“Abraham arose from before his dead, and spoke to the sons of Het, saying.”
Baal HaTurim writes, “Ten times ‘sons of Het’ in the portion since one who scrutinizes the value of a wise disciple, it is as though he observed the Ten Commandments, in which there is the letter Het ten times.” We need to understand why one who scrutinizes the value of a wise disciple is as though he observed the Ten Commandments, and also, where is the proof in the verse?
The Zohar interprets that Abraham means the soul, and Sarah means the body. The soul is regarded as the light that dresses in the Kli [vessel], which is called “body,” and is the will to receive. We must distinguish a portion for the will to receive that is called “body,” meaning give a place in the earth. The will to receive called “body” was sorted out of the 320 sparks that fell to BYA, and the Klipot [shells/peels] grip the sparks of Kedusha [holiness] that fell into BYA.
When we want to sort out for Kedusha, when we scrutinize the body to make it a Kli [vessel] that is fit to receive the soul, at that time the body is called “wise disciple.” It is as Baal HaSulam said, that the Creator is called “wise,” and if a person learns from the Wise then he is called “a wise disciple.”
Hence, if the body, called “will to receive,” learns the quality of the Wise, meaning to be a giver, the body is called “a wise disciple.” Yet, this is impossible before we observe the Ten Commandments, as our sages said, “I have created the evil inclination; I have created the Torah as a spice” (Kidushin 30b), meaning that through the Torah we can defeat the evil inclination.
This is the meaning of “One who scrutinizes the value of a wise disciple, it is as though he observed the Ten Commandments.”
“Grave” is the resting place of the body. Hence, there are graves of idol-worshippers, and there is the Cave of Machpelah. As was asked in The Zohar, sometimes it is written, “the Cave of Machpelah,” and sometimes it is written “the Field of Machpelah.” He interprets in the Sulam [Ladder commentary on The Zohar] that the duality is the association of the quality of mercy with judgment, that Malchut rose to Bina. There is Malchut of Bina and there is Bina of Bina, and there is Bina of Malchut and there is Malchut of Malchut. The meaning is that the body should receive a correction of the quality of mercy with judgment.
Hence, the scrutiny should be for the will to receive, which is the quality of judgment, to be included in the quality of mercy, and by this the body will become a Kli that is fit to receive the light of the soul. He needed to receive the consent of the sons of Het, meaning he had to give them something so they would not slander the body. This is similar to giving a portion to the Sitra Achra [other side] in order to remove it and be saved from it.
At that time, the soul, which is the quality of Abraham, can reside in the body. This is called “the revival of the dead,” meaning that the body is revived from the state of the breaking of the vessels and the sin of the tree of knowledge, which is the meaning of the “shedding of organs.” By the corrections of the quality of mercy with judgment, the body is corrected and is called a Kli in which the light of the Creator, regarded as a soul, can reside.