Nachal novea; makor chochma -
A flowing river; the source of wisdom (Mish. 18:4)
A large group of soldiers pushed and shoved their way into the tavern
of Yankel, the Innkeeper. They were very happy and excited for they
had just been victorious in a major battle. They drank so much, that
Yankel ran out of liquor and could give them no more. But they
screamed, "Give us more booze!" In their angry frustration at having
no more alcohol, they began to tear Yankel's tavern to pieces and
threatened, "If you don't give us more liquor, we will break your
bones and the bones of your children!" Poor terrified Yankel did not
know what to do. Then an idea popped into his head - he ran off to
see the holy Reb Zusha.
Yankel quickly told Reb Zusha the whole story. Reb Zusha immediately
stopped his Torah learning and hurried with Yankel back to the inn.
From the tavern's outer window, Reb Zusha peered in at the soldiers
and uttered the words, "Uv'chein, ten pachd'cha (place Your [Hashem]
fear upon them)." He repeated the phrase several times. Suddenly,
the soldiers stopped rampaging, looked at Reb Zusha's holy countenance
through the window, and became terrified - their teeth began to
chatter, their knees trembled and their hands shook. They stampeded
out the tavern door in a fit of panic. They kept running until their
general saw them and commanded them to stop and return to the inn.
When the general saw the destruction the soldiers had caused, he
ordered that they pay Yankel for the damage. Only after Yankel had
been paid every penny owed to him did the soldiers finally cease
trembling. (Stories of Reb Elimelech and Reb Zusha)
The story of Ya'akov's (Jacob's) life deals with this universal
problem, a problem that gnaws at the subconscious of all people who
seek meaning and purpose in life, not being satisfied just to merely
survive. They do not want to be like animals, which, acting purely
upon instinct, do not do much more with their lives than eat, drink,
sleep, mate and fight to survive. The Torah teaches us how to fully
potentiate our lives. Hidden within its stories, incidents, and
discussion of laws, the Torah touches upon every single aspect of
life, it's pleasures as well as it's tribulations. We must attune
ourselves to read between the lines and understand the allegorical
code-words behind the superficial text. Every true Torah Sage was an
expert in understanding all the hidden meanings. Therefore, if we
want to attain the highest level of truth and understanding, we are
dependent on their interpretations. However, the Rabbis wrote
cryptically in order that their teachings and revelations should not
fall into the hands of unworthy people who would twist their teachings
to suit their own, less than holy purposes. In the following
paragraphs we will uncover and discuss some of the hidden solutions
which the Torah offers for the above-mentioned questions, based on the
insights of Rabbi Nachman and his disciple Rav Noson.
The righteous Ya'akov's early life was devoted to serving and seeking
Hashem (G-d), involved mostly with intensive Torah study, with few
outside distractions to interfere with his studies and service. He
didn't have to deal with the outside world, with wicked and corrupt
people, swallowed up by the material demands of life. Suddenly, it all
ended. Without any warning, Ya'akov was forced into dealing with the
outside world, no longer able to remain in his insulated environment,
serving Hashem as he pleased. He was snatched from his simple, holy
existence and thrust into confrontation with the forces of evil,
partly manifested as some of the most evil and corrupt men who ever
lived. From the point of fleeing from his brother, Aisav's (Esau's)
thirst for vengeance, Ya'akov's life was filled with one trouble after
another, practically until his final days. Aisav and Lavan (Laban),
Ya'akov's uncle, were the epitome of everything that was evil,
corrupt, and wrong with the world.
Ya'akov devoted twenty years of his life, working as a shepherd for
his wicked and deceitful uncle. For a greatly spiritual man like
Ya'akov, it would seem that mundane pursuits such as taking care of
sheep would be a tremendous waste of precious life, not to mention the
hindrance of being spiritually stunted by living with the wicked
Lavan. Any other person, even the most spiritually inclined, who
would have encountered the same type of obstacles as Ya'akov did
would, at best, have been drained and daunted, at worst, would have
been sucked to the bottom of participation in the development of the
world, as the verse says, "Hashem [intentionally] created [this world
imperfect in order that man should strive] to make [it perfect through
doing Hashem's will]." (Genesis 2:3) This is why Ya'akov was forced
to abandon his spiritually oriented lifestyle and tend to Lavan's
sheep for twenty years. Shepherding is one of the most materially
based occupations, an occupation that was diametrically opposed to
what Ya'akov was used to. One of Ya'akov's missions in life was to
connect physicality to its inner essence, to its holy sparks, bringing
it to its perfected state, as we mentioned above. To accomplish his
mission, Ya'akov had to involve himself in one of the lowest, most
menial occupations. By adhering to Hashem's will, even while mired in
the spiritual filth associated with this job, he could connect the
physical aspects of this lowly occupation to Hashem, and be able to
elevate all of the material levels above it as well. Ya'akov did not
attempt to take on this spiritually hazardous endeavor over-night. He
slowly prepared himself, step by step, in order to avoid failure. In
his youth Ya'akov studied the ways of Hashem in his father Yitzchak's
(Isaac's) home. When Ya'akov was forced to flee from his brother,
Aisav, he stayed in the academy of the holy Shem and Ayver for
fourteen years, studying Torah intensely, stopping only for a few
moments of sleep. After completing his studies, he traveled to his
wicked uncle, Lavan's house. On the way, Ya'akov stopped to pray at
site of the future Temple. The function of prayer and especially the
house of prayer, the Temple, is to unify the physical world with
Hashem (which is why stark physical items such as animals were offered
in the Temple, connecting the material world to the spiritual). Thus,
before he was about to encounter the gross materialism of one of the
most materialistic people in history, and one of the most
materialistic occupations, Ya'akov prayed at the Temple-site for
assistance in maintaining his connection to spirituality. So, after
those many decades of spiritual preparation, Ya'akov was ready to
challenge the depths of the material world in order to connect it to
Hashem. This is why Ya'akov was shown the dream of the ladder, the
base of which was on the ground, reaching up to the heavens. The
dream taught Ya'akov that earthly materialism is actually rooted in
the heavens and that it was his and his descendant's duty and destiny
to connect this corporeal world to its heavenly roots.
As we mentioned above, Ya'akov was a shepherd for Lavan, and as such,
he was a guardian over the material world at the bottom of the
spectrum of materialism. By strictly and completely adhering to the
laws of the Torah in the face of such adverse conditions, Ya'akov was
able to completely neutralize all the evil contained in the material
world that pertained to his soul and body, and by so doing, elevate
and connect the entire material world to Hashem. Additionally,
Ya'akov's mastery of the physical world elevated him to such a level
of purity whereby he could encounter the most spiritually polluting
situations without becoming the slightest bit contaminated or
denigrated. This was the meaning of Ya'akov's message to Aisav, "And
I have acquired oxen, and donkeys, flocks and men- servants, and
women-servants; and I send you [word] to tell my lord [about all my
acquisitions], to find grace in your eyes." (Genesis 32:6) Aisav
wanted to kill Ya'akov and so, it would seem that such boasting about
his material gains would only serve to further antagonize his brother.
But really, Ya'akov was telling Aisav that since he had totally
connected the material world to Hashem, he himself had become merged
with Hashem and that, since a person can be harmed in this world only
when he has a connection to its evil aspect, Aisav no longer had the
ability to harm him. By sanctifying the entire world, Ya'akov had no
connection with evil, and therefore could not be damaged by any evil
associated with this world. Stated differently, when one's mind is
perfected through the Torah, he attains grace and value in the eyes of
the world, such that everyone wishes to yield to him. In our verse,
Ya'akov hinted that he had become merged with Hashem and, through
this, had been granted grace or value in the eyes of others and thus
no evil could befall him. (Lekutai Halachoth: Choshen Mishpat:
Hilchoth Pe'kadon 4:19-21)
The Torah's exposition of the difficulties of Ya'akov's soul- stunting
and crushing experiences throughout his life is Hashem's way of
graphically illustrating, to even the most materialistically trapped
person, that there is never reason for despair. Everyone can
transcend and rise above even the most spiritually debilitating
environment, situation, or people, just as the holy Ya'akov had done,
to emerge stronger and even closer to Hashem than if they had not been
so confronted. Rabbi Nachman teaches that one's will and fortitude is
potentially so powerful that nothing can resist it. If a person
desires something badly enough, no force (other than Hashem) in the
universe can keep him from attaining it. Therefore, because Ya'akov
loved Hashem with such intensity and was determined to do His will no
matter what obstacle confronted him, he was protected from being
swallowed up by the filth of his environment. Thus, he was able to
find Hashem, despite the great darkness of the circumstances which
repeatedly confronted him, throughout his lifetime, and reached the
point of transforming his entire world from darkness into light. In
prevailing over all of his conflicts and troubles, Ya'akov had removed
every veil that could possibly obscure Hashem from his view. He
became, as Rabbi Nachman defined, "a man worthy of sitting on a
throne." In fact, the Talmud tells us that Ya'akov reached a point of
perfection so great that an image of his face is etched on Hashem's
heavenly Throne of Glory." (Talmud: Chullin 96) It was the Ya'akov who
had confronted the worst evils who had attained this distinction
earning eternal glory, not the Ya'akov who had lived in the serenity
of his fathers near- perfect, pristine, isolated, and holy home.
Therefore, we see that no matter how low, material, and base one's
existence, he must realize that Hashem intentionally placed him there
in order that he should strive to uncover the veils of darkness behind
which Hashem is hiding. [Note: One should not intentionally invite
evil and impurity into his life in order to confront them, but should
confront them only when unintentionally forced to. These "chance'
happenings indicate that it is Hashem's will that he confront them for
his eventual benefit] Hashem never gives a person a difficulty which
he is unable to handle or cope with. If one remains firm, expressing,
through prayer, his longing for Hashem and his need to be helped,
despite all that happens, he will eventually receive Hashem's
assistance in transcending his situation. In so doing one can develop
the capacity and expertise to find and connect to Hashem in any given
situation and reach the highest of spiritual heights, transforming a
potentially purposeless life into one of power and service, where one
gains control of his situation, truly helping to perfect Hashem's
world. Amen!
We discussed above, how Yaakov fled from his brother Aisav. Upon his
return home, Yaakov demonstrated that his spiritual growth was so
complete that he no loner feared Aisav, In fact, the Medrash relates
that Yaakov sent actual angels as his messengers to Aisav which
frightened and intimidated Aisav's 400 man army into running away. A
similar episode happened during the life of Rebbe Zusha, the great
Tzaddik of Anapol.