The passuk says (Yeshaya 40 26) שאו מרום עיניכם וראו מי ברא אלה lift up your eyes heavenwards and see who created all of these. The sefarim explain that these two words מי and אלה portray the mission of Man in Hashem's creation of the universe. The world possesses two levels, one an external physical nature with its dominating laws, and secondly a supernatural force of a spiritual nature.. Both were created and are constantly sustained by Hashem. The physical world contains beyond zillions multiplicities and variations of creations seemingly unrelated to each other. The name for this material world is therefore called אלה these in the plural form. The spiritual force in the world which camouflaged "behind" nature is called מי which literally mean who, an unknown which refers to Hashem the Cosmic Creator. Man's purpose and goal is to connect the two levels into one and realize that the מי is the creator of the אלה and not separate them from each other.
This avodah of connection between the two is hinted in the name of אלהים which is composed of these two words אלה מי and is gematriah הטבע nature. This is personified by the passuk (Tehillim 107,43) מי חכם וישמר אלה ויתבוננו חסדי ה' that an individual who attaches himself to (Tehilim 104,24) כולם בחכמה עשית that Hashem created everything with divine wisdom, will be capable of watching over אלה, the physical world ensuring that it should not lose its connection to מי. With this message the passuk ends מלאה הארץ קניניך that the earth is full of opportunities to be קונה acquire Hashem into your life through the אלה of creation.
The sefarim tell us that the world of nature is described as circles and the super natural spiritual world in which there is a greater revelation of Hashem's presence is described as lines. The nature of a circle is that it seemingly goes nowhere, without purpose, direction, and destination as the expression "one is going in circles". Science has peeled away for us the surface layer that presents itself to the eye with myriads of different organisms, color, mass, volume, chemical makeup, characteristics, sizes and composition, from inanimate, vegetative, animal and man. What they gave us was a common unifying denominator in everything that exists. That internal force and energy which is that all matter is composed of atoms which are basically circles with a nucleus and electrons which rotate with incredible speeds creating an illusion of real substance. The planets are round our sun and moon are circular and their orbits are circles. The Talmud Yerushalmi already hundreds of years ago, came up with the same theory by stating there is no natural square in nature only circles.
What history shows is that people who gravitate and indulge in the physical world become prisoners of their desires and they are surrounded by their self made circles which shackle them by their uncontrollable lust. A ring which is round is called טבעת alluding to טבע which consists of merely circles with an orbit. However טבע is also from the lashon of טבעו בים סוף to drown. Addictions to pleasures can casue one to drown both physically and spiritually. The circulatory system in humans carry blood throughout the body. The animal soul resides in the blood as it is written כי הדם הוא הנפש. Therefore the animal soul is one big circle 24/7 of flowing life energy luring a person to fall prey to the world of circles instead of living with יושר and lines which are called רוח according to the Ari Hakadosh.
This could be the meaning that when Moshe told Bnei Yisrael of the exodus from Mitzrayim the passuk says ולא שמעו אל משה מקוצר רוח that they were sinking into the fifty levels of tumah of נפש and possessed very little of the ruach which produce lines of yashrus and allegiance to Hashem's wishes.
In contrast to the circle, the line which is called קו has a deliberate direction and purpose. One who lives life with the Line Vision fosters himself with hope to have regular contact with the supernatural, קוה אל ה' to hope for redemption and to walk a straight ישר path with Hashem. That is why Am Yisrael are named ישורון and ישראל for we are given the mission to find אלהים in this maze of Olam Hazeh.
In Lashon Hakodesh a circle is called עיגול . The word עגל which means calf also shares the same symbolism one who's lifestyle has serparated the מי from the .אלה The Nefesh Hachayim defines the name of אלהים as the בעל היכולת כולם the sole owner of every power and force found in creation. The turning to a different deity such as the עגל which Klal Yisrael worshipped at Matan Torah is a denial of Hashem being the sole בעל and it is as if Hashem the מי disconnected Himself from the אלה. The worship of the עגל openly denied Hashem as the בעל . Therefore you find that the gematriah of עגל is one more than בעל a disconnect of אלהים in the creation. It is therefore that the rally cry to serve the Aigel was אלה אלהיך ישראל these are the gods who took you out from Mitzrayim.
In Egypt, Yisrael also worshiped avodah zarah prior to the chait of the Aigel. That is the reason why Mitzrayim, a hedonistic and immoral culture, is called an עגל as the passuk says (Yirmiya 46,20) עגלה יפה פיה מצרים. The circle life of Mitzrayim enclosed and imprisoned one inside, unable to escape this imposed מיצר boundary. The Kedushas Levi Pesach explains that this is the reason that Pharoah asked Moshe מי ה' אשר אשמע בקולו. He separated the מי from אלה and thought that nature is controlled by his deities. Hashem therefore punished him by drowning his army and himself in the ים the sea which shares the letters of מי. Yisrael who believed in the אלהים the מי in sole control of the ,אלה went on to Har Sinai to receive the Torah which contains the 50 levels of Binah gematriah מי. The Luchos also come in the form of two letter vov's which symbolize lines and the supernatural and not circles.
This would also explain why Yosef sent to this father wagons עגלות as a sign that he was spiritually healthy even after being in Mitzrayim for 22 years alone. It was to indicate to his father that he was in charge of the circle and not that the Circle Lifestyle of Mitzrayim had dominion over him.
The Ramchal writes when Yaakov took his sons Efrayim and Menashe to receive from Yaakov berachos upon Yaakov finding that the Shechinah disappeared, he asked Yosef מי אלה . Yaakov saw in ruach hakodesh that from Yosef's descendants will come a King Yeravam who will make this separation of מי from אלהים by making golden calves for Am Yisrael to serve avodah zarah. Yeravam used the same description (Melachim 1 12 28) as by the chait of the Aigel הנה אלהיך ישראל. Yaakov refused to bench his descendants who will eventually separate the name of אלהים . Yosef however argued and said to his father בני הם these are my two sons who right now are living with the complete name of אלהים as in the words אשר נתן לי אלהים.
A circle is 360 degrees. It equals the word שלל spoils (of war). There are two possible lifestyles for a Yid. One is the spoils of physical pleasures that the world makes available for seducing us to indulge in. The other alternative is the spoils of the living a supernatural life of learning Torah ש"ס which is also 360. יוסף צדיק is 360. He lived in Mitzrayim and was its viceroy, and yet he nevertheless successfully lived a Line Lifestyle paving for us a pathway to do the same.
The word עיגול circle is pronounced in English eagle. The eagle was a symbol for the Roman Empire, Nazi Party, Russia, United States, Egypt Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Yemen to name a few. The U.S. currency on the one dollar bill is printed an eagle holding in its talon arrows connoting war and power. It also has a picture of an incomplete pyramid with an open eye on the unfinished top. Pyramids are only in Egypt the עגלה יפי פיה . In the Circle Culture, the more earthly gratifications that one sees and partakes from, the more he craves. One's hungry eyes will never allow your "pyramid" to be complete.
During Tefillah we mirror the stance of the malachim who have a רגל ישרה . Our legs appear as two letter vov's together. For tefillah is an expression of a conscious realization that טבע is only a façade, my work is only a hishtadlus, and the happiness in life is only through one that is deeply connected to Hashem and Torah. Therefore, part of the tefillah is the form and posture of one's two feet together which is called ישרה symbolizing a line. The ישרה display of tefiallh is the essence of tefillah for it is the gematriah of תפלה. It is through tefillah that we strength our closeness with Hashem and rededicate ourselves to a life of lines not circles.
A point of interest is that the tefillah of מנחה is the gematriah of עגל . Some interpret the name of מנחה as a present since it is in the middle of the day during working hours that mincha must be davened and it is inconvenient to take off time from work and difficult to concentrate. This makes it almost like a present to Hashem. However, this tefillah specifically demonstrates if you are a member of the "Circle Circuits" or the "Line LInears". That is why the gematriah of מנחה עגל are equal for one must choose what type of davening he is going to have.
The gemarah in Taanis 31
עתיד הקב"ה לעשות מחול לצדיקים והוא יושב ביניהם בגן עדן וכל אחד ואחד מראה באצבעו שנאמר ואמר ביום ההוא הנה אלקינו זה קוינו לו ויושיענו זה ה' קוינו לו נגילה ונשמחה בישועותו (ישעיה כה ט)
In the future, Hashem will make a circle of all tzadikim and He will sit among them in the middle in Gan Eden and each and every one will point with his finger towards Hashem and say on that day Behold this is our G-d we hoped to Him and He saved us this is Hashem to whom we hoped let us exalt and be glad in His salvation.
Gan Eden will have a circle but not a circle empty of Hashem, rather with Hashem in the middle. This signifies that tzadikim during their lifetime were able to join in union the circle with a line inside, by elevating and sanctifying the טבע. They will call Hashem their אלהים for they will have recognized Him as מי and אלה as an inseparable unit. They merited to live their lives on the קו , the line, which עגל and its three letters add up to. That is why their entire lives were full of קוה אל ה' .They can truly rejoice in Hashem's own salvation and the redemption of His nation.