The Torah, “Numbers,” 20:14, 20:17 – 20:18, 20:21: Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “So says your brother, Israel, You know of all the hardship that has befallen us.
Please let us pass through your land; we will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink well water. We will walk along the king’s road, and we will turn neither to the right nor to the left until we have passed through your territory.
Edom replied to him, “You shall not pass through me, lest I go out towards you with the sword!”
Edom refused to allow Israel to cross through his territory; so Israel turned away from him.
Edom is a property of rigid egoism [1]. “Israel passing through” stands for connecting with it.
The Edomite Hills are located in the territory of modern Jordan and can be easily seen from Israel. They represent a passage to the land of Israel that cannot be reached any other way.
For forty years the people of Israel were acquiring the properties of Bina [2] in the desert. Their endless wandering in the desert are about spiritual combinations of Malchut and Bina that show how to prepare for entering the land of Israel (Malchut) and mastering it with the newly-acquired property of bestowal [3].
Only after this happens, can the Jews enter the promised land. But it is not yet the land of Israel because it under the authority of the seven nations. This is when the actual conquering begins, processing the land with the help of properties of Bina.
This explains why crossing Edom is actually a transition from Malchut to Bina. But it doesn’t allow them to do it because it is the last egoistic property before entering the land of Israel that must be forcefully overcome. Seven egoistic nations wait for the Jews in the land of Israel, seven huge impure forces: Hesed, Gevura, Tifferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod, and Malchut. They also have to be conquered and corrected.
This is why the king of Edom rejects them so that they become prepared for the last journey, unite, and acknowledge that without the Creator they won’t survive. The passage is about the conquest of themselves, their victory over egoism.
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From KabTV’s “Secrets of the Eternal Book” 6/24/15
Related Material:
Sodom, Egypt, And The Land Of Canaan [4]
Entering The Land Of Israel [5]
Identifying With The People [6]