The Esoteric Meaning of Numbers - Numerology 103

Who knows THREE?
I know THREE.
Three are the (fore)fathers.
The Avos Hakedoshim.

What is the essence of the number three? Three is the basis of our existence.
As discussed before when we were on the number two, the world was created with twos, good and bad, happy and sad, etc. Three is the ability to create the balance which is what is needed in this world. The "two" are diametrically opposed. Like two parallel lines, they will never come together unless there is a third to create the balance. When Hashem created the world, he created heaven and earth, spirituality and materialism. What is the balancing factor? Mankind. It is OUR responsibility to balance spirituality and materialism. Ruchniyus and Gashmiyus. Unlike others who think that one reaches his/her peak by doing away with materialism, we understand that a synthesis of the two, using materialism to achieve spirituality, is the ultimate goal.
In life, our goal is not to make object choices. It's not about choosing "A" or "B" exclusively. Being an extremist in any direction is NOT a good thing. Our job is to balance. The reason a character trait is called a mida is that mida also means a measure. We need to measure out our traits and create balances of the correct amounts. As we see in Koheles, all of the "ittim", there is a time for each one. There is a time to be kind, and there is even a time to kill.
Time and space are broken in threes. In space, there is length and width and then depth/height. Time is even easier to understand. The future in unlimited. The past is finite, it's done and gone. The present is the balance between the two.
Every action/mitzva is created using one of three methods, thought, speech or action. Our soul is broken into three (nefesh, ruach and neshama).
The minimum amount of psukim in an aliya is three, the minimum number of aliyos given out any time that we lain, is three, the minimum number of judges is also three.
Let's take a close look at the avos. Avraham was known for his chesed. He was all giving, expansion, love, growth. What was Yitzchak? The exact opposite. Gevurah. Limitation, constraint, the one who allowed himself to be put on the mizbayach. What is the third ingredient in the makeup of klal yisrael? The third father. The synthesis of the first two. Yaakov Avinu. What was his maala, "Yaakov ish tam" he was complete. He was perfect. Reconciling, balancing, harmonizing and synthesizing. How did he achieve that? The pasuk goes on to say that he was a "yosheiv ohalim". Through Torah. The Torah is the ultimate three. It's brought down in the gemara, mesechta shabbos that the Torah is three (Torah, Neviim, Kesuvim) given to a nation of threes (Kohanim, Leviim and Yisraelim) in the third month (Sivan) after three days of preparation (shloshes yemai hagbala) to a third family (Moshe was the third of three children, three generations from Levi who was the third of the shevatim, children of the third of the three avos). The torah is the ultimate "three", the ultimate balance or guide for us on how to balance.
It is brought down in the Tanna Dvei Eliyahu that Hashem took snow from the kisai Hakavod and used it as a basis for the universe. Why snow? Harav Moshe Shapiro says that unlike water which all blends together, snow, remains individual but groups together to create a greater/stronger force. Klal Yisrael is made up of many groups, ashkenazim, sephardim, chasidim (of many different types), misnagdim, etc etc. That's all fine, we are not looking for everyone to be the same, we should all have differences, but yet come together as one. Ready for the kicker? What is the gematria of snow/sheleg? shin=300, lamed=30, gimmel=3 = 333 .... each one is the three in the units, tens and hundreds, and that is the basis of the universe.