The discussion begins with a disagreement between Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and one of his students, Rabbi Chiya, regarding the symbolism of Be’er Sheva. The Mikdash Melech on the Zohar explains that the substance of their disagreement is whether, like Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Be’er Sheva symbolizes the sefirah of kingdom (malchut), or whether, like Rabbi Chiya, it symbolizes the sefirah of understanding (binah).
If we take a close look at the naming of the city as “Be’er Sheva,” we find that it was named twice. The first time was when Abraham made an oath with Avimelech over a well he had dug:
He [Abraham] replied: “You are to accept these seven ewes from me as proof that I dug this well.” Hence that place was called Be’er Sheva, for there the two of them swore an oath.
Later, when Isaac digs new wells to replace his father’s wells that the Philistines had obstructed, when he digs the family’s seventh well (three dug by his father and obstructed and four new wells dug by Isaac), he calls the place “Be’er Sheva,” meaning “the seventh well.” In other words, the name Be’er Sheva has two explanations, either after the oath that Abraham and Avimelech took there or after the seventh well dug by Abraham and Isaac.
When considering the various commentaries on the Torah, we find that some of them argue that these were not only two origins for the same name but designated two different locations. For example, the Rashbam writes,
This was not the same Be’er Sheva we read about in connection with Abraham. There were two places named Be’er Sheva as we know from the verse, “he came to Be’er Sheva in Judah.”
Others though, like the Seforno, argue that there is only one location named Be’er Sheva, but when it was named after the oath its name was pronounced “Be’er Shava,” and when named after the seventh well, its name was pronounced “Be’er Sheva.”
In an essay on the aforementioned passage in the Zohar, the Alter Rebbe explains that the plain meaning of the text as explained by the commentaries and the disagreement between Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and Rabbi Chiya in the Zohar are related. When the place is named after the oath Abraham and Avimelech took, it corresponds to the sefirah of understanding, because all oaths relate to understanding. When it is named after the seventh well, it corresponds to the sefirah of kingdom (malchut), since it is the seventh emotive faculty.
Whether there are two different locations called “Be’er Sheva,” or whether these are two different names for the same location, we are prompted to see if we can identify other cities and towns in the Holyland with the other sefirot.
A most central source on the cities of the Land of Israel is Chessed LeAvraham, written by the Chida’s grandfather, Rabbi Avraham Azulay. He extensively discusses the sanctity of the Land of Israel and mentions four holy cities: Tzfat, Tiberias, Hebron, and Jerusalem, in this specific order. He also corresponds them to the sefirot. The first two are self-explanatory from a geographic perspective: Tzfat corresponds to victory (netzach) which is called “the extreme height” in Sefer Yetzirah. Likewise, Tiberias corresponds to acknowledgment (hod) described as “the extreme low.” Hebron he corresponds with foundation (yesod) because it literally means to connect or to couple and foundation corresponds to the procreative organs in the body. Finally, Jerusalem, the capital of the Jewish people and the capital of the Almighty, is easily corresponded with kingdom (malchut). Indeed, Jerusalem contains the palace of the king of Israel as well as the Holy Temple which is the palace of the King of all kings of kings, the Almighty.
The Mitteler Rebbe writes in a letter to the Chassidic settlement in the Land of Israel that before reaching Jerusalem, one must first be in Hebron, just like King David himself. David is the archetypal soul of kingdom, and his ultimate destination is certainly Jerusalem. However, he first reigned for seven years in Hebron. Why? To unite with the three Patriarchs. This means that specifically in Hebron, one can connect with the Patriarchs, who correspond to the emotive sefirot: loving-kindness, might, and beauty.
How can we understand the reason that only from foundation can one draw down influence from the emotive sefirot and from the Patriarchs? The situation is similar to how we find in the Torah that it is Joseph, the archetypal soul of foundation, who extends from the Patriarchs and transmits their influence downward to the rest of the tribes, the sons of Jacob.
We might have thought that Shechem should be the city that corresponds with foundation, since that is where Joseph himself is buried. Indeed, there certainly is an aspect of foundation associated with Shechem. For example, we find that Jacob blessed Joseph, “And I have given you one portion (Shechem) above your brothers.” But for some reason Shechem is not mentioned in Chesed LeAvraham as one of the four holy cities.
In Kabbalah, Shechem is identified with the sefirah of knowledge (da’at), specifically Da’at between the shoulders, since Shechem literally means a shoulder. Just as the flow of seed extends from the Da’at between the shoulders to foundation through the spinal cord, there is indeed an aspect of foundation that is drawn down from Shechem. However, it is Hebron that corresponds with foundation.
Hebron is also called Kiryat Arba (the City of Four), named for its connection to the four couples buried there: Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah. This is tied to the secret of the letter Shin. The shin is found on the exterior of the head tefillin. The shin is called “the letter of the Patriarchs” because it has three heads, corresponding to the three Patriarchs. On the head tefillin we also find a shin with four heads corresponding to the Matriarchs. On the head tefillin, the four-headed shin is on the left, representing the sefirah of understanding (binah, or the Mother Principle), while the shin with three heads is on the right side, representing wisdom (chochmah, or the Father Principle). These need to be united and drawn into a single point at the bottom—the point of foundation at the base of the shin, when it is written in a Torah scroll.
This drawing down and coupling were accomplished by King David during his seven years in Hebron. In that time, he immersed himself in the secret of the shin. When the shin is joined to the two letters, dalet (ד) and yud (י), whose value is the same as David (דוד), it forms the holy Name Shakai (ש-די), the name associated with foundation in Kabbalah.
Thus, David rectified the Name Shakai, and through this, he was able to “rectify the world in the kingdom of Shakai,” by drawing from foundation into kingdom—from Hebron to Jerusalem.
In modern times, the first large Chasidic aliyah to the Land of Israel was led by Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk. He and his chasidim first settled in Tzfat and then moved to Tiberias. So they had already rectified victory and acknowledgment, the so-called “two halves of the body,” and the first two habitual sefirot. To continue moving towards Jerusalem and kingdom, the Rebbe’s of Chabad placed great emphasis on strengthening the Jewish community in general, and the Chasidic community in particular, in Hebron. By focusing on Hebron, the place of foundation, the rebbe’s wanted to continue drawing Godly revelation down from the Patriarchs, the three emotive sefirot until eventually rectifying kingdom.
All the while that Rebbe Mendel Vitebsker was rectifying Tzfat and Tiberias, the Jewish community in Jerusalem pleaded and begged for them to relocate to Jerusalem, Rabbi Mendel and his followers refused and remained in Tiberias.
This also offers us an explanation on why the Alter Rebbe (Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi), who had wanted to join his teacher, Rebbe Mendel Vitebsker was turned down by him. It was likely because, in the Land of Israel, the Alter Rebbe's destined place was not the same as that of the other Chassidim. While they belonged in Tzfat and Tiberias, the place for Chabad until the coming of the Mashiach (our generation) is Hebron. From Hebron, the Divine abundance is drawn down through the secret of the name Shakai into kingdom.
So, the great and awe-inspiring day will come when Elijah the Prophet announces the arrival of the Mashiach to the holy Jerusalem, which is known as “the Justice of the holy kingdom.” This is what we are waiting for; this is the current goal—to move from Hebron to Jerusalem.
There is still much to rectify, and we must not abandon any holy place. However, it seems that the rectification of Hebron has been accomplished to some extent. After many generations of effort devoted to Hebron, it has not, unfortunately, reached the level of physical development seen in other places in the Land of Israel. Yet tremendous spiritual energy has been dedicated to Hebron over the years and we hope that the time has come when we can ascend joyfully to Jerusalem, the holy city, together with the Mashiach who will build the Temple, the palace of the Almighty.
