Soul Journeying

~Hey Everyone! We are 2 weeks away from arguably my favorite holiday: Chanukah! This is the month of miracles, Divine Providence above & beyond nature, so I wish you much success beyond your imagined expectations, in all things good~


This week’s Torah portion is "Vayishlach" meaning "And He sent." “Yakov sent angels before him to greet Esav, his brother.” Afraid of his brother's evil intentions, Yakov sends him messengers with gifts, as well as a message: “Im Lavan garti — With Lavan I have sojourned.” After 20 years away from home, working with his deceptive uncle Lavan, Yakov summed up the approach he had taken throughout these years: “With Lavan I have sojourned." During all those years, Yakov treated his situation like a stranger making a stop in a foreign place. He was sojourning - just passing through.

There is an awesome story told about the foremost disciple of the Baal Shem Tov - Dov Ber of Mezeritch. It happened once that a Jewish traveler was passing through the city of Mezeritch, and decided it would be wise to visit the holy Dov Ber. Knocking on the door, unsure of what to expect, the traveler was shocked to find a decrepit, empty room, save one chair and a table. "For such a great man, this is how he lives!?" Sensing his thoughts, Rabbi Dov Ber asked him: "Where are all of your belongings? Your furniture, your jewels?" Puzzled, the man answered: "But Rabbi, I'm only passing through your town!" The Rabbi, surveying the room, smiled and said: "I am also just passing through."

During our allotted years on this earth (may we live many happy and healthy years!) we are travelers on a mission. We mustn't get too comfortable and attached to all the materiality offered by the world. We must stay focused on doing and contributing good; on our mission. It's interesting to note that the numerical equivalent of the word "garti (I sojourned)" is 613. Through Yakov's treating of the materialism around him as secondary, he was better able to perform the 613 Mitzvot of the Torah.

So the next time you see a 50% sale at the Quicksilver store...give 20$ to charity! (say what?) Or if you're cheap, put on Tefillin (boy) or light Shabbos candles (girl), for through this we succeed in turning the world that we're traveling in,
into a true home for Hashem and ourselves.

Shabbat Shalom!

-Daniel

True Preparation

B"H

Last week we left Jacob after he had just received his father's blessings.
Understandably angry, his brother Esau wants to kill him. So Jacob is sent off by his very wise mother Rivkah to go live by her brother Lavan.
There, he is to find a wife and establish his family. It is time now to leave the "tent of Torah," his secure, holy environment, and enter the material world.
A world, whose Hebrew name 'olam' is connected to another Hebrew word 'he'elam' meaning hidden. G-d Isn't so revealed in Vegas!
Kinda sucks for Jacob. But he's gotta do what he's gotta do, right?

Now, how is a good Jewish boy like Jacob supposed to adapt to his upcoming new surroundings?
One would think he should study what life is going to be like in his new city. Perhaps study under a craftsman or filed laborer to learn the tricks of the trade?
At least buy new clothing to fit his new environment? Jacob does neither. "Vayifga b'makom" - "And he reached the place (and prayed)" [Genesis 28:2].

The actions of our forefathers are lessons to us as descendants for all time.
When involving ourselves in the world, now more than ever we need spiritual re-enforcement, to make sure we don't get lost in our activities.
To always remember our purpose and our ultimate goals while involved in family life & business, we must make sure to plug in to learning and prayer.
The Torah continues and states, that on the way to his new home, Jacob stops for rest & surrounds his head with stones.
The Q: is asked: what was the point? Rashi explains "in order to protect himself from wild beasts." But how much protection can 3-inch stones really offer?
And if Jacob was relying totally on G-d's Supernatural Protection, why put stones at all!?

In Jewish Mysticism it's explained that Jacob's action represented every Jew's need to protect what's in their head from danger.
Jacon knew that, as long as all of the values and Torah that he had learned and integrated into his life until now were kept secure,
he would do just fine in his new environment, and sanctify his surroundings. Not to be lowered by them - but rather to uplift.

May we be empowered by our father Jacob to always keep our Jewish values & Wisdom intact as we interact with the world around us.

~Shabbat Shalom!~

-Daniel
Crown Heights, New York

Dressed for the Occasion

In this week's Torah portion, Toldot, we read about the birth and early years of Jacob & Esau. Born to righteous parents Issac & Rivkah, Jacob & Esau end up going separate paths, as the Torah says: "And the youths grew up, and Esau was a man who understood hunting, a man of the field, whereas Jacob was an innocent man, dwelling in tents."
While Jacob lived preoccupied in learning and character refinement, Esau went out into the world, ready to conquer.

As time passes, Issac realizes that his life may be nearing to a close. He therefore calls his son Esau to fetch for him food, where upon his return, he will be blessed by his father. When Rivkah overhears this (believing that Jacob is more deserving of blessing), she immediately commands her son Jacob to enter his father's tent with food she will prepare, and receive Issac's blessings instead of Esau. Since Esau happened to be very hairy, Rivkah dresses Jacob in a hairy animal's clothing, and Jacob enters his father's tent (Being blind, Issac could only feel the difference in skin).

And Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come closer, so that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not."
So Jacob drew near to Isaac his father, and he felt him, and he said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau."
And he came closer, and he kissed him, and he smelled the fragrance of his garments, and he blessed him, and he said, "Behold, the fragrance of my son is like the fragrance of a field, which G-d has blessed!"

So what was really going on here? Why did Issac want to bless the wicked Esau? Why did Rivkah decide to intervene and "trick" Issac?
There are many insightful explanations to the meaning of these events, but I would like to focus primarily on one part: Jacob's need to disguise himself in Esau's clothing. If the blessings were ultimately meant for him by G-d, why was it set up in such a way that he had to go with a disguise in order to receive them?

Our Chassidic Masters explain the inner meaning behind this fascinating story of our forefathers. Jacob, the unblemished one, is a symbol for a Jew's G-dly soul.
Esau, the hunter, the worldly one, is a symbol for a Jew's body. Now in order for the soul (Jacob) to receive G-d's Blessing - in order to succeed & fulfill its reason for being - the soul cannot remain in the spiritual realms, but must rather descend into a coarse, physical body (Esau's clothing) and into a physical world. For in order to affect the physical world, the soul alone is just not gonna cut it. It needs a body to work with. A soul cannot put on tefillin or light Shabbos candles or put up a mezuzah, but hands can.
The body is the vehicle in which the soul can succeed in its mission on earth.

But there's one more point here. While riding in this vehicle called a body, during this stay in the physical world, Jacob must never forget that he is Jacob.
No matter how long he's wearing "Esau's clothing", he must never forget who he truly is, who he must identify with. The soul, us, must never forget that we are souls on a mission. Yes, we're in bodies that need food, showers and pampering. And yes, we have to work in the world, leaving the 'tents of Jacob' in order to succeed in it as best we can.
But we mustn't forget who we really are, and what the purpose is of this excursion into Esau's clothing.
As it says: "G-d Desired a Dwelling Place in the lower realms." - (Midrash Tanchuma, Naso 16)
When the twins Jacob & Esau were born, the Torah says Esau went out 1st, and Jacob's "hand was grasping Esau's heel."
The soul must have a hold on the physical, in order to uplift it. But we musn't get consumed by the world's flashy "appeal." We are Jacob underneath the clothes of Esau. We must remain true to our essence.

As Issac put it best: "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau."
Through the voice of Jacob, Torah and prayer, we can succeed in enriching our hands' work in this world to be the way it should be.
And then we will receive all of the blessings possible, both materially and spiritually, in all that we need.

Have a wonderful Shabbat!

-Daniel
Crown Heights, NY