Nachal novea; makor chochma -
A flowing river; the source of wisdom (Mish. 18:4)
In the earlier generations Hashem remained undetected, hidden within the
"vacant space", and therefore, very few people were aware of His
existence. However, due to the superhuman faith and the efforts of the
three patriarchs, Hashem's Presence became revealed in the world. They
taught the world that Hashem was "hiding" within the material world,
concealed by the Challal Ha'pa'nui and that Hashem could be found
anywhere and everywhere, if one made the effort to find Him.
Sleep is a state of unconsciousness, a state where the resources of
one's intellect have departed and are unavailable. Faith is the belief
in something as fact, without the necessity for intellectual
verification. Thus sleep is associated with faith. Rabbi Nachman taught
that when one sleeps, his consciousness or intellect departs and becomes
connected to the spiritual energies of faith, as the verse says, "[To be
connected to the spiritual energies of faith by proclaiming our belief
in] Your faithfuless in the nights [at the time when we go
to sleep]." (Psalms 92:3)
As a result of Ya'akov's becoming great in faith he merited to marry
Rachel and Leah, producing twelve holy sons, the founders of the twelve
holy tribes of the Nation of Israel. The twelve holy tribes were the
culmination of patriarchs' and rnatriarchs' hard work to develop,
cultivate, and purify faith throughout their lives.
Rabbi Nachman taught that listening to an impure person singing can
eventually cause one to fall to the depths of impurity and conversely,
one who listens to a spiritually pure singer can be elevated to
spiritual heights. This is what Lavan's impure intention was when he
caught up with Ya'akov, "Why have you (Ya'akov) fled so stealthily, and
cheated me? Nor did you tell me -- for I would have sent you away with
glaness, with (cont. on back page).
Our Rabbis taught "When the poor, the rich, or the wicked shall appear
before Divine Judgment, the poor man will be asked, 'Why didn't you
study Torah [while you were alive]?' If he answers that he was poor and
had to earn a living [and therefore had no time to study], they [the
heavenly court (Rashi)] will say, 'Were you poorer than Hillel the
Elder?' Concerning Hillel the Elder it was said that every day he used
to work and earn one Tarpeik [a small sum], half of which he gave away
to the guard of the house of learning [for admission], and with the
other half he supported himself and his family. (In those days the study
halls were commonly situated in the fields outside the city, therefore
guards were needed for security. it was incumbent upon the students who
attended the study halls to contribute to the salary of these guards.
(Maharsha)]. ...[One day, Hillel] did not earn anything and the guard
refused him admission [because he didn't have any money]. He climbed up
[onto the roof] and sat upon the skylight [lit. window] so that he might
listen to the the words of the living G-d from the mouth of Shemaia and
Avtalian [the leading sages of the generation]. This [incident] ocurred
on a Friday, during the month of Tevet [in the winter] and snow fell
upon him and covered him up. [The next day, on the Sabbath] at dawn
Shemaia said to Avtalian, 'Brother, why is it that every day light is
visible in the academy at this time, and today it is still dark? Is it
such a cloudy day?' They looked up and saw the figure of a man above the
skylight. They went up [to the roofl, and found [Hillel] covered by
three cubits of snow. After removing the snow, they took him down [and
cared for him] placed him before a fire, and remarked, 'Such a man
deserves that even Shabbat (the Sabbath) should be violated for his
sake.' [Although Hillel's action was a case of reckless endangerment and
he really should not have done that, because the possibilities for
causing a desecration of the Shabbat was great. Nevertheless it was
still fitting to violate Shabbat in this case of a person who was so
focused on learning Torah that he neglected his physical wellbeing for
its honor. (A'in Ya'akov)]. (Talmud: Yuma 35b)
One of the main goals of the three patriarchs: (Avraham, Yitzchak and
Ya'akov) was to educate the world about the existence of Hashem (G-d),
as the verse says, "So Ya'akov lifted his feet, and went toward
the land of the children-of-the-east." (Genesis 29:1) We will explain
the verse further on. First let us look at the circumstances surrounding
Ya'akov's journey. It was when Ya'akov was forced to flee from his
brother Aesav's (Esau's) wrath for supplanting Aesav in receiving their
father's blessings. Ya'akov took refuge in Haran-which was his
grandfather, Avraham's native land--until his brother's anger abated.
Rav Noson says that "...lifted his feet...' alludes to the fact that
with every step Ya'akov took toward Haran he created spiritual energies
that enabled him to elevate his soul to higher spiritual levels. Our
verse comes just after the description of Ya'akov's famous, prophetic
dream in which he saw angels ascending and descending on a ladder
stretching from earth to heaven. The juxtaposition of the two verses
indicates that Ya'akov had begun to implement the valuable lessons
Hashem had revealed to him through this dream -- the secret of how one
is to ascend from spiritual depths to spiritual heights.
Rabbi Nachman taught that before one can advance from one spiritual
level to the next he must encounter and withstand attacks from the
forces of evil (kelipot) that guard the gates of spirituality. These
attacks are manifested in the form of mental confusion, doubts, despair,
depression, feelings of worthlessness, self-doubt etc. When these
feelings occur, one should not try to fight them because that fuels them
and the attacks become even more intense. Rather, a person should
totally ignore these feelings, patiently waiting until they pass. In
this manner, the individual does not provide the forces of evil with the
fuel they need to continue their assault and they eventually subside.
People who take these assaults seriously provide the forces of evil with
the fuel they need to derail the person off the track of holiness.
Having been shown this secret in his dream, Ya'akov revealed the message
to all who had wanted to come close to Hashem, but failed due to the
mental barriers placed in their way by the forces of evil. Ya'akov
wanted to let know those precious souls who had fallen awav from Hashem
everyone must strengthen himself and never let any barrier or spiritual
failure deter him from coming close to Hashem, as the verse says, "And
[Ya'akov] went toward the land of the childrm-of-the-east." (Genesis
29:1) The Hebrew word for east kedem, also means ancient or
before. Thus, the word kedem can also refer to the One Who was
before the world or the Ancient One, Hashem. In this context, the phrase
"the children of kedem" can be read as "the children of Hashem." The
phrase "toward the land" alludes to all people who have fallen as low as
the dirt, who have become trapped in things connected to the land, i.e.
materialism. Therefore, the verse, "And [Ya'akov] went toward the land
of the children of the east," can be understood to mean and Ya'akov went
to people who had fallen to "the land" to remind them that despite their
seeming spiritual lowliness, they truely possessed lofty souls and were
really "the children of the Ancient One (kedem)". Rav Noson says
that by the time Ya'akov journeyed to Haran, he had reached such awesome
spiritual heights that he had the expertise to elevate all people, even
those who had fallen to the lowest of spiritual levels, and guide them
in returning to Hashem.
In the early generations, before the giving of the Torah, holiness was
very hidden, very few people were aware of the existence of Hashem, as
the verse says, "[When Ya'akov finally reached Haran], he looked, and
behold -- a well in the field ... and there was a large stone of the
mouth of the well." (Genesis 28:2) Water possesses the spiritual
energies of true knowledge, the knowledge of Hashem, as the verse says,
"The earth shall be full of the knowledge of Hashem, as the waters cover
the sea." (Isaiah 11:9) Thus, when Ya'akov came to Haran, knowledge of
Hashem was stopped-up by a large stone. The large stone refers to a
heart which has become insensitive to spirituality, as the verse says,
"Then I shall give them a single heart, and a new spirit shall I
(Hashem) place in them; I shall remove the heart of stone [that causes
spiritual insensitivity]...and give them a heart of flesh [a heart that
is soft and ready to submit (Rashi); a heart that is sensitive to
spirituality and thirsts for true knowledge of Hashem]." (Ezekiel 11:19)
(Lekutai Halachot: Choshen Mishpat: Hilchot Ma'tana 4:13)
How is it possible for people to be unaware of Hashem Who is
infinite and Whose Presense is everywhere? Rabbi Nachman taught that
before Creation nothing existed but Hashem. Since Hashem is infinite,
Hashem had to constrict His infinite Presence, so to speak, in order to
make room for the universe. The apparatus that Hashem created which
constricts or hides His infinite Presence is called the Challal
Ha'pa'nui, the "unoccupied or vacant space". In this space, the
Presence of Hashem is so hidden that it enables the physically to exist
together with Hashem's infinite Presence. [Note: A way to understand
this is by comparing Hashem's Presence to a very bright light. Light can
be of such an intensity that we cannot perceive anything else other than
its blinding presence. Similarly, the intensity of Hashem's great Light
blots out any physicallity. The Challal Ha'pa'nui is a place from
whence Hashem's Light is heavily filtered, such that other things can
exist, i.e. physicality.]
The opening verse of our parsha alludes to the above concept. "Ya'akov
departed from Be'er-sheva [the southern most city in the land of Israel]
and went towards Haran. He encountered haMaKoM, -- "the place" --
and spent the night there, because the sun had set; he took from the
stones of the place, which he arranged around his head. And he lay down
[to sleep] in that place." (Genesis 28:10,11) As mentioned above, the
Challal Ha'pa'nui made it possible for the physical creation or
"place" to come into existence. This means that each physical place is
spiritually dependent upon and connected to the Challal
Ha'pa'nui. Rav Noson says that it is only possible to find Hashem
hidden within the Challal Ha'pa'nui through faith. The way to
activate the spiritual energies of faith, so one can find Hashem hidden
within the world, is through prayer. The Talmud proves that the phrase,
"He encountered..." is a reference to prayer. The phrase, "the place"
refers to each place's spiritual connection with the "vacant space," as
mentioned above. Rabbi Nachman says that prayer is an act of faith.
because in order to pray to Hashem, one must believe in the One to Whom
one prays, even though He is hidden and unseen. The Talmud comments on
Hashem's vastness; "...He is ... called M'KoMo shel olam", "the
place of the world". Therefore, Ya'akov had an encounter -- he prayed or
conversed -- with haMaKoM -- the One Who contains and,
simultaneously, is hidden by that place. Thus, the above
mentioned verse tells us that Ya'akov was able to find Hashem only
through faith which was expressed through his prayer.
THROUGH FAITH AND PRAYER
Genesis 28:11 says, "And he (Ya'akov) lay down [to sleep] in that place.
"It is strange that the Torah emphasizes the fact that Ya'akov slept "in
that place". The previous verse already mentions where he slept. The
Torah is very concise, never repeating words or phrases unless they have
a deeper meaning. The Talmud explains this seemingly redundant phrase:
[The repetition of the phrase] calls attention to the fact that it was
"in that place he slept" whereas before, in another place, he didn't
sleep. The other place was the Torah academy of Shem and Aver where
Ya'akov had studied during the previous fourteen years. During that
time, Ya'akov strenghtened himself to study and learn as much as he
could. Thus, he did not sleep, [rather he only took short naps in his
seat]. (Talmud: Megilah 16) Rav Noson asks that if Ya'akov avoided
normal sleep for those fourteen years, what prompted him, all of a
sudden, to sleep on the way to Haran? The Torah academy, where holy
people who believe in and seek Hashem are congregated in the study of
Torah, is a place where Hashem is more revealed and accessible than
practically any other place. Since His Presence is more readily felt and
accepted there, it is not so hard to believe in or find Him. In a
situation where the Hashem's existence is more obvious, one must use his
intellect through the guidance of the Torah, to discover more about
Hashem. But when a person leaves the holy environment of the study hall
and travels to the outside world where Hashem is very hidden and much
harder to find, he must ignore his intellect and rely on faith alone.
For in that case, one's intellect will tend to mislead him because
Hashem is so concealed that it appears that He doesn't exist at all.
Then, strong faith is the only way to detect Hashem's Presence and
establish the fact that He can be found even on the outside.
WHEN CAN ONE RELY ON ONE'S INTELLECT?
The fact that we have to rely upon faith to find Hashem when He is
hidden is alluded to in the next phrase of our verse.. "He (Ya'akov)
slept there, because the sun had set." (Genesis 28:11) The sun is
associated with intelligence for intelligence illuminates one's chosen
path like the sun. Unlike in the environment of the study hall, Ya'akov
saw the contradictions and difficulties of the outside world and was
unable to reconcile all of his questions using his intellect. Because of
his doubts, he was unable to connect with Hashem in his new environment
the outside world, as he had done before, while in the study hall, as
alluded to in the verse, for the sun or light of his intelligence had
set or departed. How did he cope with these problems and still find and
connect to Hashem, even amidst the darkness and confusion? The verse
answers this question, "Dwell in the land and be nourished by faith."
(Psalms 37:3), when you are on the outside of the bounds of holiness and
are unable to find Hashem, then rely on faith. This is exactly what
Ya'akov did as the verse says, "He slept there..." meaning he
surrendered his intellect and depended upon faith to find Hashem.
The verse continues, "He (Ya'akov) took from the stones of the place,
which he arranged around his head, and lay down [to sleep] in that
place." (Genesis 28:11) The hard stones refer to the seemingly hard and
difficult contradictions and heretical arguments that derive their
spiritual energies from the "place" i.e. the "vacant place," which
causes the heart to become as spiritualy insensitive as stone. Ya'akov
took all the stones, the questions and difficulties about Hashem he
Could not reconcile, and removed them, placing them around his head
where he slept. Where Ya'akov slept was the foundation stone through
which Hashem created the rest of the world; the future site of the Holy
of Holies in the Temple. The foundation stone; the Temple, which is
called the house of prayer; and sleep which is what Ya'akov did there,
are all associated with the spiritual energies of faith, indicating that
Ya'akov relied upon faith to remove his doubts, spiritual difficulties
and questions. Connecting one's doubts to the spiritual energies of
faith associated with the foundation stone eventually enables one to
understand things which are normally beyond the human mind.
UNDERSTANDING THINGS NORMALLY NOT UNDERSTOOD
To strengthen his faith connection to Hashem amidst the darkness of the
outside world, upon awaking the following morning "...Ya'akov made a
vow, saying 'If Hashem will be with me ... and whatever You (Hashem)
will give me, I shall repeatedly tithe to You [give tsedaka]."
(Genesis 28:20, 22) Giving tsedaka (charity) is an act of faith,
for giving diminishes one's resources and power, and despite this, one
gives anyway simply because he believes it is Hashem's will. The sages
teach that tsedaka is equal to all other commandments combined,
which are all dependent upon faith. Therefore tsedaka is one of
the greatest demonstrations of, and ways to connect to faith.
After Ya'akov had strengthened and rectified his own faith he acquired
the ability to find Hashem and spiritually elevate himself in any place
and situation. At that point he was ready to climb to the next level of
faith and to marry the holy, G-dfearing women, Rachel and Leah, as the
verse says, "So Ya'akov (Jacob) lifted his feet [in pursuit of spiritual
elevation]..." (Genesis 29:1) Women are connected strongly to the
spiritual roots of faith. The holy matriarchs had developed the highest
levels of faith that any woman had ever attained. Purifying and
strengthening his connection to the essence of the highest levels of
faith, Ya'akov merged his soul through marriage, with the matriarchs,
Rachel and Leah. He fortified that connection by shepherding his
father-in-law's sheep.
An ideal shepherd activates the spiritual energies of faith, because the
flock's owner is forced to trust and rely upon the shepherd's personal
integrity and honesty. In guarding the sheep in far away pastures, the
shepherd is often far away from the owner's watchful eye. Therefore,
Ya'akov fully accessed the spiritual energles of faith by working as a
shepherd in exchange for the right to marry Lavan's two holy daughters.
He worked seven years for each daughter.
The number seven is also connected to the spiritual energies of faith.
Hashem created the world in seven days, the belief in which is a matter
of faith. The seven spiritual shepherds (Avraham, Yitzchak, Ya'akov,
Moshe, Aharon, Yosef and David) are the epitome of all those who have
faith. During the fourteen years of Ya'akov's shepherding, he lived in
his father-in-law, Lavan's house. Lavan was one of the most cunning
non-believers who ever lived. Because Ya'akov was able to find and
connect to Hashem, even amidst the darkness of the outside world,
particularly while residing in Lavan's house, he was able to draw
Hashem's blessings to himself and therefore, merited to become wealthy,
as the verse says, "The blessings of Hashem ... make [one] rich."
(Proverbs 10:22)
That Ya'akov's wealth of faith brought him physical wealth implies that
money is intrinsically connected to faith. Thus the Talmud teaches that
one of the ways to betroth a woman is through money. (Talmud: Kedushin
2a) By accessmg the spiritual energies of faith contained in money, one
connects himself to his wife, who, as a woman, is intrinsically
connected to the spiritual roots of faith (Today, the wedding ring
represents this monetary exchange.] Marriage is one the holiest of acts.
The association between the holiness of marriage and the faithfulness of
money teaches us that in order to come to holiness, one must have faith.
One cannot rely on one's intellect alone.
MARRYING WITH MONEY
The final phase of Ya'akov's building of faith was to instill it into
the spiritual essence of the Jewish nation. Thus, because Ya'akov was
able to escape from Lavan, who was the total opposite of Ya'akov, he
ensured that his holy sons would grow up in an environment which would
cultivate faith. Lavan was strongly connected to the spiritual energies
of the "vacant space', the Challal Ha'pa'nui, and was one of the
greatest nonbelievers of all time. Therefore he possessed, morc than
anyone else, the ability to conceal the Presence ot Hashem in the
world.
After Ya'akov arose from his sleep in the House of Hashem, he
attained greatness. During the time of the second Temple, another great
Tzaddik had a similar experience, as related in the Talmud: