Kabbalah Library
Zohar for All, Volume 3
And He Said unto Jacob
45) “And he said unto Jacob, ‘Behold, your son Joseph is coming to you.’” It was an angel wo told Jacob that he was destined to speak favorably of Israel. When they return to the Creator with all their plight, when the time of the Messiah arrives and they are redeemed from all the troubles that have come upon them, he said to the quality, which is Jacob, Tifferet, “Your sons are coming to you, and the good ones,” meaning Israel, “Will be redeemed.”
46) Happy are Israel, who are called “the sons of the Creator,” who are as angels. It is written about them, “And all the sons of God shouted for joy.” Also, Israel are called “The sons of the Creator, as it is written, “You are the sons of the Lord your God.”
47) The Creator called Jacob “God,” that he told him, “You will be in the lower ones, and I will be God in the upper ones?” It is written, “And God went up from Abraham.” Thus, the patriarchs are the Merkava [assembly/chariot] of the Creator. It is written, “You will give truth unto Jacob, mercy to Abraham,” thus two Sefirot—Hesed and truth, which is Tifferet—in the two great upper Merkavot [plural of Merkava], Abraham and Jacob.
48) The third one is Isaac, who became a Merkava for the Sefira of Gevura, as it is written, “And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.” Because of Isaac’s fear, who is a Sefira of the Creator—Gevura—which is called “fear,” he became the throne, a high Merkava for her. And the Sefira of Isaac, Gevura, is more important and more explicit than all the Sefirot of the patriarchs, Hesed and Tifferet, as it is written, “And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac,” by the Sefira of Gevura, called “fear,” since the illumination of Hochma came only from the Sefira of Gevura, from the left line, and the illumination of Hochma cancels all the shells.
49) “‘The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, let the God of their father, judge between us.’ And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.” The Sefira of Isaac is the most important, since he did not swear by the God of Abraham, but by the fear of Isaac.
