“Chesed Le-Avraham” — The Mystery of the Holy Cities of Israel

The Mystery of the Holy Cities of Israel

Know that the mispar katan (reduced numerical value) of Jerusalem — ירושלם = 19. Furthermore, the mispar katan of Malkhut — מלחת (kingship) is also 19. The city of Shechem is the secret of Yosef, who corresponds to the sefirah of Yesod. This is why Shechem was given to Yosef and his descendants, since Yesod is his attribute. The mispar katan of the name Tiberias — טבריה = 19. The sefirah of Hod — הוד, together with the number of letters in the word and the kollel, also equals 19. The obvious meaning of the name Tiberias—“the center of the land” (Megillah 6a)—hints at Malkhut, while Tiberias corresponds to the sefirah of Hod. In addition, if the word Tiberias is divided into two words, we find that its mispar katan is 13, because it receives authority from the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. Safed corresponds to the sefirah of Netzach, whose mispar katan is 22 when the kollel is added. The mispar katan of Safed equals the gematria of the holy Name Ehyeh. This hints that those who live in Safed are considered connected, through Divine assistance, to the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy that emanate from the sefirah of Keter. The Name Ehyeh corresponds to Keter; therefore, Safed is one of the cities of refuge that protect the souls. The mispar katan of the word Safed is 21; with the addition of the kollel, it equals 22. This corresponds to the 22 letters of the Torah. This hints that Safed is a place where the deepest secrets of the Torah are perceived. For there is no better or purer air anywhere in the Land of Israel than in Safed. The gematria of the word Netzach (the sefirah) is 148, which is also the gematria of the word “kemach” (flour). This is the mystery behind the words of the Sages: “Without flour, there is no Torah” (Avot 3:17). Meron corresponds to the sefirah of Tiferet. The Aramaic translation of the word “sheep” is “meroni”. It likewise resembles the word “Maran” (master, lord), similar to “the L-rd of Heaven,” which is a designation of the sefirah of Tiferet. This is also the meaning of the verse in Ezekiel 34:31: [G-d says to Israel:] “And you are My sheep, the sheep of My flock; you are human beings. I am your G-d—the word of the L-rd G-d.” Thus, the word “Maran”, which is an attribute of the sefirah of Tiferet, has a mispar katan equal to that of the word “emet” (truth), which equals 9. If we add 3, one for each letter, and another 1—the kollel for the word itself—we arrive at 13, corresponding to the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, as explained above. It is well known that the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron, the burial place of the Patriarchs, is an underground entrance to Gan Eden. This is hinted at in the account of Abraham’s purchase of the cave (Genesis 23:16): “And Abraham weighed out to Ephron the silver of which he had spoken in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, current with the merchant,” when he paid a sum of money called “ova’ir le-socher” — (currency in circulation). These words have the same gematria as the phrase “orach le-Gan” (a path to the Garden). This is also the numerical value of the word “חצר” — chatzer — (inner courtyard), suggesting that the cave is in Gan Eden, just as an inner courtyard is attached to a house. The gematria of the phrase “ova’ir le-socher” is 570, hinting that anyone who lives in Hebron should be assured that when he dies and is buried, his soul will be worthy of entering the subterranean Garden of Eden directly, without delay and without any trouble or hardship. The word “teka” (to pitch or set up) is mentioned twice in the Torah. The first time is in Genesis 31:25: “And Jacob pitched (teka) his tent on the mountain.” The second time is in the same passage: “And Laban, together with his brothers, pitched his tent on Mount Gilead.” The verse “Jacob pitched his tent” refers to his wife, while “on the mountain” refers to the Cave of Machpelah, which consists of two mountains, one atop the other. Two graves are located beneath the lower mountain, and two graves are located on the upper mountain. The gematria of the word “teka” equals that of the phrase “ova’ir le-socher”, meaning that the Cave of Machpelah is the path to the Garden of Eden. As for our father Jacob, he had to pray and bless G-d with all his heart in order to merit being buried in the Cave of Machpelah together with his wife, although everything had been predetermined during the six days of Creation. “And Laban, together with his brothers, pitched his tent…” Laban intended, by using the powers of black magic, to remove Jacob from the world so that he would not be buried in the Cave of Machpelah. He wanted to kill him, “together with his brothers,” referring to Esau and Ishmael. They would then occupy the burial place and control the passage through the cave into Gan Eden. Ishmael, his sons, and the children of Keturah knew that they had a share in our father Abraham. Esau and his descendants had their share in our father Isaac. Had our father Jacob, G-d forbid, not been buried in the Cave of Machpelah, then absolutely no Jew would have been able to pass through this entrance to Gan Eden. The path would have been blocked by the idolaters who cling to Ishmael and Esau; upon entering, they would control the passage into Gan Eden because of their connection to Abraham and Isaac, who were already buried there in the Cave of Machpelah. Our Sages spoke of this in the Passover Haggadah: “In every generation they rise up [against us] … as it is said: ‘An Aramean sought to destroy my father’” (Deuteronomy 26:5). For the same reason, when the angel Samael fought with Jacob, he “touched (teka) the hollow of his thigh.” (Genesis 32:26) Samael’s intention was to destroy Jacob so that he would not be buried in the cave beside Abraham and Isaac. Instead, he wanted Esau and his wife to be buried there. Thankfully, this did not happen. The Almighty immediately healed Jacob, as our holy Sages said: “And Jacob came to Shalem”—he came whole and unharmed—he came to the end [that is, he returned to his father Isaac] whole in body and unharmed. The blessed G-d, in His mercy, thwarted Samael’s plans and placed Jacob in the place of faith, in the cave of which we speak. Now his descendants can follow the path into the Garden of Eden. The word “Safed” has the gematria 570, just like the word “teka”. This means that those who live in Safed are in a more advantageous position than those who live in the other cities of Israel, because Safed is situated at a high elevation, where the air is purer; and one who dies and is buried in Safed has his soul sent directly to the Cave of Machpelah, from where it proceeds to Gan Eden. (Translated from the book “Chesed Le-Avraham” by Rabbi Avraham Azulai, Maayan 3, Nahar 12)