JANUARY 9, 1998 VOL 1, ISSUE 9 11 TEVET 5758

 

 

 

 

 

Chabad of Northern Beverly Hills, 409 Foothill Road . Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Rabbi Yosef Shusterman 310/271-9063

 

 

 

 

PARSHAT VAYECHI The Torah portion of Vayechi relates the blessings Ya'akov bestowed upon his children, the 12 tribes, prior to his demise.

In these blessings, Ya'akov blessed Yehudah with the strength of a lion, Binyamin with the hunting attributes of a wolf, Naftali with the swiftness of a deer, and so on.

Upon concluding the individual blessings, the Torah goes on to say: "All these are the tribes of Israel, 12 in all, and this is what their father said to them as he blessed them; each individual according to his blessing did he bless them."

Rashi notes that the verse should perhaps have stated: "each

individual according to his blessing did he bless him." Rashi explains this in the following manner: "Since he gave Yehudah the strength of a lion, Binyamin the hunting attributes of a wolf and Naftali the swiftness of a deer, one may think that he did not include all of them in all the blessings. Therefore, the verse states "he blessed them."

Rashi thus informs us that Ya'akov intended that every tribe be blessed with all the aforementioned qualities. The difference between one tribe and the other was merely that the blessing mentioned for a particular tribe reflected that tribe's strong point. All the other qualities, however, were also received by them directly from Ya'akov.

Chassidus explains that a blessing involves the drawing down upon the individual who receives it of that which he possesses in his source above. A blessing thus reveals one's innate qualities and characteristics. This is the meaning of "each individual according to his blessing did he bless them" -- each tribe received the blessing which stemmed from its own source; it had already been designated from above as the quality of the selected individual was drawn down by Ya'akov.

In light of the above, we must understand Rashi's comment that all the tribes were included in all the blessings: Since a blessing involves the revelation within an individual of his latent qualities from his own unique source, how could these blessings be transmitted to the other tribes as well? The difficulty resolves itself when we realize that Ya'akov blessed the 12 tribes, not as 12 distinct individuals, but rather as they were encompassed within himself, their father. At their source, all the brothers were truly one. When this unity is revealed, it becomes clear that all the above-mentioned qualities are possessed by each tribe; by blessing them as he did, Ya'akov brought all these qualities to the fore.

Thus, Ya'akov's blessings were indeed superior to blessings that tap only an individual's particular source; the Patriarch blessed his offspring with these qualities as they -- the tribes as well as the blessings -- existed within Ya'akov. Therefore, although each tribe had a dominant attribute, all the tribes received the other blessings as well.

There is an important lesson here in terms of our own

spiritual service: The fact that each Jew is descended from a particular tribe offers us a guide to our particular mode of spiritual service. For example, some tribes excelled in commerce, or shone through their charitable endeavors, while others excelled in Torah knowledge. The fact that each tribe received all the blessings teaches us that, while one may have his own aspect of Divine service, one can and should shine brilliantly while engaged in other aspects as well.

Thus, the business person engaged in Torah study can qualitatively achieve as much as the full-time Torah scholar. And conversely, the Torah scholar must engage in doing good deeds with the intensity of a person who devotes most of his life to helping others. (From: The Chassidic Dimension Adaptation of Likutei Sichos by Rabbi Sholom Ber Wineberg.)

DID YOU KNOW?

A Sefer Torah is normally written with empty spaces between one parsha and the next. But parshas Vayechi is unique in that it is written "closed," without any space between it and the previous parshah. Why is it written in such an unusual way?

This teaches us that Yaakov wanted to reveal to his sons the keitz, which is the exact time of Mashiach's coming. But Hashem "closed off" his memory at that very moment. The Torah hints this to us by "closing" off the beginning of the parsha. (Sources: Beraishis Rabah 96:1and Rashi. Prepared by the Students of Bais Chaya Mushka Seminary.)

"Joseph's brothers saw that their father had died and they said, 'Perhaps Yosef will hate us and repay us for all the evil we did to him.'" (50:15) When the brothers went to Canaan to bury Yaakov, and they passed the pit into which they had thrown Yosef, Yosef stopped and stared into it. The brothers thought he was awakening hidden hatred against them. In reality, Yosef was reciting a blessing, "Blessed is He who performed a miracle for me in this place." (Da'as Zekenim MiBaalei Hatosafos)

WHEN LESS IS MORE….

A great man once said: "I pray with the mind of a child."

A child's perception of G-d, he felt, is, in a way, truer and purer

than the accomplished kabbalist's deepest comprehension of the Divine attributes and manifestations. The spiritual connoisseur who approaches G-d with an eye to the `experience' of this or that nuance of divinity, can lose sight of what the point of it all is. Only by acknowledging our basic spiritual illiteracy can we truly relate to the all-transcendant essence of G-d. (From: "Once Upon A Chasid Rabbi, Yanki Towber)

 

Hearken and hear Israel, this is the time marked for the redemption by Mashiach. The sufferings befalling us are the birth-pangs of Mashiach. Israel will be redeemed only through teshuva. Have no faith in the false prophets who assure you of glories and salvation after the War. Remember the word of G-d, "cursed is the man who puts his trust in man, who places his reliance for help in mortals, and turns his heart from G-d"(Yirmiyahu 17;5). Return Israel unto the Eternal your G-d, prepare yourself and your family to go forth and receive Mashiach, whose coming is imminent. (Rebbe's Hayom Yom Tevet 15).