Seven Heads, Seven Dead
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Seven Heads, Seven Dead
The Gemara[1]
tells of a story of a dangerous demon that was in the Beis Midrash of Abaye. R’
Acha Bar Yaakov was in town and no one invited him thereby forcing him to sleep
in this Beis Midrash. The demon appeared to him as a seven-headed snake.[2]
With each of his seven bows, a head fell off. We are left to wonder how he knew
to bow seven times to kill the seven-headed snake?
Yitzchak gave eight Brachos.[3]
The number 26 represents Bracha since this is the numerical value of Hashem’s
name י-ה-ו-ה. If we multiply 26 by 8 (Brachos) our result is 208. This is
the numerical value of יצחק, alluding to the eight Brachos he gave.
Yaakov received seven of those Brachos and Esav received one. If we multiply 26
by 7 (Brachos) we arrive at 182, the same sum as [4]יעקב, as this is how many Brachos he received.
Corresponding to Yaakov’s
seven levels of Kedusha, Esav had seven levels of impurity (טומאה). This is in accordance with ואלכה
לנגדך, I
will go alongside you[5]—what
Yaakov possessed in Kedusha, Esav had in impurity. With each time Yaakov bowed,
one level of impurity was removed was Esav. How many times did Yaakov bow to
Esav? Seven.[6]
The sum of the word טמא is 50. Multiplying 7 by 50, we come to 350. Esav received one
Bracha from his father. Therefore, 350 and 26 gives us a total of 376—the same
Gematria as עשו. The Pasuk tells us Yaakov bowed seven times
עד אחיו, until he reached his brother. Another interpretation is that
through these bowings, Esav was now like a brother to him, since with Yaakov
bowing seven times, the seven levels of impurity of Esav were removed.[7]
This now left Esav with that one Bracha. It comes as no surprise that the
Gematria of אחיו is 26 (symbolizing the one Bracha that
remained).[8]
In light of this we can understand why in the next Pasuk Esav ran toward Yaakov
and hugged and kissed him,[9]
since all that remained in Esav was love because his impurity was removed. Now
we can appreciate the wordsשבע יפול צדיק וקם-[10]
Yaakov bowed seven times to Esav (שבע יפול
צדיק) and
then overcame him (וקם)!
R’ Acha Bar Yaakov learned
from Yaakov how to kill the seven-headed demon. He is hinted to here inיש לי רב אחי,[11]
as this is a reference to ר' אחא. Is it any coincidence that his name was ר' אחא בר יעקב, as he learned this from Yaakov.
[1] Kidushin 29b.
[2] The Maharsha there says these are the seven powers of
impurity that the Nachash brought to the world.
[3] See Breishis 27:37, Rashi.
[4] Moreover, Yaakov lived until 147. 147 is 7 multiplied
by Hashem’s name אהי-ה.
[5] 33:12. See Chagiga 5b. This follows the concept of זה לעמת זה עשה
האלה-ים
(Koheles 7:14)—Hashem created each thing and its
contrast.
[6] Breishis 33:3.
[7] Sefer Hamakneh, Kidushin 29b. The seventh Bracha wasהן גביר..., I
have made him a lord over you… (Breishis 27:37, Rashi)—Malchus. With this we
can graspועלו מושעים
בהר ציון...המלוכה, and saviors will ascend Mount Tzion to judge the
mountain of Esav, and the kingdom will be Hashem’s (Ovadia 1:21). ציון,
which has a Gematria of 156, is 6
multiplied by י-ה-ו-ה. Then והיתה לה' המלוכה,
the seventh Bracha, Malchus.
[8] With the Kollel (including the word itself). The
reason why we can include the word itself in Gematria is it is just as a
product has different ingredients and once we have all those ingredients
together it forms something new—the product itself. Similarly, a word is
composed of letters and once we have the letters put together we have something
new—the word itself (Shabbos Malkisa, p. 24).
[9] The Pasuk states ויאמר הכי קרא שמו יעקב ויעקבני..., it is because his name was
called Yaakov that he outwitted me twice—he took away my birthright and my
blessing (Breishis 27:36). The first letters of these words spell וישקהו, he
kissed him (Breishis 33:4). This is because the reason Esav didn’t kiss Yaakov
with a full heart was due to that Yaakov took the Bechora.
[10] Mishlei 24:16.
[11] Breishis 33:9.
