Rosh Hashanah with the Firstborn - from Poison to Elixer of Life

B"H

1. Yes Jews wait for Moshiach (everyday).

2. We blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah.

3. We do hope Moshiach is revealed on Rosh Hashanah.

4. But the connection between the 2 is not specifically direct (at least not in Torah).

5. The purpose of blowing the shofar is to crown HASHEM AS KING.

6. and for Israel to repent from its wicked ways.

Now, Regarding the Firstborn:

Yaakov is "like" the first born.

Although Eisav is the actual first born.

Similarities can be seen when Ephraim gets the "right hand " blessing from Yaakov although it's clear that Menasheh is the actual firstborn.

Similarly and more popular is all of Israel being called the first born son of Hashem.

When Reuven switched the beds, the sons of Joseph received his birthright.

Important to note that Hashem personally killed the firstborns of Egypt.

1. Literal Role of the Firstborn

In the Torah, the בכור has:

Inheritance rights – receives a double portion (Devarim 21:17).

Sanctity – the firstborn of man and animal are sanctified to Hashem (Shemot 13:2).

Originally, the firstborn males were meant to serve as priests in the Mishkan, before this role shifted to the tribe of Levi after the sin of the Golden Calf (Bamidbar 3:12–13).

Thus, the בכור is a symbol of responsibility, leadership, and holiness.

Spiritual Symbolism

The firstborn represents the beginning, the root, the head of a family/nation.

In Kabbalistic terms, “firstborn” is linked to Chochmah (Wisdom) – the first emanation that sets the course for everything else.

Rabbi Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin writes that the בכור symbolizes the "first revelation" of potential, the opening channel of blessing into the world.

Hashem’s “Firstborn”

Shemot 4:22 – Hashem calls Israel “My firstborn son”.

Meaning: Among the nations, Israel is the “firstborn” – chosen to carry the responsibility of being a light to the world.

Yirmiyahu 31:20 – Hashem calls Ephraim His firstborn, representing mercy, love, and the promise that Hashem will never abandon His people.

Here “firstborn” is not about order of birth but chosenness and covenantal responsibility.

Midrash and Chassidut

Midrash Tanchuma (Korach 5): “The firstborn takes greatness, priesthood, and kingship.”

Meaning:

A בכור carries potential for leadership in every sphere.

Chassidut (e.g., Tanya, Maamarim of the Alter Rebbe):

The בכור represents the power of the soul’s first impulse toward Hashem – the freshest, purest love before it becomes diluted.

That is why the Torah says “Sanctify to Me every firstborn” (Shemot 13:2) – because the first belongs to Hashem.

Going Deeper, The בכור is not always the eldest – Torah often “reverses” birth order:

Yitzchak chosen over Yishmael

Yaakov over Esav

Ephraim over Menashe

This teaches that “firstborn” in practice of holiness means the one who embodies the inner essence of God’s plan, not simply the one born first.

The Zohar (Shemot 44a) calls the firstborn the “crown of the house” – the one who reveals the father’s essence in the world.

The Jewish people reveal the essence of Hashem in creation.

1. Biological: first to open the womb, with sanctity and responsibility.

2. National: Israel as God’s firstborn, chosen to carry the mission of Torah.

3. Spiritual: the “first impulse” of holiness, the pure beginning that belongs to Hashem.

4. Mystical: represents Chochmah, the channel of divine light into the world.

5. Ethical: teaches that true “firstborn” status is earned by following through with the Geulah and by living with holiness, not just by birth order.

So now that we explained the way the torah looks at the firstborn, explaining he's connected to the highest intent of Chochmah, probably from the seed of his father, connecting him to optimism (like a father exited to connect with his wife and bring life into the world, to make better than his parents) now, let's look at the mother, the one who carries the baby for nine months. What does she "contribute" (SMH) to the firstborn?

1. Nachash (Serpent) and Poison

Bereishit 3 – The Nachash brings חטא (sin) and death into the world.

Avodah Zarah 22b – “The poison of the serpent entered Chava and all her descendants.”

This is the root of the idea that the “poison” of the snake lives in mankind, carried especially through the firstborn line via the mother.

2. Transfer of the Poison Between Brothers

Yishmael vs. Yitzchak:

Yishmael is the firstborn of Avraham, but not the chosen heir (Bereishit 17:18–21).

Chazal (Bereishit Rabbah 53:11) say Yitzchak was pure because Hashem promised “Ki b’Yitzchak yikarei lecha zera” – “Through Yitzchak shall your seed be called.”

Mystically: Yishmael “absorbs” the kelipot so Yitzchak can remain holy and continue the chosen line.

Esav vs. Yaakov:

Esav emerges first, but Yaakov grabs his heel (Bereishit 25:26).

Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 63:8) – Yaakov tried to “hold back” Esav from taking the בכורה.

Yaakov later buys the birthright (Bereishit 25:31–34).

Zohar (Toldot 142a) says this was not only about inheritance but a transfer of spiritual forces, Yaakov deliberately drawing Esav’s koach of “firstborn poison” into himself in a way he could begin to try and purify it.

The gifts Yaakov gives Esav (Bereishit 32:14–22) are explained by Ramban and Midrash as appeasing Esav, but in sod (Zohar Vayishlach 170b) they are a tikkun transaction, Yaakov “feeding Esav’s side” so that Israel can remain whole to arrive at a state of power to uplift all mankind out of the "Poison" Klipa.

3. The Role of the Egyptian Firstborn

Shemot 4:22 – Hashem declares: “My son, My firstborn, is Israel.”

Shemot 12:29 – Hashem strikes the firstborn of Egypt.

Zohar Bo 40a–41a explains that the death of the Egyptian firstborn was the final separation: the “koach hatumah of the nations’ בכור im” was destroyed, and the בכורה was handed exclusively to Israel.

This means: until then, the nations also carried a form of “firstborn power,” but after Makot Bechorot, Hashem cut off their line of spiritual claim and invested it solely in Israel.

4. Firstborn and Tikkun

Bamidbar 3:12–13 – Hashem takes the Levites instead of the firstborn for holy service, showing that firstborn status is no longer natural/biological but channeled through sanctity and avodah diligence and toil for Hashem.

Zohar Pinchas 246b – “The בכור is the channel through which the world receives life;

if corrupted, it destroys, but if sanctified, it sustains.”

Arizal (Shaar HaPesukim, Shemot) – The smiting of Egypt’s firstborn was a cosmic tikkun, removing the serpent’s poison from the nations’ בכורim and consolidating it into Israel’s mission.

This also explains the terrible damage Israel can do when it is not busy with serving Hashem and following the Torah as we saw with the secular Jews who were founding members of the Bolshovik, communist and other g-dless systems which resulted (and result till today in death and misery)

Moshiach and the Final Tikkun

The Midrash (Tehillim 89, Yalkut Shimoni 620) calls Moshiach “Bechori – My firstborn”, linking him to this rectified essence.

Chassidut explains that Moshiach channels the purified koach of the בכור to heal all the poison of history.

When the Nachash sinned with Chava, its poison entered the woman and by extention all of mankind (Avodah Zarah 22b).

This poison passes into the line of firstborn especially strong as he is the first child to "wipe the walls off the womb":

Yishmael takes it so Yitzchak remains pure (Bereishit Rabbah 53).

Esav takes it so Yaakov is holy, and Yaakov later buys the birthright and sends gifts (Bereishit 25, 32; Zohar Toldot 142a, Vayishlach 170b) to absorb and neutralize Esav’s poison And to minimize the poison in his children further.

By the time of Egypt, the nations still carried some of the firstborn poisen power and were using it actively for evil.

Hashem’s plague on the Egyptian firstborn (Shemot 12:29; Zohar Bo 40a) cut off that power and gave it to Israel, declared “My firstborn son” (Shemot 4:22).

Even deeper, we see that Hashem Himself specifically comes down and kills the Egyptians firstborn, as this surgical action was of immense importance for the future of the world and its chance to connect to Hashem later.

From then on, the בכור is a role of holy service and tikkun, leading toward Moshiach, the ultimate “firstborn” (Yalkut Shimoni Tehillim 89).

But let's not stop here and go very deep into this Torah idea we are uncovering — as we are weaving together Chumash, Midrash, Zohar, and Chassidut into one big picture about the snake, the name Elohim, and the destiny of Israel.

The Snake as the Animalistic Force

Bereishit 3 – The Nachash seduces Chava. Chazal explain it symbolizes the yetzer hara (evil inclination).

Avodah Zarah 22b – “The poison of the snake entered Chava and her offspring.”

Zohar I:35b – The snake represents the “klipah” of self-centered desire, which drags man down into animalistic survival and selfishness, blind to higher godliness.

Thus, the snake = the lower drive for material existence without transcendent awareness.

The Name Elohim and the Snake

Elohim is the Divine name associated with Gevurah (severity), din (judgment), and teva (nature).

Tehillim 19:2 – “The heavens tell the glory of E-l; and the firmament declares the work of His hands.” Here Elohim is associated with creation and concealment within nature.

Baal Shem Tov (Keter Shem Tov 54) – Elohim is the force of God that fills the worlds (ממלא כל עלמין), the immanent godliness hidden inside creation, as opposed to the name Havayah which transcends.

The Nachash is drawn to the level of Elohim concealed in materiality, clinging to the low-level divine life-force but twisting it toward selfishness.

Moshe and the Snake

Shemot 4:3 – At the burning bush, Moshe throws down his staff and it becomes a snake; Moshe flees.

Zohar II:27a – Moshe flees because he fears the koach hatumah (power of impurity) hidden in the snake, which represents the fallen state of creation.

Midrash Shemot Rabbah 3:12 – Moshe fled because “the wicked are compared to snakes,” and he feared being drawn into their path.

Hashem commands: “Stretch out your hand and grab its tail” (Shemot 4:4).

Or HaChaim: The tail represents the lowest part of existence, the most physical. Hashem tells Moshe: “Even there, My holiness will be revealed.”

Chassidut (Torah Ohr, Parashat Shemot): Moshe’s act symbolizes the future when Israel will elevate and master even the lowest forces of nature, showing that Elohim too is fully one with Havayah.

4. Yaakov Becomes Yisrael

Bereishit 32:29 – After wrestling with the angel of Esav, Yaakov is told: “Your name shall no longer be Yaakov, but Yisrael, for you have struggled with Elohim and with men, and prevailed.”

Rashi: “Elohim” here means the angel of Esav (his minister).

Zohar I:170a – Yaakov’s victory means he not only subdued Esav but also revealed that Elohim (nature, judgment) is also part of Havayah’s oneness.

Chassidut (Likkutei Torah, Vayetzei 28c): The name Yisrael = “Li Rosh” (“a head for Me”), the elevation of man above animalistic nature, transforming the poison of the snake into light.

The snake represents the animalistic life force of self-preservation and material desire.

This force clings to the Divine name Elohim, which sustains the world within nature but hides Hashem’s transcendence.

Moshe’s fear of the snake is the danger of being swallowed by these drives, but Hashem promises that ultimately Israel will master them: “Grab the tail” — even the lowest levels will be sanctified.

Yaakov’s transformation into Yisrael represents the ultimate tikkun: victory over Elohim-as-hidden (Esav’s minister, nature, judgment), turning it into Elohim-as-one-with-Havayah.

In conclusion, The snake is the symbol of creation’s fallen, selfish energy tied to the name Elohim in concealment; Moshe shows us the danger, Hashem shows the tikkun, and Yaakov becoming Yisrael shows the destiny of Israel — to transform even the poison of the snake into vessels of divine revelation, preparing the world for Geulah.

This is very deep — but let's go ever deeper tracing the entire story of the firstborn all the way back to Cain, the literal firstborn of humanity, and connecting his fall to the ongoing tikkun of history.

Cain the First Firstborn

Bereishit 4:1–2 – “And Adam knew Chava his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said: ‘I have acquired (קניתי) a man with Hashem.’ And she again bore his brother, Hevel.”

Cain = the first firstborn of humanity, destined to inherit the world.

Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 22:2) – Cain saw himself as the sole heir to the entire world.

When Hashem accepted Hevel’s offering and not his, Cain perceived it as a threat to his inheritance.

Bereishit 4:8 – “Cain rose up against Hevel his brother, and killed him.”

This was the first distortion of the bechor’s role: rather than bearing responsibility, Cain destroyed his brother.

The Root of Sin

The sin of Adam and Chava (Bereishit 3) was failing to obey Hashem’s command.

Ramban (Bereishit 3:6) says Adam and Chava were commanded only one mitzvah — not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge.

The snake lured them into selfishness, desire, and rebellion, and their failure became embedded in humanity.

Cain repeated this pattern: instead of submitting to Hashem’s justice, he acted with jealousy and violence.

The Multiplication of Mitzvot

In Adam’s time, there was only one commandment.

By the time of Sinai, that single light had expanded into 613 mitzvot (Makkot 23b: “613 mitzvot were given to Moshe at Sinai”).

On top of these, the Sages established fences and safeguards (Pirkei Avot 1:1 – “Make a fence around the Torah”).

Kabbalah explains: the light of Hashem, originally simple and unified, shattered into many sparks after the sin, requiring many different mitzvot to repair (Arizal, Etz Chaim, Shaar HaKlallim).

Living in Chaos

Before creation, there was Tohu (chaos) — a world of shattered vessels (Zohar I:15a, Arizal).

Because of human sins, especially rooted in Adam, Chava, and Cain, we still live amidst that brokenness.

Every mitzvah, every act of Torah and chesed, collects sparks and rebuilds order from chaos.

Our Role in Tikkun

Yom Kippur reminds us that we are still “Cain’s children,” still struggling with jealousy, anger, and selfishness.

But Hashem gives us the tools to repair:

Teshuvah (return) (Devarim 30:2–3)

Tefillah (prayer) (Hoshea 14:3 – “Take with you words and return to Hashem”)

Tzedakah (charity) (Daniel 4:24 – “Redeem your sins with charity”).

Rambam (Hilchot Teshuvah 7:6): “Yesterday he was hated before Hashem… today he is beloved, close, and a friend.”

Prayer for Forgiveness

So we say before Yom Kippur:

Ribbono Shel Olam, forgive us for repeating the sins of Adam, Chava, and Cain — disobedience, selfishness, jealousy, and violence.

May You see our Torah study, our prayers, our charity, and our longing to serve You.

May You grant us truth, justice, peace, and Your Presence.

And may we be signed and sealed for a sweet new year, filled with light and with the rebuilding of the world from chaos to redemption.

✨ In short:

Cain, the first firstborn, failed in his mission by killing instead of protecting. Adam and Chava failed in their mission by disobeying. We are their children, repairing these mistakes through the 613 mitzvot and the oral tradition, gathering sparks from chaos back into divine order. Yom Kippur is our chance to ask Hashem to forgive us, to restore us, and to let us continue the tikkun until we merit to crown our king Moshiach with a prophet and the Sanhedrin.

From Poisen to Potion "Let the Rambam Cook!"

So now we can Finnaly asking for the “sod” of the whole story: how poison becomes medicine, how the snake becomes the elixir of eternal life, how the Tree of Knowledge becomes the Tree of Life.

So Let’s build this carefully with solid Torah sources + real medicine examples + Rambam’s writings:

1. Rambam: Physician & Philosopher

• Rambam (Maimonides, 1135–1204) was both the greatest halachic authority and one of the most renowned physicians of the Middle Ages.

• His medical writings (e.g., “Pirkei Moshe”, “Treatise on Poisons and Their Antidotes”) were standard texts for centuries.

• In his Treatise on Poisons, Rambam explicitly describes how the venom of certain snakes can, in very small measured doses, become the basis for an antidote to snakebite.

  • He writes (introduction to Treatise on Poisons): “In nature, what harms in large measure heals in small measure; for the Creator placed in every harmful thing a counterbalance to itself.”

This is essentially the medieval expression of immunology / antivenom.

2. A Concrete Medical Example Still Practiced Today

• Modern antivenom: When a person is bitten by a poisonous snake, the antidote is made by:

  1. Taking a small dose of that snake’s venom.

  2. Injecting it into a large animal (usually a horse or sheep).

  3. The animal’s immune system creates antibodies.

  4. Doctors extract the antibodies from the animal’s blood, purify them, and inject them into the patient.

• This literally uses the poison of the snake to heal the wound of the snake — the same principle Rambam describes.

• Another example: digitalis (from the foxglove plant). In large doses it’s poisonous, in small controlled doses it’s a powerful heart medicine.

So medically, Rambam’s insight is practiced to this day.

3. Torah Parallel: Poison to Elixir

• Tree of Knowledge vs. Tree of Life:

  • Adam was told not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge (Bereishit 2:17).

  • After sin, the Tree of Life became inaccessible.

  • Kabbalah explains (Arizal, Etz Chaim, Shaar 50) that the sin “mixed good and evil” in the world.

  • The mitzvot are the “antidote” to separate good from evil again.

  • In the future, when tikkun is complete, even the “Tree of Knowledge” itself will be restored as “the Tree of Life” — the knowledge of good and evil used purely for holiness.

• Zohar III:124b – In the time of Mashiach, “the Tree of Knowledge will be transformed into the Tree of Life, and death will be swallowed up forever.”

• Isaiah 25:8 – “He will destroy death forever, and Hashem will wipe away tears from all faces.”

• Daniel 12:2 – “Many who sleep in the dust will awaken.”

• Rambam, Hilchot Melachim 12:1–2 – In the days of Mashiach “there will be no hunger or war… and all will be involved in the knowledge of Hashem.” This knowledge itself is the elixir of life.

4. From Venom to Resurrection

• Just as antivenom takes the poison itself to heal, so too the Torah takes the very materiality and drives (the “poison” of the snake) and transforms them into mitzvot, holiness, and tikkun.

  This process culminates in techiyat ha-metim (resurrection):

  • Zohar II:124b – “When the spirit of impurity is removed, life will flow from the Tree of Life and revive the dead.”

  • Rambam, Hilchot Teshuvah 8:2 – The reward of the righteous is eternal life after the resurrection.

• In other words, our work of separating, refining, and sanctifying takes the “poison” of exile and sin and turns it into the “medicine” of redemption and eternal life.

5. The Unified Teaching

• Rambam the doctor: teaches how to make an antidote from venom.

• Rambam the posek: teaches how mitzvot and Torah refine the world.

• Chazal and Kabbalah: teach that in the end, the very force of the Nachash — the mixed good and evil — will be transformed back into pure life.

• Mashiach = “the ultimate healer” (Zohar III:153b), who will use the poison of history to bring the elixir of eternal life.

✨ Summary:

In medicine, the poison of the snake becomes the cure for the snake’s bite. In Torah, the “poison” of the Nachash — selfishness, materialism, confusion — becomes the raw material for mitzvot, teshuvah, and Torah. When the process is complete, the Tree of Knowledge becomes the Tree of Life; death is swallowed forever; the resurrection of the dead is revealed. This is Rambam’s medicine and Hashem’s promise: poison transformed into the elixir of life.

May we merit to restore the great wisdom from the Torah, it's values and knowledge into the modern law systems in the holy land of Israel and the world with clarity and peace.

Sanhedrin Initiative Advisor

Rabbi Yosef Edery

Golan Heights Israel

Wwmoshiachnow@gmail.com

WhatsApp and Mobile +972524971349