Bread, salt, dreams,...13,78, flood, kindness, pity, the wisdom

So what is the connection between all of these different entities? The ח ל מ

מלכיצדק

Trying to get some type of understanding of this mysterious figure I started with looking for some other key terms of 294.. And from to try and build an understanding a narrative..

ויעש אלהים את שני המארת הגדלים את המאור הגדל לממשלת היום ואת המאור הקטן לממשלת הלילה ואת הכוכביםמ
great lights..
ויאמר יהוה אלהים הן האדם היה כאחד ממנו לדעת טוב ורע ועתה פן ישלח ידו ולקח גם מעץ החיים ואכל וחי לעלם
Man will be like one of US?
וכוש ילד את נמרד הוא החל להיות גבר בארץ
Nimrod.
וילך אברם כאשר דבר אליו יהוה וילך אתו לוט ואברם בן חמש שנים ושבעים שנה בצאתו מחרןב
Abraham and Lot
ויהי אחרי הדברים האלה ויגד לאברהם לאמר הנה ילדה מלכה גם הוא בנים לנחור אחיך
Nachor
לולי אלהי אבי אלהי אברהם ופחד יצחק היה לי כי עתה ריקם שלחתני את עניי ואת יגיע כפי ראה אלהים ויוכח אמש
G-d of Avraham...

Malchizedek - Mysterious King and Priest

Malchizedek appears in Breishis 14:18, where he comes to greet Avraham after the battle of the 5 kings vs. the 4 kings.  His role is somewhat unclear, but he is clearly someone of great importance.  He is introduced as both King of Shalem and Priest to G-d the Most High.  Some sources say that his actual identity was Shem, son of Noach.  The 3 pesukim concerning Malchizedek are as follows:

יח  וּמַלְכִּי-צֶדֶק מֶלֶךְ שָׁלֵם, הוֹצִיא לֶחֶם וָיָיִן; וְהוּא כֹהֵן, לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן.

יט  וַיְבָרְכֵהוּ, וַיֹּאמַר:  בָּרוּךְ אַבְרָם לְאֵל עֶלְיוֹן, קֹנֵה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ.

כ  וּבָרוּךְ אֵל עֶלְיוֹן, אֲשֶׁר-מִגֵּן צָרֶיךָ בְּיָדֶךָ; וַיִּתֶּן-לוֹ מַעֲשֵׂר, מִכֹּל.

This is the only explicit mention of him in the Torah, but there are a lot of midrashic materials about him.  He is the first to refer to G-d as אֵ-ל עֶלְיוֹן, and Avraham is obviously impacted by this because he immediately mirrors Malchizedek's phrasing a few pesukim later:

כב  וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְרָם, אֶל-מֶלֶךְ סְדֹם:  הֲרִמֹתִי יָדִי אֶל-יְהוָה אֵל עֶלְיוֹן, קֹנֵה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ.


The Rabbis taught that Melchizedek handed down Adam's robes to Abram (Numbers Rabbah 4:8).


Zechariah experienced a vision of "4 craftsmen" appearing to him (Zechariah 2:3):

ג  וַיַּרְאֵנִי יְהוָה, אַרְבָּעָה חָרָשִׁים.

The gemara in Sukkah 52b expounds:

And the Lord showed me four craftsmen. Who are these ‘four craftsmen’? — R. Hana b. Bizna citing R. Simeon Hasida replied: The Messiah the son of David, the Messiah the son of Joseph, Elijah and the Righteous Priest.


In Tehillim 110:4, it states:

ד  נִשְׁבַּע יְהוָה, וְלֹא יִנָּחֵם--    אַתָּה-כֹהֵן לְעוֹלָם;
עַל-דִּבְרָתִי,    מַלְכִּי-צֶדֶק.

4 The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent: 'Thou art a priest for ever after the manner of Melchizedek.'

Tron to the rescue..

Apart from their opposition to Moses there are other legends about these two Egyptian sorcerers; it was said that during the end of their days they had necessary occult knowledge to embark on a journey to the Judeo-Christian heavens. They were not welcomed and the angels of the first few heavens fought them vigorously but they could not evict them due to the potent talismans that were worn by the wizards. As they entered the fourth heaven they were met by Michael and Gabriel; legends say that the battle was very evenly balanced, but in the end it was the angels who had to fall back. Upon entering the fifth heaven they were met by none other than Metatron, who did not come at them with defiance or anger, but appeared accommodating, considering the circumstances; after conversing for a short time the angel was successful in convincing Jannes and Jambres to remove their talismans, leaving them thus vulnerable. Metatron was quick to act and threw them out of heaven with a wave of his hand. It is said that they lost all memory of the event after

Bilaam's "Two Youths"

The pasuk references 2 youths accompanying Bilaam:

כב  וַיִּחַר-אַף אֱלֹהִים, כִּי-הוֹלֵךְ הוּא, וַיִּתְיַצֵּב מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה בַּדֶּרֶךְ, לְשָׂטָן לוֹ; וְהוּא רֹכֵב עַל-אֲתֹנוֹ, וּשְׁנֵי נְעָרָיו עִמּוֹ.

From the Jewish Encyclopedia:

JANNES AND JAMBRES (more correctly Mambres, ; also , Yoḥanai and Mamre):

Names of two legendary wizards of Pharaoh "who withstood Moses" (II Tim. iii. 8) by imitating "with their enchantments" the works of Moses and Aaron, though they were defeated (Ex. vii. 11, viii. 7). According to rabbinical tradition they were the two chiefs of the magicians at the court of Pharaoh who foretold the birth of Moses, "the destroyer of the land of Egypt," thereby causing the cruel edicts of Pharaoh (Soṭah 11a; Sanh. 106a). They said to Moses when he performed his miracles with the water and the rod: "Dost thou wish to introduce magic into Egypt, the native land of the magic art?" (Men. 85a). According to Midrash Yelammedenu, Ki Tissa (Ex. xxxii.), they were among "the mixed multitude that went up with Israel from Egypt" (Ex. xii. 38) and aided in the making of the golden calf. They were the "two youths" (A. and R. V. "servants") that accompanied Balaam on his travels when commissioned to curse Israel (Targ. i. to Num. xxii. 22). They flew up into the air before the sword of Phinehas and made themselves invisible, until, by the power of the Ineffable Name, they were caught and slain (Zohar, Balaḳ, 194; comp. Targ. Yer. to Num. xxxi. 8).
Numenius the Pythagorean, quoted by Eusebius ("Præparatio Evangelica," ix. 8), relates after Artapanus (see Freudenthal, "Alexander Polyhistor," 1875, p. 173) that "Jannes and Jambres, the most powerful Egyptian magicians, dispersed the plagues which Moses (Musæus) had brought upon Egypt." In the third century the tomb of Jannes and Jambres was shown in Egypt; Christian saints knew it as a place where the evil demons could be consulted for magic purposes (see the story of Macarius in Palladius, "Historia Lausiaca"; Fabricius, "Codex Pseudepigraphus Vet. Test." i. 181, ii. 106-111). Jannes and Jambres are the subjects of many legendary tales, one of which is presented in a Greek work entitled "Pœnitentia Jannis et Mambre," counted among the Apocrypha in Pope Gelasius' "Decretum," and referred to by Origen (to Matt. xxvii. 9). These legends seem to have been known also to such pagan writers as Pliny and Apuleius; Pliny ("Historia Naturalis," xxxi. 11) mentions Moses, Jannes, and Jotape (Rotape?) among the Jewish magicians, and Apuleius ("Apologia," xc.) mentions Moses and Jannes among the world's great magicians.
Regarding the names, various etymologies have been proposed. Ewald ("Gesch." i., pt. ii. 128), Lauth ("Moses der Hebräer," p. 77), and Freudenthal (l.c.) believe them to have been derived from the Egyptian; Steiner (Schenkel, "Bibel-Lexicon") attempts to find for them a Hebrew origin; Geiger ("Urschrift," p. 474) considers the sons of Jambri as Amorites (comp. I Macc. ix. 36; see Kohut, "Aruch Completum"). Jastrow ("Dict.") and Levy ("Neuhebr. Wörterb.") each offer equally untenable explanations. The fact that a demon belonging to the class of Lilith, or a sorceress named Yoḥane bat Reṭibi (), was greatly dreaded in Talmudical times (Soṭah 22a), and that Abraham's concubine Keturah (believed to have been familiar with magic) was also known as "Yoḥane" (Zeb. 62b; but see Bacher, "Ag. Tan." i. 357; 2d ed., p. 350), seems to throw some light upon the names "Jannes" and "Jotape" in Pliny; while the name "Mambre" appears to be correctly identified with (= "the rebel"; Levy, l.c.).

Sarah, hagar, yitzchak, 208

From the Ari HaKodesh
Know that Sarah and Hagar correspond to the brain and its membranes, and just as the membranes precede the brain, so Hagar gave birth before Sarah…. Indeed, the gematria of Hagar [הגר ] is 208, the same as the gematria of Isaac [יצחק ], both of them represent judgment. For the membranes are harsh judgments. The ancient kings [the sefirot of the World of Chaos] died because they were not sweetened and they were from the root of evil, from Cain. Thus, Sarah placed an evil eye on Hagar’s [first] pregnancy and she miscarried, because that child was only from the aspect of evil…. Sarah wanted to sweeten [Hagar’s second pregnancy] with goodness and to augment the good and submit the evil, and so Abraham told her: “[Here is your maidservant,] do with her whatever you see to be good,” and the stress here is on the “good.” This was the reason that Sarah tormented Hagar, in order to submit the evil in her and to strengthen the good. And this is also why the angel told Hagar, “Return to your mistress and be tormented by her.”

balak, bilamm, abraham, amalek.. my oh my..

i love when we are graced to see our thoughts produce fruits.. saw this piece, this is just the first part..
From the Ari HaKodesh..

The Magician and the Sorcerer Balak, son of Tzipor, saw all that Israel did to the Amorites. This parashah focuses on two principal characters, Balak and Balaam. Sha’ar HaPesukim, parashat Balak I see fit to explain here the characters of Balak and Balaam, who were unrivaled magicians and sages. As our sages have said, in one respect Balak was inferior to Balaam, and in another Balaam was inferior to Balak. The Zohar also speaks at length about Balak and Balaam, noting that the former is called “Balak the son of Tzipor” because of his wisdom; he performed magic using a certain bird. Tzipor in Hebrew means “bird”; thus, “Balak the son of Tzipor” means “Balak, who owed his magical powers to a bird.” We note also their unbounded and unfounded hatred of the Jewish people. No other people exhibited such hatred save Amalek, who also hated the Jewish people greatly. I therefore wish to base the explanation of this matter on the statement of the Zohar that “King David said, ‘For behold, the wicked draw the bow; they aim their arrow….’ Even though this verse…. They said, Amalek means ‘The people [am] that lick [lak],’ i.e., the people that lick their sustenance from us…. Balak means ‘Come [ba] to lick [lak]’…. Balaam means ‘the non- [bal] people [am].’ What letters remain? Those that spell ‘depth’ [omek]. He confused their deep thoughts so that they could not rule, and they did not remain in the world….” Balaam is spelled beit-lamed-ayin-mem. Balak is spelled beit-lamed-kuf. Amalek is spelled ayin-mem-lamed-kuf. The Zohar here notes that the names Balaam, Balak, and Amalek are phonetically inter-related. The first two letters of Balaam and Balak are the same; the last two letters of Balak and Amalek are the same; and the first two letters of Amalek are the same as the last two letters of Balaam. Furthermore, the letters of the names Balak and Balaam that are not common to both spell Amalek. These phenomena will be used later. Know that all these things are based on the transmigration of the souls of these nations and the significance of their origins. Amalek is the waste product of evil that was separated out of the soul of Cain, the son of Adam. As we will see, there was a good and an evil aspect to Cain’s soul. The evil was separated from the good and became the source of Amalek. This is one of the five types of spirituality embodied in the mixed multitude that became intermixed with the Jews. These five types were the Amalekites, the Refaim, etc., as mentioned in the Zohar that in the mixed multitude there was an admixture of the evil of the souls of both Cain and Abel. Therefore, Amalek hated Israel greatly, as it is stated further on in Scripture, that the Kenites follow the Amalekites. As far as I can tell, this refers to the fact that in Balaam’s prophecies concerning what will happen in the messianic future, his prophecy concerning the Kenites follows his prophecy concerning the Amalekites. The Kenites (Keini: kuf-yud-nun-yud) are evidently etymologically related to Cain (Kayin: kuf-yud-nun). For the good in Cain was separated out into Jethro, who is called “Chever the Kenite,” i.e., who was separated out of Cain, that is, from the evil of Cain, which then became Amalek. Spiritually, thus, Jethro derives from the good part of Cain while Amalek derives from the evil part of Cain. The fact that Jethro is called “Chever the Kenite” alludes to his spiritual descent from Cain, just as the juxtaposition of Amalek and the Kenites in Balaam’s prophecies alludes to the spiritual descent of Amalek from Cain. Balak and Balaam both comprised both evils: the evil of Cain and the evil of Abel. Therefore both their names contain the letters beit-lamed from Abel. As was explained previously, on the verse “And he saw the angel of G-d in the heart of (belabat) the fire within the bush,” the only part of Abel that was rectified was the first letter of his name, the hei, this being the last letter of the Name Havayah. It signifies the good of Abel, and it was given to Moses. We have seen previously that Moses was a reincarnation of Abel. We see here that it was specifically the hei of Abel’s name (Hevel) that became reincarnated in Moses. continued at http://www.askmoses.com/en/article/189,2474530/Parashat-Balak.html#article_email_loc

3 traits

From Rabbi rosenfeld
"Whoever possesses the following three traits is of the students of our father Abraham, and [whoever possesses] a different three traits is of the students of the wicked Balaam. [Those who have] a good eye, a humble spirit and a 'lowly' soul [are] of the students of our father Abraham. [Those who have] an evil eye, an arrogant spirit and a desirous (lit., 'wide') soul [are] of the students of the wicked Balaam. What is the difference between the students of our father Abraham and the wicked Balaam? The students of our father Abraham enjoy this world and inherit the World to Come, as it is said, 'There is for those who love Me to inherit [in the World to Come], and their storehouses [in this world] I will fill' (Proverbs 8:21). But the students of the wicked Balaam inherit Gehinnom (Hell) and descend into the pit of destruction, as it is said, 'And You, G-d, will bring them down to the pit of destruction, men of blood and deceit; they will not halve their lives. But I will trust in You' (Psalms 55:24)."

This week's mishna contrasts the qualities of Abraham with those of Balaam, finding them as antithetical as can be. We read of Balaam in Numbers 22-24. He was a Gentile prophet of G-d who lived during the time of the Exodus. However, rather than using his prophetic spirit as a tool for Divine awareness and communion, he perverted it into a weapon to be used for his own selfish ends. He would use his extrasensory powers to place curses and destruction upon others -- for the right price, that is. Heads of state would regularly hire him to curse enemy armies and nations.

In Numbers 22 we read of Balak, King of Moav, who hired Balaam to curse Israel and drive them away. G-d, however, foiled their plans, turning Balaam's curses into blessings.

The differences between Abraham and Balaam are evident in the stories of their lives. Whereas Abraham refers to himself as dust and ashes (Genesis 18:27), Balaam makes every effort to avoid admitting his shortcomings (see the commentator Rashi to Numbers 22:13). Whereas Abraham refuses any of the spoils of his battle against the five kings (Genesis 14:23), Balaam's appetite for wealth and pleasures (of all kinds) was insatiable (Rashi to v. 18). In addition, Abraham was of "lowly soul," which Rashi explains to mean he did not consider himself above others. In spite of his greatness, he was quite at home serving strangers and passers-by, waiting on them hand and foot (Genesis 18:1-8) and bowing before the people of Chais (23:6). Balaam, however, with his false air of superiority, exhibited all of the smallness and pettiness of arrogance, insulting and belittling others in vain attempt to inflate his own ego (see for example Rashi to Numbers .22:13 and 23:18).

Last and perhaps most important, Abraham had a good eye. He viewed favorably all of mankind and as we shall see, the entire universe. He admired others for their good qualities and rejoiced over their good fortune. Balaam, however, just did not see the world in a positive light. He was so rankled by lust, jealousy and smallness that he could not look favorably upon the world around him. The "evil eye" of his twisted perception and world view was such that his very stare would bring harm and destruction to the world around him -- a fact he readily exploited to his selfish advantage (Rashi 24:2).

Our mishna presents us with what would seem to be the very simple choice of whose example we should follow. And as the Tiferes Yisrael commentary observes, the decision is not presented to Israel alone. We are not dealing with the 613 commandments -- the possession of the students of *Moses*. We are dealing with the possession of *Abraham's* students -- the simple and wholesome qualities of this "father of a multitude of nations" (Genesis 17:5). It would appear obvious to us which path brings not only spiritual happiness but, as our mishna attests, physical well-being as well.

Yet perhaps our mishna is not so "obvious". A more careful study of the precise evil of Balaam will reveal that his wickedness is not something one naturally and readily rejects out of hand. In fact, in a way it is very much in vogue today. Let us look more closely.

Balaam is actually an intriguing, if unsavory, personality. On the one hand, he was prophet of the L-rd, who both knew G-d and regularly communicated with Him. He clearly knew of the great and mystical forces which direct and invigorate the universe. Could one have a relationship with G-d without recognizing the superiority of the spiritual world over the physical? Yet he lived his life in empty pursuit of the most fleeting of physical pleasures -- in fact misdirecting his spiritual powers towards material gain. Perhaps an ignoramus sees physical pleasure and ignores the world of spirituality which only the discerning eye can see. But how could Balaam be so wise yet so small and shortsighted?

A second issue is that the Sages often contrast Balaam with Abraham, here as well as in many other places. On his way to curse Israel, Balaam, in his anxiousness to perform his wicked deed, saddled his donkey himself, not waiting for a servant to do it for him. To this G-d retorted: "Wicked one! Abraham their father already preceded you (on his way to sacrifice Isaac), as it says 'And Abraham arose in the morning and saddled his donkey' (Genesis 22:3)" (Midrash Tanchuma 8).

What do the Sages have in mind with the comparison between Abraham and Balaam? We know, of course, that the one was good while the other evil. But there must be some common denominator between these two individuals -- that in which Abraham excelled Balaam failed. What exactly is it?

A final question is based upon a fascinating passage in the Talmud (Brachos 7a). In Numbers 24:16 Balaam refers to himself as one who "knows the knowledge of the Most High." To this the Talmud asks, How could he know the knowledge of G-d above? He did not even know the knowledge of his own animal! (He did not know why his donkey refused to follow his orders -- Numbers 22.) Rather, answers the Talmud, he knew the one moment in the day in which G-d becomes angry (and he attempted to curse Israel at that precise moment).

Akedah and Story of Bilaam - Striking Lingual Similarities

The following are certain passages concerning the Akedah (Breishis, Chapter 22) and the story of Bilaam's attempt to curse the Jews (Bamidbar, Chapters 22-24).  There are many identical phrases and many with slight variations:

Breishis 22:3:

ג  וַיַּשְׁכֵּם אַבְרָהָם בַּבֹּקֶר, וַיַּחֲבֹשׁ אֶת-חֲמֹרוֹ, וַיִּקַּח אֶת-שְׁנֵי נְעָרָיו אִתּוֹ, וְאֵת יִצְחָק בְּנוֹ; וַיְבַקַּע, עֲצֵי עֹלָה, וַיָּקָם וַיֵּלֶךְ, אֶל-הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר-אָמַר-לוֹ הָאֱלֹהִים.

Bamidbar 22:21:

כא  וַיָּקָם בִּלְעָם בַּבֹּקֶר, וַיַּחֲבֹשׁ אֶת-אֲתֹנוֹ; וַיֵּלֶךְ, עִם-שָׂרֵי מוֹאָב.

Again, Breishis 22:3:

ג  וַיַּשְׁכֵּם אַבְרָהָם בַּבֹּקֶר, וַיַּחֲבֹשׁ אֶת-חֲמֹרוֹ, וַיִּקַּח אֶת-שְׁנֵי נְעָרָיו אִתּוֹ, וְאֵת יִצְחָק בְּנוֹ; וַיְבַקַּע, עֲצֵי עֹלָה, וַיָּקָם וַיֵּלֶךְ, אֶל-הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר-אָמַר-לוֹ הָאֱלֹהִים.

Bamidbar 22:22:

כב  וַיִּחַר-אַף אֱלֹהִים, כִּי-הוֹלֵךְ הוּא, וַיִּתְיַצֵּב מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה בַּדֶּרֶךְ, לְשָׂטָן לוֹ; וְהוּא רֹכֵב עַל-אֲתֹנוֹ, וּשְׁנֵי נְעָרָיו עִמּוֹ.

Breishis 22:11:

יא  וַיִּקְרָא אֵלָיו מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה, מִן-הַשָּׁמַיִם, וַיֹּאמֶר, אַבְרָהָם אַבְרָהָם; וַיֹּאמֶר, הִנֵּנִי.

Bamidbar 22:32:

לב  וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו, מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה, עַל-מָה הִכִּיתָ אֶת-אֲתֹנְךָ, זֶה שָׁלוֹשׁ רְגָלִים; הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי יָצָאתִי לְשָׂטָן, כִּי-יָרַט הַדֶּרֶךְ לְנֶגְדִּי.

Breishis 22:12:

יב  וַיֹּאמֶר, אַל-תִּשְׁלַח יָדְךָ אֶל-הַנַּעַר, וְאַל-תַּעַשׂ לוֹ, מְאוּמָה:  כִּי עַתָּה יָדַעְתִּי, כִּי-יְרֵא אֱלֹהִים אַתָּה, וְלֹא חָשַׂכְתָּ אֶת-בִּנְךָ אֶת-יְחִידְךָ, מִמֶּנִּי.

Bamidbar 22:34:

לד  וַיֹּאמֶר בִּלְעָם אֶל-מַלְאַךְ יְהוָה, חָטָאתִי--כִּי לֹא יָדַעְתִּי, כִּי אַתָּה נִצָּב לִקְרָאתִי בַּדָּרֶךְ; וְעַתָּה אִם-רַע בְּעֵינֶיךָ, אָשׁוּבָה לִּי.

Again, Breishis 22:12:

יב  וַיֹּאמֶר, אַל-תִּשְׁלַח יָדְךָ אֶל-הַנַּעַר, וְאַל-תַּעַשׂ לוֹ, מְאוּמָה:  כִּי עַתָּה יָדַעְתִּי, כִּי-יְרֵא אֱלֹהִים אַתָּה, וְלֹא חָשַׂכְתָּ אֶת-בִּנְךָ אֶת-יְחִידְךָ, מִמֶּנִּי.

Bamidbar 22:38:

לח  וַיֹּאמֶר בִּלְעָם אֶל-בָּלָק, הִנֵּה-בָאתִי אֵלֶיךָ--עַתָּה, הֲיָכֹל אוּכַל דַּבֵּר מְאוּמָה:  הַדָּבָר, אֲשֶׁר יָשִׂים אֱלֹהִים בְּפִי--אֹתוֹ אֲדַבֵּר.

Breishis 22:4:

ד  בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי, וַיִּשָּׂא אַבְרָהָם אֶת-עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא אֶת-הַמָּקוֹם--מֵרָחֹק.

Bamidbar 24:2:

ב  וַיִּשָּׂא בִלְעָם אֶת-עֵינָיו, וַיַּרְא אֶת-יִשְׂרָאֵל, שֹׁכֵן, לִשְׁבָטָיו; וַתְּהִי עָלָיו, רוּחַ אֱלֹהִים.

I'm not sure what to make of this, but there clearly seems to be some kind of connection between these incidents.

What Really Happened to Yitzchak at the Akedah?

Rabbi Louis Ginzberg touches on this concept in The Legends of the Jews, Volume I, and it is articulated beautifully in a post from curiousjew.blogspot.com.  Here is the post in its entirety:

Isaac Died: The Alternative Version of Akedas Yitzchak

The Last Trial is a fantastic book. (And it's available at YU)

It is the English translation of a work (actually, a sixty-seven page introduction to a poem titled 'The Akedah,' written by Rabbi Ephraim ben Jacob of Bonn) by Shalom Spiegel titled Me-Aggadot ha-Akedah, literally, "From the Aggadot on the Binding of Isaac." Anyone able to read beautiful, rich Hebrew ought to read it in its original form. With that in mind, I still owe the translator, Judah Goldin, a debt of gratitude- I would never have been able to read this book otherwise.

Spiegel traces the various ideas, legends and lore that grew up around the Akedah, the Binding of Isaac, and notes their sources and interpretations, including an approach that I very briefly touched upon in 11th grade and always wanted to know more about- that Isaac died.

~

The question begins with the famous verse, Genesis 22: 19.

יט וַיָּשָׁב אַבְרָהָם אֶל-נְעָרָיו, וַיָּקֻמוּ וַיֵּלְכוּ יַחְדָּו אֶל-בְּאֵר שָׁבַע; וַיֵּשֶׁב אַבְרָהָם, בִּבְאֵר שָׁבַע. {פ}

19 So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba. {P}

Avraham returned to the young men.
But where was Isaac?

One of the interpretations was that he was in Paradise. And why was he in Paradise? He was being healed. Why was he being healed? Because of his wound. What wound?

after the incident on Mount Moriah: "And the angels bore him to Paradise, where he tarried three years, to be healed from the wound inflicted on him by Abraham on the occasion of the Akedah." [Yalkut Reubeni, Wa-Yera (Maggid, Toledot).]

Avraham hurt Yitzchak? Isaac was being healed "from the incision made in him by his father when he began to offer him up as a sacrifice?" [Hadar Zekenim 10b (=Bet ha-Midrash, ed Jellinek, V. p 157) and Minhat Yehudah, Toledot, Gen 25: 27; cf. Hizkuni ad Gen 22:19.]

Apparently the answer is yes.

But that is only a wound. I said that Isaac died. Well, then, how did he die? There are several different midrashim as to how this occurred.

This is the version in Midrash Lekah Tob, and it is set down in connection with the verse (Gen 31: 42), "The God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac"- "for Isaac was in the grip of fear as he lay bound on top of the altar, and his soul flew out of him, and the Holy One, blessed be He, restored it to him by means of the dewdrops for Resurrection of the dead." (32)

So here we see an approach that Isaac died of fright and was resurrected.

But then we find a:

small Midrash on the Prayer in Shibbole ha-Leket. On the surface it seems that here have been assembled only the different haggadic strokes we have listed and outlined thus far; but its language clearly reveals that something new has been added, and now the profile of the whole midrash is suddenly transformed in a manner we could never have anticipated or dreamed of from our reading of Scripture: "When Father Isaac was bound on the altar and reduced to ashes and his sacrificial dust was cast on Mount Moriah, the Holy One, blessed be He, immediately brought upon him dew and revived him. (33)

The Midrash goes on to say that this is the reason that the "ministering angels began to recite, Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who quickens the dead."

In this case, it appears that Isaac was burnt- he was reduced to ashes.

Note that Avraham does not necessarily slay him here. As Spiegel takes care to point out, if one operates under the assumption that Avraham did everything in accord with the Torah, and later on the Torah gives very specific instructions as to the bringing of a korban or sacrifice, specifically in Leviticus 1: 7:

וְנָתְנוּ בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן, אֵשׁ--עַל-הַמִּזְבֵּחַ; וְעָרְכוּ עֵצִים, עַל-הָאֵשׁ.

7 And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar, and lay wood in order upon the fire.

Note the order: First one places fire on the altar, then wood.

Similarly, by Avraham- Avraham would have lit the fire, then placed wood, and then placed Isaac upon the wood. This idea is completely corroborated by Genesis 22: 9

ט וַיָּבֹאוּ, אֶל-הַמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר אָמַר-לוֹ הָאֱלֹהִים, וַיִּבֶן שָׁם אַבְרָהָם אֶת-הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, וַיַּעֲרֹךְ אֶת-הָעֵצִים; וַיַּעֲקֹד, אֶת-יִצְחָק בְּנוֹ, וַיָּשֶׂם אֹתוֹ עַל-הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, מִמַּעַל לָעֵצִים.

9 And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built the altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood.

In this case, then, Spiegel suggests,

when Abraham offered up his sacrifice in accordance with the proper order for making a whole burnt offering, and he did with the wood what is done in the propr laying-out of the sacrificial woodpile, wood on top of the fire, and he put his son "on top of the wood." And if in fact he did not do anything to the lad and did not remove him speedily from the wood upon the fire that was burning, why, in a twinkling the whole pile went up in a blaze and the flames of fire had Isaac to themselves and "he was reduced to ashes" and dust. (36)

This is a completely plausible approach- in this case Abraham does not actively kill Isaac, he does not cut him or hurt him, but Isaac dies nonetheless because he is burned to death.

However, Spiegel now cites in a footnote the whole and correct version of this Midrash:

And now, thanks to a Cambridge University Library manuscript (Or. 1080, Box I: 48), we learn that the Shibbole ha-Leket reading is indeed abridged. Perhaps either R. Zedekiah bar Abraham delli Mansi or some pious soul of an earlier generation was exercising restraint- for reasons similar to those which prompted R. Isaac Aboab to omit that haggadah entirely from beginning to end. For this MS reads: "When Abraham bound his son Isaac on the altar, and slew him and burned him, (the lad) was reduced to ashes, and his ashes were scattered on Mount Moriah; then the Holy One, blessed be He, brought down life-giving dew and revived him [...] See S. Spiegel in the Abraham Weiss Jubilee Volume (New York, 1964), pp. 553-566.]

In this case, Isaac was slaughtered, and Avraham slew him.

Now look to Ta'anis 16a:

ולמה נותנין אפר בראש כל אחד ואחד פליגי בה ר' לוי בר חמא ור' חנינא חד אמר הרי אנו חשובין לפניך כאפר וחד אמר כדי שיזכור לנו אפרו של יצחק

Why now are ashes placed on the head of each and every one (of the participants)? There is a difference of opinion in this matter on the part of R. Levi bar Hama and R. Hanina. One says (All the participants put ashes on their heads, to indicate thereby,) Before Thee we are all [like dust and] ashes; and the other says (That is done) so that He might call to mind for our sake Isaac's ashes.

Isaac's ashes, did you say! What ashes are these- are they metaphorical ashes, is Isaac likened to ash; what does this mean?

But no! For see, later in Zevachim 62a-

אלא מזבח מנא ידעי אמר רבי אלעזר ראו מזבח בנוי ומיכאל השר הגדול עומד ומקריב עליו ור' יצחק נפחא אמר אפרו של יצחק ראו שמונח באותו מקום

Come now, listen: When the generation that returned from the Babylonian Exile began to build the Second Temple, "How did they know what to do with the altar? Said R' Eleazar: They beheld the altar all built and Michael, the Great Prince, stood by it sacrificing on it. But R. Isaac Napha said: They beheld Isaac's ashes, that these lay on that spot." (44)

So these are real ashes, very real, the foundation of the altar. When God is angry, He looks upon Isaac's ashes as a reminder, and forbears from meting out just punishment.

But this is not all- because another interpretation states that Isaac left one quarter of his blood on top of the altar. (This is from the earliest selections of Mekilta de-R. Simeon ben Yohai)

To quote directly,

This is the kind of midrashic exegesis that can blow the top off everything said in the Torah about the Akedah event: "A quarter of blood" did you say! So then, the father did indeed lay hand and knife to the lad, and did do what he did to extract from him a quarter of blood, which is the amount required to keep a man alive, "as that galilean taught in Rab Hisda's presence- The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Into you h ave I put a quarter of blood, on the subject of blood I have cautioned you, etc. If you obey them, fine; otherwise I'll have your lives." If, therefore, Isaac gave a quarter log of his blood on the altar, then evidently Abraham did not refrain from this mighty strange action, and wound he did, and possibly with his own hands did slaughter his son. Or in Abraham ibn Ezra's language, in his commentary (Gen 22:19) : The father acted "contrary to Scripture," "for he slaughtered and abandoned" Isaac on the altar. (47)

In fact, in a conversation with Avraham brought down in several places but perhaps most accesibly in Beraishis Rabbah p. 90, Isaac says, "Father, do not be distressed. Come now and carry out the will of your Father in heaven: may it be His will that a quarter of my blood serve as an atonement for Israel." (49)

The idea of Isaac's offering up his blood is incredibly symbolic, especially when one learns that an alternative interpretation to Exodus 12: 23, " For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when He seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side-posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you," is referencing God's seeing Isaac's blood. In fact, in Genesis 22: 14, Avraham titles the place of the Akedah, 'The Lord Seeth,' again a reference to God's seeing Isaac's blood.

like the haggadah on "the ashes of Isaac," "the blood of Isaac's Akedah" is carefully preserved, forever to serve as atonement and advocate of Israel in every generation. And whenever Isaac's descendants are in straits, He, as it were, beholds the blood of his Akedah, and pity fills Him so that He turns away the wrath of His anger from His city and His people. That is what we have read in the annals of David's reign, when plague and pestilence broke loose in the Land: "And as he was about to destroy, the Lord beheld, and He repented Him of the evil" (I Chron. 21: 15). What did he behold? He beheld the blood of Isaac's Akedah"- and immediately His compassion conquers His anger and He redeems and delivers. (58)

So now you want to question- but what about the ram? Wasn't the ram brought in place of Isaac? Not necessarily. The word used in the pasuk is "tachat" meaning under or "in place of," but it can also mean after. Those who hold that Isaac was sacrificed and then resurrected believe that the ram was sacrificed afterwards.

The firm idea, belief and midrash that Isaac died and was resurrected has been watered-down, with the inclusion of tentative "as thoughs." It is as though Isaac's ashes are piled on the altar, but they are not actual. Of course, there are commentaries who completely hold by the literal interpretation of Scripture, in which case this makes sense. But there is also a sense of mystery...as though people would become confused if they knew the truth, and that is why only the finalities have been given- that Isaac did survive, and that Avraham passed the test. What happened before then is not mentioned or often taught, I think- there may be good reason as to why.

*

I have given you only the very tip of the iceberg when it comes to this idea, and The Last Trial is so beautiful, scholarly, logical and clever that it would be very sad if you took this post as a replacement for reading the work itself. So please, please read the book, whether in the original Hebrew or the translated English- it's fascinating and covers far more than this particular idea, referencing all kinds of thought with regard to the Akedah.

An Aside: You will note that Isaac was "like one going out to be burned and carrying on his own shoulders the wood for his pyre" (Tanhuma, ed Buber, Wa-Yera, 46, p. 114). You will also note that he left a quarter of his blood upon the altar, he was resurrected, and either his blood or his ashes act as redemption for the Jews, for God looks at them and refrains from carrying out punishment. Those who mock Christianity and consider it ridiculous or implausible because of the idea that Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected are incorrect. The religion may be flawed, but it is not wrong because of this idea, for as you see, we too believe in it, before they ever did.

Joshua and the Stones of Remembrance

Other than the Shoham Stones, there is only one other place in Tanach that there is reference to stones serving as a remembrance, and in that instance, identically to the Avnei Shoham, it is also used in the context of "זִכָּרֹן, לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל".  The following is from Joshua 4:7, referencing the mysterious 12 stones removed from the Jordan River at the time of the splitting of the Jordan:

ז  וַאֲמַרְתֶּם לָהֶם, אֲשֶׁר נִכְרְתוּ מֵימֵי הַיַּרְדֵּן מִפְּנֵי אֲרוֹן בְּרִית-יְהוָה--בְּעָבְרוֹ בַּיַּרְדֵּן, נִכְרְתוּ מֵי הַיַּרְדֵּן; וְהָיוּ הָאֲבָנִים הָאֵלֶּה לְזִכָּרוֹן, לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל--עַד-עוֹלָם.

This entire story in Joshua 4 is very interesting and cryptic.  The following is the english translation of 4:1 through 4:11, referencing the 12 stones removed from the Jordan River, and the additional 12 stones placed in the Jordan River by Joshua:

1 And it came to pass, when all the nation were clean passed over the Jordan, that the LORD spoke unto Joshua, saying:

2 'Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,

3 and command ye them, saying: Take you hence out of the midst of the Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood, twelve stones made ready, and carry them over with you, and lay them down in the lodging-place, where ye shall lodge this night.

4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man;

5 and Joshua said unto them: 'Pass on before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel;

6 that this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask in time to come, saying: What mean ye by these stones?

7 then ye shall say unto them: Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off; and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.'

8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of the Jordan, as the LORD spoke unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel; and they carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.

9 Joshua also set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests that bore the ark of the covenant stood; and they are there unto this day.

10 And the priests that bore the ark stood in the midst of the Jordan, until every thing was finished that the LORD commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua; and the people hastened and passed over.

11 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the LORD passed on, and the priests, before the people.

Both the stones referenced in this story of Joshua and the description of the Avnei Shoham deal with individual representation for each of the 12 tribes, remembrance stones and stones serving as a "remembrance to the sons of Israel."

The Shoham Stones

The Kohen Gadol wore two stones on his shoulder plates - each stone had the names of 6 of the 12 tribes.  These stones are introduced as the שְׁתֵּי אַבְנֵי-שֹׁהַם - which has a gematria of 1118.  In Chapter 28 of Shemos, it lists the priestly vestments to be worn during service in the Mishkan.  While the Torah doesn't provide reasons for most of the items worn by the Kohen Gadol, the Torah devotes a pasuk explaining that the Shoham Stones are the "Stones of Remembrance" and makes 2 references to it in the same pasuk (28:12):

יב  וְשַׂמְתָּ אֶת-שְׁתֵּי הָאֲבָנִים, עַל כִּתְפֹת הָאֵפֹד, אַבְנֵי זִכָּרֹן, לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל; וְנָשָׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת-שְׁמוֹתָם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה, עַל-שְׁתֵּי כְתֵפָיו--לְזִכָּרֹן.

It is unclear what is so special about these stones that of all the items the Kohen wears (including other stones in the Choshen), only the Avnei Shoham are the Remembrance Stones.

It's interesting to note the spelling discrepancies between Chapter 28, where Hashem explains to Moshe what the Kohen needs to wear, and Chapter 39, where Betzalel actually makes the clothing.  See the highlighted words below:

Chapter 28:

ט  וְלָקַחְתָּ, אֶת-שְׁתֵּי אַבְנֵי-שֹׁהַם; וּפִתַּחְתָּ עֲלֵיהֶם, שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.

י  שִׁשָּׁה, מִשְּׁמֹתָם, עַל, הָאֶבֶן הָאֶחָת; וְאֶת-שְׁמוֹת הַשִּׁשָּׁה הַנּוֹתָרִים, עַל-הָאֶבֶן הַשֵּׁנִית--כְּתוֹלְדֹתָם.

יא  מַעֲשֵׂה חָרַשׁ, אֶבֶן--פִּתּוּחֵי חֹתָם תְּפַתַּח אֶת-שְׁתֵּי הָאֲבָנִים, עַל-שְׁמֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל; מֻסַבֹּת מִשְׁבְּצוֹת זָהָב, תַּעֲשֶׂה אֹתָם.

יב  וְשַׂמְתָּ אֶת-שְׁתֵּי הָאֲבָנִים, עַל כִּתְפֹת הָאֵפֹד, אַבְנֵי זִכָּרֹן, לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל; וְנָשָׂא אַהֲרֹן אֶת-שְׁמוֹתָם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה, עַל-שְׁתֵּי כְתֵפָיו--לְזִכָּרֹן.


Chapter 39:

ו  וַיַּעֲשׂוּ אֶת-אַבְנֵי הַשֹּׁהַם, מֻסַבֹּת מִשְׁבְּצֹת זָהָב, מְפֻתָּחֹת פִּתּוּחֵי חוֹתָם, עַל-שְׁמוֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.

ז  וַיָּשֶׂם אֹתָם, עַל כִּתְפֹת הָאֵפֹד--אַבְנֵי זִכָּרוֹן, לִבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל:  כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה יְהוָה, אֶת-מֹשֶׁה.

All told, in the otherwise identical words used in both descriptions, there is an extra "Hay" and 4 extra "Vav"s used between Chapter 28 and Chapter 29.

496- malchut-perfect number

Thanks again to Rabbi Ginsberg for this piece
Malchut is the last of the ten sefirot, and the final emotive attribute within Creation (or, more precisely, the power to express one's thoughts and emotions to others).

Malchut appears in the configuration of the sefirot at the bottom of the middle axis, directly beneath yesod, and corresponds in the tzelem Elokim to the "crown" of the procreative organ (the corona in the male; the labia in the female), or to the mouth.

Malchut is associated in the soul with the power of self-expression. Kabbalah identifies three basic "garments" (levushim) of the soul which enable it to achieve expression: "thought" (machshavah), by which the soul is revealed inwardly; and "speech" (dibur) and "deed" (ma'aseh), by which it is revealed outwardly.

Malchut as a whole is often referred to as "the world of speech" insofar as the spoken word represents the essential medium of self-expression, allowing one to not only reveal himself to outer reality but to guide and influence that reality as well. Hence, speech allows one to exercise authority and "kingship," the literal meaning of malchut.

Malchut also serves as the means for establishing an identification with outer reality. Exercising kingship requires utmost sensitivity to the needs of the realm which one seeks to rule. Hence malchut demands that every agent of influence within Creation assume a recipient posture vis a vis the Divine source of all authority, for only then can the ultimate good of the mundane realm be assured.

The soul, in its meditation of Divinity, can only perceive and ascend to the higher sefirot through the "pane" and portal of malchut. "This is the gate to God, the righteous shall enter through it" (Psalms 118:20). In one's devoted service to God this means receiving upon oneself, in total commitment, "the yoke of the kingdom of heaven."

Malchut = 496, the sum of all numbers from 1 to 31. In addition to being a "triangle" (as are as well the two sefirot of tiferet and hod, as described above), 496 is a "perfect number" (a number which equals the sum of all of its divisors. The first four "perfect numbers" are 1, 6, 28, 496). Thus the ten sefirot end (reach their consummation) with a "perfect number."

The union of the last two sefirot, yesod (80) and malchut (496) = 576 = 24 squared.

The beginning, middle and end of the sefirot (all along the middle axis), keter (620), tiferet (1081), and malchut (496) = 2197 = 133.

The sefirah of malchut develops to form the partzuf of Nukva d'Zeir Anpin. Beginning as a single point, Nukva d'Zeir Anpin receives all of its 9 higher sefirot from the individual levels of malchut contained within each of the higher sefirot (the malchut of chochmah becomes the chochmah of malchut, etc.).

The spiritual state identified in Chassidut as corresponding to the sefirah of malchut is that of shiflut (humility).

, 26, the tetrad, the 72, the beginning and the end..י––ה––ו––ה

This is an incredible piece I found about The NAME..
as well as a good intro to sacred geometry and the kabbalistic understanding use and understanding of number as storyteller, mispar as the sefer. The tetrad, the NAME perceived through the triangle, 10, 15, 21,26..the 72... I will let this piece speak for itself..pythagoras was a kabbalist of highest order and understood the wisdom of Chanoch. hmmm just about how similar Chanoch and Chochmah are...

  The Monad is the Father Embracing all that will be.  The Dyad, the form of Difference, and  Mother of Multiplicity.  The Triad, the first actual number,  With Beginning, End, and Mean,  The Tetrad completes the arrangement  Of the Soul and what is seen.  Ancient Tetraktys, Pythagoras' vision divine,  The Decad, a perfect Limit, and Cosmic Paradigm.[1]

The Tetraktys is an equilateral triangle formed from the sequence of the first ten numbers aligned in four rows. It is both a mathematical idea and a metaphysical symbol that embraces within itself in seedlike form the principles of the natural world, the harmony of the cosmos, the ascent to the divine, and the mysteries of the divine realm. So revered was this ancient symbol that it inspired ancient philosophers to swear by the name of the one who brought this gift to humanity--Pythagoras.

I swear by him whom to our mortal race did bring the Tetraktys, of ever-flowing nature, the spring.[2]

Pythagoras was one of the first Greek philosophers. He was born somewhere around 570 B.C.E. on the island of Samos, the eastern region of the ancient Greek world called Ionia. After almost forty years of studying with the greatest spiritual teachers and philosophers of the ancient word and becoming initiated into nearly every ancient mystery rite, Pythagoras went on to form his own philosophical community. He tested his students by various means before they were allowed to join the community, and once admitted, students had to endure a five-year period of silence before being invited to study directly with the philosopher. Though this may appear extreme, we must remember that in the ancient world wisdom and knowledge were not freely shared with people in the liberal manner that is common today. The gifts of wisdom were restricted to those who proved themselves worthy of these gifts through initiations and purifications.

According to his ancient biographer Iamblichus, "what ever is anxiously sought after by the lovers of learning, was brought to light by Pythagoras."[3] It was because of his profound spiritual attainment and great achievements that the following distinction was made: "of rational animals one kind is a God, another man, and another such as Pythagoras."[4] Some Pythagoreans of later generations came to wonder if the sage was the very god Apollo. Pythagoras, however, had a different view of himself. Indeed, when asked whether he was wise [sophos], Pythagoras answered, "No, I am a lover of wisdom [philo-sophos]," and thus the very word and ideal of "philosophy" was born. (For in the philosophical tradition only the gods possess wisdom; humans merely participate in the divine.)

Pythagoras also used difficult mathematical theorems and problems to test and prepare his students for ascent to the divine. It is this use of mathematics in the spiritual development of its students that distinguishes the Pythagorean wisdom tradition from other great traditions. Mathematics was seen as a study that purified the soul from its habitual way of looking at the world and its belief that the physical was ultimate reality. Unlike the practical forms of mathematics we are familiar with today, Pythagoras developed ideal systems of mathematics that functioned as intellectual mandalas that guided the soul to a vision of the structure of heaven.

These mathematical studies demand a number of spiritual practices. For one, the kind of concentration and discipline required in mathematics develops powers of meditation. In Zen koan study, as in mathematics, students must develop the energy of concentration or one-pointedness. But unlike Zen, in which practitioners seek "sudden illumination," mathematics leads its students to understand its ideas step by step, and this prepares the mind to receive understanding and insight. Pythagoras recognized that all learning (mathemata in Greek) is an awakening of eternal Ideas within the soul and the source of the unity and light that every true form of understanding and insight brings. Patterns of numbers and geometrical forms possess a clarity of truth, a perfect symmetry, and a magnificent beauty which reflect the true nature of the soul. In other words, the study of mathematics leads one to a recognition of the kinship between the objects of the mind and Mind itself--which Plato calls the brilliant light of Being.

These mathematical studies are ladders and bridges to the divine because they share a perfection and beauty that is true of the divine but lacking in the physical world. In the Pythagorean scheme of the cosmos, the soul is an intermediary between the mortal and the immortal, and so is mathematics. Although mathematics concerns plurality and objects imagined to be extended in space (characteristics of the physical world), it also is incorporeal, unchanging, and has a truth that is like the divine. Therefore, the meditation upon and comprehension of mathematical Ideas allows the soul to enter into the Ideas as a genuine intellectual mandala, awakening the energy of the soul and preparing it for the vision of true reality.

Pythagoras's studies are known as the quadrivium, and they became the foundation of learning through the Renaissance, though not always with the same spiritual purpose. The four studies correspond to the four levels of the Tetraktys, which is the most perfect symbol of Pythagoras's vision of the mind and cosmos. First in the quadrivium is arithmetic, the study of number, and number is nothing but an extension of unity. Moreover, the four levels of the Tetraktys--1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10--contain the basic elements of all arithmetic.

The second study is music, the ancient name for the mathematical study of ratios. This branch of mathematics provides the foundation for the musical scale and also has important applications in the third and fourth studies, geometry and astronomy respectively. Since ratios describe a relationship between two numbers, music corresponds to the second level in the Tetraktys. The ratios 1:2 (musical octave; geometrical proportion), 2:3 (musical fifth; arithmetic proportion), and 3:4 (musical fourth; harmonic proportion) form the elements of what is known as the Pythagorean music of the spheres.

The third study is geometry, the study of the three dimensions: length, width, and height. In the geometric sphere, as David Fideler points out, one represents the point *[this character cannot be represented in ASCII text], two the line *[this character cannot be represented in ASCII text], three the surface *[this character cannot be represented in ASCII text], and four the tetrahedron *[this character cannot be represented in ASCII text], the first three-dimensional form. "Hence in the realm of space, the Tetraktys represents the continuity linking the dimensionless point with the manifestation of the first body."[5]

The fourth study in this system is that of astronomy, the study of three-dimensional objects in a fourth dimension, or motion in space-time. Astronomy embraces each of the prior three studies and a fourth (motion in time)--four representing the four primary elements of physical reality: fire, air, water. and earth.

However, each of these studies is preparatory to a fifth and transcendent study: dialectic, the study of the metaphysical realm of Ideas and the bond uniting all the previous studies. In dialectic, one represents God, the first principle and source of all Being, that which is beyond all names but which the ancients called The One Itself. Perhaps the greatest mystery in all philosophy is why The One gives birth to many. From the perspective of the ancients, The One is so perfect that all creation is but the overflow of its perfection. The One is characterized by superabundant potency and creates the world without causing any lack in itself. This overflowing gives rise to the dyad of infinity and limit, qualities which define the class of gods in the Pythagorean theology. (Although Pythagoreanism recognizes many gods, each god is intimately allied to The One Itself.) The third level in this hierarchical unfolding of the cosmos is called Being itself, the triadic source of all Being, Life, and Intelligence (and the paradigm for the soul and its three parts--desire, will, and mind). The tetrad corresponds to the final link in the great chain of being: the physical plane and the four physical elements.

The first ten numbers that constitute the tetrad are also recognized as symbols of the unfolding and extension of the unity of the divine Mind. Numbers, therefore, are archetypal principles and divine powers that have causal power which manifests in certain qualities in our world. One is the principle of the monad, the symbol of unity apparent in the circle, the figure enclosed by one line which represents completion and wholeness.

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Two, the dyad, is expressed in the figure of the vesica piscis and is the power of all duality, contrast, and manyness--for example, male/female, heaven/earth, left/right.

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Three, the triad, introduces a mean between the two extremes, the power to bring order and harmony to manyness. In the Pythagorean tradition, the soul is the mean that unites the mortal and immortal and binds them into a whole. In geometry, the triangle is born from the vesica piscis as the first plane figure with its three equal lines and angles.

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Next is the tetrad. In arithmetic, the tetrad represents a stage of completion, for as we have seen in the Tetraktys, the first four numbers make a sum of ten. Geometrically, the tetrad is expressed by the square as well as the four sides of a pyramid. Metaphysically, the tetrad represents matter and the four primary elements.

The rest of the decad has essential qualities that we can briefly describe, but a more comprehensive description is beyond our scope.[6] The pentad represents the principle of life, the hexad structure and order, the heptad the completion of cycles, the octad change and renewal. The ennead is the limit and horizon of number, pregnant with the potential birth, and the decad is the completion of the paradigm of the whole.

The Tetraktys embraces the multiplicity of these ten principles within the unity of the equilateral triangle. In Greek mathematics, numbers were studied in their different families or kinds. There are even numbers, odd numbers, and irrational numbers (all of which we are familiar with), but the Greeks also recognized triangular numbers, square numbers, pentagonal numbers, and so forth. A triangular number is a series of numbers that can be represented in the figure of an equilateral triangle: 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21, 28. ... As you can see, this geometrical form produces as continuous numerical progression expanding the base of our triangle with successive numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. ...

The Pythagoreans identified the particular triangular number ten as profoundly significant for a number of reasons. For one, it embraces the first ten number principles in its geometrical form (ten is not an element in any of the other geometrical number series, i.e., the square, pentagonal, hexagonal, and heptagonal). This is deeply significant because it expresses what the Pythagoreans recognized as the unifying power of the triadic principle. The triad is the key to all ancient metaphysics because it is the structure or form which naturally unites duality into harmonious union. (Indeed, the Pythagoreans considered the triad, in certain respects, the first true number. In Greek the word for number is arithmos, which comes from the root "ar" which means "to join," as in "h-ar-monia," the very function of the triad.) The monad and dyad were said to be prior to number, being the principles of oddness and evenness respectively, and in this respect the very source of number itself. According to Porphyry, the student of Plotinus, "Things that had a beginning, middle and end the Pythagoreans denoted by the number Three, saying that anything that has a middle is triform, which was applied to every perfect thing."[7]

The perfection of the triadic form is most evident in the form called the mean (or three-term analogy). An analogy is the comparison of two relationships. For example, a grandfather is to a father, just as a father is to his son. The analogy expresses the comparison between the two sets of relationships (also called ratios), and in this comparison the father is the mean between his own father and son.

In Plato's account of the Pythagorean cosmology, The Timaeus, the Pythagorean philosopher says, "But it is impossible for two things alone to cohere together without the intervention of a third; for a certain collective bond is necessary in the middle of the two. And that is the most beautiful of bonds which renders both itself and the natures which are bound remarkably one."[8] The mean analogy therefore is also the basis for the entire Pythagorean and Platonic theology. The great Platonic philosopher Proclus expresses this explicitly in his Elements of Theology: "Every divine order has an internal unity of threefold origin, from its highest, its mean, and its last terms."[9]

The profundity of this idea can be recognized if we examine it in the case of self-knowledge (gnosis). The pursuit of self-knowledge embraces three aspects: the knower, the knowing, and the known. The great puzzle of this pursuit is how the extremes of knower and known can be unified. According to Plotinus, this unity is possible because in truth "the knower, the knowing, and the known are one." The philosophers explained this by looking toward the mean analogy in which the power of knowing functions as a mean to unify the extremes.

In the form of an analogy this is expressed in the following way:

The knower is to the knowing just as the knowing is to the known.

Interestingly enough, the mean or three-term analogy, being a logical structure, has a total of four forms in which the basic statement can be expressed. When we draw out this whole analogy, its intrinsic unity, harmony, symmetry, and order become apparent. We watch each of the three terms move through each place in a logical dance that creates an intellectual mandala that expresses the one underlying the many.[10]

KNOWER is to KNOWING just as KNOWING is to KNOWN (VERSE)

KNOWING is to KNOWER just as KNOWN is to KNOWING (CONVERSE)

KNOWING is to KNOWN just as KNOWER is to KNOWING (INVERTANDO)

KNOWN is to KNOWING just as KNOWING is to KNOWER (CONVERSE OF THE INVERTANDO)

Or symbolically,

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The Tetraktys, therefore, like the ancient Egyptian pyramids, is a model of the All, and the triadic form is its divine mystery. Whereas the four parts of the Tetraktys are able to embrace the ten archetypal number principles, it is the triadic power of the triangular form that unifies all number and reveals its essence in unity. And herein lies a secret of the Tetraktys. Although reality unfolds in a divine progression of four levels, unity is revealed when we transcend the fourth level of the physical plane and perfect the mind through the study of the divine triads, ascending to a vision of the brilliant light of Being and gaining an understanding of true number, the principle, source, and root of "ever-flowing nature."