“The sons of Shimon were... and Saul the son of the Canaanite woman”
WHO IS SAUL THE SON OF THE CANAANITE WOMAN?
In the Book of Numbers, we read about the incident of the Midianite women who were sent to seduce the Israelites. The worst atrocity was performed by the chieftain of the Tribe of Shimon, Zimri ben Salu, who communed with a Midianite princess by the name of Cozbi bat Tzur. Zimri in his insolence, made a public spectacle of his sin. It took the zealotry of Pinchas, the grandson of Aharon the High Priest, to end Zimri and Cozbi’s life and discontinue God’s anger at the people.
Who exactly was Zimri ben Salu the chieftain? It is surprising that his name is not mentioned among the chieftains of the tribes appearing a number of times earlier. The sages tell us that he actually had 5 (or 6) different names, many of them connotations. His real name was Shlumiel ben Tzurishadai (יּדַׁישִרּן צוֶּל בֵיאִמֻלְׁש), the chieftain of the Tribe of Shimon. His other names are Zimri, ben Salu, Saul, and the son of the Canaanite woman.
Notice that his father’s name, Tzurishadai (יּדַׁישִרּצו) begins exactly like the name of Cozbi’s father, Tzur, one of the five princes of Midian; Tzur was the prince of impurity. Now, according to the sages, that he is Saul, the son of the Canaanite woman and the son of Jacob’s son, Shimon, he must have been about 250 years old when the incident with the Midianite women occurred. A very energetic old man!
THE REINCARNATIONS OF COZBI
The sages also reveal that Cozbi was not the Midianite princess’s real name. It was Shevilnai (יאנילוׁש). The Arizal writes that Cozbi came to rectify the first Eve, Adam’s first wife, who is not mentioned explicitly in the Torah. The first Eve was not from Adam’s body—from his bone—so he could not say about her that “this one is a bone from my bones” (ימצֲעֵם מֶצֶם עַעַּפַאת הֹז). In fact, she was created independently of Adam. Ultimately, she became Lili[th], who was banished to live outside places of human settlement, in the fields, between the rods on the banks of lakes. Cozbi is identified with Lilith herself, she lives on the banks of lakes. Lilith (לילית) is equal to “tambourine” (ףֹּת). There are women who play the tambourine. The woman most associated with a tambourine is Miriam, Moses’ sister, as it says, “Miriam took the tambourine in her hand and led all the women in song.” She held the tambourine and made it into an instrument of holiness. With her tambourine she rectified Cozbi fully. In fact, all the women mentioned in parashat Pinchas contributed something to the rectification of Cozbi.
According to the Arizal, Cozbi’s rectification passes through several incarnations. The first incarnation was Lili-th, the first Eve. It then proceeds to Amatlai, Abraham’s mother. Then it continues with Dinah, the daughter of Leah (and Jacob). Like her mother, Dinah was “outgoing,” but not in as completely a holy way as her mother, she has some blemishes, that were left over the first Eve and from Amatlai, Terach’s wife, who was not holy. It is from Dinah that Saul, the son of the Canaanite, was born.
ZIMRI AND COZBI AS ARCHETYPES
All discussion of reincarnations views figures as archetypal principles. This is true of the reincarnation lineages we have seen, as well as Zimri and Cozbi as individuals. Zimri’s name clearly relates to singing. In fact, we recognize Zimri as the archetype of all the rock singers in the world, especially the most famous one, whom we won’t mention fully by name. Let us say though that only recently it was discovered that he was Jewish. In fact, only recently his 35th yahrzeit was noted; he died at the age of 42. His connotation, Salu, reminds us of a solo performance. And so, Zimri reaches our generation in this particular reincarnation.
If Zimri is the most famous of all rock singers, then who is Cozbi bat Tzur in our generation? She is the most famous woman in the modern world, the one who died at the age of 36, and towards the end of her life she converted. This woman became the archetype of all the famous women—models and actresses. It seems that this couple has not yet completed their rectification. But we now know that he was Jewish from birth, and she converted (though a Reform conversion, which doesn’t really have any halachic validity). Still, after divorcing her Jewish husband, she continued to identify herself with Judaism.
About her we find the verse, “And I find more bitter (רַמ) than death the woman who is snares, whose heart is traps, whose arms are chains. He who is pleasing to God escapes her, but the sinner is caught by her.” The two main letters of both her first and second names is Mar (רַמ), like “bitter.” These are also the middle letters of Zimri (ירְמִז). The final letters of “Zimri ben Salu” (אּלוָ סןֶּ ביִרְמִז), spell the word “I,” or “ego” (ינֲא). The final letters of Cozbi bat Tzur (רֹ צותַּ ביִּבְזָכּ) equal 10 times “I” (ינֲא). Incredibly, the Arizal goes on to state that the most important historical rectification of Zimri and Cozbi were Rabbi Akiva and the wife of Tineius Rufus (סּפוּרוּסּנוְרֹטו), who after her Roman husband died, converted and ended up marrying Rabbi Akiva.
(from a class given on the 19th of Tammuz 5773)
