And the Egyptians dealt ill with us: “Come let us deal wisely with them…” All of this is explained in the Haggadah. And many: If you desire to eat the fruits of Genosar, you’ll find them in Parshat Shemot!⁸⁷ as Gan shel Sar, the garden of the princes. Here the expression means that if you really want the riches of the story of the Exodus you should go back and read the opening chapters of the second book of the Torah – the book of Exodus, and Parshat Shemot in particular. What is particularly strange here is that the commentary seems to leave out most of the section which deals with the actual story of the Exodus: Deuteronomy 26 – this is the part that most commentators spend the most time on in their commentary. Did you mean Deuteronomy? *And with wonders: this is the blood… ‘I will show wonders in heaven and on earth, blood and fire and pillars of smoke.’*⁸⁸ The Kabbalists explain that if the Sefirah of binah is considered to be absolute compassion in relation to the lower Sephirot, how is it possible that this Sephirah aroused judgment from the aspect of binah? They explain this through a parable. If a fire is burning and there is a tree nearby, the fire will singe the branches and create smoke. It is from the fire and the heat of theyetzer hara*which is below it that binahcreates smoke and that the wrath of judgment arises from it. Blood is related to water which is compassion (rachamim) while the fire finds its source in gevurah, severity and judgment. The combination of these two qualities hesed and gervurah, water and fire, is smoke. This smoke rises up along with the heat it generates a fire even in the Sephirah ofbinah*.⁸⁹on the other hand, is harsh judgment and is also the source of the other side, and the Yetzer Harah is contrast to Hesed which is associated with loving kindness. Good luck making sense out of this kabbalistic statement – or why binahwas raised in the first place.

footnotes: ⁸⁷ This appears to be a popular saying. Genosar is a region around the see of Galilee that was known for its rich and succulent fruit. Originally part of the birth right of the tribe of Naftali, its fruit was so good that it was set aside for royalty. Genosar is explained in the Midrash ⁸⁸ Ezekiel 16:7, 6 ⁸⁹ See the picture above. The first three Sephirot are all associated with compassion since they are the highest Sephirot. Gervurah,