Sunday, November 23, 2008

Truth And Consequence

Toldot - Generations

וְאֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת יִצְחָק, בֶּן-אַבְרָהָם
And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son ... Bereshit 25:19

DovBear writes of another opinion in the Talmud, namely that:

one of the Rabbis argues that Abraham had everything, specifically he had no daughter, and therefore no worries about marring her off.

Why no daughter, did he refuse to acknowledge his daughter because she was a witch?

The Jerusalem Talmud also shares (Kiddushin 4, 11) that "the best among women practices witchcraft." Avraham's loss. She received the Torah straight away (a kefitzah haderekh) while Avraham's patriarchal line had to wait a several more generations.

Why is this important?

She received Torah straight away, while Avraham's patriarchal line of descendents had to wait several generations to receive it. The "shortening of the way" experienced by the daughter of Avraham is called a kefitzah haderekh. Alternatively, kefitzah haderekh or "shortening of the way" is called a kwisatz haderach.

Kwisatz Haderach" is the name of a prophesied messiah in Frank Herbert's fictional Dune universe. KWISATZ HADERACH: "Shortening of the Way." The origin of Kwisatz Haderach is most likely from the Hebrew language expression Kefitzat Haderech (קפיצת הדרך), which literally means "jumping of the path/road/way", and translates to "the great breakthrough" or "the big advancement." It is also similar in meaning to the Hebrew expression Kitzur Haderech (קיצור הדרך), which literally means "shortening of the path/road/way" and translates to "the short cut."

If Avraham refused to acknowledge his daughter because she is a witch, clearly, it was a big big mistake with cosmic consequences.

Related Entries:

Best Among Women
Bakol & Transmitting The Torah Of Atzilut