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Genesis 28:10 - 32:3 This study of mysticism in Hebrew Gematria is dedicated in the loving memory of Mr. Paul Sakash, may he rest in peace. There never seems to be an end to the obstacles! When one obstacle is conquered another one appears ... Around the age of 77 Yaakov leaves the tents where he has been studying with Sheim and Evier. The Torah tells us that he began his journey to the home of his Uncle Lavan. Upon arriving in the vicinity, "He looked and saw a well in the field; and behold there were three flocks of sheep lying beside it, for {it was} from that well the flocks {of sheep} were watered. There was a large stone over the mouth of the well." Genesis 29: 2 In this parsha there are many obstacles. There was a large stone over the mouth of the well ... Genesis 29:2 Yaakov had been traveling for a long time! He was tired! He was thirsty! He was in search of a place where he could receive cool refreshing water... From some distance Yaakov viewed this well of water. This was a very welcome sight! From a great distance he saw a well of water. Up close, however, he saw a large stone covering the well. This adequately describes the obstacles one faces... One needs water... One searches for water... One sees the form of a well at a great distance. One thinks this well contains water because sheep are lying all around it... Yet, upon arriving at the well parched and weary, one finds a large stone covering the well. From a distance it looked promising, but up close when the focus is much clearer it is difficult!! Holy reader, we have defined our need ... we have located our source ... and we clearly view the obstacle ... What's next? Each of us has a pack to carry. Each of us has an obstacle / obstacles. This is where we examine the old saying, "the grass looks greener on the other side." At a distance we cannot see our neighbor's pack but up close it is very large. At a distance others seem to be so much better off yet up close they have their obstacles also. At a distance so many areas look really good; up close they look not so good. The first thing Yaakov does is to inquire of those with the problem. Where are you from? People have different approaches in dealing with obstacles depending upon their location. In this community the shepherds / laborers would wait until all the herds were gathered by the well then remove the large stone as a group. Next Yaakov inquires, "Do you know Lavan, the son of Nachar?" In a subtle way Yaakov was curious, 'Are these men employed by Lavan?' It is clear that their work ethic did not meet Yaakov's standard. "He {Yaakov} said to them, 'The day is yet long, it is not yet time for the sheep to be gathered, water the sheep and go to pasture them." Yaakov, this righteous Jew who in last week's parsha {"Troubled By The Wrong Name"} we described as a man who was innocent, honest, naive, unsophisticated, complete, perfect, whole, pure, harmless.... a man without fault..." now jumps squarely into the affairs of another country with different customs... other business people and their workers. He instructs them as if he were their Governor or their administrator. Doesn't this seem odd? He is a complete stranger to them. He instructs them, "...water the sheep and go to pasture them." How could a complete stranger do such a thing? What compelled Yaakov to react to instruct these people like this? INJUSTICE! Yaakov observed that the sheep were not being properly cared for. He observed that the men, as owners or laborers, were not following the guidelines of quality shepherding... This was wrong! This disturbed Yaakov! Any righteous person would be disturbed! Yaakov questioned, 'What are you being paid for?' Dear reader, their response was, 'We cannot do this until all the flocks have gathered and the shepherds roll the huge stone from the mouth of the well.' Was this their custom? Was it just an excuse not to do their shepherding properly? Was waiting for all the shepherds an act of kindness not to leave anyone out? Now holy reader, Yaakov who was 77 years old, who had traveled a long distance, who was tired, who was parched and weary stepped up to the well and removed the obstacle by himself... He then watered the sheep of Lavan. We must wonder, How could this 77 year old man remove the obstacle by himself when it normally required all the shepherds to remove it? Was Yaakov that strong? Did he have a surge of strength? Was the stone really the obstacle or was attitude the obstacle? According to our sages Yaakov lifted the stone off as opposed to rolling it like the shepherds normally did. Our sages declare that Yaakov was an exceptionally strong man!! This is derived from the normal usage of the word Vi Gaw Lah Loo, meaning "{they} would roll" as found in Genesis 29:3 and 29:8. However the Torah states, "He {Yaakov} stepped near {the huge stone} and Vah Yaw Gehl ", meaning "uncovered", i.e. he opened... he lifted the huge stone off... If Yaakov was so strong, how could he have gained such strength? Where did his great strength come from? How could he remove the obstacle by himself when other men could not? Remember his only serious workouts came from studying day and night in the tents at the school of Sheim and Evier. Yaakov studied for most of his 77 years! Let's examine who Yaakov is. Yaakov is the grandson of Avraham Aveinu, the righteous Tzaddik, and the Matriarch Sarah who was perfect as we discussed in the article, "Death / Life." Yaakov is the son of the perfect sacrifice, Yitzchok, and the Matriarch Rivkah who lived near and sought out advice from the righteous tents of learning of Sheim and Evier. In other words one could make the claim that Yaakov was of the proper lineage. Earlier in this parsha Hashem said to Yaakov, "I am Hashem, G-d of Avraham, your father, and G-d of Yitzchok. The land upon which you are lying, I will give to you and to your descendants..." Genesis 28:13 Of those present only Yaakov was of the direct bloodline of Avraham / Sarah and Yitzchok / Rivkah. Flowing in his body was this righteous blood. Yaakov as a righteous person so to speak could transcend from the physical to the next level upward. He could transcend to the spiritual. We see this transcending in the Gematria of the word Vah Yaw Gehl through the Gematria discipline Temuri which is a permutation of it's original letters { Lamid - Gimmel - Yud - Vav }. Section
One See Gematria Vah Yaw Gehl Vav elevates to Zion - Yud elevates to Chof - Gimmel elevates to Dalet - Lamid elevates to Mem Notice the Aleph Bais {read from right to left} {8} Ches - {7} Zion - {6} Vav - {5} Hey - {4} Dalet - {3} Gimmel - {2} Bais - {1} Aleph {60} Samech - {50} Nun - {40} Mem - {30} Lamid - {20} Chof - {10} Yud - {9} Tes {400} Sav - {300} Shin / Sin - {200} Reish - {100} Kuf - {90} Tzaddi - {80} Pay - {70} Ayin The elevation of Lamid - Gimmel - Yud - Vav
of "Vah Yaw Gehl" Zahk,
meaning "pure, clear, clean, spotless, innocent, perfect,
having a pure soul..." and Dawm,
meaning "blood" We see the elevation from Moshe's level, the 49th level, transcending to the next level. We see the power of the righteous removing the obstacle in Vah Yaw Gehl and in the same Gematria, Gaw Looi, meaning "open / opening" as in "opening" the gates of heaven, "opening" the gates of prayer... and assisting us in "discovering" Torah spirituality...! Vah Yaw Gehl Gaw Looi We observe their elevation Vah Yaw Gehl to Zahk Dawm and from Zahk Dawm to the Ha Shamayim, the Heavens... Why? Because they are Maw Lah, meaning "full" {of Torah}, "overflowing" {with Torah}. Zahk and Dawm 71 = 27 + 44 Maw Lah Next we see the Gematria Godal of the Zahk Dawm further elevating... as they {the righteous} become totally "twisted, fashioned, interwoven" with the Torah of Hashem in the Gematria of Shaw Zahr, meaning "twisted / interwoven". Zahk
{Gematria Mispar Godal} Shaw Zahr And we see their great separation to Hashem in their holiness because it is Hashem that has chosen them and it is Hashem that makes them holy!! We see this in the Gematria Kotel {the normal Gematria plus the total of all letters} of Anh Nee - Hashem - Mi Kah Deesh Chehm, meaning "I am Hashem Who makes you holy."!! Anh Nee - Hashem - Mi Kah Deesh Chehm {Gematria Kotel} Anh Nee Hashem Mi Kah Deesh Chehm 604 = 64 + 30 + 510 Dawm {Gematria
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