell you about the yesod of Leah and the yesod of Zeir Anpin that couples with it, and how this is done:

Yesod of Imma extends until the chest of Zeir Anpin, as is known. From the two "hinges" and two "doors" in [Imma's] yesod, the two breasts on the chest of Zeir Anpin are made, as we have explained in our exposition of the Zohar. (III:266a; Shaar Maamarei Rashbi 46a) There, we explained that this is the mystical significance of the verse "Your strongholds will be powerful"(Job 22:25).

The doors and hinges of the womb are understood to be the muscles that open and close it. (Bechorot 45a)

The Arizal says the following in Shaar Maamarei Rashbi: (parashat VaEtchanan, p. 231a in Brandwein edition)

The supernal Imma is manifest in Zeir Anpin via the intellect of Zeir Anpin. Only netzach-hod-yesod [of Imma] is manifest within it. Her netzach has three segments [corresponding to the thigh, the leg, and the foot]; these are manifest in the three sefirot on the right side of Zeir Anpin: chochma, chesed, and netzach. The three segments of her hod are manifest on the left side of Zeir Anpin, i.e. in bina, gevura, and hod. Her yesod, however, is shorter, and when it is manifest in the middle axis of Zeir Anpin, it reaches only as far as the chest, i.e. in tiferet of Zeir Anpin, as we have explained elsewhere, because the yesod of Imma is an empty space, unlike the masculine yesod.… As is known, yesod is known as the name Sha-dai [spelled shin-dalet-yud]….

It is also known that in the yesod of the woman there are two hinges ["hinge" in Hebrew is "tzir"] and two doors ["door" in Hebrew is "delet", spelled the same as the letter dalet], as our sages said. The numerical value of the word for "hinge" ["tzir"] is 300, that of the letter shin. When this is joined with one [door/letter] dalet we have "breast" [the Hebrew word being spelled shin-dalet]. Similarly, the second hinge and door on the other side produces the other breast, and thus are produced the two breasts on the chest of Zeir Anpin. In this context, the upper third of tiferet of Zeir Anpin is called "Sha-dai" [which means "My breasts"]. This is the meaning of the verse, "Your strongholds [in Hebrew, 'batzirecha']will be powerful ['shadai']." [This may be interpreted to mean: "Because of your hinges, you will be Sha-dai."]

The yesod of Leah is also positioned behind Zeir Anpin, opposite the breasts on his chest.

We will now explain exactly what is the yesod that couples with the yesod of Leah:

We have already explained (Etz Chaim 23:1, 23:6, 28:4:5) that at first, [before it metamorphosed into a partzuf,] Zeir Anpin comprised only the six extremities, chesed-gevura-tiferet-netzach-hod-yesod. Later, when it matured, chesed-gevura-tiferet were elevated and became chochma-bina-daat, and netzach-hod-yesod were elevated and became chesed-gevura-tiferet. After this, he developed new netzach-hod-yesod. It follows that the origin of his mature tiferet is his immature yesod. It further follows that the yesod of Imma and the yesod of Leah and the original yesod of Zeir Anpin are all three at the level of Zeir Anpin's [mature] chest.

The yesods of Imma and Leah are positioned opposite the tiferet of Zeir Anpin, but this tiferet was initially Zeir Anpin's yesod. So therefore, it has enough of its original nature still in it to function as a yesod, and thus Leah can couple with Zeir Anpin.

When Leah turns around to face him, the yesod of Imma joins with yesod of Leah, inside it, and they fuse to become one yesod of a feminine partzuf. It is with them that the yesod of Zeir Anpin that is there, at the level of his chest, couples, as mentioned above.

We explain all this in detail in our commentary on the verse, "And Joseph was brought down to Egypt." (Gen. 39:1)

This, then is the explanation of the statement in the Zohar: "From here [we derived] that a person hates the nakedness of his mother." This statement can now be understood literally.

On another occasion, I [Rabbi Chaim Vital] heard from my master, of blessed memory, that Zeir Anpin couples with Leah at the level of his daat, which becomes a form of yesod in order to couple with Leah. This is the mystical meaning of the verse, "And Adam knew his wife" (Gen. 4:1) for this type of higher-level coupling occurs through daat, and is called "[carnal] knowledge"

This explains why the verb "to know" is used as a idiomatic expression for marital relations, rather than a verb more explicitly derived from yesod (e.g. "founded", or the like).

As is known, the coupling [at the level] of daat is hidden and concealed. This is why Jacob's coupling with Leah on that first night was concealed from him, as is known.

In my opinion, both these explanations are the same, for the daat of Zeir Anpin extends until his chest, and it is the yesod of that level.

To be continued…

Translated and adapted by Moshe-Yaakov Wisnefsky from Shaar HaPesukim; subsequently published in "Apples From the Orchard."

Reprinted with permission from Chabad of California. Copyright 2004 by Chabad of California, Inc. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this work or portions thereof, in any form, without permission, in writing, from Chabad of California, Inc.