Unifying the Yud Hei and the Vav Hei

The portion Bo begins with the Creator saying to Moses, “Come to Pharaoh.” Grammatically, as the Zohar and the kabbalists point out, the word, however, should have been “go,” as in “Go to Pharaoh.” But bo means “come,” as if either there was some higher place Pharaoh was in that Moses had to get to, or as an indication about where Moses had to go in order to take care of this force of negativity called Pharaoh.

So, why is the word “come” used instead of “go?”.

There are two parts to our lives that are represented by the Tetragrammaton, the four-letter Name of God:the Yud Hei represents the higher levels, and the Vav Hei represents the lower levels. And while the Yud Hei, for example, represents the times we are in the spiritual, upper realm when we’re making our connections, studying, and praying, it is actually much more difficult to maintain a connection to the Light when we’re doing things of the physicality of this world.

The reason there is still so much darkness in our lives, and globally, is because there is no Light permeating from the Vav Hei, the lower part, during the times we are working and busy in the physical world. And because the Light is not permeating that part of life, the Redemption hasn't occurred. It's a very important understanding the kabbalists teach: the Redemption hasn’t occurred not because there aren’t enough people who are studying, praying, and doing the spiritual work, but because there aren't enough people who are involved in the lower part of this world and our lives, what’s called the Vav Hei. There isn't enough Light injected into the consciousness and connection there.

The part that is stopping both our own redemption and global redemption is not the spiritual work; it is the physical part of our lives that is not being infused enough with the Light of the Creator. Before the End of the Correction, before pain and suffering can be removed from our world, there has to be the unification of the Yud Hei and the Vav Hei, of the spiritual and the physical. And this does not mean that we have to do more spiritual work, prayers, and study - although it's always important - but that we have to infuse the Vav Hei, the physical work and part of our lives, with the Light of the Creator. Then, there is the unification of the Yud Hei and Vav Hei.

The kabbalists explain, therefore, that this is the secret of why it says bo, “come,” in the beginning of the portion. When the Creator speaks to Moses and says, “Come to Pharaoh,” he means come to the physicality of this world, to the people who are at work, who are doing things of the physical world, because the lower Vav Hei, the lower part of our lives, has to be infused with the Yud Hei, the spiritual level. And when the Yud Hei and Vav Hei can be unified, the Redemption can occur.

It is important to become aware of this, because even those of us who do our spiritual work are not connecting it enough to the Vav Hei, to the work of the physicality of this world. When a person is more connected to the Light when he is praying or studying than when he is at work, it means he's separating the Yud Hei, the Upper World, from the Vav Hei, the physical world. But the Redemption can and will occur only when the Vav Hei, the physicality of this world, is elevated as well.

The purpose of life is to infuse the physical parts of our lives, the physical parts of this world, with a constant consciousness of the Light of the Creator. Therefore, we need to become aware when we are involved in the physical world of our connection to the Creator, and inject that Light and consciousness into the physical things we are doing. It is an incredibly important understanding, and the only way to unify the Yud Hei with the Vei Hei, to bring the Redemption.