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Jacob was destined to continue the line of Abraham and Isaac. He knew what his work was before coming to the world. He let Esau come out first to remove the negativity attached to every first born (from the first sin). He bought the blessings before Isaac was ready to give them. Genesis 25:30,31,32 "וַיֹּאמֶר, יַעֲקֹב:  מִכְרָה כַיּוֹם אֶת-בְּכֹרָתְךָ, לִי.", "And Jacob said: \’ First sell me your birthright.\’". Birthright in Hebrew is "בְּכֹרָתְךָ" spelled as "בִּרְכָתֶךָ" "your blessing". When Esau sold Jacob his birthright he also sold him his blessing. Jacob did a "Kosher deal" and Esau left to his fault.

G-d is giving a personal care for Moshe upon him leaving the world. As we know from the Zohar, Moshe was at the level of Daat (the connection Sefirah of Chokmah and Binah). It is above the physical level. In Deuteronomy 31:2, Moshe is telling the Israelites " And he said unto them: \’I am a hundred and twenty years old this day; I can not go out and come in anymore; " in his preparation to transfer the leadership to Joshua . Go out and come in refers to the traveling from the physical to the spiritual in order to talk to G-d. No one could see G-d and live because to see G-d you need to be spiritual. Moshe could transform himself to go between the two dimensions.

A strange question but in this parasha we have a unique situation. Somewhere in the middle of the parasha we have two verses between two unique letters.
We have large, regular and small letters in the Torah. We have the broken letter Vav in parashat Pinchas but the two nuns “ “turned 180 degrees with head down…

וַיְהִי בִּנְסֹעַ הָאָרֹן, וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה: קוּמָה יְהוָה, וְיָפֻצוּ אֹיְבֶיךָ, וְיָנֻסוּ מְשַׂנְאֶיךָ, מִפָּנֶיךָ. (לו) וּבְנֻחֹה, יֹאמַר: שׁוּבָה יְהוָה, רִבְבוֹת אַלְפֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל

The Midrash discussed this issue and it is accepted by many that the two verses turns the Books of Numbers into three books and the Torah to have seven books.

In (Masechet Shabbat 116), Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel says: “In the future this section will be moved from it current location and written in its proper place.”

When divided to five books then

Genesis = Keter,
Exodus=Chokmah,
Leviticus=Binah,
Numbers=Zeir Anpin
and Deuteronomy=Malchut.
When divided into seven then the Torah becomes:
Genesis = Chessed,
Exodus=Gevurah,
Leviticus=Tiferet,
Numbers first part =Netzach,
Two verses= Hod,
Numbers last part=Yesod
and Deturonomy=Malchut.

The Two verses are in the level of Hod. We know that Hod is the level that completes the vessel and have the ability to draw and channel the Light

Up to the first letter, “” the Torah describes the building the spiritual system for us and teach us how to connect to the light. In Behalotcha, the third parasha of Numbers is related to the Kohen.

The book of Numbers starts with the parasha of Bamidbar and it deals and connects with Yisraelites or Yisrael, Naso count and deals with the Levites, Behalotcha connect the Kohen with the Menorah and the seven candles. Together they are making the vessel “כלי” for “כהן־לוי־ישראל” (read my commentary on Naso).
The Kohen connects to the Menorah, which is the plug in tool to draw the light of the supernal through the seven sefirot to our world.

This is all up to the first Nun, “” and the following two verses activated the system. The Torah (Zeir Anpin) is now in full force and the Light can flow to the world. It gives us the power to manifest desires into physicality.

The Torah is our GPS (G-d P-rovided S-ystem). In the desert, the cloud and the pillar of fire guided the Yisraelites in their travels to the Promised Land.
All we need is to follow the system.

What makes these two verses so special?
Before them the Torah was five parts (hand of G-d) and now seven parts, Zeir Anpin (six Sefirot) and Malchut (1).
Remember that Z”A is the letter “ו” of the Holy name. The physical Torah is rolled like the shape of the letter Vav.

Because the Torah is a tool for us to use in this world it needed the transformation from five to seven. The Kohen uses the Menorah with the seven candles to draw this light. It had to happen in the same parasha.

Before we take the Torah out of the Arc we recite these two verses, in order to activate the Torah as Zeir Anpin. The Arc itself is the vessel and Light of Chokmah and Binah, the Torah is Zeir Anpin and the “תיבה” Teivah, also means word in Hebrew and it is where we place the Torah for reading, the Malchut.

We need seven men to “come up”, have an “Aliya”, “עליה”, to activate the different levels and draw the Light. It is all a spiritual technology that G-d gave us to choose to connect.

Some reforms allow woman to go up to the Torah. It may look nice and advanced but it is not the technology.
Woman is Malchut and she can not channel the Light. She is the vessel, the desire and the reason for the Light to come in. That is why a Jew is someone that was born to a Jewish mother. The light goes to the vessel.
The work is for the man and that is why men need to pray/connect everyday. Women’s main spiritual work is the connection to the Shabbat, which is the seventh day, Malchut.

The first verse “ויהי־בנסע”, connect to movement, Z”A, Male, connect and draw to the Light. The second is “ובנחה־יאמר”, connect to rest, Female, manifesting the Light.
Baal Haturim in his commentary to this parasha, reveals that “בנסע” in gimatria calculation of “אט-בח” is equal to “חשמל” (electricity).
If you understand a little bit about electricity you realize that the first verse is connect to the Positive (+) and the second is to the Ground (-).

The letter “נ” that usually represent falling “נפילה” (King David used “סומך־נופלים” in the Psalms of “Ashrei”, which is in order of the Alef-Bet to support the letter “נ”). Here it is turned 180 degrees to be a tool of elevation. It is no longer a regular “נ” of falling, but a one of elevation.

“נ” has value of 50 to connect us to Binah and the two letters has value of 100 and it is the same value of “כלים” and abbreviation for “כהן־לוי־ישראל־מלכות”.
The final letter “ם” has a big connection to the final redemption and it represents a complete vessel.

The two verses, which appears as a separate paragraph in the Torah has 19 words. 12 in the first verse and 7 in the second. To add to the significance of these two verses, my friend, Ezra (Jeff) Meiliken, the mathematician, told me that the 1st verse of the Torah has 7 words and the last 12 words.

This implies a complete system. The complete cycle of Hebrew calendar has 19 years. 12 regular and 7 leap years. 12 for the 12 months and 7 for the seven planets and letters “בגדכפרת”, which according to the book of formation “ספר־יצירה”, controls the seven planets that drive the Zodiac.

There are altogether 85 letters = “פה” = mouth, which is the manifestation tool. The power of the mouth and prayer appears in this parasha as it is the first time we find in (Numbers 11:2) “וַיִּתְפַּלֵּל מֹשֶׁה” (“and Moshe Prayed”).
Immediately after the two verses we read (Numbers 11:1)

“וַיְהִי הָעָם כְּמִתְאֹנְנִים, רַע בְּאָזְנֵי יְהוָה; וַיִּשְׁמַע יְהוָה, וַיִּחַר אַפּוֹ, וַתִּבְעַר-בָּם אֵשׁ יְהוָה, וַתֹּאכַל בִּקְצֵה הַמַּחֲנֶה.”

“1 And the people were as murmurers, speaking evil in the ears of the G-d; and when G-d heard it, His anger was kindled; and the fire of G-d burnt among them, and devoured in the uttermost part of the camp” The negative part of the mouth came through the mouth of the people and they spoke “evil” “רַע” , Rabbi Ashlag of blessed memory explains that “רַע” is abbreviation for “רצון־עצמי” , “Selfish desire” and “רשע” (Evil) is for “רצון־של־עצמו” , “Desire for one self”.
The nation felt the energy of expressing themselves but they made a mistake and used this power for selfish desires. That was in opposite to the way of the Light and fire came to burn and removes this negativity.

The people screamed to Moshe, he prayed for them and the fire abated. He knew how to use the words to control physicality.

The nation later continued complaining that they do not have meat to eat. In short, Moshe that was in a state of above the physical levels couldn’t connect to the people’s desire. If he would do that, it would have been like death for him. He was connected to the tree of life. He brought the Torah to the people.

The midrash says that Moshe was not able to connect to his wife because of that reason. He was too high above (and that is why he never died.).

G-d instruct him to assemble 70 people and G-d used part of Moshe’s divine spirit to bestow on the 70 elder people so they can do Moshe’s work without bringing Moshe down from his level.

That created the power of prophesy among the elders and they were able to speak prophesies on that day of initiation.

The people could now get what they want (the meat) but they had a strong desire that drew again negative energy and the Light had to remove that negativity and many people died because of that.

Moshe did not or could not interfere because the elders had the duty of taking care of the people.

In verse 12:1, Miriam and Aharon talked about a beautiful woman that Moshe took. As a result of their talks, G-d appeared immediately and took them to the Tabernacle. G-d talked about the ways he connects to his prophets and when the cloud moved away, they saw Miriam leprous.

Miriam and Aharon were in a very high level. They merited the great miracles of the well of Miriam and the Clouds of Honor for Aharon.
They knew that this is the best time to use Moshe to draw the light of healing and they did. G-d’s words to them were about his choice to reveal himself to the right person.

They forced Moshe to see the energy of healing available on that time. G-d was upset about that and a result Miriam became leprous. Aharaon jumped first to talk (Numbers 12:11)

“וַיֹּאמֶר אַהֲרֹן, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה: בִּי אֲדֹנִי–אַל-נָא תָשֵׁת עָלֵינוּ חַטָּאת, אֲשֶׁר נוֹאַלְנוּ וַאֲשֶׁר חָטָאנוּ. יב אַל-נָא תְהִי, כַּמֵּת, אֲשֶׁר בְּצֵאתוֹ מֵרֶחֶם אִמּוֹ, וַיֵּאָכֵל חֲצִי בְשָׂרוֹ. יג וַיִּצְעַק מֹשֶׁה, אֶל-יְהוָה לֵאמֹר: אֵל, נָא רְפָא נָא לָהּ”

See how Aharon use the word “אל־נא” twice to make Moshe make his prayer using 5 words with total of 11 letters.
“אֵל, נָא רְפָא נָא לָהּ” . This is what Miriam and Aharon wanted to achieve and they did. They took risk on themselves for the benefits of all.

And now we have this prayer for us to use every Shabbat to draw the light of healing to us and the sick.

B”H we will merit a day of total unity with the Light, no sickness, no disease of any kind, Today, Amen.

Just before the Israelites entered the land of Yisrael, G-d revealed that the promised land is under our control, BUT, it is our choice and responsibility to connect to all the benefits that this land holds for us.

The first verse of the parasha declares the choices, the second tells us how to connect to the blessing " the blessing , if you shall listen to the… " and the third verse " and the curse , if you shall not listen to… ". You see immediately that the curse comes if you do not follow the system.

The Zohar tells us that, during the generation before the final redemption, most of the leadership in Israel will be comprised of the Erev Rav. Today, we find such individuals as heads of Yeshivas, judges, and politicians; many of them are even famous. And, although the “stench” of their negative actions is also out in the open, most of us don’t even realize it.

In his introduction to The Tree of Life, the book based on the teachings of Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Holy Ari), Rabi Chaim Vital, the Ari’s top student, writes that he once fell into deep sadness because he felt the great suffering in the world with no sign of Mashiach’s arrival. He quotes a portion in the Tikkunei Zohar (Tikkun #30) that discusses how the soul of Mashiach is delayed—generation after generation—simply because of all the negativity we create and the fact that people connect to the Torah expecting to be rewarded with earthly goods. Rabbi Vital also said that the acts committed by the Erev Rav today would be similar to those of the generation of the Flood: the building of “towers” solely to glorify themselves yet claiming it’s all for the sake of Torah.

The Zohar reveals that the souls of the Erev Rav come from the negative side. During the 130 years that Adam stayed away from Eve, he sinned by connecting to a female from the other side, which resulted in the creation of all the negative souls that have since incarnated as the Erev Rav. Moses knew what took place soon after Creation and took the opportunity to correct the “Sin of Adam” by allowing the Erev Rav to join the Israelites in the exodus from Egypt. By taking them along on the spiritual journey to the Land of Israel, he hoped to elevate their souls, even though God had advised him against it. Because the Creator did not agree with Moses’ decision, the Torah refers to the Erev Rav as “the Nation” not as the Children of Israel.

When Moses went up Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, the Nation was committing the sin of the Golden Calf. At that point, God said to Moses, “Go down, for the people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.” (Exodus 32:7). God is clearly saying, “The Nation that YOU hoped to bring to a higher level of consciousness…” Therefore, the responsibility for the sin of the Golden Calf rests on the shoulders of Moses for trying to fix the whole system with the Erev Rav.  This is the reason why Moses “descended” from his spiritual level and the second Torah given was from the Tree of Knowledge Good and Evil instead of from the Tree of Life. Again, the Primordial Snake managed to connect the people to the wrong spiritual system. (See my previous article in the series for a detailed explanation.)

The win the fight against the Erev Rav is a constant struggle that happens in every generation. The sages tell us that the generation that didn’t see the arrival of Mashiach and the reconstruction of the Holy Temple—because they fallen under the influence of the Erev Rav, yet again—is also the generation that destroyed it (passing up the opportunity to rebuild the Temple is the act of destruction). We have failed every time. Why are we under the spell?

The great army of the Snake is comprised of the Erev Rav. They “dress” in a skin similar to yours, in order to make you feel comfortable when you are next to them, so they can befriend you. Yet, when you don’t see them, they change their skin because they actually don’t like you; in fact, too much light burns their skin. And, like vampires, they are after your blood—your soul—and must stay in the dark where they feel comfortable. The darkness is the selfish desires, the chasing after wealth and fame solely for the sake of self-glory. They want to be heads while their essence is tails.

In places of worship, you will find many of them in their expensive seats to show they are better than others. Because many of them are rich, they make large donations to the community in order to appear generous, but it’s all about them. And, to seem respectable, the Erev Rav also engage in business with the leaders of their community, many of whom are, in fact, also part of the army of the Snake.

We should know that the Erev Rav will not touch the Zohar. They will not engage with it because they cannot handle its great light. And, because they follow Erev Rav leadership, many good people still don’t connect to the Zohar. Their supposed leaders will provide many “good” reasons why they should not connect to the Zohar.

Allow me to remind you that this knowledge about the Erev Rav is not to be used against anyone. Therefore, never single out an individual and accuse him of being an Erev Rav. A small mistep could be spiritually dangerous for you. As we all know, hurting others brings about the manifestation of negativity, regardless of who gets inflicted with the pain.

Other than doing our spiritual work, our job is to avoid any form of association with the Erev Rav, as well as other forms of negativity. If we follow the Erev Rav, sooner or later (and this is usually during a critical moment in time), they will reveal their true “skin” and make us fall yet again. Watch out!

By: Zion Nefesh, Av 5769, August 2009
Edited By: Mordecai O.

Next article: The Relationship between Amalek and the Erev Rav

As we go deeper into the book of Deuteronomy, we get more understanding of the spiritual laws that affect our lives on this earth.

Sir Isaac Newton discovered the force of Gravity when an apple fell on his head. The Torah teaches us all the laws of the universe before waiting for things to happen. Late in his life, Newton studied Torah and Kabbalah to get to the deeper understanding of the way nature behave.

Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden with the freedom of choice, but they failed to inherit the earth. Why?

While on Mount Sinai, the Israelites had the golden opportunity to receive the Torah. When they failed to receive the Torah of the Tree of Life, they received the Torah of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Why?

Moses sent twelve spies to tour the Land of Israel right before the Israelites were ready to enter it. When the spies came back with their report, what they said about the land caused them their lives, and the Israelites were forced to wander in the wilderness for 40 years before they were allowed to enter and inhabit the Promised Land. Why?

During all the generations from Adam to Moses, many opportunities were given to bring about the Final Redemption, yet in every instance, it didn’t happen…

The seed of all failures in the world was planted on the first day of creation. And, the presence of the Primordial Snake in the Garden of Eden made all the difference. He was created to challenge us, to force us to choose between giving in to the gravity of the desire for the self or to seek the true fulfillment of the Light.

After the original sin, the Snake was sent out of the Garden with the power to control us. He had installed in us the desire for the self and had been given the freedom to “eat dust” all his life. Although we soon tried to hide it, we discovered that part of us was, in fact, made of “dust.” Yes, we are made of his food. As such, he can “eat” us, and he does it every single day of our lives.

Yet, there is hope. When God said, “You shall eat dust all the days of your life,” it was also clear that there would come a day when the Snake’s life would end. We are now very close to that day. Therefore, we should be happy about it, but we should also be very concerned. Why?

Remember the first fall? The Snake waited for the moment just before the first Shabbat—when Adam and Eve would have acquired full control over the world God created for them—to launch his attack. And, on Mount Sinai, he waited until the last fourth (six hours) of the last day prior to the receiving of the Torah to attack yet again.

That is his pattern: he lets you grow, allows you to build energy, and then, he attacks to take it away from you. He always hits when the desire for the self is strongest.

The Snake is the Erev Rav, the mixed multitudes that came out of Egypt with the Israelites. He has always right next to the Israelites whereever they may go. Because they are the Snake, the Erev Rav cannot draw the Light directly. And, because God “punished” them when he said to the Snake, “You shall eat the dust of the earth,” they must take from us.

The Erev Rav know they cannot exist in the full presence of the Light. Therefore, each time the Light has come close to us in preparation for its full revelation, the Erev Rav have done all that is possible to stop us from revealing the Light in its totality.

Now that we are closer to the coming of Mashiach, the Erev Rav are on the brink of awakening in full force—yet again—to stops us.

Zion Nefesh
AV 5769 (August 2009)

Edited by:  Mordecai O.

Next article title “Who is your leader/teacher/rabbi?” Check list for naïve followers.

I started writing this article a while back but withheld releasing it because I was afraid of the negative impact it might have. I was concerned it could be the cause of separation as a result of hatred. This, of course, is a big responsibility that cannot be taken lightly. However, having seen the development of recent events, I felt compelled to release the article at this time. In fact, this will be the first in a new series of articles to make us more aware of the times we live in.

Before I continue, I want to make it very clear that my intention is not to create hatred or to cause pain to anyone. Rather, I simply want to make us aware of a phenomenon that is manifesting (and gaining strength) in our world today. We need to become aware—and empowered with a new type of information—so we can make the best decisions of how to protect ourselves and our loved ones.

The “good” I refer to in the title of this article are the Israelites: you and the countless others who have the consciousness and intent to bring more light to the world. The “bad” are the Erev Rav. The Erev Rav (ערב רב), or the mixed multitudes, are the souls of the 2.4 million individuals who left Egypt alongside the 600,000 Israelites. The Zohar states that all the souls that came out of Egypt during the Exodus will be present in the final generation—our generation—before the dawning of a new age. This means we will find four Erev Ravs for one Israelite living among us today.

In recent news, we learned about a Jewish business giant filled with greed and a “grab all you can” attitude. We also read about rabbis and political leaders involved in criminal activities that included the trading of body organs. We should know that the people spoken about in the news are the Erev Rav. And, their acts have shamed all Israelites. (In fact, ערב רב has the same letters as רבב רע, which means evil flaw on the Israelites.) Therefore, it’s time for us to recognize who these individuals are and how to separate ourselves from them with the sole intent of seeking protection from their influence.

In our generation, the generation preceding the coming of Mashiach, the Erev Rav have picked up tremendous strength—power and influence in all forms. These souls are “energy” parasites, clinging to the Israelites in order to consume their energy any way they can. Our work is to find ways of protecting ourselves, yet not have any hatred towards anyone, even if we are certain we are standing in front of an Erev Rav. Any form of hatred or harm caused to a single person, regardless of who they may be, creates negativity that dims the light of the Creator in this world. As Israelites, we must remember that everything in this world is filled with the light of the Creator (otherwise, it would not exist), and our role is to reveal it—not dim it.

I use the term Israelite because the Torah (the Bible) and the Zohar do not ever use the word Jews (יהודים). The Torah doesn\’t mention this word at all. In the Bible, all occurrences of this word related to the exile of Judah. There is instance in which the word Jew (יהודי) in the singular form is used: it is found in the scroll of Esther when referring to Mordechai, who was exiled with the tribe of Judah (hence, the root of the word Jew), another similar instance in Aramaic in the book of Daniel (5:13) \”הוּא דָנִיֵּאל דִּי-מִן-בְּנֵי גָלוּתָא דִּי יְהוּד\” . This exile specified in Jeremiah 52. In all other instances, the word used is always Israelites, the Sons of Israel.

The souls of the Israelites are rooted in the central column; they come directly from the lineage of Jacob the Patriarch, who was given the name Israel. The people known as Jews have a different spiritual process, which includes a greater responsibility to all the Israelites around the world. It is no coincidence that Jews can be found living nearly everywhere in the world since their role is to be a “lighthouse” for all of humanity. It is important to know this to ensure we are more clear on our roles and thus how best to distinguish between the Erev Rav and the Israelites. Many Jewish people are part of the Erev Rav. They were given an opportunity to redeem themselves because at one time they believed in system of the Torah and the Tree of Life.

I highly recommend you stay connected to the Zohar, especially the portions featured in the Daily Zohar newsletter (http://DailyZohar.com). These daily portions give you direct access to the sacred text of Tikkunei Zohar, which is what Moses told Rabbi Shimon would be the protection for our generation.

In this new series of articles, I will highlight sections from the Zohar and provide quotes related to the Erev Rav and their impact upon the world. Please read these new articles with the sole intent to be informed and to find the best way to protect yourself from the influence of the Erev Rav.

The Zohar defines humans as " מדבר ", one who speaks. This puts humans above all nature and closer to G-d.

The parasha starts with the laws of vows. If a man makes a vow or swears an oath, he shall not break his word and must act according to the words that came out of his mouth.

And Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon the pole; and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked unto the serpent of brass, he lived.