Shemos 5631 Second Ma'amar

“וַיָּקָם מֶלֶךְ-חָדָשׁ עַל-מִצְרָיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יָדַע אֶת-יוֹסֵף/A new king arose in Egypt who did not know Yosef.” (Shmos 1:8) Explaining this pasuk the Midrash¹ says that after Yosef died the nation of Israel stopped circumcising their children. They said, “Let us be like the Egyptians.” As a result God caused the love the Egyptians had for us to turn into hatred. As a result, “a new king arose who did not know Yosef.”

Generally, Chazal give novel interpretations to pesukim when the simple meaning is difficult. What compelled the Midrash to explain this pasuk? What bothered Chazal in this pasuk? The key word in the pasuk is “new.” The Chidushei HaRim explains that novelty is an attribute of spirituality. When we contemplate the material world around us it is easy to conclude that nothing new happens. Nature follows predictable laws. Today is the same as yesterday which was the same as the day before. The Chidushei HaRim explains that while this may be the case for the material world it is not true of the spiritual. Shlomo HaMelech teaches this in the pasuk, “... וְאֵין כָּל-חָדָשׁ תַּחַת הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ/… and there is nothing new under the sun.” (Koheles 1:9) The implication is that above the sun – beyond nature – there is novelty and renewal. Originality, creativity and novelty are spiritual endeavors. The physical is merely a manifestation of that which already exists in the spiritual.

Because novelty is a spiritual attribute, it is particularly associated with the nation of Israel. But the pasuk associates novelty with Egypt. This begs an explanation and is the issue that the Midrash addresses.

The key to change and creativity is the realization that everything physical contains within it spirituality. When we disregard external physical appearances and relate to the underlying spirituality in our actions, the power of creativity is ours. In Egypt we disregarded the spiritual and allowed ourselves to be affected by the physical environment of decadent Egypt. As the Midrash notes, we wanted to be like the Egyptians. So, novelty was taken from us and given to the Egyptians instead.

What, though, is the significance of breaching the covenant of circumcision? After all, in Egypt we fell to very low levels. Why does the Midrash single out circumcision as the reason for losing our connection with God, with novelty?

The Sfas Emes explains. The Torah calls Yosef the keeper of the covenant referring to the covenant of the circumcision. The plain meaning is that he resisted the temptations of Potiphar’s wife. However, on a deeper level, circumcision represents unveiling the spiritual that is concealed by the physical.   Yosef is called a keeper of the covenant of circumcision because he believed that although the material world around him was decadent, spirituality was concealed within it. Yosef’s belief was total. He did not notice the physical decadence. He saw only the spiritual.

In our daily lives, we many times see barriers and obstacles that prevent us from reaching our goals. We can overcome them by cultivating the belief that the physical is a mask that hides the spiritual. On a spiritual level, there are no barriers. They are illusory. Everything starts with belief that the spiritual light exists but we don’t see it because it is behind a screen. We find a hint to this in the brachah following Sh’ma at night. The bracha starts, “אֱמֶת וֶאֱמוּנָה/Truth and faith.” At night, a time of darkness when we do not see light, Chazal advise us to believe that it is there anyway.

We see this again when Moshe Rabbeinu says in response to God’s request to return to Egypt to begin the process of the redemption, “... וְהֵן לֹא-יַאֲמִינוּ לִי .../… and they will not believe me …” (Shmos 4:1) Faith is a prerequisite for redemption. In order to merit redemption – seeing God – we must have faith during the preceding darkness of concealment.

Responding to Moshe Rabbeinu’s concern, God gives him a sign which gives expression to this concept. God tells Moshe to throw his staff to the ground. When he does this it turns into a snake. When he grabs it, it turns back to a staff. In reality it was a staff. The snake was an illusion. The way to see the reality behind the illusion is by believing it is there, grabbing on to it, connecting with it and, importantly, disregarding external appearances. The staff appeared as a snake. God told him to disregard this and to grab its tail. Upon doing so the snake reverted to a staff. God powers external appearances as well.

God gives existence to the screen that we call reality even when the screen appears to contradict spirituality and holiness. The truth, though, becomes clear to us according to the level of our faith. We can actually experience the spiritual that underlies the physical world by first believing it is there. Once we believe, no physical obstacle can stand between us and our goals. We are connected directly with the source of novelty, creativity and originality.

The Sfas Emes applies this concept to exile and redemption. Exile means that God is concealed. Redemption means that God is revealed in the world. As we’ve said, a strong belief that the physical world is powered by the spiritual is a necessary prerequisite for redemption to occur. During exile this idea is concealed. If it were revealed there would be no possibility of exile.

We find this concept explained in the Zohar.² The Zohar uses the analogy of sound vs. speech to explain God’s presence vs. His influence in the world.
Undifferentiated sound represents God’s oneness. He is everywhere always. In terms of God’s presence, there is no difference between one place and another. Speech is “processed” sound. It is the method by which we relate to and influence others. Speech, therefore, represents God’s influence and revelation in the Creation. With regard to God’s revelation, there are differences between one place and another. Exile means that God’s influence in the world is not apparent. It is concealed. For this reason the Zohar³ tells us that in Egypt, speech was in exile. God’s influence was not apparent.

Realizing this and believing it means to understand that although we see things differentiated in the physical world, underlying every separate thing is Oneness. The “undifferentiated sound” is ubiquitous. To the person who internalizes this belief totally, there is no fundamental difference between revelation and concealment. This is the deeper meaning of Chazal⁴ telling us that faith is the one basic principle as the prophet Habakuk (2:4) said, “The righteous person lives by his faith.” May we merit it!

1Shmos R. 1:8

2Zohar 2:3a

3Zohar 2:25b

4Makkos 24a

VaYechi 5631 Second Ma'amar

“הקבצו ושמעו בני יעקב ושמעו אל ישראל אביכם/Gather and hear, children of Ya’akov, and listen to your father Yisrael.” (Breishis 49:2) Since the pasuk uses the word אל/to instead of the shorter conjunctive form ל/to, the Midrash¹ says that Ya’akov Avinu is comparing himself to God which is also spelled, א-ל. Ya’akov Avinu is telling his children, “Just like God creates worlds, so too, your father creates worlds.” What does this mean and why is Ya’akov telling this to his children?

The physical world exists because of the spiritual life force within it. This spiritual life force emanates from God through a spiritual hierarchy until it reaches the physical world. Ya’akov Avinu was part of this spiritual hierarchy. Ya’akov Avinu was therefore the vehicle through which the spiritual life force that was responsible for the continuing existence of Egypt and the Egyptians descended. This is why the parsha starts with the words “ויחי יעקב בארץ מצרים/Ya’akov lived in the land of Egypt …” (Breishis 47:28) instead of the more usual “וישב יעקב .../Ya’akov dwelt.” ויחי/He lived suggests that he also gave life to the land of Egypt. Ya’akov compared himself to God as a creator of worlds in the sense that he gave life to Egypt.

Why, though, did God use Ya’akov as the mechanism for giving life and existence to Egypt? A Zohar² in parshas VaYeishev gives us a clue. The Zohar says that the redemption from Egypt could only have happened because the brothers treated Yosef like a slave. What is the connection between the redemption and the way that Yosef’s brothers treated him? Since the relationship between the brothers and Yosef was one of masters to a slave – they sold him – and Yosef ruled over the Egyptians, it follows that the brothers were also rulers over the Egyptians. The fact that we were slaves to the Egyptians for a period of time was a temporary anomaly which was corrected with our redemption from Egypt. If the brothers had not sold Yosef, had not treated him as a slave, and we had subsequently gone to Egypt, we would not have been redeemed from Egypt, according to the Zohar. This Zohar is teaching us that for redemption to occur, the seeds of redemption must have been planted before the exile.

This concept explains our Midrash as well. God used Ya’akov as the vehicle for imparting life to Egypt in order to subordinate Egypt to Ya’akov. This was another seed of the redemption which God planted before the exile. It made the redemption possible. Ya'akov wanted to encourage his children on the eve of the exile. He therefore explained to them that the seeds of the redemption were already at hand.

1Breishis R. 98:3

2Zohar 1:184a

VaYigash 5631 First Ma'amar

At the end of parshas Mikeitz, Yosef frames his younger brother Binyamin. He decides that as a punishment he will keep Binyamin as a servant and free the rest of his brothers.1 In the beginning of our parsha, Yehudah tries to convince Yosef to take him instead of Binyamin. To this end he recounts the sequence of events from the brothers’ initial encounter with Yosef to the present.2 The question that immediately presents itself is that Yehudah’s argument adds nothing that is not already known. He simply recounts the events leading up to the current situation. What is the point of this?

The Chiddushei HaRim explains that Jews are called Yehudim in Hebrew, after Yehudah. The name Yehudah comes from the root word hoda’a which means “thanks” and “admission.” Jews are called Yehudim because we thank God for everything, large and small. We know that everything comes from Him.

Yehudah understood that everything, even the most difficult situation, is from God. Yehudah knew that to be saved he would have to accept God’s providence in the entire sequence of events leading up to the present. By accepting God’s hand in the events, by acknowledging that God was “in” the events and their cause, he was removing the screen that hid God. He was saying, in essence, “I recognize that God is the cause of these events,” thus revealing God. In fact, the Sfas Emes explains in parshas Mikeitz that Yosef himself symbolized the Godliness hidden in the material world.3

The greatest good we can aspire to, is coming close to God himself, experiencing God, as it were. Therefore, revelation itself is redemption. That is why immediately following Yehudah’s argument, the Torah tells us that Yosef was no longer able to contain himself and he revealed himself to his brothers. Once the Godliness was revealed, the brothers were saved.

The Torah is teaching us an important lesson. Any time we find ourselves in a difficult situation, we have the tools with which to extricate ourselves. We need to first understand that God is hidden in even the most difficult circumstances. Even if a person thinks that his own mistakes caused his current situation – the Torah tells us that Yosef’s brothers blamed themselves for their predicament – when he recognizes that God is the life giving force behind his predicament and asks God for help, he will be answered. May we merit it!

1 Breishis 44:2-17

2 Breishis 44:18-33

3 Mikeitz 5631 Second Ma’amar

Chanuka 5631 Eighth Night

The eighth day of Chanukah is called Zos Chanukah/This is Chanukah, after the Torah reading for this day which contains the words “zos chanukas hamizbei’ach …/this is the dedication of the altar ...” (Bamidbar 7:84)  Aside from the nice play on words what is the significance of the name?

The Sfas Emes explains that Zos Chanukah indicates something very fundamental about Chanukah.  The Chanukah story begins with the persecution of the Jews by the Assyrian Greeks.  The situation was bleak indeed.  The gentile rulers were powerful.  How could we overcome them?  From the depths of this darkness came the salvation.

The word zos/this, is laden with symbolism. In the Zohar[1] we find the word zos alluding to Jerusalem and the kingdom of Heaven.  The Midrash[2] says that the word zos/this in the pasuk, “... בְּזֹאת אֲנִי בוֹטֵחַ/… in this I trust,” (Tehillim 27:1) is an allusion to God – in God I trust.  The early kabbalists[3] teach that zos alludes specifically to that point of spirituality through which God gives existence to the physical. David HaMelech as well, asked God to preserve this recognition of His presence within us, “... שָׁמְרָה־זֹּאת לְעוֹלָם לְיֵצֶר מַחְשְׁבוֹת לְבַב עַמֶּךָ .../… Preserve this forever – the product of the thoughts of Your people’s hearts …” (Divrei HaYamim 1 29:18)

Zos, then, is a reference to the Godliness hidden within us and all of Creation.  Knowing that everything, including God’s obscurity is powered by this point of God-given spirituality, essentially, knowing that God is “in” everything and that everything is therefore “good” is a tremendous tool for strengthening one’s faith particularly in times of exile.  This, in fact, is the fundamental meaning of the pasuk in Eicha (3:21), “זֹאת אָשִׁיב אֶל־לִבִּי עַל־כֵּן אוֹחִיל/This I will bear in mind; therefore I have hope.”  The prophet is teaching us that when we bear in mind zos – that the exile as well is from God and that He is present even in the darkness of it – we have good reason for hope.

This concept is the lesson of Chanukah.  The salvation came when the nation realized that God was with them in the darkness as well.  We find this idea as well in the following pesukim from Tehillim (112:7-8), “מִשְּׁמוּעָה רָעָה לֹא יִירָא נָכוֹן לִבּוֹ בָּטֻחַ בַּה': סָמוּךְ לִבּוֹ לֹא יִירָא עַד אֲשֶׁר־יִרְאֶה בְצָרָיו/He will have no fear of evil tidings; his heart is firm, confident in God. His heart is steadfast, he shall not fear, he will even [expect to] see [vengeance upon] his tormentors.” When a person trusts in God, he knows that salvation is at hand. The Chiddushei HaRim points out that, significantly, the last letters of the words, “נָכוֹן לִבּוֹ בָּטֻחַ בַּה׳ סָמוּךְ/his heart is firm, confident in God, steadfast” spell out חֲנוּכָּה/Chanukah.

The chapter in Tehillim that we say on Chanukah bears out this idea. “הָפַכְתָּ מִסְפְּדִי לְמָחוֹל לִי פִּתַּחְתָּ שַׂקִּי וַתְּאַזְּרֵנִי שִׂמְחָה/You have transformed my lament into dancing for me; You undid my sackcloth and girded me with happiness.” (Tehillim 30:12)  The word for transformed – הָפַכְתָּ – also means to overturn or to turn inside out. The difference between lament and dancing is whether God is hidden or revealed. Dancing is lament turned inside out, as it were. The important point is that God is present in both. The Midrash[4] on the curses in parshas BeChukosai makes this point when it says that the difference between the blessings and the curses is that the blessings are in the order of the Hebrew alphabet whereas the curses are backwards.

The second half of the pasuk continues this idea. It is important to understand that the sackcloth, a clear reference to exile and God’s concealment is only a cover. When the sackcloth is undone, when the concealment is removed, God is revealed in the form of salvation and closeness to Him. Then we are girded with happiness. This is the meaning of Chanukah, the days of miracles, when the nation of Israel was at a very low point and God helped us. It is encouraging to know that according to the extent of concealment so is the extent of the good since everything is from God and everything is for good. And according to our recognition of this fact and our trust in God so the underlying good will be revealed and we will merit salvation.

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[1] Zohar 1:93b-94a

[2] VaYikra R. 21:4

[3] Sha’arei Ora 1:14a-b

[4] VaYikra R. 35:1

Toldos 5639 First Ma'amar

In this week’s parsha Yitzchak Avinu blesses both his children.  At least part of those blessings is very similar.  To Ya’akov he says, “ויתן לך הא-להים מטל השמים ומשמני הארץ .../And may God give you the dew of the heavens and the fatness of the land.” (Breishis 27:28)  To Eisav he says, “... משמני הארץ יהיה מושבך ומטל השמים מעל/… you will live off the fatness of the land and from the dew of the heavens above.” (Breishis 27:39)  It seems that Yitzchak gave material blessing to both Ya’akov and Eisav.  Is there any difference between these blessings?

The answer lies in a deeper understanding of Yitchak’s blessing to Ya’akov.  Yitchak’s blessing to Ya’akov begins with the word, ויתן/and may He give.  The word is enigmatic in that it starts with a vav/and, implying that this is a continuation and not the beginning of the blessing.  Why does the blessing begin with, “and”?  Furthermore, the structure of the beginning of the blessing is uncommon.  It translates literally as, “And He will give you God …”

Chazal[1] note these difficulties.  They explain that the extra vav implies that God will give and then give again.  He will continue to give.  The uncommon wording at the beginning of the blessing teaches us that God would give Ya’akov of His Godliness.

Putting the two together, the Sfas Emes teaches us that Yitzchak’s main blessing to Ya’akov was not material plenty.  Rather, the main blessing was that God would give him the plenty.  God imbues us with Godliness through the material blessing that he bestows upon us.  We connect with God by receiving His bounty.  Yitzchak says that God will give and give again implying that there will always be the opportunity to connect to God by acknowledging that He is the root of the plenty that we have.

For Eisav, on the other hand, Yitzchak says that he will have what he needs, however he gets it[2].  Of course everything always comes from God.  However, for Eisav, the main thing is the material plenty whereas for Ya’akov the main thing is that it is a gift from God, a way to connect with God.

Since the physical plenty that Ya’akov receives is an indication of a connection to God, Yitzchak continues, “... הוה גביר לאחיך .../… you will be a master over your brothers …”  Since Ya’akov is connected to the root of the blessing, the plenty that reaches the entire world comes through him.  In fact, the word, הוה/you will be, connotes a command.  Yitzchak is telling Ya’akov that he must accept upon himself to draw the plenty into the world for the benefit of the nations when the nations are subservient to him.

Yitzchak’s blessing is meant of course for the nation of Israel, Ya’akov’s progeny.  We need to realize that the blessing of material plenty that we have is not primarily the plenty itself but rather that God gave it to us so that we can connect with Him and attain Godliness.  May we merit it.  Amen!

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[1] Breishis R. 66:3

[2] See also Ramban on 27:28 from והנכון בעיני.  Ramban also notes that Yitzchak says ויתן only to Ya’akov.  See his conclusions based on this.