Parshas Vayeishev[1]

1^st Mamar of “Vayeishev Yaakov Ba’aretz Migurei Aviv”

1. Vayeishev Yaakov Ba’aretz Migurei Aviv:[2]

See Volume 1 of our Chassidishe Parsha Torah Or Series under Parsha Vayeishev where we covered the following matters of this Mamar in detail:

• All levels of Kelipa in the Torah have a counterpart in Kedusha
• Canaan of Kedusha
• The Jewish soul descends to refine the sparks from Kelipa
• The advantage of the descent of the soul below

1. Even the G-dly soul no longer experiences conscious love:

Every Jewish soul above in heaven prior to its descent below contained a revealed and consciously felt natural love and fear towards G-d. Upon the souls descent below into the physical body, this love and fear becomes concealed and hidden within the physical heart. [From this teaching we learn that even the G-dly soul that is found within the body of the Jew does not have conscious feelings of love and fear of G-d even though it has a subconscious intuition towards it. It is similar to a child who does not constantly have a conscious revealed love for his father and mother even though it is embedded within his intuition. It is the job of a Jew to dig into his G-dly soul and reach the subconscious love and bring it from a state of concealment to be revealed.]

1. Chabad demands truth – Not to be a robber who prays to G-d:

The verse states, “G-d is close to all those who call to Him in truth.” What is the meaning of this statement? Is there a way of calling to G-d through non-truth? The explanation is as follows and covers one of the principal teachings of Chabad Chassidus, in contrast to the approach of other Chassidic dynasties: The Talmud states that even a robber who is in the midst of entering a home to rob it and is ready to kill in the process if necessary, prays to G-d for help while he’s in the process of performing the robbery. How is it possible for a Jew to become such a chameleon? To simultaneously perform a sin while praying to G-d and even ask G-d for help in his sin? The explanation is that when a person’s soul is not fully penetrated with a belief system that he professes, it is possible for the person to act in completely contradictory and hypocritical ways, and at the same time that he voices his belief and faith in G-d it doesn’t faze him to commit a sin against G-d. The reason for this is because faith and belief in G-d is merely encompassing and external and does not penetrate the core of the heart to make one feel that he cannot commit sin if he has faith in G-d. Mere faith allows for a disconnect between the faith and that which it obligates. Faith is superficial and doesn’t create an internal feeling of negation of transgression. It is hence not “truth,” as it does not penetrate one’s very essence and being. This was the core principle that the Alter Rebbe preached, that it is not enough to simply voice one’s faith in G-d and perform external actions that profess this faith, as in one’s heart one can remain the same heretical person who has no problem committing a sin. Rather, faith must be internalized into one’s very being so it becomes part of his nature, and so even instinctively he cannot bring himself to transgress a sin as he understands that it contradicts his faith. Now, how is it internalized? Through deep contemplation of G-d’s greatness and existence using once faculties of Chabad. This was the entire novelty of Chabad Chassidus. This is the meaning of calling to G-d with truth, and that G-d is close to those that call Him in truth as He is close to those who don’t just profess their faith in Him but truly believe in Him in the depths of their heart and nature.

• The divine lesson: A known American dictum says “talk is cheap,” or that a person can “talk the talk” but not “walk the walk.” This refers to a person who does not act in accordance to the way that he preaches. The same can apply to Torah learning. Learning Torah, whether for personal knowledge or for the sake of teaching others, is the easy part. The hard part is to internalize and practice that which you learn and preach. The entire message of Chabad Chassidus is that one not merely “talk the talk,” but rather that he internalizes and practices that which he learns and preaches. Every individual should perform a periodical Cheshbon Nefesh to see as to if he is living up to par with his beliefs and that which he preaches. Even if it is difficult for him to change, at least he should be aware that he needs to change to conform with his faith and beliefs and should place effort in reaching that goal. Worse than being an actual chameleon, is to be one and not know it.

1. To be a vessel for Torah one must have Bittul:

Torah learning is not just mere lip service and exercise of intellectual faculties, but is an actual union with G-d who is invested within the wisdom of the Torah that one studies. In order for one to successfully attach to G-d through his Torah learning and become a receptacle for the divine wisdom to rest on, one’s Torah learning must be preceded with a conscious expression of nullification to G-d.

2^nd Mamar “ViHinei Anachnu Mialmim Alumim…”

2. Vihinei Anachnu Mialmim Alumim:[3]

See Volume 1 of our Chassidishe Parsha Torah Or Series under Parsha Vayeishev where we covered the following matters of this Mamar in detail:

• Angels, souls, and Elokus shattered by Sheviras Hakeilim
• The shattering of G-dliness-Creation of a feeling of self-existence
• The creation of myriads of angels
• The creation of myriads of souls
• The 288 general sparks become millions of sparks
• Why is the exile and the Avoda of Beirurim taking so long?
• How the refinement is accomplished
• The meaning behind the Shevatim gathering stalks
• The two refinements
• The work of the Shevatim versus the work of Yosef

1. Why even Yaakov bowed to Yosef:

It is known that Yaakov, who is one of the forefathers, is higher than his son Yosef who is merely part of the 12 tribes. Accordingly, it remains to be understood as to the meaning of the second dream that Yosef had in which not only did his brothers bow to him, but even his father bowed to him. The explanation is as follows: There exist two intents of bowings and prostration’s which accomplish two different purposes. One is an act of absolute nullification to the individual that one is bowing to. The second is an act of drawing down from one’s soul to the person that one is bowing towards. In truth, these two forms of prostration are interconnected as through nullifying oneself to G-d one draws down G-dliness from above to below. Now, the tribes who were the fellow brothers of Yosef performed both purposes of prostration when they bowed to him. The purpose of the bowing was both to show nullification and to then draw down from above to below, from the very high level of Yosef which was higher than them to their level. However, the purpose of the bowing of Yaakov was only to draw down from above to below, to draw the level of Makif to his son Yosef. It was not in any which way an expression of nullification to his son to receive anything from his son as he was higher than his son.

1. Why the brothers hated their brother Yoseph:

The animosity and hatred that the brothers had towards Yosef as a result of the dream that he told them was due to an error in their understanding. They believed that they and Yosef are on the same spiritual level, rooted in the attributes of the world of Atzilus. Accordingly, they did not see any need for them to nullify themselves to Yosef and receive from him as they are on the same level, and therefore believed that Yosef was simply being arrogant. This was indeed an error on their part as in truth although they are rooted in the attributes of Atzilus nonetheless, they themselves are found below in the world of Beriyah, in contrast to Yosef who is both rooted and found in the world of Atzilus. Accordingly, the brothers are in need of the level of Yosef to be drawn down to them through prostration to Yosef, and in their mind they errored to think that it is not necessary.

• The Divine lesson: Jealousy is a common human emotion that most unfortunately can lead to animosity towards the person whom one is jealous of and eventually lead to outright hatred. Often, jealousy comes from a root problem of being unable to accept the fact that another individual may have the G-d-given right to be on a higher level, either materialistically or spiritually than the person, and on the contrary you need to be on the receiving end from them. Accordingly, often jealousy is rooted in ego, as if one fixes the problem with his overblown ego the jealousy will disappear. Accepting the right that people have to be better than you, can solve your emotional turmoil. At the same time those who have merited to be in a higher spiritual, social, or material position than others should not let it get to their head and act in a pompous fashion towards others of lower fortune, and show off their talents and wealth. Doing so will contribute towards the animosity and jealousy that naturally becomes developed in the heart of the individual and he is held legally responsible for it.[4] Rather take your fortunes with humility and try to allow others to benefit from it, as did Yosef who gave from his level of holiness to his brothers. So, if you have merited to make a lot of money and are living an affluent lifestyle be conscious and sensitive to your siblings who may not have such fortunes and rather than boast to them of your riches and glory, share it with them and let them be part of your blessings and hence secure loving brotherhood amongst you in contrast to jealousy and hatred.

3^rd Mamar “Shir Hamalos”

3. Shir Hamalos:[5]
4. Understanding the cause of dreams – The power of imagination takes control during sleep:

People dream of all types of matters including the impossible and science-fiction. In a dream one can attach two opposite ideas into one unit, such as an elephant fitting through the hole of a needle. The reason for this is because when a person is in a state of sleep his intellect which has the power of differentiating between the logical and illogical ascends from his brain and his brain retains only the power of imagination. Now, the power of imagination has ability to connect two opposite ideas, such as a ship flying in the air. It is only after a person awakens that his power of intellect returns to his brain and takes control over his power of imagination, and does not allow him to entertain such illogical concepts any further.

1. Living life like a dream – Loving G-d and Lusting pleasure at the same time:

The same way a dream is composed of opposing and contradictory aspects as explained above, so too in our daily lives sometimes we behave similar to a dream. It is possible for an individual to experience a tremendous love and passion for G-d in prayer removing his mind from all matters of the physical world and its lusts and pleasures. It is likewise equally possible for the same individual after prayer to fill his mind only with a desire to make money and be able to achieve all of his bodily needs and wants and this becomes the sole focus of the entire day. So during prayer he is one person having love and desire only for G-d himself and during the rest of the day he is another person having love and desire only for matters of this world.

1. So who is the person? Is he the lover of G-d or the lover of self?

Experiencing love for G-d during prayer and then being fully engaged in chasing after physical lusts throughout the day can lead a person to conclude that the love that he experienced in prayer was never true to begin with and was merely imaginative similar to a dream. This can lead a person to fall in his spirit and not even try in the future to arouse a fake love of G-d in prayer which is not lasting and is merely imaginative and dreamlike.

Dream comes from high level: So, in truth, a dream is rooted in a very high level of holiness known as Igulim which is above Seder Hishtalshlus. When a person is awake and dreaming he is not able to access his subconscious and essential parts of his soul, as his entire conscious reality is filled with his intellect and understanding. When a person goes to sleep he’s able to access aspects of his subconscious and essence that he is not aware of which comes out in the form of a dream.

Exile is one big dream: The above is a parable for the entire period of exile, which is dreamlike in the sense that one can experience love for G-d in prayer and love for self in the rest of the day. This itself is due to a lack of proper intellectual capacity of the G-dly soul during times of exile, which is an obvious deficiency although makes room to allow a level of the soul which is above intellect to be accessed and revealed. [Accordingly, the love that he feels during prayer is not only true, but is even truer than the love that he would experience simply as a result of his own intellectual contemplation, as it is rooted in a higher level of G-dliness.]

1. The greatness of Yaakov and Yosef who were dreamers:

Based on the above explanation that the root of a dream comes from a very high level we can understand the greatness of Yaakov and Yosef who had various dreams which are recorded in Scripture, as these dreams show that they had access to very high levels. Indeed, during times of exile we are being led by the level of Yosef, the level of a dream which is above Seder Hishtalshlus.

[1] Torah Or 26b-30a

[2] Torah Or 26b-27b

[3] Torah Or 27b-28b

[4] See our corresponding Kuntrus on Lo Sachmod – Jealousy, available on our website and Amazon.com

[5] Torah Or p. 28b-29a