VaYechi 5631 Fourth Ma'amar

After Ya'akov requests of his son Yosef to bury him at the burial site of his forefathers he asks him to take an oath, "ויאמר השבעה לי וישבע לו וישתחו ישראל על ראש המטה/(Ya'akov) said, 'Swear to me.'  (Yosef) swore to him and Yisrael bowed at the head of the bed." (Breishis 47:31)  Two questions arise.  Why did Ya'akov find it necessary for Yosef to take an oath?  Surely Ya'akov trusted that Yosef would do everything in his power to fulfill his father's request.  Secondly, what is the connection between the oath and bowing at the head of the bed?  Why are these two events in the same pasuk?  This leads to an additional question.  Why did Ya'akov bow at the head of the bed?

Rashi on this pasuk explains the head of the bed represents the fact that all of Ya'akov's children remained true to their upbringing.  Even Yosef who was a king (the head of Ya'akov's bed) in Egypt and was even previously captured and lived among gentiles remained true to his forefathers and his traditions. 

How did Ya'akov know that Yosef was able to internalize the traditions and pass them on to his own progeny even as he led a life as king in the house of Pharaoh?

Ya'akov knew this from the oath.  How so?  What is the significance of an oath?  Is it simply a verbal commitment?  The Chiddushei HaRim teaches us that an oath is much more than that.  Oath in Hebrew – שבועה – has the same root as the word for seven – שבעה.  We each have seven primary character traits.  An oath implies bringing all of the seven primary character traits – ones entire being – to bear upon a decision, a commitment.  An oath is therefore a very serious matter in Jewish tradition.  Both Ya'akov and Yosef understood this and took it very seriously. 

Ya'akov Avinu wanted to know that his descendents would remain true to his traditions and deserve the redemption.  The oath was the mechanism that Ya'akov used both for understanding Yosef's essence and for passing on to him his own spiritual essence that allowed him to remain true to God even in Egypt.  Through the oath Yosef revealed his total essence to Ya'akov. 

Chazal teach us that Yosef inherited Ya'akov and that it was in his merit that we were redeemed from Egypt.  Chazal[1] teach us that because Yosef resisted the temptation of Potiphar's wife, he influenced the entire nation to refrain from illicit relations.  Chazal continue that in the merit of this we were redeemed.  Furthermore, Chazal[2] explain the pasuk, "הים ראה וינס .../The sea saw and fled …"  What did the sea see?  Chazal teach us that the sea saw the bones of Yosef.  Yosef fled from Potiphar's wife so the sea fled from his bones.

The Zohar[3] states that when God foretold to Ya'akov that, "ויוסף ישית ידו על עיניך/and Yosef will place his hand upon your eyes," He was telling him that Yosef would be his heir.  The Sfas Emes explains that this is referring to inheriting Ya'akov spiritually.  The mechanism for this inheritance was the oath.  Through the oath Yosef opened his entire essence before Ya'akov.  He was able to cleave to Ya'akov with his whole being.  He was thus able to receive the aspect of Ya'akov which enabled him to live in Egypt without being affected by Egyptian society.

When Ya'akov understood that he had a spiritual heir who would be able to influence the nation for good even as they lived in decadent Egypt, he realized that his bed was complete – his progeny would continue his traditions – and he bowed "at the head of the bed".

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[1] VaYikra R. 32:5

[2] Mechilta Beshalach Masechta 2,3

[3] Zohar 1:226a

VaYeishev 5631 First Ma'amar

This week's parsha relates the story of how Yosef was kidnapped and separated from his father Ya'akov for 22 years.  The Midrash says that after his struggles with Lavan, Eisav, and Shechem, Ya'akov Avinu wanted to live a life of peace and calm.  This was not to be.  Specifically because of this desire, the distress of Yosef was brought upon him.[1]  We usually understand this Midrash as referring to the physical struggles that Ya'akov endured throughout his life.  However, the Sfas Emes explains that this Midrash is actually referring to Ya'akov Avinu's spiritual struggles culminating in his final spiritual struggle represented by Yosef.

The difficulty for Ya'akov in his journey to and travails with Lavan, Eisav, and Shechem was that these troubles took him away from a life of holiness in a place which was conducive for connecting with God, sheltered from the ugliness of the outside world.   Metaphorically, Ya'akov's departure from the house of his father Yitzchak, all that happened to him during his exile, and his subsequent return, parallel the relationship between Shabbos and the days of the week.  Intuitively, it is easy to understand that Shabbos is a time conducive to connecting with God and holiness since we are not distracted by our weekday activities.  It is also spiritually a higher level day on which the entire world is truly closer to God than during the days of the week.  More than a holy day, Shabbos is a concept representing a certain level of closeness to God.

Before Ya'akov went to Lavan, he was on a level of Shabbos in his relationship with God.  Just as Shabbos is separate from the days of the week so to Ya’akov was completely separate from anything worldly.  His efforts with Lavan, Eisav, and Shechem represented a descent into the physical world, a descent from a level of complete separation from the distractions of the world around him, a level of Shabbos, into a level of the days of the week.  Ya'akov needed to work hard, paralleling the work of the days of the week, to maintain his connection to God even as he lived in Lavan's house with its accent on the physical world.  The beginning of this week's parsha suggests Ya'akov's return to a level of Shabbos, "וַיֵּשֶׁב יַעֲקֹב .../Ya'akov dwelt ..." (Breishis 37:1)  The first word of the parsha, וַיֵּשֶׁב/He dwelt, comes from the same root as the word Shabbos.

The difficulties that Ya'akov experienced with Lavan, Eisav and Dina were an attempt to separate him from God.  Living a life of serenity, of Godliness, even in the physical world is the ultimate desire of the righteous.  It means spreading an awareness of God in the physical world, a place were He is normally hidden.  It means bringing the level of Shabbos into the physical world.  This concept is symbolized by Yosef.  This is the deeper meaning of the distress of Yosef mentioned in the Midrash.  How so?  The word Yosef means to add.  The strength of Yosef was the ability to spread an awareness of God in the physical world.  If Ya'akov Avinu was on a Shabbos level of attachment to God, then Yosef, the Sfas Emes explains, was תּוֹסְפוֹת שַׁבָּת/an addition to Shabbos.  Rashi cites the Midrash that Ya'akov Avinu waited for Yosef to be born before he was prepared to meet Eisav.  With Yosef he was able to overcome the this-worldliness that Eisav represented.

Shabbos is made for connecting to God.  We learn from Ya'akov that we can live a life in which we reveal God during our daily activities as well.  We do this by cultivating a desire that the result of our activities be a greater awareness of God.  Accepting Shabbos early symbolizes this work because when we accept Shabbos early we are actually bringing the holiness of the Shabbos into what would otherwise be a part of the week.  Working to raise our weekday experiences to a Shabbos level, essentially yearning for Shabbos during the week, makes it easier for us to accept and experience Shabbos early.  May we merit it!

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[1] Breishis R. 84:3

VaYishlach 5633 Third Ma'amar

"ויבא יעקב שלם עיר שכם .../Ya'akov safely arrived (lit. arrived complete) in the city of Shechem …" (Breishis 33:18)  Chazal and the commentaries discuss the significance of this statement.  What is the pasuk teaching us when it tells us that Ya'akov arrived "complete"?  The Sfas Emes as well discusses this. 

Ya'akov experienced many hardships in his lifetime.  In fact, from the time he fled to Lavan until he came to Egypt, a period of fifty three years, he knew many hardships.  Fleeing from the wrath of his brother Esav, he arrived penniless at the house of his uncle Lavan.  Lavan allowed him no peace.  For twenty years he slaved for Lavan.  If not for the grace of God he would have left Lavan as penniless as he arrived.

Not in spite of his suffering but rather as a direct result of it, he arrived "complete".  Shlomo HaMelech teaches us, "כי שבע יפול צדיק וקם .../For the righteous may fall seven times and then arise …" (Mishlei 24:16)  Conventionally, we understand this to mean that if the righteous fall even seven times, he will still arise.  However, the Sfas Emes understands that arising is a direct result of falling.  The righteous rise specifically because they suffer.

We find this concept in a Zohar[1] explaining the pasuk, "רבות רעות צדיק ומכולם יצילנו ה'/The afflictions of the righteous are many, but God rescues him from them all." (Tehillim 34:20)  Literally, the pasuk says, "There are many afflictions – the righteous."  The Zohar asks that it would be more proper for the pasuk to say, "רבות רעות לצדיק/There are many afflictions for the righteous."  The Zohar answers, according the Sfas Emes, that pasuk is teaching us that afflictions are not the lot of the righteous.  Rather, the hardships and evils that the righteous experience actualize their righteousness. 

Evils and hardships are a powerful test.  How can we cope with suffering that we experience?  The natural tendency is to be angry with God.  Why has this evil been wrought upon me?  The Sfas Emes explains that God uses affliction in order to bring out our righteousness.  He helps us to become complete through our experience.  

This is the meaning of the end of the pasuk, "... ומכולם יצילנו ה'/… and God rescues him from them all."  The Sfas Emes explains the word, יצילנו/He rescues them, as He separates them.  We find this understanding in the following pasuk, "ויצל ה' מקנה אביכם ויתן לי/God took away your father's livestock and gave it to me." (Breishis 31:9)  Here the word, ויצל certainly does not mean to save.  Rather it means to separate.  God separated the livestock from their father Lavan and gave it to Ya'akov.  Here too, the Sfas Emes understands the word יצילנו to mean that God separates the righteous from incompleteness through the affliction.  The result is and addition of shleimus/completeness that did not exist before.

May we merit understanding our suffering experiencing its positive benefits.      

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[1] Zohar 1:179b

Noach 5631 First Ma'amar

“... נֹחַ אִישׁ צַדִּיק/… No’ach was a righteous man …”  (Breishis 6:9)  The word צַדִּיק/righteous, has the same root as צֶדֶק/justice and צוֹדֵק/correct.  Just as in a court room, a house of justice, there is a struggle between two sides until one side emerges צוֹדֵק/correct, so too, a righteous person is one who has emerged victorious from various struggles with his evil inclination.  A חָסִיד/pious individual, on the other hand, is on a higher level.  He no longer has a struggle with his evil inclination.  David HaMelech alludes to this level when he says in Tehillim (109:22) , “... וְלִבִּי חָלַל בְּקִרְבִּי/… and my heart has died within me …” According to Chazal, David HaMelech is saying that his evil inclination had died within him.  David HaMelech had reach a stage at which there was no longer a struggle with his evil inclination.

One who struggles with his evil inclination is one who is not fully aware of God’s presence.  The person who is fully aware of God’s presence will not be tempted by his evil inclination.  The evil inclination goes hand in hand with the physical world.  In the physical world it is difficult indeed to be completely conscious of God.  In a sense, the חָסִיד/pious, who, despite his physical surroundings is totally aware of God, can be said to be above nature.  The צַדִּיק/righteous person, on the other hand, is one who struggles within the physical world and finally emerges from his trials victorious.

These two levels, חָסִיד/pious and צַדִּיק/righteous person, are exemplified by Avraham Avinu and Ya’akov Avinu.  Avraham Avinu was on the level of the חָסִיד/pious.  He no longer struggled with his evil inclination.  He was completely aware of God’s presence.  The physical world presented no barrier for him.  Ya’akov Avinu, on the other hand, was on the level of the צַדִּיק/righteous person.  He struggled within the physical to discover God.

The Sfas Emes explains that we find this difference between Avraham Avinu and Yaakov Avinu in an interesting Midrash[1] that says that Yaakov Avinu kept Shabbos.  The Midrash does not tell us that Avraham kept Shabbos.  Why is this?

In general, the struggle in the physical for spirituality and subsequent victory can be understood in terms of the days of the week and Shabbos.  We struggle during the week to become more aware of God in spite of the distractions that surround us.  The Sfas Emes uses a metaphor of a closed gate that during the week prevents us from being more aware of God’s presence.[2]  Our struggle ends on Shabbos when we rest from the week’s distractions and can spend time immersed in the spirituality of Shabbos.  On Shabbos, the gate opens.  How much the gate opens for us, how much we experience the spirituality on Shabbos, is in direct proportion to how much we worked during the week to become more aware of God’s presence. 

Yaakov Avinu struggled to become more aware of God in spite of his physical surroundings.  He reached a level, through hard work, on which he became as aware of God as possible within the physical world.  He reached a level on which the physical world no longer presented a barrier to his awareness.  This is the deeper meaning of Chazal when they say that Ya’akov Avinu received an inheritance with no boundaries.[3]  The plain meaning refers to his inheritance of the land of Israel.  The deeper meaning, though, refers to his victorious struggle over the physical which prevented a total awareness of God’s presence.

As noted, Chazal do not mention that Avraham Avinu kept Shabbos.  Shabbos, representing the culmination of a struggle, did not apply to Avraham Avinu.  This is because the physical world never presented a barrier to Avraham Avinu’s awareness of God’s presence.  We find this idea in a Midrash which says that the word in parshas Breishis, “בְּהִבָּרְאָם/in their creation” (Breishis 2:4) refers to Avraham Avinu because it comprises the same letters as אַבְרָהָם/Avraham.[4]  Chazal are teaching us that Avraham Avinu’s awareness of God was on a level whereby the physical world did not conceal Him.  In this sense Avraham Avinu’s awareness of God precedes the Creation.

Like Ya’akov, No’ach also struggled.  As noted earlier, the pasuk calls No’ach a צַדִּיק/ righteous person.  Chazal, in fact, make this distinction between No’ach and Avraham Avinu.  Referring to No’ach the pasuk says, “... אֶת הָאֱ-לֹהִים הִתְהַלֵך נֹח/… No’ach walked with the Lord.” (Breishis 6:9)  Avraham Avinu, however, says, “... ה' אֲשֶׁר הִתְהַלַכְתִּי לְפָנָיו .../… God before Whom I walked …”  (Breishis 24:40)  The different wording indicates that No’ach needed God’s help to walk with Him.  He struggled and required help.  Avraham Avinu, on the other hand, was able to walk alone before God without help.[5]

The idea that No’ach struggled within nature to reveal God explains an enigmatic Zohar.  The Zohar says that No’ach is an aspect of Shabbos.  (Tikunei Zohar 70:138b)  Of course, No’ach’s very name means rest which happens on Shabbos (וַיָּנַח בַּיוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי/He rested on the seventh day.  (Shemos 20:10)) but what is the significance of this?  According to what we’ve said, though, it is clear.  No’ach was righteous.  As we’ve made clear, this means that he struggled within nature and emerged victorious.  No’ach connected to God after a struggle.  This, as we’ve seen, parallels exactly our struggle to connect to God during the days of the week culminating in revelation/rest on Shabbos.

God gave us the gift of Shabbos, a day on which the gate is opened.  We can take full advantage of this gift by recognizing that our activities during the week affect how much the gate opens for us.  As No’ach the tzadik and Ya’akov Avinu before us, our struggle to become aware of God’s presence during the week results in our fully experiencing the gift of God’s revelation on Shabbos.  May we merit it!

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[1] Breishis R. 79:6 יעקב אבינו קבע תחומין

[2] Based on Yechezkel 46:1

[3] Shabbos 118a-b

[4] Breishis R. 12:9

[5] Breishis R. 30:10

Breishis 5631 First Ma'amar

“וַיְכַל אֱ-לֹהִים בַּיוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה ... /On the seventh day God completed His work that He did …”  (Breishis 2:2)  This pasuk implies that God’s work was completed on the seventh day itself, not before.  What work did God do on the seventh day?  Rashi answers that the world was still lacking מְנוּחָה/rest.  God created rest on the seventh day.

We usually think of rest as a cessation from activity.  Rashi, however, relates to rest as something positive.  What is this positive entity called מְנוּחָה/rest?  God created the world to bestow His light and good.  The vehicle that God uses is nature.  Since God’s good comes through nature,  His hand is not apparent.  Looking around us, it seems as if the universe operates autonomously.  The Chiddushei HaRim points out that God’s concealment in the Creation is alluded to by the Hebrew word for world – עוֹלָם – which has the same root as the word for concealment – הָעָלַם. 

There are places and times when God’s presence is more strongly felt just as there are places and times when His presence is not felt at all.  When we view the Creation as a whole, though, when we see the harmony that exists in the universe, each part of the Creation performing its unique task, doing the will of God, so that the entire system that we call the universe works, we become aware of God’s presence in the Creation.  The universe, then, while concealing God, is also a tool for revealing Him. 

The following p’sukim and Chazal allude to the idea that the completed universe is a tool for revealing God's glory.  “כָּל פָּעַל ה' לְמַּעֲנֵהוּ/Everything that God made, He made for His own sake.” (Mishlei 16:4).  Chazal tell us, too, that He created everything for His honor.[1]  Also, we find in this week’s parsha, “וַיַּרְא ה' אֶת-כָּל-אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וְהִנֵּה-טוֹב מְאֹד/ God saw all that he had done and behold it was very good.”  (Breishis 1:31)  Since God Himself is the ultimate “Good”, the deeper meaning of this pasuk is our concept; the completed Creation, as a whole, reveals God.  The common denominator in these p’sukim and the Mishnah is the word כָּל/everything implying completion.  The completed Creation enhances God's glory.

This idea is hinted at also in the pasuk signifying the completion of the Creation which begins, “וַיְכֻלוּ/ They were completed.” (Breishis 2:1)  This word has the same root as the Hebrew word for vessel and tool – כְּלִי.  The Midrash says that once the Creation was completed, it became a tool.[2]   The completed Creation is a tool for revealing God’s glory.  The word “וַיְכֻלוּ/ They were completed” also has the same root as the Hebrew for yearning as in the pasuk in Tehillim (84:3), “... כָּלְתָה נַפְשִׁי ... /… my soul yearns …”  indicating that each part of the Creation yearns to do the will of God.

Before the Creation was completed, the harmony of the universe was not apparent.  It was not apparent that every creation was fulfilling the will of the Creator.  The universe was not yet a single system working together.  However, once the Creation was completed and there was a cessation from creative activity, it became apparent that the Creation was one complete system wherein every part, by performing its own unique function, accomplishes God’s will.  This state that the universe achieved on the first Shabbos is what Rashi refers to as מְנוּחָה/rest.  A system can be said to be at rest when all its parts are working smoothly and efficiently.  There is no “noise” in the system.

This idea sheds light on an enigmatic Zohar which states that Shabbos is the name of God, a name that is complete in every aspect.[3]  The Sfas Emes explains that God’s name represents His influence in the Creation.  God, of course, does not change.  He was One before the Creation and He is One after the Creation.  The Creation is the mechanism by which God reveals Himself, His Oneness, as it were.  When the entire Creation works harmoniously to do God’s will, God is essentially revealing Himself through the Creation.  The Creation reflects God, in a manner of speaking.  When the prophet says that God’s Name is One[4], he means that God’s oneness is revealed in the harmony we see in the Creation.  On the first Shabbos the universe became a completed tool for revealing God’s greatness.  On the first Shabbos, His Name became One.  This is why the Zohar associates Shabbos with the name of God.  The first Shabbos was the first time it became possible to recognize God’s oneness through the harmony of the completed Creation.

The Hebrew for complete – שָׁלֵם – has the same root as the word for peace –שָׁלוֹם.  On the first Shabbos with completeness came peace.  Chazal teach us that only a vessel of peace can hold blessing.[5]  When the Creation became complete, it became a vessel that was able to receive God’s blessing.

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[1] Avos 6:12

[2] Breishis R. 10:2

[3] Zohar 2:88b

[4] Zecharya 14:9

[5] Uktzin 3:12