The Secret of the Union of Yaakov and Leah: The Morning Light and Alma D'Iskasya

Class No. 253 | Transcript of Cassette No. 253 Thursday, Parashas Devarim, the eve of 3 Av 5760, a class for the kollel students of the Old City at the home of the Rav Thursday, Parashas Acharei Mos, the eve of 23 Nissan 5760, Bar Mitzvah (and words of the great Torah scholar Rabbi Moshe Halberstam shlit"a) at the Zvhil Halls

Yaakov Avinu (our Patriarch Jacob) feared a division of hearts among the tribes due to the multiplicity of the Matriarchs, but the prophecy of Rachel and Leah led to the complete tikkun (rectification). Through the revelation of the morning light, Yaakov understood that Leah symbolizes the \

Yaakov Avinu was very afraid lest, Heaven forbid, there be a division among the brothers, a division of hearts, since each of the tribes came from a different mother—Rachel, Leah, Bilhah, and Zilpah. Everything was according to the Divine decree, and Hashem commanded him to take all four of them, yet Yaakov was still apprehensive. Therefore, he was shown from Heaven that there would be no division of hearts among them, and they would all become one single stone.

When Yaakov came to Lavan and asked for Rachel, he was afraid that Lavan would deceive him. Yaakov did not know at all that he would have four wives; he thought the entire time that he would have only one wife, exactly as his father Yitzchak had. When he saw that the matter had turned into four wives, a terrible fear fell upon him regarding a division of hearts.

The Handing Over of the Signs and Rachel's Mesirus Nefesh (Self-Sacrifice)

At the time when Yaakov gave the signs to Rachel, seven years earlier, Rachel went and gave them to Leah. Rachel gave Leah everything she had. In the merit of this mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice), she merited that Hashem comforts her in the future to come, as it is stated:

"Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears... and the children shall return to their border."

This is the secret of Chatzos (the midnight lament over the Temple's destruction). Yaakov knew with certainty that Rachel was his wife, the one he would marry and who would be the foundation of the home. However, Rachel was very wise and a great prophetess. The Matriarchs were great in prophecy, and Rachel knew that Yaakov was mistaken in his thought that he would have only one union, for the decree had already been sealed for Yaakov to take four wives.

Therefore, she handed over the signs to her sister so that she would not be put to shame, for "it is better for a person to throw himself into a fiery furnace than to publicly shame his fellow."

The Prophecy of the Matriarchs and the Birth of the Tribes

Both Rachel and Leah knew through their prophecy that Yaakov would have four wives. Therefore, after Leah merited four sons, she stopped giving birth. She wanted everything to be divided equally among the wives. When she reached four sons, she already had a third of the entire nation of Israel.

At the birth of Yehudah, she said, "This time I will thank Hashem," because she already saw with Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration) the King Mashiach who was destined to emerge from her.

"And it came to pass in the morning, and behold, it was Leah": The Secret of Alma D'Iskasya (the Hidden World)

The Torah describes the moment when Yaakov discovered the deception:

"And it came to pass in the morning, and behold, it was Leah."

The question is asked: Was she only Leah in the morning? She was always Leah! Rather, "morning" alludes to the morning light of salvation, to the morning when Mashiach ben David, who descends from Leah, arrives.

On that morning, Yaakov understood that this was the highest possible union. Leah symbolizes the Sefirah of Binah (Divine Understanding), the realm of "Alma D'Iskasya" (the hidden and concealed world). Then he realized that all the calculations he had made were mistaken, and behold, Leah is the true union which is beyond all comprehension. His true union is Leah.

The Tikkun of the Maidservants and the Eternal Leadership

Yaakov was given the opportunity to rectify three more wives. In truth, it would have been fitting for him to rectify eighteen, but he sufficed with four. Therefore, the marriage to Leah was not a "mistaken betrothal" at all. On the contrary, everything was for spiritual elevation and tikkun (rectification). He succeeded in bringing forth Dan and Naftali from Bilhah, and Gad and Asher from Zilpah. From the tribe of Gad, Eliyahu HaNavi (Elijah the Prophet) is destined to emerge, and Rashi says that Gad was born circumcised.

Yaakov needed to rectify "Zilpah," which alludes to "zal peh" (the breath of the mouth), and "Bilhah," which alludes to the breath emerging from the final letter Hei of the Sefirah of Malchus (Divine Kingship). Since he had to perform these tikkunim, there was no mistaken betrothal here whatsoever. Everything was the absolute truth.

When it was revealed to Yaakov that Leah would establish six tribes and constitute half of the Jewish nation, he understood that she was his true soulmate. Had he thought for a second that this was a mistaken betrothal, he would not have kept her, but rather sent her away. Instead, he kept her under his care and made her the mistress over Zilpah and Bilhah.

This is brought down in the Midrash Rabbah (Parashah 71): Since Yaakov Avinu saw that Leah deceived him with her sister, he set his mind to divorce her. But since Hashem blessed her with children – and already in the first two years she merited three sons – Yaakov said: "Shall I divorce the mother of these?" Then Yaakov understood that Leah is the secret of "Alma d'Itkasya" (the Hidden World), and from her stems all the leadership of the Jewish people for eternity – the leadership of King David.

Part 3 of 3 — Lesson No. 253

→ Previous part

All parts: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 (current)