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structures that are the templates of creation. In fact, the Hebrew root demands. This, of course, comes with one caveat: to have the right to
of the word “Kabbalah” means “parallel” or “corresponding.” By stand up to God, one must possess tremendous humility and a deep
revealing how the multiplicity experienced in the world corresponds sense of compassion for others. Abraham and Moses did not question
to Divine paradigms, we reveal the unity at the source of all creation. God’s ways so as to refute their belief in Him. Their questioning was,
When we reveal that the physical and spiritual worlds parallel the in fact, a tremendous affirmation of their faith in a God who would
inner structure of the Torah, God’s essential unity is perceived. In allow them to respectfully speak their minds.
this case, the medium is the Torah’s structure, and the message is
the oneness of God.
This method of learning Torah encourages us to continually seek
connections between the seemingly random events of our daily £Revealing God’s Name: £Revealing God’s Name: Revealing God’s Name:
lives and of the events that occur in the world around us. As our £
One Step at a Time
One Step at a Timeime
worldview meshes with the archetypal patterns and models revealed One Step at a T
in Torah we begin to realize how nothing is random or disconnected
from God’s Providence operating in our own lives.
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In the portion of Bereishit, we discussed the significance of the Paradoxically, while in the book of Shemot, God’s four-letter name
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number ten and how the ten utterances of creation, the ten sefirot, the is revealed to the world, He puts into motion the Jewish people’s
Ten Commandments, and the ten archetypal songs sung throughout inheritance of the Land of Israel, and He gives the Torah at Mount
history are all connected, each a different manifestation of the same Sinai, God’s four-letter name, as discussed in the previous portion,
spiritual paradigm. In discussing Abraham, we noted the ten trials is also concealed, for it is never pronounced as written. God’s name
he underwent and in this portion we cannot fail to note the deep and is hidden because His promise regarding the Land has yet to be
intrinsic connection between all these instances of the number ten completely fulfilled.
and the ten plagues. The Aleinu prayer recited at the conclusion of all three daily

Why were there ten plagues and not five or six? In general, the prayer services concludes with the prophet Zechariah’s words: “God
number ten indicates major shifts in human consciousness and will be King over all the world; on that day God will be One and His
historical development. Abraham’s ten tests enabled and symbolized name will be One” (14:9). This prophecy indicates that until that
his growth in consciousness. The Ten Commandments marked a glorious time, God’s oneness and His name will in some way remain
major transition in humankind’s understanding of morals and ethics. incomplete and hidden.
The ten sefirot as well as the ten utterances of creation served as Rashi explains the reason for this following Israel’s first battle
the transitional means for channeling the infinite light of God into with its archenemy Amalek, the prototype of evil in the world.
finite creation. In this vein, the ten plagues represent a historical and Commenting on the verse, “For the hand is on the throne of God; a
psychological process the Jewish people undergo as they move from war to God against Amalek, from generation to generation” (Exodus
slavery to freedom, from exile to redemption. Drastic changes such 17:16), Rashi notes that two words in the verse are missing letters:
as these in the lives of nations or individuals rarely occur tranquilly; the Hebrew word for “throne” is missing a letter and the Hebrew
rather, they are more apt to take place through upheaval and radical word for “God” is written with only the first two letters of God’s
change. four-letter name. This deficiency, so Rashi informs us, signifies God’s
promise that His name and His throne will remain incomplete until

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