Vayera – The Binding of Isaac
God will be seen
וַיֹּאמֶר, אַבְרָהָם, אֱלֹהִים יִרְאֶה-לּוֹ הַשֶּׂה לְעֹלָה, בְּנִי | And Abraham said: ‘God will provide Himself the lamb for a burnt-offering, my son.’ (Gen 22:8) |
God will provide אֱלֹהִים יִרְאֶה, the name of God is Elohim, denoting judgment.
וַיִּקְרָא אַבְרָהָם שֵׁם-הַמָּקוֹם הַהוּא, יְהוָה יִרְאֶה, אֲשֶׁר יֵאָמֵר הַיּוֹם, בְּהַר יְהוָה יֵרָאֶה | And Abraham called the name of that place Adonai-jireh; as it is said to this day: ‘In the mount where the LORD is seen.’ (Gen 22:14) |
Adonai Yireh יְהוָה יִרְאֶה, YHVH will provide. After the sacrifice of Isaac, Elohim is changed to YHVH, denoting sweetening of judgment into mercy.
The word “provide” also means “seen”, hence YHVH will provide also means YHVH will be seen.
YHVH transcends the world and can’t be seen in the lower world, and the only way YHVH can be seen in this world is to descend and fill the world as the vessel of YHVH known as Elohim, the gematria of the following concepts are all 86, as follows:
Elohim (God) | אֱלֹהִים | 86 |
Yah fills (the world) | יָהּ מָלֵא | 86 |
The nature | הַטֶבַע | 86 |
Vessel of YHVH | כְּלִי יְהוָה | 86 |
The secret of this level of revelation in the physical world is the concept of Mashiach, for the gematria of “YHVH will be seen as Elohim” is exactly 358, the gematria of Mashiach, as follows:
YHVH will be seen as Elohim | יְהוָה יֵרָאֶה לֵאלֹהִים | 358 |
Mashiach | מָּשִׁיחַ | 358 |
Mashiach the Sacrifice
YHVH is only seen after Abraham sacrificed his son Isaac. In the same counter-intuitive manner that YHVH was seen, so was the command to sacrifice Isaac as an offering, which prefigures the eventual sacrifice of Mashiach by God.
The gematria of “And he offered Isaac and he revived” in gematria is exactly 358, the gematria of Mashiach מָּשִׁיחַ, as follows:
And he offered Isaac and he revived | וַיַּעַל יִצְחָק וַיֶּחִי | 358 |
Astonishingly, if we are to substitute Mashiach for Isaac, as it was hinted, the gematria is transformed to 508, which is the exact gematria of “Isaac son of Abraham”, as follows:
And he offered Mashiach and he revived | וַיַּעַל מָּשִׁיחַ וַיֶּחִי | 508 |
Isaac son of Abraham | יִצְחָק בֶּן אַבְרָהָם | 508 |
This comes to reveal that the sacrifice of Mashiach is indeed the original plan of God from the beginning, which has been concealed in Torah as the binding of Isaac.
When the name of Isaac is spelled out in full, the gematria is 728, which is exactly the gematria of “life after death”, as follows:
Isaac | יִצְחָק | |
Spelled out | יוד צדי חית קוף | 728 |
Life after death | חַיִּים אַחַר הַמָּוֶת | 728 |
This means that the pregnant letters of Isaac in gematria is: 728 – 208 = 520, which is the exact gematria of “death and life” מָוֶת וְחַיִּים.
וְהִתְבָּרְכוּ בְזַרְעֲךָ, כֹּל גּוֹיֵי הָאָרֶץ | and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed…(Gen 22:18) |
The “seed” was midrashically interpreted in Gal 3:16 as the Mashiach, by whose resurrection from the dead all nations of the earth are blessed. The gematria of above verse is 1313, which is the same gematria of “resurrection of the dead” תְּחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים.
The Place
The place where Isaac was offered was Mount Moriah הַר הַמּוֹרִיָּה, the gematria is 471. The spelled out letters in gematria is 1162, as follows:
Mount Moriah | הַר הַמּוֹרִיָּה | 471 |
Spelled out | הה ריש הה מם וו ריש יוד הה | 1162 |
The pregnant letters in gematria is: 1162 – 471 = 691, which is the gematria of: Mashiach on Tree of Life מָּשִׁיחַ עַל עֵץ הַחַיִּים. The Tree of Life is the secret of the Cross which is also called the Tree (1 Peter 2:24), i.e. dead to sins, and live to righteousness.
Based on the Achas-beta method, where the first 21 Hebrew letters are divided into three groups of seven, by which Beit ב parallels Ayinע , and Lamed ל parallels Heyה, the three letters of cross would therefore parallel the three letters of the tree as follows:
Achas-beta | ||||
The tree | ץ | ע | ה | |
Cross | ב | ל | צ |
In both cases, the letter Tzadi צ remains unchanged, which alludes to righteousness, צְּדָקָה.
There are two trees in the garden, the Tree of Life is of life, and the Tree of Knowledge is of death, and by the death of Mashiach on the Tree of Knowledge, the same is transformed to the Tree of Life, and the two trees become one tree, the Tree of Life, as follows:
Tree of life | עֵץ הַחַיִּים | 233 |
Tree of life | עֵץ הַחַיִּים | 233 |
466 |
466 is exactly the gematria of Gogotha גֻּלְגֹּלֶת, where Mashiach was sacrificed, and the gematria of The Gogatha הַגֻּלְגֹּלֶת is exactly the same gematria of Mount Moriah הַר הַמּוֹרִיָּה, corresponding to where Isaac was sacrificed, for the two are also one.
The Gogatha | הַגֻּלְגֹּלֶת | 471 |
Spelled out | הה גמל למד גמל למד תו | 791 |
The pregnant letters in gematria is: 791 – 471 = 239, which is the same gematria of “and Tree of Life” וְעֵץ הַחַיִּים, for where life was turned into death in the garden, it is exactly where life was restored from death at Gogahta.
The gematria of two is 648:
The Gogatha | הַגֻּלְגֹּלֶת | 471 |
Garden of Eden | גַן-עֵדֶן | 177 |
648 |
648 is exactly the gematria of “And God will provide to him a lamb” אֱלֹהִים יִרְאֶה לֹּו הַשֶּׂה (Gen 22:8) in the binding of Isaac, for where sin abounded in the Garden of Eden, grace did much more abound at the Gogatha.
Two Trees
וַיַּעֲקֹד, אֶת-יִצְחָק בְּנוֹ, וַיָּשֶׂם אֹתוֹ עַל-הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, מִמַּעַל לָעֵצִים | …and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. (Gen 22:9) |
Wood עֵצִים is plural which can also mean “two trees” עֵצִים, i.e. the Tree of Life and Tree of Knowledge.
“Two trees in the Garden of Eden” שְׁנֵי עֵצִים בְגַן-עֵדֶן in gematria is 749, the same gematria of Yeshua the Mashiach יֵשׁוּעַ הַמָּשִׁיחַ, and the gematria of the two trees is exactly the gematria of Mashiach spelled out, as follows:
Tree of Life and Tree of Knowledge | עֵץ הַחַיִּים וְעֵץ הַדַּעַת | 878 |
Mashiach spelled out | מם שין יוד חית | 878 |
“Tree of Life” עֵץ הַחַיִּים in gematria is 233, which is the same gematria of “Light of YHVH” אוֹר יְהוָה, where light is singular, i.e. the Written Torah, representing the potential.
“Tree of Knowledge” עֵץ הַדַּעַת in gematria is 639, which is the same gematria of “Lights of YHVH” אוֹרוֹת יְהוָה, where Lights are plural, i.e. the Oral Torah, representing the actualization of the potential, their gematria is also 878, as follows:
Light of YHVH and Lights of YHVH | אוֹר יְהוָה וְאוֹרוֹת יְהוָה | 878 |
Mashiach spelled out | מם שין יוד חית | 878 |
This is the secret of the letter Kaf כף whose two letters represent the process from potential to the actualization of the potential, as follows:
ף | כ | |
Potential and actual | וּפָעַל | כֹּחַ |
According to Zohar, Isaac was born with a feminine soul therefore he could not have offspring, until after the sacrifice, immediately after which the birth of his soul mate Rebekah is announced.
The binding of Isaac therefore represents the turning point from potential to actual.
Similarly, the Holy Spirit was not given in abundance until after the sacrifice of Mashiach whose primary work is to call out the bride.
The gematria of “power (potential) and action (actual)” is 214, which is exactly the gematria of Spirit רוּחַ, as follows:
Potential and actual | כֹּחַ וּפָעַל | 214 |
Spelled out | כף חית ויו פא עין למד | 825 |
The pregnant letters in gematria is: 825 – 214 = 611, which is the gematria of Torah תּוֹרָה, for Torah represents the actualization of the potential by the Holy Spirit.
The intellect of man is potential, and the action of man is actual, Kaf כַּף means palm (of the hand) which actualizes the will of the intellect. The “Intellect of Action” שֵׂכֶל הַפּוֹעֵל in gematria is 541, the same gematria of Israel יִשְׂרָאֵל, for Israel actualizes the potential of Torah with actions.
While the entire array of the Sefirot is understood as the “Tree of Life”, the center line, from Keter to Malchut is understood as the “Tree of Knowledge”, where Keter is in the direction of Good, and Malchut is in the direction of Evil, in accordance with their levels of concealment and revelation of God.
The gematria of Written Torah is the same of “The Hidden Crown”, as follows:
Written Torah | תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב | 1335 |
The Hidden Crown | הַכֶּתֶר נִסְתָּר | 1335 |
And the gematria of Oral Torah plus 1 as the kollel is the same gematria of “mouth of Kingdom is revealed”, as follows:
Oral Torah | תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל-פֶּה | 1098 |
Mouth of Kingdom is revealed | פֶּה לְמַלְכוּת נִגְלָתָה | 1099 |
And the gematria of “mouth of Kingdom” פֶּה לְמַלְכוּת is 611, exactly the same gematria of Torah תּוֹרָה.
It is for this reason Oral Torah is involved with physical actions at the lowest level of Malchut.