Drash - Parshat Vayishalach

I've led lots of text studies, but it has been a while since I've given a more formal 'drash'  or sermon.  Here's an advance copy of one I will give this coming Sabbath.  

Jacob, for some mysterious reason, decided to be alone after supervising the transportation of all of his goods across a river.  Once he is alone, Jacob has a famous struggle with a man or ‘Aish’  in Hebrew.  This ‘aish’ is generally thought to be an angel, as it states after a stalemate that Jacob has struggled with both people and divine creatures, changes Jacob’s name to Israel, and refuses to divulge his name. 

Why did Jacob decide to be alone at that moment?  I looked at the classical commentators, and found some answers that aren’t terribly compelling.  Rashi, for example, says that Jacob decided to cross the river alone because he left some small bottles behind.  Jacob was a wealthy man – surely a servant could have done that for him!  There must have been a more important reason. 

Why did Jacob wrestle with an angel?  Radak says the purpose of the struggle with the angel was to give Jacob a boost of confidence for his encounter with Esau.  A stalemate that left Jacob slightly crippled doesn’t seem like a compelling way to make someone optimistic. 

Rather than rely on the commentators, I’m going to share some of my own thoughts on these questions. 

Jacob had an awful life.  His father wasn’t so into him, his brother wanted to kill him, his wives tricked him (imagine marrying someone who conspired to get you to marry someone else!).  His sons tried to kill each other.  He wasn’t a passive victim, though.  When he summarized his life before Pharoah, he said  “Few and hard have been the years of my life, nor do they come up to the life spans of my fathers during their sojurns.”  This is probably one of the most eloquent kvetches in the history of our people.  He was also far from a passive victim – his trickery with his father, brother-in-law, and brother shows that he gave as good as he could get. 

I think that he took some time alone because he is feeling doubt.  Imagine the feelings evoked by a new, uncertain chapter in such a life journey.  Perhaps, rather than confront his estranged brother that he so feared, he was tempted to run away to some other land.  Maybe he even thought about ditching his wife and children, and going it alone.  Elsewhere he would be anonymous rather than immediately hated.  He was also probably anxious about confronting the consequences of his first trickery, deceiving his father and taking his brother’s birthright.  Perhaps he had not explained what he had done to anyone else before; imagine the shame and guilt he might have experienced.  Of course, had he gone elsewhere, our people’s history would be very different.  Perhaps we would have inherited some of those oil fields, for example!  At the same time, Jacob knew that his destiny lay in the land of Israel, down the path of continued trouble and strife.  What should he do?

In such a bind, an angel appears!  I propose that the angel gave Jacob more than just an ego boost for an upcoming confrontation.  Rather it provided him with a greater breadth of vision .  I’m going to support my argument with a couple of remarks about angels, and then conclude.

Angels have a special role in Judaism.  I would argue that they are, among other things, a symbol of the ability to transcend our reality when we feel trapped, and especially when our future seems foreclosed.  Hagar encounters angels twice, both times when it seems her chance to have descendents is threatened.  An angle interrupts the Akeda’s bloody conclusion.  During Israel’s domination by the Phillistines, our liberator Samson’s conception is announced by angel.

Beyond the Chumash, angels in Jewish mysticism are thought of as messengers who live in higher planes of existence.  The world we live in, according to the Zohar, is where G’d is most obscured.  As we travel closer to the divine, where angels live, the infinite becomes more visible; language, divisions, boundaries fade and we approach the ‘Ain Sof’, the characteristic of G’d that is without limit and beyond understanding.  In the Zohar’s Idra Zuta Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai on his deathbed described the highest parts of these worlds as ‘Uncountable, beyond general categories or calculation, and only captured by the heart’s unspoken desire.’  Angels allow us to transcend the world as we see it. 

I think Jacob’s struggle with the angel represents his own struggle with his journey.  His world, were he to continue on the path to Eretz Israel, seemed bound to continue to be confrontation and pain.  Contact with an angel allowed him to see beyond the narrowness of this vision of the future.  There was something to his journey, probably beyond his immediate understanding, which had to continue.  As far as he could tell, his life was all about deceit, limits, and betrayal.  The angel showed him the greater possibilities and perhaps even our people’s difficult but miraculous and glorious history that would emerge from his continuing this journey.  As the psalmist said, “I called to you from a narrow place, and G-d answered me with wide open spaces.”

I bless us that, when we feel trapped by life’s circumstances, we have the courage to refuse to be hemmed in.  We should remember that, in a world perhaps beyond what we see, these limits can fade away and we can triumph.  We should have the strength to remember that, even as darkness increases, our connection to the divine gives us access to infinite light. 

Shabat shalom!

Netivot Shalom on Shemini Atzeret

“On the eighth day you will have an assembly/Atzeret.”  Behold, our sages of blessed memory taught (Rosh HaShanah 4b), “The eighth day is a holiday on it’s own.”  We have to explain why, if this is so, everywhere in the Torah only three pilgrimage holidays are mentioned, rather than four.  Also we must explain why the Torah does not provide  a reason for Shemini Atzeret, like it does for the other pilgrimage holidays:  Passover for the exodus from Egypt, Shavuot because of the first fruits, and Sukkot so that “Your generations will know that I made the children of Israel live in Sukkot.” 

Behold, we find in the substance of the holy holiday of Shemini Atzeret three special characteristics:

It is a day of clinging to G’d with special intensity, as our sages of blessed memory said (Succah 55b), “It has an aspect of ‘make me a little meal that I may enjoy time with you.’”  In the Zohar it is written, “From here onwards you and I will enjoy a day together.”  The day also has an aspect of “One who sits with the king will be given whatever he wants.” 

It is a day of completing the sealing of judgment for the New Year, as is written in the Zohar and the Arizal. 

We also find the Jewish custom of Simchat Torah, where we finish the torah with song and dancing.  As it is said in the Zohar, ‘Israel had a custom of rejoicing with her, and it was called Simchat Torah, and they crowned Simchat Torah with her crown.”

One can say with regard to all of this that we the level of this holy festival has an aspect of eight, which hints that the day is above the seven days of building, as the Maharal explains, “Eight is above all other aspects and natural things, for the number seven encompasses all natural things.  For all maters of natural things are included in seven days of construction, and eight is above nature and the world.  Eight includes all matters that are above nature.”  Our master R.  Avraham  teaches that “On the eighth day” means that we completely awaken from all matters of this world.  Thus we have written in the Torah with regard to the number eight,

“On the eighth day” the Tabernacle was completed.  Our sages of blessed memory say that on that day ten crowns were taken, that is that such intense glory was revealed that the Tabernacle was filled with G’d’s glory, a matter surely above nature.

“On the eighth day [the boy’s] foreskin will be circumcised.’  On that day, the child awakens from the state of ‘I was created in sin and in sin my mother bore me.’  Only after the eighth day is the child ready to cross over the border into holiness and to pull down for himself a holy soul through brit mila.  We have a hint of the matter of eight in that such a change is only possible on the eighth day, when there is an awakening from all matters of this world.

Thus we have too the matter of ‘On the eight day you will have an assembly/Atzeret.’  For the holidays of Passover and Sukkot are each seven days, which are limited to this world… while Shemini Atzeret has no relationship to this world.  It is a hint of future redemption when there will be the final repair of the world, in the world to come, as it is written “Then your L-rd will rejoice about you like a groom rejoices about his bride.” 

…. There are three holidays that have the aspect of eight.  Shavuot is after the counting of seven weeks.  Yom Kippur also has the aspect of eight because the High Priest, during the service Temple, splattered bloods one time above and seven times below, with the one splatter above hinting at eight.  They would count the splattering as ‘One and one, one and two” for when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies the entire process was above nature and thus needed this aspect of eight.  We also find this is the reason why the high priest was isolated for seven days before Yom Kippur…  Yom Kippur is distinct from Shemini Atzeret in that Yom Kippur one achieves nullification of the ego through prayer, self-affliction, and penitence while on Shemini Atzeret nullification is done through joy and dancing, through which one completely nullifies themselves before G’d.

One can further understand the holidays of Shavuot, Yom Kippur, and Shemini Atzeret through our holy teacher Avraham’s statement that there are holidays that are ‘Bind me as a seal on your arm’ and others that are ‘Bind me as a seal upon your heart.’  There are three holidays that are have positive, physical commandments.  On Passover we eat matzoh, on Rosh HaShanah we sound the Shofar, and on Sukkot we sit in the Sukkah and shake the four species.  These are all holidays with the aspect of ‘bind me as a seal on your arm.’  However, the holidays with this aspect of eight have no positive physical commandments associated with them, and are on the level of ‘a seal on one’s heart.’  These latter three holidays are on the level of ‘Love is as fierce as death.’  Thus on Shemini Atzeret we finish and begin the Torah, whose first and last letters are  בֹ and ל, which spell לב (heart), ‘A seal on your heart.’  We can explain these two kinds of holidays through a parable of our holy teacher Avraham, of a groom and bride who, due to their love and desire to come closer to each other send each other gifts, and adorn themselves, and only afterwards approach each other from the depth of their hearts.  So to we come closer to G’d through positive commandments, but Shemini Atzeret has the aspect of upper, transcendent unification, ‘A seal upon your heart.’  

Tanya Chap 39: Hope for All

Rabbi Steinsaltz, in his commentary on the Chabad classic the Tanya, has the following statement.

The category of someone who is 'incompletely righteous' includes within it one who isn't completely righteous yet because they haven't' finished what they can and must do.  With this understanding, all Jews, even the simplest among the simple, carries within him the life force to complete this work.  However, not everyone has sufficient life conditions to finish this work.l  The matter depends on place and education; it depends on the garments of one's body and soul.  It depends on the long sequence of potential challenges.  However, all in all this possibility is found within everyone.  At special times, it is possible to break open this potential, to ascend to the heights of the upper Garden of Eden, where not even angels may travel.

Samson and Sex: Sotah 9b, 10a

Here are two stories related to Samson's sexuality.

Judges 13:24: "[Samson] the youth grew and G'd blessed him."  How was he blessed?  Samson's penis was blessed.  His penis was like a grown man's, and the seed poured out like a flowing river.

Delilah, after a long effort, convinces Samson to tell her the secret of his strength.  

Judges 16:16: "Finally, after Delilah nagged him and pressed him constantly, he was wearied, and confided everything in her."  Why does scripture say 'He was wearied?'  Rabbi Issac teaches in the name of Rabbi Ami:  At the moment of orgasm, she pulled  away from him [and asked him again].

Exile by Stages: Rosh HaShanah 31a

This section describes how the Divine Presence slowly, by stages, left its home in the First Temple.  It is a beautiful but sad idea.  I think that it kept moving slowly away hoping that people would notice and change for the better, reversing the process.

The Divine Presence made ten journeys: From the ark covering to one cherub, from one cherub to the other cherub, from the second cherub to the threshold of the Holy of Holies, from the threshold to the Temple courtyard, from the courtyard to the outer altar, from the outer altar to the Temple roof, from the Temple roof to the exterior wall, from the exterior wall into the city of Jerusalem, from the city of Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives, from the Mount of Olives to the wilderness, and from the wilderness back to its place.

Making Trouble: Rosh HaShannah 16B

Rabbi Issac said: Three things cause a person's sins to be remembered in Heaven: [Walking under] an unbalanced wall [i.e. going to dangerous places] careful intention in prayer [where one is sure one's prayer's will be answered], and invoking divine judgment upon one's neighbor.

Our Personal Lights: Mei Shiloach on Hanukah

It's written in Psalms (119:105) "Your words are a candle for my feet and a light for my path."  "A candle for my feet," for G-d directed words of Torah that are in every particular detail of creation as a sign that G-d's kingdom is above all.  "A light for my path," for also in every dimension G-d chose a special part as a reminder that dominion belongs to G-d.  A candle is something particular, while light is a generality.  G-d created the world in general and included in it the three dimensions of world, time, and soul.  It's written (Psalms, 199:16) "G-d formed days and one of the days belongs to Him."  Thus, from each dimension G-d selected a choice part that would illuminate with a revelation of personal light and cause recognition of G-d's kingdom.
*G-d created the world and chose the land of Israel, and from Israel He sanctified Jerusalem, and from there he sanctified the Temple.  G-d commanded that the menorah should be lit in the Temple, to shine its individual light in that place.
*In time, G-d chose the sabbath, and we also find the commandment of sabbath lights.
*Among souls, G-d chose his nation Israel, and for the time being, before the Total Clarification, G-d chose the tribe of Levi, and from among Levi G-d chose the Cohanim, and from the Cohanim G-d chose the High Priest, and gave the High Priest the duty of lighting the Menorah.

In the days of the Hasmoneans, G-d showed a spark of the future light, that in the Time to Come the High Priest will merit to be king, as will be revealed in the future by the Messiah, son of David.  At the time of Total Clarification, the choice part of Israel will be the tribe of Judah.  Then, just as the Hasmoneans merited extra dominion, so to in the Time to Come each individual Jew will shine a line recognizing G-d's kingship.

Thus, from the miracle that occurred with the Temple Menorah, our sages established an personal candle, for each and every person to shine their individual light for the choicest part of their soul.  Thus King David peace upon him said (Psalms 7:6) "G-d will count the nations in writing, and G-d will say to Zion a person and a person were born in Her."  We interpret "G-d will count the nations in writing" as that G-d guides the nations just for the sake of perpetuation of the species, like the rest of creation.  "G-d will say to Zion a person and a person were born in Her, and he prepares Her above," that is each Jew when they are born has a recognition that they were born chosen, from a new soul, and this is why each and every individual must light their own candle on Hanukah.

The schools of Shammai and Hillel disagreed about how to light Hanukah candles.  The school of Shammai taught we start with eight candles on the first night and end with one candle on the last night, while the school of Hillel taught that we start with one candle on the first night and end with eight candles on the last night.  This disagreement reflects their disagreement about how to achieve spiritual perfection, the Total Clarification.  The school of Shammai things that we start with eight and end with one, because the process involves destruction of imperfections, until only the choice holiness remains.  The school of Hillel things that we start with one candle and add on, because the essential part of the process in their eyes is that holiness should spread out at all times, and imperfections with automatically be annulled.