January 5, 2006, Vayigash
The problem with the Hasmoneans was that they didn’t stop when they reconquered the Temple. The rabbis said that they should have stopped there and just kept to the Temple, but they took the secular rulership from Judah (just how realistic is this, anyway? Eventually the Greeks would have forced them out of the Temple. They needed to reclaim all of Ertetz Yisrael, not just the Temple).
• Judah earned kingship by offering himself as collateral.
• The Cohanes are Levites. The Levites stood alone, arrogantly.
• Because of this, they became the priests, involved in the blood, dependent on the other tribes for land. This was their perpetual tchuva, set up by HaShem. This was wrecked when the Macabees took over kingship.
• The darkest part of the Levites is _______________.
ERAVON:
• Evening
• Confusion
• Partnership
• Collateral
• Arab
• Mixed multitude
• Raven (raven babies are not fed by the parents, but eat from the excrement of the parents)
• Sweet
• Desert plains.
SEVEN LEVELS OF HEAVEN:
1. Want to grow spiritually, want to pray from your heart.
2. Peel away materialism, understand the material is only refletion of the spiritual.
3. Work hard on spiritual aims even when suffering. No time off.
4. Serve G*d, pray for the benefit of G*d, the world.
5. Purity of intent. King David got up in the night and brought in the day.
6. Render divine service as a basic part of yourself. Consistency.
7. ARAVOT – DESERT PLAINS. Light and dark mix in a confusing way. Achieve an absolutely connection with the source of your being. Nirvana – cleaving – when you eat, you taste the essence of life G*d put in the food.
When one gets closer to G*d, the inner chambers, the mystarium where G*d cries with you, are filled with light. The outer chambers, where G*d laughs, are filled with darkness and clouds. Like when we atone and fast in the summer, rejoice and feast in the winter.
Joseph finds G*d in the darkness of the pit. In our darkness, we start to pray.
Tamar brought the family to tchuva. To do this, she had to throw off her upbringing and break with the rules she was taught. She met Yehuda at Open Your Eyes. This is all about seeing in a different way, through a different lens. Tamar saw the potential of the family. She figured out what had happened, their dirty little secret.
Tamar was similar to Joseph in two ways: they both devised schemes to heal the family and were both beautiful in appearance. Joseph is called the Man of the Hidden Face. Nobody saw beyond his good looks.
The snake cup in Benjamin’s bag: the snake stood for deception and seduction.
A person’s heroism is reflected not by where they are and where they end up, but by what they have overcome and allowing the story of their deficit to be told. That is why Noach, who is a dubious figure, is called a Tzaddick.
Rachel stole the teraphin, fertility gods, which resulted in Jacob’s overblown, knee-jerk reaction: the one who has stolen your gods will die! Jacob’s sons did the same thing. They say that we’re gonifs, so we overreact.
The brothers were angry at Jacob for favoring Rachel, so they took it out on Joseph. You can’t be angry at the powerful father. Joseph wanted to know if they would hate Benjamin for the same reason.
PEOPLE WHO SEE THEIR OWN DARKNESS DON’T SCAPEGOAT. If I am feeling overlooked or judged, I can look inside and see where the feeling comes from rather than blaming it on the people who seem to be causing it.
The Chumash could have started with Mount Sinai. Bereshet is first because it’s more important to have a functional family than to follow the rules.
Joseph had to make himself into a clear receiving vessel. Abraham looked up to see the ram. When we look down we’re stuck in our habits. We look up and see the solution that was there the whole time. Joseph had to give up thoughts of revenge.
When you daven, risk looking foolish, as Tamar and Channah did. Use inflection, use your hands, leap towards G*d.
AISH KODESH (p. 254)
The apples of gold on silver trays are words. The way to the heart is through the mouth. If we say the words, the feeling will come.
Judah goes back and forth, making and losing connection. So we as a nation go back and forth: lose it and evoke the Greeks, conquer it back, lose it again in the next generation. The efforts must never cease.