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Orchard of Delights Pinchas
Part of the answer seems to be that although everything is the energy judgment possesses when it is infused with understanding,
ultimately dependent on God, He fashioned a world that requires thus making it a positive force for clarification and rectification. The
man to do his part. The snake represents an antidote that was needed daughters of Zelophehad demonstrated dignity, wisdom, and respect
to heal the people, a tool intended to remind the people of why they in pleading their cause forcefully before Moses. The fact that God
had been bitten in the first place. Only after remembering this could agreed to their request attests to the high level of understanding
they turn remorsefully to God, so that He could, in turn, heal them. they had reached. Their spiritual maturity is also alluded to by
Although God does not explicitly tell Moses what material to the letter nun possessing the numerical value of ten times five. In
fashion the snake out of, the Torah informs us that he used copper. Kabbalah ten times a number represents a more developed and
The Hebrew word for copper (nechoshet) shares the very same root mature manifestation of its initial potential. In this case, the final
with the Hebrew word for snake (nachash). This common root nun represents the actualization of the five women’s latent inner
alludes to many deep insights concerning the healing process and powers.
the psychology of healing highlighted by this incident. The Midrash According to the Kabbalah, one of the final rectifications that
notes that God is different from human beings; when God cures He will occur before the Messianic era is called “Tikkun Chavah”
does so through a process of “like cures like,” whereas when human (Rectification of Eve). At that time, the status and role of women will
beings attempt to heal they use opposites (Bereishit Rabbah 77a). change radically and a certain imbalance inherent in mankind since
From a purely logical point of view, the human approach seems to Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil will be rectified.
make more sense, for instance, we pour water on fire to extinguish it. Further, Eve’s “fall” is closely associated with the diminishment of
However, the process of vaccination, for example, which has helped creation itself as the moon’s light was diminished on the fourth day
prevent and even eradicated many of the most horrific and intractable of creation, when it complained that two kings could not wear the
diseases all over the world, works on the principle of “like cures like.” same crown (Chullin 60a).
Scientists realized that by vaccinating an individual with a weakened The action taken by the five daughters of Zelophehad alludes to
version of the very disease one is being vaccinated against (or a very this much needed rectification. The unusually large letter nun and
similar one), the body will create the necessary antibodies to fight the other four final letters hint to this final rectification before the
that specific disease. Homeopathy is based on the same principle. coming of Mashiach. The letter nun symbolizes the fact that women
Significantly, not only is the bite of the nachash cured by staring at also receive a portion in the Land of Israel, the focal point from which
the nachash nechoshet (copper snake), the pole that Moses mounted the consciousness of Mashiach will spread to the entire world. At that
the copper serpent on is referred to as a nes, which means both pole time all the judgments will be sweetened and rectified at their source
and miracle. It is no wonder then that the Western world adopted and the fifty gates of understanding will be open to all.
the symbol of the snake on the staff as the emblem of the medical
profession.
The notion of healing with the principle of “like cures like” also
finds resonance in the field of psychology, which teaches that in order
to let go of traumatic or abusive experiences one must be ready to
confront and grapple with the root causes, no matter how difficult or
painful. This goes against the natural human inclination of avoiding
the source of that painful experience at all costs. Indeed, people often
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