על הבריחה והמציאה ח׳On Flight and Finding 8
א׳
1[44] Consequently he will go abroad to Laban, not the Syrian, but his mother’s brother. This means that he will arrive amid the splendours of life, for “Laban” signifies “bright.” And when he has arrived, he will not be elated by his good fortune and have a lofty mien; for, though “aloft” is the translation of “Syrian,” there is no mention here of the Syrian Laban, but only of the brother of Rebecca.
ב׳
2[45] For the ways and means of life placed at the disposal of a worthless man carry his mind up into the height, empty as it is of sound sense, and such a mind is called “Syrian,” but for the man enamoured of discipline, steadfastly and firmly persisting in the principles of nobility of character … this is the brother of Rebecca, or “Persistence”; and he dwells in “Haran,” which in our language is “cavities,” a symbol of the senses; for the man who is still moving upon the stage of this mortal life cannot dispense with the organs of sense.
ג׳
3[46] This mother therefore says, “child, make thine abode with him,” not for ever, but “for a few days” (Gen. 27:44). This means “Learn well the country of the senses; know thyself, and the parts of which thou dost consist, what each is, and for what it was made, and how it is meant to work, and who it is that, all invisible, invisibly sets the puppets in motion and pulls their strings, whether it be the Mind that is in thee or the Mind of the Universe.
ד׳
4[47] And when thou hast examined thyself, make too a precise scrutiny of all that is peculiar to Laban, even the triumphs of vainglory which are accounted so brilliant. Be not caught by any of these, but, like a good craftsman, skilfully adapt them all to thine own requirements. For if, when placed in this turbid scene of state and city life, thou shalt have displayed a steadfast and well-disciplined character, I will fetch thee thence (Gen. 27:45), that thou mayest obtain the very prize obtained by thy parents: and the prize is the unfaltering and untiring ministry to the only wise Being.”