"Lech Lecha" in "Akedat Yitzchak" — 100 Keys to Every Problem

"Lech Lecha" in "Akedat Yitzchak" — 100 Keys to Every Problem

The Zohar HaKadosh reveals to us the secret of the well-known verse from the Torah: "Lech Lecha." In the Torah, Hashem addresses Abraham with this phrase twice. The first time was when He commanded him to leave his home and set out for the land He would show him: - "Vayomer Ado-nai el Avram: lech-lecha me'artzecha u-mimoladtecha u-mi-beit avicha el ha-aretz asher ar'eka" — (And G-d said to Avram: "Go forth from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.") (Bereishit 12:1) The second time was during Abraham's trial: - "Vayomer: kach na et bincha et yechidecha asher ahavta et Yitzchak ve-lech-lecha el eretz ha-Moriah ve-ha'alehu sham le'olah al achad heharim asher omar eilecha" — (And He said: "Take your son, your only son, whom you love, Yitzchak, and go to the land of Moriah; there, on one of the mountains that I will point out to you, offer him as an elevation-offering.") (Bereishit 22:2) Both times, the call of "Lech Lecha" was life-changing for Abraham. The Zohar HaKadosh reveals that the gematria of "Lech Lecha" is 100. These are the very 100 keys that open every locked gate. The Mekubalim teach that by repeating "Lech Lecha" seven times with kavanah, one can unlock 700 sealed doors and resolve 700 seemingly insoluble problems that have reached a dead end. We know of the 15 Keys of Heichal Ratzon (the Palace of Desires). At the end of the Shema Yisrael prayer, following the twice-repeated phrase "Ado-nai Eloheichem Emet," come the 15 affirmations of the Shema: - "Ve-yatziv, ve-nachon, ve-kayam, ve-yashar, ve-ne'eman, ve-ahuv, ve-chaviv, ve-nechmad, ve-na'im, ve-nora, ve-adir, u-metukan, u-mekubal, ve-tov, ve-yafeh." These 15 vavs, recited with kavanah, are the 15 keys that open the doors of one's desires. But the prayer of "Akedat Yitzchak" — the account of Abraham's greatest trial — is made up of 100 keys with which any locked door can be opened.  

Different Minhagim for Reciting "Akedat Yitzchak"

1. Reciting "Akedat Yitzchak" 3 times during Shacharit breaks the iron locks of the Gates of Prayer and pierces several firmaments; 2. Reciting "Akedat Yitzchak" 7 times with kavanah and tears, together with prayers before and after "Akedat Yitzchak," as explained by the Mekubal Rabbi Avraham Hamoy in his book "Imalet Nafsho," is the most powerful segula for shinu'i mazal (changing one's mazal for the better) and ptichat hasimot (removing blockages). Then middat ha-Rachamim prevails over all judgments. 3. Reciting "Akedat Yitzchak" 11 times — corresponding to the dismemberment of the 11 parts of the ram entangled in four bushes (the four exiles) — destroys the 11 klipot of impurity. 4. According to the Mekubalim, it is beneficial to recite "Parashat Balak" after "Akedat Yitzchak" — to combine gevurah, represented by "Akedat Yitzchak," with chesed, represented by Parashat "Balak," in which all the curses directed at Am Yisrael (chas ve-shalom) are transformed into blessings. Rabbeinu Chida teaches that a person who recites "Akedat Yitzchak" binds all the judgments against him and protects himself from misfortune. The Zohar HaKadosh says that when Abraham raised the knife over Yitzchak, an angel appeared and said: "Al tishlach yadcha el ha-na'ar ve-al ta'as lo me'umah" — (Do not raise your hand against the boy, and do not do anything to him) — and that this same angel appears each time over a person who recites "Akedat Yitzchak" and likewise declares that no harm should come to that person.   (Based on the teachings of Rav Gaon Yitzchak Cohen (a student of "Matok Mi-Dvash") and Rav Yisrael Yakobov)