We always proceed from the premise that all of Israel is considered נפש אחת, a single soul, life-force. Israel as a whole is called by the title אדם. As a reminder of this fact the family members of Jacob, 66 in number, who moved from the land of Canaan to Egypt in Genesis 46,26 are referred to as נפש, soul, or person, in the singular. Just as a body possesses 248 limbs, so the Jewish national body, known as אדם, comprises a great number of parts. The Zohar refers to these parts as שייפא דגופא, shavings or splinters of a body There are, of course, different levels of importance among the various parts of a regular body. The same is true when we describe the parts of the body which make up the Jewish nation. There is a head, a heart, an eye, a hand, etc. However, just as all the parts of the body combine to make a whole human being, so all the parts of the Jewish nation combine to make it one unit. The unit created by these many parts in turn combines to form the chariot, מרכבה, of the spiritual counterpart of terrestrial man in the Celestial Regions. This celestial אדם is perceived as sitting on the throne which is one of the 248 spiritual limbs that form the root of the 248 positive commandments, which, if performed by terrestrial man, are his true source of life (אשר יעשה אותם האדם וחי בהם Leviticus 18, 5).

As a result, a person who separates himself from the community, pursuing a lifestyle not acceptable to it, divorces himself from life. As a limb detached from its body he will die. This is the meaning of the imposition of חרם, a ban, or excommunication. Such a person is on the way to Chormah, annihilation, (cf. Deut. 1, 44). This is why the numerical value of the word 248=חרם. Israel's essential advantage over the other nations is that it is a composite unit. Our sages have underlined this when they formulated the Shabbat Minchah prayer in which they emphasized that just as G–d is unique in being One, so Israel is unique in being one single unit as a people.

Just as it is said of the Ineffable Name "G–d is One and His Name is One," so Jacob and the twelve tribes are the parallel of the 12 permutations with which the Ineffable four-lettered Name of G–d can be written. The relationship between Jacob and the twelve tribes and Joseph and the twelve tribes respectively is analogous to the relationship between ה' אחד, on the one hand, and ושמו אחד, on the other. The Zohar has explained this on Parshat Vayetzei. We explained there the relationship between Jacob and Joseph, and the meaning of the emanation תפארת. On Genesis 37, 2, the Zohar goes on to explain that anyone who looked at the face of Joseph remarked on his uncanny resemblance to Jacob. The Torah purposely did not describe Reuben or any other brother as the תולדות of Jacob.

The missing letter ו in the name of Jacob, (which is usually written defective), was added to the name ו-יוסף, on occasions such as in Exodus 1,5 (or altogether, since that name too could have been spelled defective). The "small" ו in the word שלום, Numbers 25,12, alludes to another verse in Zachariah 8, 19: והאמת והשלום אהבו "and the truth and the peace they loved." The attribute which distinguishes Jacob is אמת, truth, whereas the attribute הברית השלום is the one that distinguishes Joseph. The Zohar has already explained how the terms ברית and גוף overlap (cf. Sullam edition Lech Lecha page 134-135). We name something or somebody because we desire the name to reveal their nature. Joseph was the "revelation" of the mystical dimension of Jacob, the secret of how the covenant between G–d and man influences the ability of determining the nature of him who is about to be born.

Bereshit Rabbah goes as far as to say that G–d told Jacob: "Just as I am G–d in the Heavenly Regions, so you are "god" in the "lower" world. The meaning of this statement is that because Jacob's "bed" was שלימה, pure, his descendants could serve as the מרכבה, chariot, or carrier of G–d's Presence in this world. Just as G–d is One and His name is One, i.e. reflects His Essential qualities, so Jacob and Joseph are one, i.e. their essential qualities are the same. How does this work in practice? Jacob fathered twelve tribes, and he is the only one "above" them. They are considered like branches of Jacob. Eight of these tribes were from his regular wives Leah and Rachel, the other four from his concubines Zilpah and Bilhah. When you look at the letters in the word אחד, Jacob corresponds to the letter א, the sons of Leah and Rachel correspond to the letter ח, and the sons of Zilpah and Bilhah correspond to the letter ד in that word.

Something similar is true of Joseph. Although Joseph himself is a branch of Jacob, he did father two of the regular tribes, i.e. Ephrayim and Menasseh, whom Jacob compared in status to Reuben and Shimon (Genesis 48, 5). When we look once more at the word אחד, we will find that Joseph was unique in having a close connection with both the letter ח i.e. the brothers of Jacob's major wives, seeing he himself was one of those. He was also closely attached to the sons of Jacob's concubines, since the Torah describes Joseph as being raised primarily among the sons of Zilpah and Bilhah (37, 2). Considering the expression והוא נער, also stressed in that verse, we find in it an allusion to something I have previously mentioned, namely that יעקב contains an allusion to the letter ו in the four-lettered Ineffable Name. The name יוסף must then be viewed as a miniature edition of that same letter in G–d's name. The scriptural allusion to this concept is found in Isaiah 10, 19 ונער יכתבם, "and a lad will write them down." [This is probably an error, and should have been a quote from Isaiah 11, 6 ונער קטן נוהג בם. Ed.]

The Torah reports Joseph as being 17 years old. This number was not reported without good reason. We have explained how Jacob in his capacity of representing the emanation תפארת, which is the "home" of the four-lettered Ineffable Name embodies that name, and how in particular the letter ו in that four-lettered-Name alludes to Jacob. We have also described Joseph as a miniature dimension of that letter ו, and how Joseph too serves as a kind of מרכבה, for G–d's Name in a "miniature" way. That "miniature" is the mystical dimension of what we call “מספר קטן,” i.e. numerical values arrived at by omission all digits "0." The מספר קטן of the four-lettered Name amounts to 17 (5=ה+;6=ו+;5=ה+;1='י total 17). A way of remembering this is the verse: הודו לה' כי טוב; the numerical value of טוב is 17. This is why the Torah reports Joseph's age when he was 17. The Torah adds that he was still a נער, a boy.

The Pardes Rimonim mentions that the "miniature" number is a reference to Chanoch (otherwise known as the angel Mattatron) who is also called נער, and whose function is alluded to in Solomon's Proverbs 22, 6: חנוך לנער על פי דרכו, "educate the lad in the manner appropriate for him. [In his chapter on the definitions of certain words, the author of Pardes Rimonim defines the reason that Mattatron is called נער as being that he performs the duties of a נער. These duties are comprehensive just as the duties of Joshua, who is described as a נער, a senior servant of Moses, or Eliezer, who is described in that fashion although he was the senior servant of Abraham. According to Kabbalists, Mattatron provides the "food" not only for our world but also for the world of the angels. Ed.] When the souls of Jacob and Joseph respectively expanded from the world of אצילות, their origin, the features of Jacob remained engraved on the throne of G–d. This throne is immediately below the region we have called אצילות. Joseph is immediately below his father in the domain of Mattatron whose activities emanate from beneath that "throne." The significance of the throne is the mystery of בריאה, whereas the significance of Mattatron in the same scheme is the mystery surrounding יצירה, [a more advanced state of the creation of matter. Ed]. Concerning this latter aspect of Mattatron's activities, the Torah describes Joseph here as 17 years old, i.e. a "junior." Kabbalists also refer to Mattatron as עבד. The Zohar points that out on Genesis 24, 2 where Abraham instructs עבדו זקן ביתו, "his servant the senior member of his household," to get a wife for Isaac. I have explained this at length in my commentary on חיי שרה. The expression עבד also occurs in Joseph's life when the latter is sold by his brothers. G–d sent His angel along to protect Joseph on his various journeys. This guidance was of a similar nature as that described in Exodus 23, 20: הנה אנכי שולח מלאך לפניך לשמרך בדרך, "Here I am sending an angel ahead of you to protect you on the journey." Our sages identified that angel with the angel Mattatron, as mentioned by Rashi on that verse. [The fact that Rashi mentions that the numerical value of 314=מטטרון=שדי, clearly establishes that Mattatron is active in matters of יצירה, an activity requring the attribute of שדי. Ed.]

Let us return to the statement “ה' אחד ושמו אחד.” The mystery of G–d's Unity, and the Oneness of His name, is compared in the Sefer Yetzirah and all other Kabbalistic texts to the relationship between a flame and a glowing ember. The same relationship exists between Jacob and Joseph; Jacob is the glowing ember, the fire attached to the coal, whereas Joseph is the (disembodied) flame. Scriptural proof for this idea is found in Ovadiah 1,18 where the prophet describes בית יעקב אש ובית יוסף להבה, "the house of Jacob as fire and the house of Joseph as flame." The letters of the word אש, are also the respective first letters of אמת and שלום, which are the attributes of Jacob and Joseph respectively.

Esau was the exact opposite. He represented קנאה, jealousy, and שנאה, hatred. Jealousy is the exact opposite of truth. The attribute of truth is defined as a preparedness to admit that something is objectively so, without one denying it or misrepresenting it (even if one puts oneself in a bad light thereby). When the prophet Ovadiah in the verse quoted describes the house of Esau as becoming straw, קש, the letters in that word are the respective first letters of קנאה and שנאה. Now that the brothers had become guilty of being jealous of Joseph and hating him, as we know from 37,4 and 37,11, they became victims of Esau in this world. Since ten of the brothers were guilty of such feelings, the Romans tortured ten outstanding Jewish scholars to death, the ones commonly known as עשרה הרוגי מלכות, whom Jewish liturgy eulogized in the poem אלה אזכרה recited on the Day of Atonement. The ten scholars involved were re-incarnations of the ten brothers of Joseph who had taken part in selling him. This is stated in the book Heychalot. Rabbi Yishmael said: "The day the instructions came to torture Jewish sages to death was on a Thursday. Originally, four sages were to be arrested, Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel, Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha the High Priest, Rabbi Yehudah ben Bava and Rabbi Yehudah ben Damah. Eight thousand scholars in Jerusalem were prepared to offer themselves in lieu of these four leaders. When Rabbi Nechunyah ben Hakanah realised that the decree would not be revoked, he "lowered me" to the מרכבה, and I interceded with the שר הפנים in the Celestial Regions. The שר הפנים told me that the Supreme Court in Heaven had decreed that ten eminent scholars were to be handed over to Samael, the Celestial representative of Rome. The reason for the decree was to carry out on the bodies of leaders of Israel the penalty imposed on kidnappers as per Exodus 21,16: "If someone kidnaps a person, sells him and is found out, he shall be executed." [According to Sanhedrin 85, the words "found out" mean that there were witnesses to the deed already before the sale. Ed.]

According to the Kabbalists the Heavenly objective was to wipe out the residual guilt of the brothers which had not been atoned for when they sold Joseph. We can find numerous allusions in our פרשה, which relate to the manner in which these Ten Martyrs were killed. According to tradition, Rabbi Yehudah ben Bava had three hundred לונכיות, lances, stuck into his body. The word ויתנכלו להמיתו, in 37, 18 is an allusion to this; the letters are simply a re-arrangement of the word לונכיות.

In Genesis 44,17, Joseph said to his brothers: ואתם עלו לשלום אל אביכם, "As for you, go up in peace to your father." The word אתם, in that connection was used advisedly. Joseph meant that the brothers themselves could come to their Father in Heaven safely, i.e. they would not in this world suffer the execution as kidnappers who sell their prey. On a future occasion, however, their re-incarnates would have to pay for the crime with their lives. The Ten Martyrs mentioned were the ones who had to pay with their lives for that sin which had gone unpunished for so long. The allusion in the verse just quoted serves some Kabbalists as the reason why Reuben, who had not been a party to the sale of Joseph, was included among those who were executed for the crime. His sin had been of a different nature, namely the incident described in Genesis 35, 22, involving Bilhah. Reuben's own words provide us with a hint of this when he said after discovering that Joseph had been removed from the pit (37, 30): ואני, אנה אני בא, "Where can I go to?" Rabbi Abraham Saba in his Tzror Hamor comments on this that the letters in the words and אני and אנה are the respective first letters of א-ל נקמות י-ה-ו-ה נקמות הופיע, "G–d of retribution, Lord, G–d of retribution, appear!" (Psalms 94, 1) The reincarnations of Joseph and Benjamin were not among the Ten Martyrs described.

There is a group of Kabbalists who do not include Reuben among the Ten Martyrs, but substitute Joseph as the tenth. Their reasoning is that after all Joseph was the root cause of the crime committed against him. It was Joseph's tale-bearing which triggered the brothers' sin.

I have also heard that some Kabbalists consider that Rabbi Akiva was the re-incarnation of Joseph. This is the reason he is known as Akiva ben Joseph. When we consider that Joseph represents "One," as explained earlier, this is all alluded to in the report in the Talmud that Rabbi Akiva ended his life pronouncing the word אחד, One, in the "Hear O Israel" prayer. The soul that departed from him at the time would be the soul of Joseph who was "One." In this connection I have heard a mystical explanation that in reality only nine of the Martyrs were re-incarnations of people who had lived in a previous period. This was so since neither Reuben, nor Joseph nor Benjamin had committed that kind of a sin. When the brothers included the שכינה at the time they entered into the conspiracy, חרם, never to reveal what had really happened to Joseph, the שכינה became an accessory to their conspiracy. Rabbi Akiva's torture was due to the fact that he represented the שכינה. According to this view the tradition that he ended his life with the word אחד, is that he ended his life "because of the אחד." The reason that of all the people it had to be Rabbi Akiva who was singled out to suffer the punishment on behalf of the שכינה, was that in the course of his studies he, more than any other scholar, had penetrated into the hidden aspects of G–d. In other words, he had experienced the "wings" of the שכינה as being immediately above him.

In my humble opinion this latter tradition need not contradict the statement that Rabbi Akiva was the re-incarnation of Joseph. Inclusion of the שכינה in the brothers' conspiracy of silence is equivalent to including Joseph, whom we have described as a junior מרכבה, carrier of the שכינה. Rabbi Akiva was the reincarnation of Joseph, and this is demonstrated by the former's close association with the שכינה. Joseph was the carrier of the שכינה when he descended to Egypt, which was the beginning of Jewish exile according to the Zohar. We also have the tradition that when the Jewish people descended into Egypt the שכינה accompanied them (Mechilta Beshalach on Genesis 46, 4). Something similar occurred before every other exile; in this particular instance, G–d inspired Joseph before the rest of his father's family came to Egypt. We see that Joseph's essence was a Divinely inspired one, which made him a partner of the שכינה for he was the מרכבה. If Rabbi Akiva ben Joseph breathed his last by saying “אחד,” this means that his soul departed while it was immediately "below" the שכינה.

We can now better understand Jacob mourning for his son Joseph, and his refusal to be comforted (37, 35). Tractate Sofrim 21 teaches that one does not accept תנחומים, condolences, for the living. It is a Heavenly decree that twelve months after his death, a person is apt to recede in one's memory to the point where one forgets him. In view of this people ask how could Jacob fail to have remained aware that Joseph was alive, since he, Jacob could not be reconciled to his loss? [In a gloss the author mentions something he has heard about this problem in the name of the famous פוסק Rabbi Moses Isserlis. He explained the matter על פי הפשט, according to the plain meaning of the text. During the first year of Joseph's absence, Jacob mourned him in the manner one mourns a deceased person for he was convinced that Joseph was dead. When the year had passed and he found himself unable to be consoled, he realized in retrospect that the news of Joseph's disappearance had never meant that Joseph was dead. Since Joseph had failed to return after all this time, Jacob had to assume that he had died in the interval. He kept thinking along that line for many years. The whole matter of "forgetting" the deceased has to do with the tradition that the soul of the deceased "commutes" between Heaven and earth during the first twelve months after the body's death. After that, seeing that the soul has severed contact with earth, the deceased recedes into the remoter regions of the memory of his next-of-kin. To sum up: Jacob had accepted comfort regarding the terrestrial dimension of Joseph's death. He had not, however, accepted condolences regarding the demise of the spiritual dimension of Joseph.]

There is a mystical dimension to all this. Inasmuch as the patriarchs and the tribes are an extension on earth of a group of emanations called collectively בנין, it is possible that the disappearance of one of these extensions, in this case Joseph, would negatively affect the parallel components of that בנין in the spiritual regions. Jacob therefore could not allow himself to make peace with Joseph's death or disappearance from the scene. [I have paraphrased the way the author explains this both in his own words and in the words of the Rekanati whom he quotes verbatim. Ed.]

To get back to the meaning of “אחד” in the prayer known as קריאת שמע. The first letter א in that word symbolizes both Jacob and Joseph, each of whom were unique. That letter is not just the first letter of the alphabet, but it symbolizes the Aleph= Eleph of the first man, who commenced human history. Adam's uniqueness is joined by Jacob's uniqueness, seeing Jacob's beauty has been described as similar to Adam's. In turn, Joseph, the בן זקונים, was the זיו איקונין, the spitting image of his father. Moreover, the א of Adam is an allusion to the garments of אור, light, that Adam wore before his sin and which were exchanged for garments of עור, skin or leather, after he had sinned. G–d Himself had made these garments for Adam and his wife as recorded in Genesis 3, 21. When we read in Job 10, 11 “עור ובשר תלבישני,” You have clothed me with skin and flesh, this is an admission that Adam's, i.e. man's "Oneness" the fusion of body and soul, was torn asunder as a result of his sin. Ever since that time man became a dichotomy of גוף ונפש, body and soul. The ascent of the one meant the automatic descent of the other. Before the sin, whenever the soul shone, the body lit up also. Body and soul worked in tandem. At that time the soul radiated a major amount of light, the body a smaller amount; the important thing was that both radiated light. We have elaborated on these concepts repeatedly.

If man and his wife had been able to maintain their state of innocence, the drop of semen from which a fetus develops would not be called a טפה סרוחה, an evil smelling drop. Instead, it would be called זרע קודש, holy seed. The subject of copulation and sex would not then be a subject surrounded by shame and embarrassment. It would be an act of מצוה performance no different from that of putting on phylacteries, and would be performed publicly without shame or embarrassment. An act which is not inspired, at least partially, by the evil urge is not something associated with shame or embarrassment. Now that Adam and Eve had sinned, the act became associated with shame. Jacob, who is described as the "beauty," i.e. the spiritual level of an Adam before sin, began to repair the damage caused through Adam's sin. This is the significance of the oft repeated slogan that "his bed was pure." It means that Jacob only sprouted זרע קודש, "holy seed." Jacob never experienced impurity through the emission of semen for any purpose other than procreation. He was able to say of Reuben his first born, who was conceived when Jacob was at least 84 years old, ראובן בכורי אתה כחי וראשית אוני, "Reuben you are my firstborn, my strength and the first of my vigor" (Genesis 49, 2). Jacob's principal firstborn was Joseph, however, since when he cohabited with Leah, he was under the impression that it was Rachel, the wife he worked for for seven years. This is the reason he could deprive Reuben of his rights as a firstborn and transfer that birthright to Joseph. As a result, it was no more than fair that Joseph's children would receive a double share in the land of Israel, that Menasseh and Ephraim were each considered a tribe. The spiritual identity of Jacob and Joseph is even more evident when we consider Joseph's experience with the wife of Potiphar. Joseph maintained the purity displayed by his father in all matters sexual when he resisted the seduction of Mrs. Potiphar. [He cited as the only reason that it would be a sin against G–d and against her husband. Ed.] It is a well known fact that the צדיק, the righteous individual, is the foundation, יסוד of the world. The emanation ברית העליון, is the source of the תפארת, the covenant emanating in the "highest" regions, a term familiar to students of the Kabbalah. It is a direct continuation of the forces activated in the emanation, תפארת, the emanation which mirrors the attribute of Jacob.

Considering all the foregoing, the verse: אלה תולדות יעקב-יוסף, that the true descendants of Jacob are Joseph, makes perfect sense. Just as the holy body of Jacob was transported to the holy soil of the land of Israel and buried there, so the holy remains of his son Joseph also were eventually interred there. Both their respective bodies had become thoroughly refined, cleansed from impurities, prior to that. Even though their respective bodies did not recapture the state of innocence of Adam before his sin, and could not therefore be clothed in the כתנות של אור, the garments woven out of light, yet their bodies recaptured a large measure of the purity that had been lost in גן עדן.

The expression used by the Torah for Joseph, i.e. בן זקונים, also contains an allusion to Adam and Eve, who were the "oldest" people in the world -the first human beings. The Torah wanted to hint that Joseph was a branch of that first pair of human beings in terms of their purity. Just as Adam and Eve had not been the products of the טפה סרוחה, the "evil smelling drop of semen" described by Akavyah in Avot 3,1, so similarly Joseph's origin was pure. The next pair of human beings to whom the Torah applies the term “זקנים,” were Abraham and Sarah in Genesis 18,11, for they took the place of Adam and Eve. We have discussed all this at length in our commentary on חיי שרה. The process of refinement, the road to regaining the innocence and purity lost by Adam, continued through Jacob called Israel because he had successfully contended with heavenly forces. In our classic literature this Israel is referred to as ישראל סבא, grandfather Jacob, whereas Joseph is simply referred to as the son, בן.

When the gifts Joseph sent to his father are described in 45, 23, and the Torah says: ולאביו שלח, the word לאביו is mentioned twice. The first time it probably teaches us the above described unique relationship between Jacob and his son Joseph. Our sages in Megillah 16b elaborate on the significance of the various gifts listed in that verse. They find an allusion to יין ישן, aged wine, in the words מטוב מצרים. We must realize that there were two categories of wine. One category is called by our sages יין המשומר. This wine has a mystical dimension to it, it is made from grapes saved since the six days of Creation, and it will be served to the צדיקים in the World to Come. It's potency is associated with the emanation בינה, the root of the auxiliary emanation דעת. When this kind of wine is drunk in our world it has a beneficial effect on the clarity of mind of the זקנים, and it puts their minds at ease concerning the Hereafter; it enables the one drinking it to penetrate with his mind up to the כתר, the root of roots of all the emanations. This root is called עתיק יומין, עתיקא קדישא, "The venerable One, the Holy One of antiquity."

The second category of wine causes drunkenness, is the cause of evil in our world. It certainly does not contain or confer דעת, knowledge. We have a tradition that דעתן של נשים קלות, "the minds of women are fickle" (Shabbat 33 et al.). The "woman" who serves as the role model for this statement in the Talmud is Eve. She had squeezed the cluster of grapes [according to the opinion that the tree of knowledge was a grape vine. Ed.], converted it into wine, and by spoiling it (spiritually) made יין נסך, forbidden wine out of it. The halachic status of such wine is that it is considered as originating in a polluted environment, and the touch of a Gentile makes it unfit for Jews to drink. Women's minds are treated as suspect because the first woman was guilty of creating this category of wine. The Hebrew expression קל, for women's state of mind, is alluded to in the 130 years, i.e. the numerical value of קל, that Adam did not have marital relations with Eve after their expulsion from גן עדן (Rashi on Genesis 5, 3, quoting Bereshit Rabbah). During the 130 years that Adam lived apart from Eve, he emitted קרי, semen which did not fertilize an ovum. This was frivolous and demanded rectification as we shall explain later. The Jewish people suffered 130 years of enslavement in Egypt to make up for those years that Adam separated from his wife. These 130 years were the ones before their redeemer Moses was born. Yocheved, Moses' mother, had been born when Jacob and his clan arrived in Egypt; she was 130 years old at the time she gave birth to Moses (cf. Rashi on 46, 26). Exile itself was a solution chosen by Abraham whom G–d had shown Torah, Gehinnom, sacrifices and exile as possible venues for atonement. Abraham chose exile for his descendants as preferable to purgatory, as explained in Shemot Rabbah 51, 7. The same subject is treated in the Midrash in Parshat Lech Lecha. The main reason Abraham chose exile over purgatory was to prevent his descendants from being within the domain which is full of the spiritual pollution resulting from Adam's sin. The exile experience would serve as a refining process, after which the Jews would merit the proximity of the Divine. They would then merit this יין ישן, the aged wine, which would benefit their spiritual and intellectual development instead of the wine that represented דעת ק"ל.

In 45, 23 Joseph hinted to his father that he should come down to Egypt to him to be exiled, seeing that the previous זקן, Abraham had chosen this path, and that this path had been approved since the six days of Creation, i.e. since the time of the יין ישן. It is interesting to note that the numerical value of the words יין ישן, equals the total number of years that the Jews experienced exile both in Egypt and other countries. This is described in Exodus 12, 40. The immediate cause for this was Joseph, because he was the בן זקונים, etc.

To come back to the similarity between Jacob and Joseph. We mentioned the כתנות אור, the garments woven of light, worn by Adam and Eve prior to their sin. When Jacob made a כתונת פסים, "a striped coat" for Joseph (37, 3), this was the kind of luxurious garment worn by princesses, i.e. the souls in the Celestial Regions who are compared to "daughters of the King of Kings." The נשמה is frequently referred to as בת, daughter, as we know from the Zohar (Sullam edition page 17) on Exodus 21,7: "When a man sells his daughter, etc." Once the serpent had caused the letter א, the luminary quality of אדם, to be removed from אדם, rebellious man, all he was left with were the letters דם.

We explained that those letters signified death, i.e. the spilling of man's blood. The removal of the letter א caused the substitution of the letter ע. This meant that עור ובשר, skin and flesh, replaced the entity previously called אדם, and death in the form of blood entered the world. Expressed differently, Adam's כתונת was removed. When Jacob provided Joseph with a כתונת, this symbolized the reversal of that negative development. When the brothers dipped that כתונת, coat, in blood, they symbolically nullified Jacob's intention. As a result of this, the Holy Spirit departed from Jacob; he remained in mourning, and until he received the news that Joseph was alive the Presence of the שכינה did not return to him. Only then does the Torah state: ותחי רוח יעקב אביהם, "Jacob's (holy) spirit revived" (45,27). Onkelos translates those words as: "The prophetic spirit again came to rest on their father Jacob." It is reasonable to assume that the Holy Spirit departed from Joseph at the time it departed from Jacob. No doubt Joseph experienced emotional distress, if only because he felt the distress his father must have experienced by not knowing his favorite son's whereabouts. Besides, how could Joseph, who was the spiritual extension of Jacob, not be sensitive to his father's anguish? Jacob's descent to Egypt must also be seen from this angle, i.e. two parts becoming re-united. [It was politically impossible for Joseph to return to the land of Canaan while alive, since we know that he could not even be buried in Canaan after he died. Ed.]

The Torah describes the impending re-union between Joseph and his father in 46,29 as follows: ויאסר יוסף מרכבתו ויעל לקראת ישראל אביו גשנה. "Joseph harnessed his chariot and ascended to meet his father Jacob in the direction of Goshen." In this verse we have an allusion to the Celestial מרכבה. When we earlier described Joseph as the junior מרכבה, this meant that he was the extension of the מרכבה represented by his father. The verse in question alludes to this when it describes the movement of Joseph's מרכבה as being in the direction of his father. Since his father was the "senior," the word ויעל the Torah employs for Joseph's journey is most appropriate. Joseph had originally been sold as a slave. I have already explained that the mystical dimension of עבד is the angel Mattatron, as has been dealt with at length in our commentary of חיי שרה. Joseph's mystical dimension is one of ברית, the secret of the holy זיווג, union with the holy domain. Pardes Rimonim discusses this in the chapter called אצילות, בריאה, יצירה, עשיה, and explains that as long as we are in exile, union can only be achieved with the holy domain of the emanation of Mattatron. Once the redeemer comes, however, union can be achieved with holy forces in the higher regions of אצילות.

Since Joseph was elevated to the position of king and rode in the מרכבת המשנה, this is a reference to the שר מצרים, the celestial representative of Egypt, who is the most highly placed of all the celestial representatives of the seventy gentile nations. Our sages in Ketuvot 112 have said that Egypt is second only to ארץ ישראל, hence "the second best chariot" is the vehicle suited for the angel representing Egypt in the Heavens. Even though Joseph rose greatly after having been elevated from the status of a slave to that of a temporal king, he did not rise sufficiently for his מרכבה to equal the level of that of his father until the Holy Spirit returned to Jacob. This is alluded to in אלה תולדות יעקב יוסף, that when Jacob was re-united with Joseph, the cherubs representing the male and female (in all their innocence) (cf. Kings I 7,36) were able to unite through the covenant of circumcision in the emanation of יסוד. Although Jacob and family resided in Egypt, they did not feel themselves in exile as long as Joseph ruled. Once a new King arose, as per Exodus 1,8, who reportedly "did not know Joseph," the situation changed. The mystical dimension of Jacob as "one" and of Joseph as "one," means that all twelve tribes are inextricably linked to both Jacob and Joseph. The letter א contains the secret of this unity.

The brothers had described themselves as כלנו בני איש אחד, "We are all the sons of one man" (42, 11). The word אחד, which is not really necessary, is the reference to Joseph. It is significant that the brothers did not say 13 ,42) ,אנחנו) for "we are," but only נחנו. The letter א is missing in the word "we." Later on, however, they acknowledged the significance of Joseph as also being a substitute for the "one" represented by their father Jacob, when they described themselves as שנים עשר עבדיך אחים אנחנו בני איש אחד. In elaborating on the word אחד later on in the same verse, the brothers refer to Joseph as האחד איננו, the "disappearance of the one." Rashi already comments that the brothers explained the fact they had dispersed throughout the country, -an uncharacteristic behaviour if indeed they were brothers,- was all because of the "one" whom they tried to locate. Rashi also says that the inclusion of the "one" in their statement :"we are all (including you) the sons of one man," was said with "Holy Spirit," though they were not aware of it at the time.

The word אחד, one, again figures prominently when Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream in 41,25. Joseph's rise to power was due to his interpreting Pharaoh's dream as "one." In the dream of the seven ears of corn the Torah emphasized that they all grew on "one" stalk (41, 22). Even the dream of the seven cows alluded to the number "one," since the cows all rose from "one" river. Considering the above factors, we can now understand the comment of Pharaoh that there was no one as נבון וחכם, wise and clever as Joseph. Pharaoh said to Joseph: "After G–d has made known to you, i.e. הודיע, all this, etc.," you clearly command all three elements of wisdom, namely חכמה, בינה, דעת.

Pharaoh's dreams contain very significant allusions. Let me first quote what the Zohar (Sullam edition page 6) has to say on the subject. Commenting on "here there arose seven healthy and good-looking cows from the river and they grazed in the meadow" (41, 18), the words "from the river" are understood as referring to the source of all blessing in this world, the emanation יסוד. The word היאור is equated with the river emanating from גן עדן described in Genesis 2, 10. This "river" originates from the emanation בינה, and "irrigates" (spiritually) the emanation יסוד, the spiritual domain in which Joseph is at home. The message in the dream is that all of Egypt receives its blessings because of Joseph. The Zohar continues saying that that "river" dispenses its blessings in seven different directions, i.e the seven cows represent the seven recipients of the river's blessings. The seven recipients of the river's largesse all co-exist peacefully. This is an unusual phenomenon. We may compare the meaning of the number seven in the Book of Esther, where Esther is attended by "seven maid-servants, the ones she was entitled to have allocated to her by the palace" (Esther 2, 9). On the other hand, we find that the king had "seven men-servants (castrated), who attended to his personal needs" (Esther 1, 10).

Rabbi Yitzchak says that the seven "good" cows represent seven spiritual levels in the "upper" regions, each one higher than the other, whereas the seven "bad" cows represent seven levels of successively lower degrees. The former refer to regions of purity, holiness, the latter to regions of impurity, pollution. Concerning the seven ears of corn, Rabbi Yehudah says the first seven ears were from the right side of the scheme because they were described as "good", whereas the latter seven bad ears of corn were below the former ones. Pharaoh saw all of them in his dream.

Rabbi Yossi asked: "Why did G–d show this wicked Pharaoh all these exalted visions?" Rabbi Yehudah answered him that Pharaoh did not actually see such exalted visions, he only saw seven levels on top of seven levels, but they were all levels of the nether regions. We have a tradition that what a man sees in his dreams reflects his moral level. His soul rises to receive the kind of information that corresponds to his spiritual level. Pharaoh was not shown anything that did not correspond to his spiritual level. Thus far the Zohar.

We view the number 7 as corresponding to the 7 days that are called by the Kabbalists the seven days of בנין, the days of Creation. Jacob, whose attribute is represented by the emanation תפארת, embodies within himself all seven stages of that בנין. Joseph, who was the direct continuation of Jacob, i.e. תפארת, also embodied all seven stages of the בנין. This is why there were in Pharaoh's dream twice seven cows and twice seven ears of corn. Together that makes 14 cows, corresponding to the 14 tribes. The ones that rose "on one stalk," symbolise the בנין in the "upper" regions above the emanation of תפארת, the region made up of the emanations חכמה, בינה. Here we come to the mystical dimension of the word אז whenever it is used in the Torah. The letters ז are perceived figuratively as "entering” the main stem of the letter א. This is possible because that letter is rooted in the emanation בינה. That emanation forms part of the three highest emanations which are one unit (in certain respects). When Solomon advises in Proverbs 4, 5: קנה חכמה קנה בינה, "acquire wisdom, acquire discernment,” the repetition of the word קנה, alludes to its dual meaning, i.e. its meaning is also Kaneh, stem, shaft. There is a single shaft to which the emanations חכמה, בינה, דעת are attached, and we may view this as similar to the shape of the letter א. The number "seven” as represented by the letter ז, is attached to that main shaft of the א from either side, hence we have the number 14.

Pharaoh told Joseph that he saw G–d had revealed to him, Joseph, the secret of how חכמה and בינה can be joined by דעת, and that there was no one else who had been so endowed. Although Pharaoh personally was quite unaware of these "secrets," he expressed profound truths through his mouth. He was able to do so because his representative in the Celestial Regions had an understanding of these matters and put these words in his mouth.

We have explained that in the emanation מלכות the letters of the Ineffable Name are active in radiating energy in all six possible directions, which is the mystical dimension of how the concept of מעשה בראשית was translated into the creation and development of matter. By combining the emanation מלכות itself with these six forms of energy we have actually seven forms of energy. The point is that we encounter the combination of twice 6=12, as well as the combination of twice 7=14. We explained earlier that just as there are 6 stages of בנין which originate on the left side of the pattern of the system of emanations, the side of דין, so there are 6 stages of בנין which originate on the right side of that pattern, the side governed by חסד. The number 14 is arrived at by adding the two respective "ones”, i.e. Jacob and Joseph as the central קנה that form the letter א. Symbolically speaking, Jacob's "beauty" and that of his "look alike” son Joseph, are the means by which the lost א of the כתנות אור of Adam can be recaptured. Whatever Jacob and Joseph did not accomplish in their attempt to repair the damage wrought on the world by Adam's sin will be repaired in Messianic times.

In Parshat Vayetzei I have demonstrated how such mundane matters as לחם לאכול ובגד ללבוש which Jacob requested must be understood (page 234). What this means is that parallel to the repair of man's "clothing" i.e. the garments of leather being exchanged for garments of light, man's food supply too will undergo a dramatic change in the World to Come. Our Rabbis describe how ארץ ישראל will produce ready-to-eat cakes and the like in Shabbat 30.

In his capacity as provider for the land of Egypt, Joseph acted as a forerunner of those idyllic times. He not only provided food for all his father's family, but also clothes to wear as per Genesis 45, 22. The reason the Torah describes that clothing as חליפות, something subject to exchange, is that in the future these garments will indeed be exchanged for the type of garments woven of light that Adam and Eve used to wear prior to their sin.

Since the Temple was going to be built on territory belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, Joseph alluded to the five important manifestations of the שכינה, the Divine Presence, that were missing during the period of the second Temple, and which will be restored when the third Temple will be built. All the details that the Torah reports here about Joseph and his brothers allude to matters of the future, to Messianic times. Joseph's fate, i.e. the גלגולים, wanderings, upheavals he experienced during his lifetime, foreshadowed the גלגולים of the Jewish nation in the future. He set in motion the descent of his family into the first exile, and thus became instrumental in the refining process which this experience proved to be for the Jewish people. Every subsequent exile had as its purpose the further refinement of the character of the Jewish people. Prior to the eventual redemption, Joseph will once again appear in the flesh as the משיח בן יוסף. Permanent rule will be reserved for Yehudah, however. The missing letter א from אדם that we have discussed, and which left only the word דם with its negative connotation, was restored when the Jewish people underwent mass circumcision at the hands of Joshua before conquering the land of Canaan. At that time the prediction of Pharaoh's horoscope which indicated a bloody end to the Jewish people was reversed (cf. Rashi on Exodus 10, 10). The דם, blood, which had had negative connotations up to that time, was converted into a positive, lifegiving experience through the act of circumcision. The mystical dimension of the letters ד"ם in the name אדם, is also an allusion to דוד in his capacity as the משיח. We have explained more than once that the mystical dimension of אדם is “אדם-דוד-משיח.” The seventy years that David lived were a gift of אדם who wanted to be rehabilitated through David, and thereby ultimately complete his life in the glory in which it had begun.

When we consider the death of the first two sons of Yehudah, Er and Onan, who were eventually replaced by two sons born by Tamar, i.e. Peretz and Zerach, and we reflect on the fact that the Torah reports those events immediately after the גלגולים that happened to Joseph, we must seek a reason for this. Bereshit Rabbah 12,6 draws our attention to the fact that the word תולדות, descendants, is always spelled without the letter ו after the ת, except when the Torah describes תולדות השמים והארץ in Genesis 2, 4, and when the descendants of Peretz are described in Ruth 4, 18. The reason is that when the Messiah arrives the world will be renewed. Progress was deficient in some way during all the years between Genesis 2, 4 and the arrival of the Messiah, a direct descendant of Peretz. The reason the Torah appends the report about Yehudah, his sons, etc to the sale of Joseph is to underline that both Joseph and Yehudah played a part in the resumption of the trend towards a more perfect world, towards realizing the Creator's objective in creating the universe.

Bereshit Rabbah 85, 1, commenting on Genesis 38, 1, the episode introducing Yehudah's marriage, etc., quotes Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman who interprets Jeremiah 29,11 in which G–d is on record that all His intentions are for the good of the Jewish people, even though it may not always appear thus to us. G–d also stresses that He is fully aware of our thoughts. The sale of Joseph is an example of how what appear to be plans and actions contrary to G–d's intentions are nonetheless furthering His plans. The brothers were concerned only with ridding themselves of Joseph and the danger they thought he represented to them. Joseph and Reuben, as well as Jacob, were each mourning their part in the fate that had befallen the other; Yehudah was busy choosing a wife. G–d, on the other hand, was busy paving the way for the eventual arrival of the Messiah.

The message of the Midrash is clear. While our activities may appear as hurling the world towards destruction, G–d may utilise these very activities to further His plans. Even Jacob, who mourned Joseph and was inconsolable, and who prophesied that he would descend to the grave still mourning for his son (37, 35), did not realise that Joseph's fate was the catalyst that triggered positive historic developments. The same was true for Reuben who mourned Joseph's disappearance from the pit and his share of the responsibility. Jeremiah teaches us in the above quoted passage that we cannot evaluate the true significance of step by step historical developments until the whole cycle has been completed.

In view of this, some people may be tempted to ask why were the brothers not rewarded for advancing G–d's plans instead of the ten Torah scholars becoming martyrs for a crime that had gone unpunished for so long? Neither the brothers, nor any other players on the stage of history were under compulsion to advance G–d's plans in that manner. Positive developments accrued from sinful actions, but the perpetrators can certainly not be given credit for these developments. Our sages have long formulated a principle: מגלגלין זכות על ידי זכאי וחובה על ידי חייב (Shabbat 32a). Loosely translated this means that innocent people are employed as instruments for (recognizable) positive developments, whereas guilty people are employed as the instruments for (apparently) negative developments. This whole principle needs to be elaborated on, but here is not the place for such a discussion.

Before I shall explain how the sale of Joseph and his experiences were a step in establishing the kingdom of David and that of the Messiah, I must first deal with the many questions surrounding the whole treatment accorded Joseph by his brothers. The overriding difficulty is how the brothers, founders of the nation, morally outstanding people, men who in our traditional sources are put on a par with the angels, could conspire to commit such a grave sin as selling Joseph. How could they even have considered murdering him? Even a confirmed sinner who is regularly guilty of many transgressions would not be guilty of an offence of this kind!

Bereshit Rabbah 93, 9 commenting on Genesis 45,1 "Joseph could not control himself," has Rabbi Chama bar Chaninah say that Joseph acted carelessly by instructing everybody to leave the room when he wanted to reveal himself to his brothers; had one of them kicked him he would have died. Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman says that Joseph acted prudently. He was well aware of the righteousness of his brothers and did not suspect them of being or becoming guilty of bloodshed. He was certain that the brothers would not even kill an Egyptian who had framed them (they considered him an Egyptian). He certainly did not suspect them of wanting to kill their own brother who was a צדיק, a pillar of the elitist society of the world!

Moreover, Joseph had already heard the brothers express remorse over the way they had treated Joseph (42, 21) We have found another Midrash according to which the brothers tried to kill Joseph when he revealed himself, but that an angel intervened and scattered them. The assumption underlying that statement seems to be that the brothers felt so ashamed that their very shame prompted them to do away with its cause. Psychologically, this seems strange indeed! Remorse and repentance are traditionally feelings triggered by shame. Why, in this case, should these feelings of shame have triggered the opposite reaction? We have ample proof from scripture that shame leads to repentance and forgiveness of one's sins, viz. Ezra 9,6: "O my G–d, I am too ashamed and mortified to lift my face to You, O my G–d, etc." We are told in Berachot 12b, that whoever commits a sin and is ashamed of that sin will have his sins forgiven. How then could feelings of shame have triggered the brothers' desire to kill Joseph?

Another difficulty is that we have mentioned earlier is that the brothers had included the שכינה in their conspiracy not to reveal the sale of Joseph to anyone. If Jacob, who was flesh and blood, refused to be associated with the conspiracy of Shimon and Levi, as he said on his deathbed (Genesis 49,6), how could the שכינה have become a party to such a conspiracy?

The next difficulty is: How could a righteous son loved by his father not inform his father that he was alive and save him an untold amount of anguish? Even if Joseph had found himself at the end of the world, instead of in a country bordering on the land of Canaan, was he not duty bound to let his father know that he was alive instead of letting him suffer pain for twenty-two years?

Another problem in the whole episode is the argument between Yehudah and Joseph with Benjamin as its focus. This argument appears to have been provoked by the planting of Joseph's silver cup in Benjamin's sack.

We also need to understand Joseph's accusing the brothers of being spies. The brothers's denial: "Your servants have not been spies" (42, 11), phrased in the past tense, is also peculiar. They should have said: "We are not spies."

Still another problem is why Joseph jailed Shimon instead of Levi; after all they had planned and acted in unison as we know from Jacob in 49, 5: "Shimon and Levi are brothers."

Why did Joseph pretend to use the silver goblet as an instrument of magic, an activity so totally unworthy of a man of Joseph's stature to engage in? Usually the Torah goes to great lengths to avoid calling a forbidden thing by its proper name. Why not here also? What could be more revolting than any association with the original serpent, i.e. the expression “5 ,44) ”נחש ינחש אדם אשר כמוני)?

There is also the justified question by Nachmanides how the sons of Zilpah and Bilhah, with whom Joseph is described in the Torah (37, 2) as especially friendly, could have been a party to the conspiracy against him?

When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers in Parshat Vayigash (commencing in 45,1), there are a number of points which merit our close attention. Joseph said in 45,5: "And now do not grieve, etc." What did Joseph mean by "and now?"

Why did Joseph repeat three times in verses 5, 7, and 8 that it was G–d who had sent him to Egypt?

What did Joseph mean when he said in 45, 8: "G–d has made me father of Pharaoh?" How was Joseph "father" of Pharaoh? On the contrary, it was Pharaoh who had treated Joseph like a father treats his son! The very fact that Pharaoh emphasized that he would be greater than Joseph only by dint of the throne he occupied (41, 40) certainly made Joseph appear as junior to him!

On the verse: "He fell around the neck of Benjamin his brother and wept," in 45, 14, Rashi comments that Joseph envisioned the destruction of the tabernacle in Shiloh as well as the destruction of the Temple. Why would a sour note be introduced into this moment of joy?

I have already mentioned that just as G–d is unique, so is Israel unique, and that this is a reason why there is such a close relationship between G–d and Israel. It is the reason why כי לא יטוש ה' את עמו בעבור שמו הגדול, "that G–d will not abandon His people for the sake of His great Name" (Samuel I 12,22). The numerical value of G–d's Ineffable Name amounts to 26, twice the numerical value of אחד, "one", or 13. Israel's uniqueness added to G–d's uniqueness makes 26. If G–d were to abandon Israel, He would impair His "great Name." The means of the close relationship between G–d and Israel is the holy Torah, all of which is composed of letters in the name of G–d. Torah may be viewed as the revelation of G–d. By its observance of Torah, Israel "awakens" the spiritual dimensions of Torah, i.e. the mystique surrounding the various names of G–d. The result produced is that Israel literally "cleaves" to G–d. When we view the uniqueness of Jacob and the uniqueness of Joseph, we may also view each of them as בעלה של תורה, the master of Torah. Jacob is the proverbial איש תם יושב אהלים, whereas Joseph is the בן זקונים. Whatever Jacob had learned in the academy of Shem and Ever (after he left home and before he arrived at Laban's), he transmitted to his son Joseph.

Ideally, the "crown" of Torah should be paired with two other "crowns," namely the "crown" of מלכות, Royalty, and the "crown" of כהונה, the "crown" of Priesthood. Torah was given in order to be studied, to be observed (negative commandments), and to be performed (positive commandments). The most important aspect of the "performance" is the sacrificial service performed by the priests. This is why that aspect of Torah performance is called עבודה, Service, [without any adjective defining the nature of the Service. Ed.] This then is the meaning of the כתר כהונה. The priests who perform their tasks in the Temple are perceived as wearing that "crown." There is also a need for the כתר מלכות, the "crown" of Royalty, in order to infuse the people with due respect for G–d's law. They must be encouraged to be diligent in observing Torah statutes. The function of Torah scholars has traditionally been to supervise, to exhort the people to perform their duties, just as it was the task of the prophets when we were still blessed with their presence among us. Moses, the greatest of the prophets, was described by our sages as "King," because he had the authority of a crowned king.

For practical purposes these three "crowns" serve a single objective. We can now appreciate why the Jewish people's task at the revelation at Mount Sinai was described as becoming a "kingdom of Priests, and a holy nation" (Exodus 19, 6). Here we have a clear allusion to the "crown" of kingdom and the "crown" of Priesthood Both "crowns" serve to promote Torah observance.

Joseph acquired the "crown" of Torah which was handed over to him by his father Jacob. The "crown" of Priesthood was acquired by Levi; as soon as he was born G–d dispatched the angel Gabriel and brought him before His Presence, and equipped him with 24 gifts and called his name לוי, as has been explained on the relevant verse in Parshat Vayetze. [According to Midrash Hagadol the absence of a subject such as "his father," or "his mother," when Levi was named, suggests that he was named in Heaven. Ed.] Yehudah acquired the "crown" of Royalty. This crown was especially appropriate for Yehudah as it corresponds to the "kingdom of Heaven," the "fourth leg". The three patriarchs formed the first three legs of a three-legged "throne." They had contributed their three respective attributes to form those three legs, i.e. חסד גבורה, and תפארת. Those three attributes are perceived as radiating the three "lines" known as קו החסד, קו הדין, and קו הרחמים.

King David held on to the קו המלכות, i.e. the fourth "line." This is what is commonly known as מגן דוד, the shield of David. [קוים is an expression used in Kabbalah to describe the conversion of concepts into a practical effect in our lives. The concept חסד becomes רחמים, i.e. applied חסד, by means of such a קו, line. Ed.] The Zohar (Sullam edition page 70), commenting on Genesis 29,35 "she stopped bearing children," explains that the word ותעמד is a reference to the establishment of this fourth leg of G–d's throne, and that anyone who challenges the kingdom of David is considered as challenging the שכינה, the reason being that the fourth leg of the throne is supplied by the kingdom of David on earth. David is the מרכבה, carrier of G–d's Glory down here in our domain. Once that fourth leg has been contributed to G–d's Throne, His name י-ה-ו-ה will be complete. The root of the line חסד is the letter יוד. The root of the line דין is the first ה"א in that Name, whereas the line רחמים is the letter ו"או. These three lines together, formed through the attributes of the patriarchs, form a מרכבה. By adding the last letter ה"א of the Ineffable Name, G–d's name is made complete, whole. Once the Kingdom of David will flourish as that of the Messiah, once the prediction: והיתה לה' המלוכה (Ovadiah 1, 21) will be realized, the other half of that prophecy ביום ההוא יהיה ה' אחד ושמו אחד will be fulfilled also (Zachariah 14,9). The final letter in each of the last three words of that latter prophecy together spell דוד. A close look at the name יהודה will reveal some remarkable allusions. Firstly, it contains the letters of the Ineffable Name plus the letter ד. That letter, or rather the number 4 that it represents, is an allusion to the fourth leg of G–d's Throne.

I have already explained how all the attachment to G–d is achieved by means of Torah, and how all the "crowns" have as their purpose to further that attachment. The "crown" of Royalty may therefore be viewed as conferred due to the Torah. The tribe of Levi, which represents the "crown" of Priesthood, is described in Deuteronomy 33,10 as performing the function: יורו משפטיך ליעקב ותורתך לישראל, "They will instruct Jacob in Your laws and Israel in Your Torah." Clearly, this "crown" too is conferred thanks to the Torah. Concerning the Kingdom of the house of David, we find that our sages comment on the verse in Samuel I 16, 18: וה' עמו "G–d was with him," by remarking that the שכינה accompanied David wherever he went. The "crown" of Royalty is part of the "crown" of the Priesthood since the Kingdom of the seed of Yehudah was rooted in Tamar the daughter of Shem, who had been a High Priest already in the days of Abraham (an alternate name for Malki Tzedek mentioned in Genesis 14,18, as per Nedarim 32). When Israel later on sent spies to the land of Canaan prior to conquering it under the leadership of Joshua, the latter sent out Pinchas and Caleb. Caleb was from the tribe of Yehudah who represented Royalty, whereas Pinchas represented the Priesthood. (Cf. Bamidbar Rabbah 16, 4 commenting on Joshua 2, 1) Something of a similar nature will occur in the future when the prophet Elijah will represent the Priesthood before the arrival of the Messiah, and the Messiah will be Royalty incarnate. Pinchas is identified with the prophet Elijah.

The Hasmoneans during the period of the second Temple erred when they claimed the crown of Royalty in addition to the crown of Priesthood. They could not have been unaware that the crown of Royalty is reserved for descendants of David. Their error consisted in thinking that the crown of Royalty is merely a derivative of the crown of priesthood. They considered the maternal descent (genealogy) as halachically important. This is why they provided a throne for the mother of the king.

We find there are three (wearers of) "crowns,” i.e. Joseph, Levi Yehudah. The "crown" of a good name, which is described in Avot 4,13 as surpassing all other crowns, is Jacob, who is the root of all the other "crowns. Joseph is the highest ranking of the other three "crowns," because the other two exist only for the sake of the "crown" of Torah.

The allusion to the study (למוד) of Torah is found in the letter ל. There are four letters in the alphabet which contain the letter ל when spelled out: אל"ף, גימ"ל, דלי"ת, למ"ד. The ל in the letter אל"ף alludes to Jacob, who is the "big" א of Adam, as we have pointed out earlier. He is the שר ואלוף ושורש העולם, the Prince, the Champion, the root of the whole world. The letter ל in the גימ"ל alludes to Levi, who was the third son born to Leah. This tribe may be considered as associating Torah study already with its formation within the mother's womb. Moses, who represents Torah more than anyone else, was also the third child of his mother. He handed us the Torah in the third month, a Torah intended for a people divided into the three groups of כהן-לוי-ישראל, viz. Shabbat 88a. [This allusion is expanded even further in the Talmud. Ed.] The letter ל in the דלי"ת alludes to Yehudah who was the fourth son of Leah. He provided the fourth leg of G–d's Throne. When the letter ל is spelled as a word, we have the word למוד, study, the essence of Torah. This is an allusion to Joseph who represents the "crown" of Torah. Another way of viewing the letter ל is to focus on its numerical value, i.e. 30 ,שלושים. When Joseph attained his position of power the Torah describes him as בן שלושים שנה בעמדו לפני פרעה, "Thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh (41,46). Thus the mystical dimension of the letter ל is the "crown" of Torah. The Torah reports (Exodus 13, 19) that Moses took the bones of Joseph, (when the Jews left Egypt. He fulfilled a promise given to Joseph on oath by his surviving brothers.) the word for "bones" in Hebrew being the same as the word for "essence," i.e. עצם. The Torah's report then has a dual meaning, i.e. Moses took Joseph's essence with the Jewish people when they left Egypt. Having acquired Joseph's essence, Moses was later able to give the Jewish people the Torah. To come back to the roots.

Jacob was the root of all these "crowns." His "crown," that of the "good name," surpasses all the others in value, it is an essential ingredient in making all the other "crowns" truly meaningful. When Jacob was already sick and his son Joseph visited him, Jacob bowed down to his son because he wore the most important "crown" of all, the crown of Torah. (cf. Genesis 47,31 according to Rashi, who stresses Joseph's righteousness under trying circumstances) [Rashi on 48,2, does not specifically refer to a crown of spiritual significance; the impression Rashi gives is that anyone wearing a temporal crown deserves respect. Ed.] Levi wears the crown of the Priesthood, Yehudah that of Royalty. The specific "power" associated with the "crown" of Priesthood is tied to the confines of the Holy Temple. We find that only kings of the Davidic dynasty were allowed to be seated within the confines of the Temple (Yuma 25a). This is due to David being considered a מרכבה carrier of G–d's שכינה. The Temple on earth is, after all, a מרכבה, for its counterpart in Heaven. We have scriptural proof for this in Habakuk 2, 20: וה' בהיכל קדשו, הס מפניו כל הארץ "And G–d resides in His holy Abode; be silent before Him all on the earth!" The sanctuary is the attribute of Royalty as expressed in the name א-ד-נ-י, whose numerical value -65- equals that of the word היכל. It is also the numerical value of the word הס; the sanctuary is perceived as the foundation of the equivalent of earth in the Celestial Regions.

The Holy Temple within the territory of Benjamin is an enduring one and will be of infinite duration in the future. The temporal crown worn by the tribe, the kingdom of Saul (who was also from the tribe of Benjamin), was of only limited duration. The very name שאול, contains an allusion to this temporary nature. His "crown" was "borrowed."

Let me proceed to explain the nature of Benjamin's sanctity. Benjamin was on a loftier spiritual plane than his other brothers because he never bowed down to Esau who represented the סטרא דשמאלא, the left side of the diagram of emanations, the home of Samael. (At the time of the fateful encounter between Jacob and Esau he had not yet been born). The fact that his father Jacob bowed down to Esau cannot be held against Benjamin. The Zohar, commenting on the relevant verse in Genesis 33,3 (Sullam edition page 35), in which Jacob is described as prostrating himself before Esau seven times, writes as follows: "Rabbi Eliezer asked how Jacob, the choicest of the patriarchs, could contravene the injunction of the Torah in Exodus 34,14: 'do not prostrate yourself before any other deity for the Lord is a jealous G–d?' The answer given is that far from bowing down to the anti-G–d part that Esau represented, Jacob in fact prostrated himself before the שכינה, for we find at the beginning of the same verse: והוא עבר לפניהם, "It proceeded ahead of them." This excuse can be used only for Jacob, but not for his sons. The "11 stars," i.e. the other tribes bowed to Esau, not to the שכינה. The knees which bent to Esau, representative of Samael, were the cause that Samael succeeded in inflicting an injury on Jacob's thigh joint. That injury represented judgment מדה כנגד מדה, tit for tat, because Esau's thigh joint bore the imprint of the original serpent. We have pointed out that the Targum of יודע ציד, hunter, (Esau's profession) is נחשירכן. The Tziyoni reads this as two words נחש ירכן, seeing that the serpent's image [snake shaped birthmark? Ed.] was tattooed on Esau's thigh joint. We dealt with this in our commentary on Toldot. Because of this additional dimension of sanctity possessed by Benjamin even before his birth, G–d had prophesied to Jacob in 35, 11, ומלכים מחלציך יצאו, "Kings will emerge from your loins." People bending their knees to the kings from the tribe of Benjamin, will be the fitting contrast to the other tribes who had bent their knees to Esau instead. This stands out particularly in view of the list of kings descended from Esau that are listed in פרשת וישלח. I have mentioned that righteous Jewish kings represent the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth.

The prophet Samuel alluded to this mystical dimension of Benjamin not having bent his knee to some alien deity when he commanded that the cook bring the portion which he had told him to set aside. Thereupon the cook lifted up the thigh and what was on it, and set it before Saul. Samuel then said: "What has been reserved has been set before you" (Samuel I 9,23-25.) Rav Galanti, in his book Kol Bochim (on Lamentations), elaborates on this when he discusses the verse in Lamentations 4, 18: צדו צעדנו מלכת, "Our steps were checked; we could not walk, etc." I myself have dealt with this verse elsewhere.

Samuel hinted to Saul about these mysteries when he said to him: "Even if you deem yourself "small" in your own eyes, you are nonetheless the head of the tribes of Israel. The Lord anointed you king over Israel" (Samuel I 15,17). Samuel meant that the reason Saul became king was that he belonged to the youngest tribe of Israel. Had he not belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, his forefather would have been one of those who bowed to Esau. As it is, he was saved from this ignominy by the fact that Benjamin had not yet been born at the time. As a result, Saul, the king from the tribe of Benjamin, was entrusted with the task of destroying Amalek, the descendant of Esau. The thigh presented to Saul symbolized a thigh that was free from the "tattoo" of Esau, the residue of the original serpent.

When Israel had sinned, it was attacked by נחש the king of Ammon (Samuel 1,11,1). At that time, immediately after his appointment, Saul defeated the Ammonites. When Saul failed to carry out his task against Amalek completely, the נחש "serpent" (in the guise of the Philistines) raised its head; eventually Saul himself in desperation consulted with the witch of Endor, -an example of מעשה נחשים.- In the end, (Samuel I chapter 28) Saul was killed, and the kingdom reverted back to its permanent designates, to the house of Yehudah-David. David is described as אדמוני וטוב רואי, "ruddy, good looking," in Samuel I 16,12, the counterpart to Esau, who was called אדום, because he had absorbed all the pollutants of the original serpent which had made blood (red) the symbol of death. Esau had absorbed all this pollutant in order that Jacob might be free of it. We have shown that this was what Bileam alluded to when he proclaimed: כי לא נחש ביעקב, "that Jacob does not contain a vestige of the original serpent" (Numbers 23,23). The colour אדום, then can originate either in the קליפה, representing the blood of impurity, or in a sacred domain. When it originates in the sacred domain it is described, as in Samuel, as טוב רואי, "beautiful to behold." David is descended from Peretz, who was פורץ גדר, "achieved a break-through" against the forces of the נחש. David was an outstanding Torah scholar; when the honor of G–d was at stake he knew how to take revenge in the manner of a serpent. It is said of him: כי משורש נחש יצא צפע, "for from the stock of a snake there sprouts an asp" (Isaiah 14,29). The allusion is to David's father Yishai (cf. Targum) who is the נחש in our verse. These terms are used by the prophets as forces that are able to parry and subdue the original serpent, root of impurity.

To sum up: The Holy Temple will be built on the territory of Benjamin who had never bowed nor prostrated himself before Esau. Midot (2, 6) mentions thirteen occasions when one had to prostrate onself before G–d in the Holy Temple. That number corresponded to the numerical value in the word אחד, "One." When, in exile, after the destruction of the Holy Temple, Mordechai, scion of the tribe of Benjamin, refused to bow down to an alien deity, he, Esther's godfather, became the instrument through whom the Temple was rebuilt with the help of the Persian king Cyrus, a son of Esther. Although the kingdom did not remain in the hands of the tribe of Benjamin, the Holy Temple remained and will remain in that territory. In retrospect, all this was alluded to by the manner in which Samuel anointed Saul. He used only a cruse of oil; he anointed David by pouring the oil from a קרן, horn. The significance of this will be explained later.

David ruled for forty years. This figure is alluded to in the name Samuel which is comprised of the letters in the name Saul, שאול, with the letter 40=מ added. The first four letters allude to Royalty, the last to the 40 years David reigned. Samuel was from the tribe of Levi which wore the "crown" of Torah. Samuel himself was considered as equal to Moses and Aaron combined. Although he was known as a Levite, being a member of that tribe, he combined within himself elements of the priesthood, being traditionally considered the re-incarnation of the High Priest Aaron. When G–d told Moses in Exodus 4, 14: הלא אהרון אחיך הלוי וכו', "Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite?" He implied that there would be a Levite who at the same time was Moses' brother Aaron, i.e. Aaron's re-incarnate, the prophet Samuel. This secret has been revealed by the Arizal, and I have quoted his words on a previous occasion.

We therefore find the "crown" of Torah and the "crown" of Priesthood combined within one person, Samuel, all for the sake of the "crown" of Torah. Joseph represented the "crown" of Torah as we have pointed out on page 306. The pillar the world rests on is called צדיק; Joseph, universally renowned as יוסף הצדיק is that pillar. The righteous person is the emanation יסוד which leads directly to the emanation מלכות. All the forces, the influences found within the various emanations are channeled to the emanation מלכות only after having passed through the emanation יסוד. All this has been described in Pardes Rimonim in the chapter called צינורות. The emanation מלכות has to be perceived as the מנהיג, guide of the physical universe, acting on behalf of the various other emanations in the name of the אין סוף, G–d Himself. This is the reason it is called מלכות עולם, kingdom of the universe. The pillar which keeps this world going is the צדיק, i.e. the צינור, pipe, which leads from יסוד to מלכות. We derive the "crown" of מלכות, Royalty, from the attribute of מלכות as well as the Holy Temple, the היכל השם, the site of the "crown" of Priesthood. Joseph was the ruler who repaired many of the shortcomings in the world.

When discussing such repairs, תקונים, we must appreciate that the first step in such repairs is the element of סור מרע, "abandon evil," followed by the element of עשה טוב, "do good." The סור מרע element consists of the removal of the pollutants residual within us through the serpent's influence. This infection is one which spread further and further throughout all generations. Because of this, all the people born nowadays originate in what Rabbi Akavyah has called the טפה סרוחה, the smelly drop of semen. When the residue of that smelly drop is removed, Torah can be received in its entirety. Torah represents the element עשה טוב, do good. Torah is the very reverse of pollution. This is the reason the Talmud Sukkah 52b advises that "if the מנוול, i.e. the evil urge, attacks you, drag him to the house of Torah study." After you have done this, G–d's Torah can also be called תורת האדם, the Torah of man. The name אדם for man, the species, stems from the word אדמה in the sense of something very superior; [such as Genesis 2, 7, where man is described as having been formed out of אדמה, which Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai understood as the emanation בינה. Ed.] Man was entitled to that appellation as long as he had not sinned. Man will again be entitled to that name when the Messiah has come and the repair to the world caused by Adam's sin has been completed. The entire process of repair occurs in stages. The four people that have been called by the name אדם, are Adam, David, the Messiah and the people of Israel. [we have mentioned that Israel is a collective term for a single composite concept comprised of many units. Ed.]

Adam and Eve, who were the cause of the drop of semen becoming smelly, were also instrumental in Adam ejaculating semen for one hundred and thirty years without that semen impregnating his wife. Instead, that semen turned into a variety of evil spirits, thus necessitating additional refinement צירוף, and תקונים. The exile in Egypt was the first step designed to remove impurity from the holy seed of the descendants of Jacob who resembled the spiritual beauty of Adam before he had sinned. Jacob's first drop of semen was intended to impregnate Rachel, whom he thought he had married under the wedding canopy. It was Joseph who kept alive the covenant with G–d, and therefore the descent to Egypt of Jacob's entire family was orchestrated through Joseph. The area in which this refinement was to take place was one called ערות הארץ, a part of the earth in which shame resides. The earth is perceived as being similar to a human being in that it has a head, eyes, arms, legs, as well as parts corresponding to the private parts of a human being, מקום ערוה. Our sages deduce this from such verses as Proverbs 8, 26: ראש עפרות תבל, "the head of the clumps of dust in the world;" earth is also described as רחבת ידים "possessed of generous hands" (Genesis 34,21). Scripture speaks of the earth's טבור, "navel." There are many similar metaphors which describe parts of the earth. This means that though earth is one continuous mass, entity, it possesses many parts just as a human being, who is a unit, has many parts. Just as various organs in the human body perform different functions and possess different degrees of importance, so earth has many parts, each of which performs a different function.

The land of Egypt is to earth what the מקום ערוה, seat of the reproductive organs, is to man. This is why Ezekiel 23, 20 describes Egyptians as ejaculating seminal discharge that resembles that of horses, and generally describing them as debauched. [The theme is that it is the nature of the earth itself which contributes to the debauchery of its inhabitants. Ed.] Jacob's descendants were exiled to Egypt because in that country it was easiest to transfer their share of the serpent's pollution to their surroundings. Once they had disposed of those pollutants they could emerge purified. Joseph was especially suited to start such a process because he had demonstrated by his previous behavior how to maintain the Holy Covenant with G–d entered into by Abraham when he circumcised himself. The evil influence of the serpent's pollution remained only in the descendants of Esau. The reason the Torah presents us with such a long list of Esau's descendants at the end of פרשת וישלח, is to inform us that they were all ממזרים, bastards. Rashi already comments in this manner on Genesis 36, 2. Esau went to the land of Se-ir because he did not want to undergo the exile experience in either Egypt or the land of Canaan (where he would not have been sovereign, seeing that Israel owned that land). Had he been prepared to undergo that experience, he, too, could have rid himself of the negative influence of the original serpent.

Having concluded with the development of Esau's descendants, the Torah turns to Jacob's settling in ארץ ישראל. The Torah next tells us that the true descendant of Jacob was Joseph. Since the word Toldot also means the further development, even through re-incarnation, we are told that it was Joseph who set in motion these developments, i.e. the refinement of the Jewish people in the "iron crucible," the bondage experience in Egypt. Having concluded the process of refinement, Israel was ready to receive the "crown" of Torah. Even Jacob personally had to reside in Egypt for a while in order to rid himself of the sin of not having performed the commandment of honoring father and mother during the twenty years he was at Laban's and the two years (on the journey to Laban and back). Although G–d had told Abraham that his descendants would be part of Isaac's seed (Genesis 21,12 expounded on in the Talmud Nedarim 31), and the Torah meant this to exclude Esau as the carrier of the Abrahamitic tradition, the fact remains that during the years of Jacob's absence from his father's home, the people in the land of Canaan perceived Esau as the true heir, for it was he who ministered to the needs of his father and mother in spectacular fashion. As a result, Jacob had to suffer pain at the hands of his most precious seed, his son Joseph. He observed mourning for Joseph for twenty-two years during which Joseph was in Egypt, the land described as the pubes of the Earth. During those years Joseph atoned for the fact that only part of Isaac's seed developed in the manner hoped for.

Joseph's failure to inform his father of his existence during all these years shows G–d's hand in this in one of two ways. Joseph may have received a message from the Holy Spirit not to reveal his whereabouts to his father. Naturally, he would have had to obey such a message, seeing that both he and his father were duty bound to obey G–d's commands. Alternately, G–d may have denied Joseph free choice in this particular matter. In either case Joseph could not be faulted for not revealing his fate to Jacob. G–d's reason for interfering with Joseph's free choice could have been to ensure that Jacob would atone for being remiss in the performance of כבוד אב ואם, honoring father and mother. We find that something of a similar nature occurred in the life of Yehudah and Tamar. Yehudah had not meant to consort with a harlot; however, G–d sent an angel, the one appointed over sexual desire, so that Yehudah acted under some sort of compulsion when he slept with Tamar whom he thought to be a harlot. The fact that the result of such union (with a woman who was actually the daughter of the High Priest of G–d), became the forerunner of the Messiah King David suggests that this outcome was brought about through Divine intervention.

To get back to the subject of the תיקונים. Joseph, in his capacity as the sacred seed of his father, who in turn represented the spiritual beauty of Adam prior to his sin, was truly created בצלם אלוקים, in the image of G–d, because he was not the result of a smelly drop of semen. He wore the striped coat, a metaphor for the garments woven of light worn by Adam and Eve before they sinned, as we have outlined on pages 290,294. He was therefore the natural enemy of Esau who represented the opposite attributes, the pollution by the serpent, the smelly drop of semen, and the start of a long line of bastards. He demonstrated his loyalty to the Holy Covenant by resisting the lures of Potiphar's wife, by remaining in control of his baser urges. He merited to be elevated to kingdom because his self-control exercised in a country which symbolized sexual promiscuity and perversion, was that much more remarkable. The "crown" of Royalty worn by Joseph was first and foremost his mastery over the guardian angel of Egypt; we have already explained on page 295 that Egypt, (and hence its guardian angel), was second only to ארץ ישראל itself. The שר של מצרים is second only to Israel in the ranks of carriers of G–d's chariots. When the Torah describes Joseph as "riding" in the מרכבת המשנה, this is a hyperbole for Joseph having replaced the guardian angel of Egypt in that role. This augured well for Israel, who, though they would become enslaved in Egypt, would achieve their spiritual refinement in that environment. After that period of refinement, Israel would עלה יעלה, ascend from Egypt spiritually, having witnessed G–d's miracles and judgments on the Egyptians. They would see the guardian angel of Egypt humbled, as described in Numbers 33, 4: “ובאלוהיהם עשה שפטים, The Lord executed judgments on their gods."

Joseph is correctly described as "father of Pharaoh," meaning Pharaoh's guardian angel; Joseph also gave spiritual impetus to Israel. Had it not been for Joseph, the Jewish people might still be enslaved. Joseph "opened the door" thanks to his moral spiritual greatness; thus we observe how G–d sent the cure even before the injury had been sustained, i.e. He sent Joseph into Egypt long before the bondage of the Jewish people in Egypt began. When the children of Israel, after many years of bondage, marched out of Egypt with heads held high, they had been wielded into a single nation whom G–d chose as His people. They eventually matured to the point of having a real flesh and blood king, King David of the tribe of Yehudah. Had Joseph not reigned as king in Egypt, no royalty would have emanated from the tribe of Yehudah and Israel might never have been forged into a single nation.

Just as the kingdom of Joseph had to precede the kingdom of Yehudah, so the Tabernacle in Shiloh, in Joseph's territory, had to precede the Temple in Jerusalem. Even though the Tabernacle in Shiloh was destroyed, its very existence had paved the way for the permanent Temple. It had been the צינור, "pipeline," that led to the permanent Temple. Once the sanctity of the Tabernacle of Shiloh had been transferred to the Temple in Jerusalem, it remained there permanently. Joseph in his capacity of the צדיק who is the pillar of the world, had still been the pipeline that had made possible the Presence of the sanctity on earth as manifest in the holy Temple. We find a parallel example of the influence of a single individual in the Talmud which quotes G–d as saying that the livelihood enjoyed by the entire world is due to the merit of one man, namely "My son Chaninah who is content with a small measure of carobs for himself from Sunday to Friday" (Taanit 10a). The Talmud employs the word בשביל, normally translated for the sake of, or on account of; here the author understands that word to mean: through the שביל, the path, analogous to צינור, pipeline.

As soon as Israel left Egypt, the Psalmist tells us: בצאת ישראל ממצרים … היתה יהודה לקדשו, ישראל ממשלותיו. "When Israel went forth from Egypt,…. Yehudah became His holy one, Israel His dominion" (Psalms 114,1-2). Later in Numbers 10, 14, when the people were divided into four camps, Yehudah again was the first army to break camp and march ahead of the people. Yehudah was also the first of the twelve princes to offer his offering in honor of the dedication of the Holy Tabernacle (Numbers 7,12). This pre-eminence of the tribe of Yehudah also continued after the people inherited the land of Israel, until the days of Samuel, when the people demanded to be led by a king, and the choice fell on Saul from the tribe of Benjamin. As already explained, the position of king was only on loan to the tribe of Benjamin, as apparent from the very name שאול, "something borrowed." Within less than a generation, a scion of the tribe of Yehudah, David, became the king of Israel. Ever since, Jacob's blessing in Genesis 49, 10 that "the scepter of Royalty will not depart from members of the tribe of Yehudah" has been fulfilled.

When the people sinned, the sin resulted in the splitting of the kingdom between the tribe of Yehudah (Rechavam) and the tribe of Joseph (Ephrayim). Joseph, the pipeline from the emanation יסוד which is the pillar on which the world is founded, then demonstrated that his influence was not limited to what goes on in Jerusalem, the source of the kingdom of David, but that he had sufficient influence to ensure that the kingdom of the Ten Tribes who had denied allegiance to Rechavam son of Solomon was given to a descendant from his tribe, Yerovam ben Nevat (Kings I chapter 12). This development caused untold grief; it divided the hearts of the Jewish people. Hosea 10, 2 already stated: חלק לבם עתה יאשמו, "once their hearts are divided (in their attitude to G–d) they will become guilty" (in a number of areas). Yerovam himself began by erecting two golden calves to prevent the people from making the pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem, leading the people to worship those calves. Even the tribe of Yehudah copied the example of the Northern Kingdom and practiced all manner of abominations, many of which are described in Ezekiel chapter 16 et al. This kind of conduct by the Jewish people continued right up to the destruction of the Temple and the subsequent Babylonian exile. Even the return to Zion with Zerubavel and the building of the second Temple did not lead to a repair of the spiritual damage the Jewish people had caused during the reign of Yerovam and others. Proof of this is the fact that the five most prominent manifestations of the Divine Presence were never restored to us. [The holy ark, the tablets with the Ten Commandments, the breastplate with the Urim Vetumim, to name but some.] During the entire period of the second Temple the dynasty of David did not exist, and the only period that the Jewish people had a king at all was after the successful rebellion of the Hasmoneans against the Syrians who had introduced anti religious legislation and who had demanded that the Jewish people adopt Hellenism. This rebellion culminated in the festival of Chanukah. The Hasmoneans committed a grave error when, in addition to claiming the "crown" of the Priesthood, they also claimed the crown of Royalty in defiance of G–d's command. They were severely punished by G–d, and did not only lose the crown after four successive Hasmonean kings died a violent death, but Herod, son of a Gentile slave, became the next king after he had murdered nearly all the Hasmoneans still alive. All this is part of Nachmanides' commentary on Genesis 49, 10: לא יסור שבט מיהודה. The Talmud Baba Batra 50 goes so far as to say that anyone claiming to be descended from the Hasmoneans is bound to be a slave, i.e. have Herod's blood in him (Herod had married Miriam, a sister of the Hasmoneans). The failure to re-instate the house of David when there was a chance to do so will not be repaired until the coming of the Messiah. At that time, reinstatement of the dynasty of David will be preceded by the Kingdom of Joseph, since the משיח בן יוסף will precede the arrival of the משיח בן דוד. After the arrival of the משיח בן דוד the damage caused by the house of Joseph ever since the splitting of the Kingdom of David (Rechavam) under Yerovam will be repaired. The משיח בן יוסף, when he comes, does not come in order to establish his own dynasty, rather he comes to help re-establish the Davidic dynasty. He will even sacrifice his life in order to accomplish this. His blood will atone for the sins of the Jewish people. This atonement will take the form of the Davidic dynasty being restored to the Jewish people as an everlasting kingdom. When that stage in history will have been reached, both of Joseph's dreams will have been fulfilled. His two dreams foreshadowed his reign in Egypt, and his reign in the future as the משיח בן יוסף respectively. In both instances his reign preceded or will precede that of the reign of David or the in משיח בן דוד respectively. Both periods of the reign of the kingdom of Joseph were or will be beneficial for the whole Jewish people because in both instances they were or will be designed to pave the way for the permanent kingdom of David.

When that time comes, the תיקון, "repair work" will have been completed and the world will be as good as at the time it was created when both body and soul were on an equally elevated level. It was said of Adam in Psalms 49, 13: אדם ביקר בל ילין; נמשל כבהמות נדמו, "Man does not even spend a single night on his pedestal; he is like the beasts that perish." This was the Psalmist's description of Adam's spiritual descent to the level of the ox. Our sages have said that the ox that Adam sacrificed had his horns protruding in front of his legs (Avodah Zarah 8). Had Adam not sinned, he could have lived up to the ideal described in Leviticus 1, 2: אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן לשם, "when you Adam will offer yourself as an offering to G–d." Adam, endowed with everlasting life, would then have cleaved to G–d in the same manner as the righteous nowadays are described as doing after their death. We are told that the angel Michael, in his capacity as the High Priest in the Celestial Sanctuary, "sacrifices" the souls of the צדיקים. The repair-work was begun by the "ox" as an extension of Joseph whom the Torah describes as בכור שור, firstling ox (Deut. 33,19). The repair will be completed by the "lion," i.e. Yehudah. When that has been accomplished, Israel will be transported "on wings of eagles," in contrast to the time of the destruction, when the prophecy of Deut. 28,49: "G–d will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, etc.," was fulfilled. In the future the blessing of Deut. 32,11 in which G–d is described as taking Israel under His wing like an eagle, will come true. We observe that the different גלגולים, wanderings of the Jewish people, follow the pattern of the animals Ezekiel saw in his vision of the מעשה מרכבה, in Ezekiel 1, where the Chashmal is described as equipped with the features of man, ox, lion and eagle. At that time Israel will achieve an unparalleled degree of unity and not only the Lord will be One, but His name will be One. The last letters in the words אחד ושמו אחד combine to make the name דוד. When that has come to pass all the participants will have achieved ever-lasting life as had been intended by the Creator from the beginning.

There is a disagreement between Maimonides and Nachmanides regarding the nature of the eventual perfection of the world. Maimonides feels that this period will not include physical life and all that is entailed by it. Nachmanides understands all the prophecies concerning that distant future as applying both to the soul and to the body. Since we believe that Nachmanides is correct, let us quote some comments by the Midrash Rabbah on 2 ,90 פרשת מקץ on that subject. Pharaoh said to Joseph: "I will be greater than you only by the throne" (Genesis 41, 40). Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said that Moses recorded two paragraphs in the Torah in which we have to learn a lesson from the wicked Pharaoh. One paragraph (Deut. 28,13) tells us that as long as we observe the Torah והיה רק למעלה, "You will always be on top." This could have led one to believe that we would equal G–d; therefore the Torah adds the word רק, only, to drive home the point that "My holiness is superior to your holiness." The same applies to Leviticus 19, 2 where the Torah enjoins us to be holy because G–d is holy. The very words "because I am holy," alert us to the fact that G–d's holiness surpasses any holiness we can attain. We have learned these inferences from Pharaoh. Pharaoh said "I am Pharaoh." This could have led Joseph to believe that his greatness would be similar to that of Pharaoh, אתמהא. To make sure that Joseph did not misunderstand, Pharaoh added the word רק, "only" (41, 40).

These words of the Midrash are quite difficult: First of all, we must understand whether the word קדש, holy, implies something greater than the word גדול, great; if גדולה is a higher status than קדושה, then the restrictive word רק should have been written in Leviticus 19, 2 and we would have arrived at the logical conclusion that if we cannot attain G–d's level of sanctity we could certainly not attain G–d's level of greatness as set out in Deut. 28,13. On the other hand, if קדושה is the higher status, the question can be reversed. If both קדושה and גדולה rank equally, the word רק needed to be written only in one of the three instances where גדולה and קדושה are mentioned.

Another difficulty is why Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish stresses that "Moses recorded it for us." Did not Moses record every single word in the Torah and not just these few lines? Another difficulty is that the position of the word רק in Genesis is before the word אני, whereas in Leviticus the word קדש precedes the word כי. In Deuteronomy, the word רק also precedes the reference to G–d. The word אתמהא, "strange," with which Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish describes this whole comment is also peculiar. Why did he not simply say יכול כמוני, I could have thought: "just like Me!" What need was there for the word אתמהא? Rabbi Shimon does not add that word when referring to the erroneous assumption we could have made when reading the commandment to become holy in Leviticus! Another difficulty is that the Midrash did not bother to spell out what exactly we were to learn from the wicked Pharaoh concerning דברים גדולים וקדושים, great and holy matters!

We have already explained that we never could have achieved greatness or holiness as a people had we not undergone the experience of enslavement to Pharaoh in Egypt. The pollutants of the serpent would have prevented us from achieving the spiritual level required. It was only in Egypt that we were spiritually cleansed and refined in body. It was due to Joseph's גלגול that we had a chance to purify the smelly drop of semen that was the origin of our existence, and to experience metamorphosis until eventually even our body would be pure enough to be garbed in the garments woven of light worn by the first pair of human beings. All this will be achieved with the help of Torah, by studying it and practicing it. Study of Torah is the intellectual and emotional achievement of the soul, whereas the physical carrying out of Torah commandments achieves something similar for our body.

I have also pointed out earlier that the letters א-ג-ד-ל, are the ones that each contain the letter ל when you spell them as words. I have also mentioned that the letter א in that word אגדל refers to Jacob who is unique and whose name is engraved under the Throne of G–d. Any kind of אגדל, greatness, is derived from that "Throne." The Talmud in Shabbat 88b, portrays G–d as saying to Moses when he ascended to Heaven to receive the Torah and was challenged by the angels: "Hold on to My "Throne." When Pharaoh said to Joseph: "I shall be greater than you only by the throne," this was merely a hint which Joseph understood fully, i.e. למד. Although Pharaoh, of course, did not appreciate Heavenly forces and the manner in which they operate, he did know that the people of Joseph were destined to play a vital role in the future of mankind. By saying: רק הכסא אגדל ממך, Pharaoh hinted that when it came to the throne and the greatness of Joseph, he wanted Joseph to remember that it was he, Pharaoh, who had enabled Joseph to rise to that splendor. Pharaoh wanted that the Jewish people (read Joseph's people) therefore associate his (Pharaoh's) name with their glorious future. Little did he realize that the real reason Pharaoh contributed to the refinement and elevation of the Jewish people was because they were enslaved and tortured by a subsequent Pharaoh. It is this that Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish wanted to tell us when he referred to the paragraphs in which Moses taught us a lesson to be learned from "the wicked Pharaoh."

The reason the Midrash picked these two examples was that they represent the two aspects of our ascent, that of the soul and that of the body, i.e. תלמוד ומעשה, theory and practice. When he descended from Mount Sinai Moses himself encountered the experience both of wearing garments woven of light and of the skin of his face radiating light; both his body and his soul had undergone similar refinement (Exodus 34, 29). When Moses prophesied he never had to prepare himself by first negating the importance of his body since his body was on a level permitting free communication with the Divine. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish mentioned Moses in the Midrash quoted in order to show us how Moses achieved the blending of body and soul in holiness.

To get back to the two items mentioned in this Midrash, גדולה וקדושה. The term גדולה is applied to achievements by the soul, whereas the term קדושה is used to refer to achievements by the body. A terrestrial kingdom such as that of Pharaoh is in a manner of speaking an allusion to a Celestial Kingdom. Just as a human being consists of two different levels, his body and his soul, the visible and the invisible, so G–d is basically invisible by His very nature; however, G–d has assumed a degree of "visibility" by dint of His פעולות, actions. G–d's גדולה, greatness, is due to His Essence. His קדושה, holiness, becomes manifest to us through the guidance He exercises in our world. As far as G–d is concerned, His גדולה takes precedence over His קדושה, holiness. In our world, the priorities are reversed, because all our actions are a ladder which enables us to ascend intellectually, spiritually. In our world one proceeds from the נגלה, the visible, to the invisible, the concealed. This is why when we speak of a terrestrial kingdom which alludes to a Celestial Kingdom, the references to גדולה precede those to קדושה. In the absence of such considerations, however, קדושה precedes גדולה. When Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish describes גדולה, a spiritual quality, referring to the verse in Deuteronomy 28,13 he adds the word אתמהא to emphasize that it would be very strange even to suggest that the Jewish people could compare themselves in their thoughts to being on a level with G–d. To preclude such a strange idea we did not need the word רק in that verse as an exclusion. However, the word רק is meant to emphasize that the only spiritual level we cannot attain is that of G–d Himself. When it comes to other celestial forces that operate למעלה, in Celestial Regions, we can attain their spiritual level. In fact we will even be able to surpass the spiritual level of the angels in Heaven, as we have explained on repeated occasions. Had the Torah not written the word רק, and had it only written והיית למעלה, we would have assumed that the גדולה, greatness, that Israel could achieve would be short of that of the angels. As it is, we are told that the only spiritual height we cannot attain is that of G–d Himself.

In Leviticus, where G–d exhorts us to become holy, such an achievement is in our power because it is the result of our actions, the result of free choice given to man. Rabbi Shimon says: "Did you think כמוני that you could be like Me?" Here Rabbi Shimon does not think that the thought of becoming equal to G–d is so strange; this is why he does not add the word אתמהא. Man might have compared his own freedom of choice to G–d's freedom of choice; in that respect he might have considered himself as on a par with G–d, who has no one who interferes with His freedom to carry out His designs. After all our Rabbis have assured us that הכל בידי שמים חוץ מיראת שמים, "Everything is within the domain of Heaven except the fear of Heaven" (Berachot 33b). We are told in Shabbat 31b, in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, that "the only thing G–d has in His world is the fear of Heaven." Rabbi Yochanan bases himself on Deuteronomy 10,12: "And now, what does the Lord G–d ask of you? Only to fear the Lord your G–d, to walk in His ways." We also have a verse in Job 28, 28: ויאמר לאדם הן יראת ה' חכמה, וסור מרע בינה. He said to man,: "Fear of the Lord is wisdom; to shun evil is understanding." The word הן in Greek means "one."

This is why Rabbi Yochanan understood G–d to speak about "His" world. This is along the lines of the commentary by Rabbeinu Bachyah on: יראת השם היא אוצרו, "Fear of the Lord is His treasure" (Isaiah 33, 6). He says that it is in the nature of kings to include things which are rare in their treasures. G–d is on record as saying in Chagai 2,8: "Gold and silver belong to Me." In view of this, what new treasure can G–d keep stored up? The only thing which is not already the property of G–d is the fear of G–d. It is something extraordinary – because it is up to man to acquire it – using his free will. It has never been under Divine control. This is the reason Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish used the word כמוני, "just like Me," as a supposition that could be entertained by Jewish people attempting to become holy. They had to be told that G–d's freedom of choice and man's freedom of choice do not lead to exactly the same level of holiness. We have a principle that הבא לטהר מסייעין לו, "He who sets out to purify himself receives a Heavenly assist" (Yuma 38b). We have another tradition which says that "he who sanctifies himself a little in this world will experience that he is sanctified a great deal more in the Celestial Regions." When man sets out to choose good, G–d assists him and adds sanctity. The addition supplied by G–d is greater than the initial amount of sanctity attained by man's own efforts. When Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish described G–d as saying "My holiness is superior to your holiness," what he meant was that G–d's contribution to our holiness is greater than our own, which is due to our freedom of choice.

To return to the subject of the kingdom of Joseph. Its only purpose was to enable the Jewish people to be forged into a single nation, and the kingdom of Yehudah (David) to be established. The brothers did not understand this. They believed that Joseph wanted Royalty for its own sake, for both himself and his descendants. This is why they went to Dotan לבקש נחלי דתות, to devise legal schemes, to judge him according to Torah law. They all came to the conclusion that he was guilty of death. Even the sons of Zilpah and Bilhah, who were Joseph's closest friends, agreed that from the point of view of justice Joseph was guilty. He had disputed the authority of the kingdom of David; anyone doing so is guilty of death. Insubordination against the kingdom of David is equated with insubordination against the שכינה itself.

This is why his brothers wanted to kill Joseph when he revealed himself and they saw that he had become king. The fact that he had realised (what they believed to have been) his ambition made him only more guilty in their eyes. G–d had to despatch an angel to disperse the brothers so as to prevent them from destroying Egypt. Joseph having received such a Heavenly assist, asked his brothers to approach him in order to explain to them the true nature of his being king. He explained to them that G–d had sent him ahead in order to facilitate their becoming a nation, and Yehudah's kingdom becoming established.

Joseph said three separate times "G–d has sent me before you." The first time he referred to the literal meaning of כי למחיה שלחני אלוקים לפניכם, "G–d has sent me ahead to provide sustenance" (45,5). When Joseph mentioned a second time that G–d had sent him ahead in 45,7, he phrased it thus: לשום לכם שארית בארץ ולהחיות לכם לפלטה גדולה, "To provide refuge for you in the land, and to keep you alive for a great rescue." At first glance these words seem totally superfluous; שארית refers to something insignificant, whereas פלטה גדולה alludes to something major. Actually, Joseph alluded to two separate missions which he had been entrusted with in order to establish the kingdom of Yehudah. The first, a minor mission, was to establish a base for a kingdom of Yehudah in this world, i.e. the Exodus from Egypt, whereas the more important mission was that he would prepare the ground for the Messianic kingdom of David, i.e. play the role of the משיח בן יוסף. He explained that the Messiah ben Joseph would be slain as a martyr on behalf of the people of Israel, and that following his death the enduring kingdom of David-Messiah would arise. When that would occur, Joseph's blood would be avenged.

Reuben had already hinted at this development when he told his brothers (42,22) that Joseph's blood was being demanded from them. True, they did not at the time understand the deeper meaning of what was happening and what was being said, but the words were inspired by G–d even though He had not revealed their full meaning to the brothers. The mystical dimension of Joseph's historical mission was that he acted in the capacity of forerunner – not only in the story related in our פרשה – but also in the distant future when he will be killed performing a similar mission and his blood will be avenged. This is what he told his brothers when he said: "Now not you have sent me here but G–d, who has placed me in the position of father to Pharaoh."

Let us now concentrate on the meaning of the last words in that verse. We will then understand how Joseph's mission resulted in the development of Jacob as a clan into a nation. Joseph meant that G–d had appointed him to be Pharaoh's "father" in the sense of being his שר, spiritual representative. This is the significance of Joseph riding in the מרכבת המשנה, the "second chariot." We have described Egypt as the "naked area" of the earth. Since Joseph was loyal to the Holy Covenant with G–d because he should have been the issue of his father's first ever drop of semen, he was meant to be the ruler there and he was supposed to take the place of the שרו של מצרים. Joseph was first sold as a slave to the Egyptians, this in turn made an imprint on the Jewish people's future, and they too became slaves in Egypt. Later on they left Egypt as free men. G–d executed judgments on the gods of Egypt, i.e. their spiritual representative in Heaven, their שר. Israel saw their שר dead on the beaches of the sea (Exodus 14,30). Had this not occurred, we might still be enslaved to the Egyptians.

The reason why Joseph has to be dispatched in the future before the arrival of the משיח בן דוד is because he is the natural enemy of Esau inasmuch as he is his exact opposite. Esau is full of the pollutants of the serpent, Joseph, on the other hand, was singularly free of that pollution, as we have explained.

As soon as the kingdom of the Messiah will be established, the remarkable feature will be that his former enemies will make peace with him, i.e. the קליפה will then be purified, and all the Gentile nations will acknowledge the truth. That is the day when G–d and His name will be One. Even the erstwhile נחש will be turned into חשן, (breastplate of the High Priest). The color red, which typified Esau, will turn white, completely pure.

This is the deeper significance of the kingdom of David, which at first glance does not appear to have been rooted in holiness. Simply consider Yehudah's involvement with Tamar whom he thought to be a harlot; or, if you will, think about Ruth, a descendant of an incestuous union between Lot and his daughter. Even Ruth's joining Boaz at night was not exactly the act of a model of chastity that we would have expected. If all these precedents did not disqualify David from becoming the role model of the eventual Messiah, we need not marvel at the eventual purification of those descendants of Esau who will still exist when the Messiah will be crowned king. All these apparently accidental happenings were part of G–d's plan. The tortuous developments which led to the emergence of David and eventually to the Messiah are an example of how eventually all the חצוניות, people and forces outside the realm of holiness, will be turned "outside in," and be restored to their original sacred root.

One of the most prominent allusions to such a development can be seen in the relationship between Yehudah and Tamar. When Yehudah sent his partner to pay Tamar the promised kid and to retrieve his signet ring, etc., the Adulamite is reported as asking the men of her place איה הקדשה, "where is the harlot that had been at the roadside?" This can also be read as Ayeh haKedushah "where is the holiness?" He received the reply that there had not been a harlot in that place (Genesis 38,21-22). This is an allusion to the angels who are constantly asking each other for the site of G–d's holiness, and who, in the future, are going to address this question to Israel. Israel's spiritual level in those days will be so far superior to that of the angels that even those who had been considered as חצונים, will have become sanctified outsiders, from a spiritual point of view. At that time the name of G–d will be as we say in the קדיש prayer: י"הא שמיה רבא, His name will be great. The letters י"הא are an allusion to the three ways in which the Ineffable Name can be spelled as words, using either the method with the א, the method with the ה, or the method with the letter י. [Example: the letter ה can be spelled ה"א, or ה"ה, or ה"י. ] When all three methods are used G–d's name is "great." We have pointed out on another occasion that the question the angels ask Israel is: מה פעל א-ל I have elaborated on this when discussing the meaning of the קדושה.

In our portion the word איה in verse 21 is the allusion to such an event in the future. When the Torah discusses the ערכין and תמורה legislation in Leviticus 27,10 we are told: והיה הוא ותמורתו קודש, (if one did substitute one animal for another) "both the one originally vowed and its substitute will be deemed holy." The word תמורתו can be perceived as symbolizing תמר and ורות whose letters make up the word תמורתו. Both Tamar and Ruth may certainly be viewed as "substitutes," seeing they had not been deliberately chosen for the role they were destined to play. Our sages also say that when Yishai (David's father) slept with David's mother and David was conceived, this was due to an error on Yishai's part. He had thought that he was sleeping with a maid or concubine (Psalms 51,7 Metzudat David). [The verse reads –David speaking – "Indeed I was born with iniquity; with sin my mother conceived me." Ed.] David himself then was also a substitute as far as his mother was concerned. All of these extraordinary circumstances were designed by G–d to demonstrate that the impure is capable of being redeemed and becoming pure. The sperm that impregnated the various mothers mentioned originated in purity, could be called זרע קודש, holy seed. [In a gloss the author draws our attention to Ruth 4,7 where we find the expression על הגאולה ועל התמורה, placing the words "redemption and substitution" side by side. He finds a deep significance in this and speculates that it alerts us to the lesson that through the process of תמורה, substitution, the impure can achieve purity.] Er and Onan died because they defiled such sacred seed. Eventually Yehudah himself had to impregnate Tamar in order to enable the dynasty of David to have its beginnings. When, later on in 38,26, Yehudah acknowledged that he was the father of the infant Tamar was carrying, the Torah adds the word ממני, which our sages in Targum Yerushalmi interpret as a Heavenly voice calling out that the outcome conformed with a Heavenly plan and that neither Yehudah nor Tamar were guilty of misconduct.

When the people began to sleep with the daughters of Moab as reported in Numbers 25,1, and even Zimri the prince of the tribe of Shimon cohabited brazenly with Kosbi, a Midianite princess, it became necessary for Pinchas, who was a descendant of the tribe of Joseph on his mother's side – בנות פוטיאל – to repair the damage inflicted by this immoral act by means of killing the chief perpetrators, Zimri and Kosbi. When the Holy Covenant with G–d had been breached by the Israelites, it took a descendant of Joseph, who had starred by maintaining that Holy Covenant, to restore the harmonious relationship between Israel and G–d. [The word Putiel which appears in Exodus 6,25 as a father-in-law of Elazar, Pinchas' father, is a play on words, i.e. pitpet – someone who can overcome his passions. Eleazar clearly had been interested first and foremost to marry into a family with such a background, the name of his wife and Pinchas' mother being a secondary consideration. Ed.] In Numbers 38, 6 Moses and the leaders of the community are described as והמה בוכים, "they were crying." I have found a comment in a book called עשרה מאמרות, that the letters in the word בכים are the initials of the words ברוך כבוד ה' ממקומו. The relevance of this comment escapes most commentators. When considering my approach, however, the words of Rabbi Menachem Azaryah (author of עשרה מאמרות) make good sense. We have said that due to the holiness of the seed of Yehudah impregnating Tamar and in line with the allusion found in the word אי"ה, the Jewish people would ultimately attain the level of holiness which makes it necessary for the angels to inquire from them where G–d's holiness is to be found. In our days the angels can chant only ברוך כבוד ה' ממקומו, "Blessed be the Lord from His place" (wherever that may be). Rabbi Menachem Azaryah told us in a cryptic manner that Moses and the elders cried because -through an act by Zimri and his brethren- Israel would be placed in the position of not knowing where the site of G–d's holiness was to be found. It required a Pinchas, i.e. Elijah the prophet who will announce the arrival of the Messiah until Israel would once again be able to supply the angels with the correct answer as to the whereabouts of the site of G–d's holiness.

Before this will occur, the משיח בן יוסף the natural enemy of Esau will come forth and will complete his task of liberating Israel from the serpent's pollutants just as he had begun to do when he had been given the mission to be "a father to Pharaoh" in the land that is known as ערות הארץ, "the naked part of the earth." Then the Messiah, who has his roots in the נחש (Yishai) can come forth as a צפע (as described on page 309 based on Isaiah 14,29. When Joseph's butler told the brothers that his master had said נחש ינחש איש אשר כמוני in 44,5, he alluded to the process of defeating the serpent at its own game; his master would be able to parry and subdue the negative forces from where they had emanated.

We thus see that both the beginning and the end of Joseph's missions were all for the benefit of the Jewish people as whole. Joseph's middle mission, however, – his part in the split-up of the kingdom and the break-up of the cohesion of the twelve tribes, as caused by king Jerovam of the tribe of Joseph – resulted from the commission of a sin.

We can now better understand why Joseph said to his brothers ועתה אל תעצבו, "Now do not be distressed" (45,5). He indicated that his present role did not give any rise to distress, though there might be a part he would play in the future which would cause distress to the dynasty of (Yehudah) David. Eventually even the regrettable part that he would play in the interval would be repaired by his role as the משיח בן יוסף¹.

footnotes: ¹ The word עתה, "now," may also be a hint that whereas no one would be punished for selling Joseph at this time, there would come a time (when the Romans tortured the ten scholars to death) when this sin would be visited upon the brothers' descendants.

What I have explained so far may also help to answer a very serious question concerning Joseph's conduct when he interpreted Pharaoh's dream. Having explained the meaning of the dream, Joseph next volunteered a piece of advice to Pharaoh (41,33) which he introduced with the words: ועתה ירא פרעה איש נבון וחכם, "Now let Pharaoh appoint a wise and understanding man, etc." What business did Joseph – a slave and a prisoner to boot – have to offer gratuitous advice to Pharaoh? Clearly Joseph had aspirations to attain a position of authority in order to be able to further Divine plans and to replace the position of the שרו של מצרים, the regular spiritual patron of Egypt.

Let us get back to the brothers who had originally suspected Joseph of harboring personal motives in his quest to become Royalty. Their suspicion is alluded to in פרשת ויגש, and expressed in Psalms 48,5: כי הנה המלכים נועדו עברו יחדו, המה ראו כן תמהו נבהלו נחפזו, רעדה אחזתם שם חיל כיולדה. The part about "See the kings," refers to Joseph and Yehudah; עברה יחדו describes their hatred of each other (from the word evrah for anger); המה ראו כן תמהו is an allusion to Genesis 43, 33 where the brothers ויתמהו, express their amazement to one another at the seating arrangements made by Joseph which placed them in the order of age. The reference to the brothers' terror and fright, נבהלו, etc., is to the moment when Joseph revealed himself and the brothers were frightened (45,3). The words רעדה אחזתם, "Panic seized them", refers to the other brothers who said: "kings are arguing with one another" (the debate between Joseph and Yehudah), "let the kings fight it out among themselves."

It is clear that the author of this interpretation understood Yehudah as accusing Joseph of having personal designs in his ambition to be king. This is the reason why he was angry at him. Joseph, on the other hand, was angry because he felt he had been accused unjustly of harboring personal motives, while his real motive had been to help bring about the kingdom of David based on the house of Yehudah. All of this transpired even though Joseph had not yet revealed himself to the brothers. There were sparks of Holy Spirit which were uttered by both parties to this verbal battle, though both may not have been fully aware of their historical meanings at the time. I believe that the brothers not only doubted Joseph's spiritual eminence, but that they even had doubts about whether the man claiming to be their brother was indeed Joseph. They were afraid to openly express these doubts, and this is the reason why they uttered words that could be interpreted in more than one way.

As far as the approach of Yehudah to Joseph was concerned, the argument centered around Benjamin. The whole advantage of the kingdom of Israel over other kingdoms is the land of Israel which is the site of the Holy Temple. Benjamin merited to host the Temple on his territory even though Royalty was denied him. However, he had merited the beginnings of Jewish Royalty, a period when, under King Saul, every knee bowed to Benjamin (vicariously). The reason that every Jewish knee bowed to a representative of Benjamin was that Benjamin himself had never bowed his knee to Esau. He retained the site on which the enduring Temple will be rebuilt, the ירך המזבח, the site where the altar feeds from. The High Priest, a member of the tribe of Levi, however, performed the major functions of the Temple Service. This is the reason why Joseph did not touch Levi (when he put Shimon in jail). He had reason to jail both Shimon and Levi because they both had been ringleaders in the plot against him.

Joseph considered the plot as inspired by the desire to ensure the rise of Yehudah to Royalty. Since the spark of Holy Spirit, maybe subconsciously, made the sanctity of the kingdom a corollary to the sanctity of the land of Israel, which in turn contains the holy city Jerusalem and the holy Temple, Joseph was angry at the brothers, accused them of being מרגלים, spies, an allusion to the spies Moses sent out and who came back slandering the holy Land. Joseph, on the contrary, loved ארץ ישראל unreservedly, as became clear when the daughters of Tzelofchod, of the tribe of Joseph, fought a legal battle with Moses over their share in the holy Land in Numbers 27. Joseph's tribe also produced Joshua who led the Jewish people in its conquest of the land of Canaan. Even though the tribe of Menashe also sent out a spy who proved disloyal, this was of minor significance compared to the selfless heroism displayed by Joshua from the tribe of Ephrayim.

When Joseph claimed that the brothers had come to view ערות הארץ, "the land in its nakedness" (42,9), he chose words which reflected the attitude of the spies hundreds of years later when they wanted to appoint a leader to bring them back to Egypt (Numbers 14,4). Yehudah answered Joseph that he was the spokesman of the brothers, and that Levi was second in line to him because he wore (or would wear) the "crown" of the Priesthood. He added: "Your servants have never been spies," pointing out that Caleb of the tribe of Yehudah who had been sent out as a spy, had played a faultless role in that episode. Since Moses had not seen fit to send a member of the tribe of Levi on that mission, Levi too could not be faulted for lack of love for the land of Canaan. When Yehudah stated "your servants, [meaning myself as the wearer of the "crown" of Royalty and Levi as the wearer of the "crown" of Priesthood Ed.] have not been spies" (in the past tense), he alluded to the fact that at a later date when Joshua would send out spies a member of the tribe of Levi would be included, namely Pinchas.

Having thus refuted Joseph's arguments concerning the time when both Yehudah and Levi would prove their loyalty to their respective missions, Joseph now demanded to have Benjamin sent down to him, seeing it was in his territory that the Holy Temple would be built, and that this was after all the whole point of the process of creating a Jewish people, different "crowns," etc. Because – still inspired by the Holy Spirit – Joseph foresaw two destructions of the holy Temple, he wept on Benjamin's neck after he had revealed his true identity (45, 14). All the weeping was induced by his visions of the future in his mind's eye. He consoled himself and expressed his emotions by giving חליפות שמלות, changes of clothes, to all his brothers. The word חליפה is similar in meaning to the word תמורה, the significance of which we discussed earlier. Also the word שמלה, garment, is an allusion to the time when Adam had to exchange garments woven of light for garments made of skin. At the same time however, it is also an allusion to the distant future when this process would be reversed. Joseph was able to console himself by looking ahead to that future.

There is a comment by the Midrash Hagadol on the words וישמע ראובן, in 37,21 which illustrates that the brothers did not understand Joseph's true motives. We are told there that the objective of the Torah in telling us of the purity of Reuben's motive, though he dared not express it at the time, was to tell us how highly G–d rates the performance of a good deed when such deed is performed without ulterior motives. Had Reuben known that his deed would be recorded by the Torah and be read in public for millennia, he would have carried Joseph back to his father on his shoulder without delay. Another example of the same idea is Aaron's meeting Moses when the latter returned from Midian to assume the leadership of the Jewish people. Aaron's joy and lack of envy of his younger brother is extolled by the Torah in Exodus 4,14. The Midrash adds that if Aaron had known that the Torah would compliment him on his deed, he would have organised a musical band to welcome Moses home to Egypt instead of merely going to meet him all by himself. The Midrash goes on with a similar comment about the way Boaz treated Ruth amongst the gleaners (Ruth 2,14). Boaz is reported there as inviting Ruth to dip her morsel in vinegar. Had he known that this gesture would have been recorded in Scripture for all to know, he would have offered her all kinds of delicacies.

This Midrash poses a serious problem. In the first half we are told that Reuben had no ulterior motive in performing the מצוה of saving Joseph, whereas in the second half we are told that he would have done so even more enthusiastically had he known of the reward in store for the performance of such a מצוה. How would the fact that he would have carried Joseph on his shoulders have enhanced his מצוה -performance? Would it not have resulted from the acknowledgment he expected to receive? Besides, why does the Midrash choose the example of Reuben carrying Joseph on his shoulder? Was Joseph not perfectly able to walk? It would have sufficed if he had held him by his hand! The same question can be asked about Aaron and the manner in which he would have welcomed Moses. Were either Moses or Aaron so fond of dancing that the presence of a band would have added to their joy at meeting one another?

What the Midrash tries to point out is that when a person performs a מצוה from pure motives it is in his nature to delve into its meaning in order to perform it to the best of his ability. Once he discovers the full extent of the meaning of that מצוה, he will perform it with even more zeal than before. Had either Reuben, Aaron or Boaz known beforehand how great the particular מצוה they had performed was considered in the eyes of G–d, they would each have performed it with even greater pomp and ceremony. But they did not, and that is why none of them examined the superior way of fulfilling the respective מצוה they were being credited with, believing as they did that they had already exceeded what was required of them.

Reuben, for instance, believed that from a strictly legal point of view Joseph deserved to be executed because he rebelled against the concept that Royalty was reserved for the house of David, i.e. the tribe of Yehudah. On the other hand, he considered the legislation in Numbers 35,24 and 25, according to which one must try and find every possible extenuating circumstance before subjecting the accused to the ultimate penalty. In actual fact, however, Joseph was not guilty at all, since he neither coveted Royalty for himself nor tried to deny Yehudah's claim to Royalty. Quite the contrary, he tried to advance Yehudah's cause so that the kingdom of David would come about sooner. We have explained earlier that there were three "crowns" to be acquired, the "crown" of Torah being primary. Since Joseph symbolized the "crown" of Torah, the other two "crowns" could be acquired only by means of Joseph paving the way for such a development. Joseph's being the antithesis of Esau enabled the Jewish people to develop, and in due course helped the other two "crowns" to become meaningful. Perhaps this is the reason why the Jewish people carried two arks with them during their trek through the desert to the land of Canaan. One ark contained the tablets with the Ten Commandments as well as the original Torah scroll, the other contained the remains of Joseph. The people paid Joseph a tremendous compliment by carrying both arks side by side, since this conveyed the idea that "this one (Joseph) observed what is recorded in the other one (Torah)." The ark was carried on the shoulders (בכתף ישאו, Numbers 7,9). Because of this little detail, the Midrash phrased the enthusiasm imputed to Reuben, had he been aware of the Torah's compliment to him, in the words: "He would have carried Joseph back to his father on his shoulders."

Aaron also thought that the elevation of Moses to a position of redeemer was not necessary, but only an act of kindness on the part of G–d who imparts some of His own honour to those who fear and revere Him. He did not think that there was any practical significance in this, seeing redemption would be brought about by G–d Himself. Moses himself had thought along similar lines when he declined the mission to become the official leader of the Jewish people. His query: מי אנכי אשר אלך, "Who am I that I should go,” reflected his thinking (Exodus 3,11). The Midrash already re-phrases Moses' question as מי אני, "who am I, seeing that the one called אנכי is going to redeem the Jewish people!" Whereas Moses was correct in his basic assumption, G–d wanted to lend glamour to Moses, as He said later: ראה נתתיך אלהים לפרעה, "See here, I have made you a deity as far as Pharaoh is concerned." The greatness of Moses' honour can be measured by the fact that it was he who was chosen by G–d to hand the Torah to the Jewish people; he was told at the time that his mission would be considered a success when the Jewish people would accept the Torah at Mount Sinai (Chorev) (cf. Exodus 3,12). Aaron was unaware of these details at the time; this is why he thought that he had behaved in an exemplary fashion by not begrudging Moses his new status. The Midrash then was quite correct when it said that had Aaron been aware that he was to receive credit for his attitude, and that it was only Moses who could be the intermediary in accelerating redemption, he would have gone to meet his brother with drums and dances of joy just as we found Miriam doing after the miraculous rescue of the Jewish people (Exodus 15, 20).

Boaz also erred. He thought that the arrival of a human redeemer in the guise of the משיח בן דוד was quite superfluous, and that G–d Himself would orchestrate the ultimate redemption as indicated by the prophecy: והיה ה' למלך, "G–d Himself will become king" (Zachariah 14,9). We know that Boaz was not the only person who thought in those terms; the prophet Samuel severely criticized the Jewish people for demanding to be led by a human king instead of by G–d Himself. (Samuel I ch. 8). Neither Samuel nor Boaz had realized that: a) G–d has a desire to have a residence on earth, b) that a kingdom headed by a king of flesh and blood may, under the right conditions, be truly representative of G–d's Kingdom in Heaven. In fact, only when such a kingdom exists on earth can all the channels of G–d's goodness be open to us. If Boaz had been aware of the complimentary view the Torah took of his treatment of Ruth, he would have fed her fattened calves in order to fulfill the מצוה in the best possible fashion. The reason that the paragraphs dealing with the sale of Joseph and the union of Yehudah and Tamar are recorded in the Torah side by side is to teach us that both events served the same purpose (in G–d's plan), and that the sale of Joseph laid the groundwork for the eventual eminence of the kingdom of Yehudah.

This is why the Midrash said that while the brothers were busy selling Joseph, G–d was busy preparing the ground for the Messiah. The Torah afterwards tells us about how Joseph excelled in controlling his carnal desires; this morally fitted him to become the ruler of Egypt, a country whose people excelled in giving in to such urges, (seeing the country is known as ערות הארץ, the most naked (immoral) place on earth. After that we are told of the immediate cause of Joseph's rise to power, i.e. his ability to interpret Pharaoh's dream. We have explained the respective uniqueness of Jacob and of Joseph and how the spiritual beauty of Jacob resembled the spiritual beauty of Adam before he sinned. Thus each one can be viewed as the purpose of Creation; we have repeatedly explained that the purpose of Creation was the emergence of an individual deserving of the name אדם.

When at the beginning of פרשת וישב, we are told that Jacob made an attempt to settle in the land of Canaan to live a quiet undisturbed life, G–d objected to Jacob at that stage wanting to enjoy both the present world and the Hereafter. This world is not slated to recover from the original sin, the time when the serpent polluted Adam and Eve, until the arrival of the Messiah. Ever since that sin our world operates on the principle that the קליפה, peel, precedes the פרי, fruit. It is this principle which forms the background of Bereshit Rabbah 2,4. We are told there by Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish that the reason that the Torah begins the story of Creation with the statement that there was Tohu Vavohu, in other words imperfection similar to the imperfection of the world experienced by the Jewish people in exile, was that imperfection has to precede perfection. The Midrash describes several such exiles as being alluded to in that verse. The word Tohu refers to the exile in Babylon; the prophet Jeremiah (4,23) describes the country thus. The word Bohu supposedly refers to the exile under the Medes, since we have a verse in Esther 6,14 where the king's messengers are described as ויבהלו להביא את המן, the word ויבהלו containing the letters of the word ובהו. The word חשך, which follows in Genesis 1,2, refers to the exile under the Greeks who blackened the eyes of Israel by demanding that the Israelites inscribe on the horns of their oxen that they had no further share in the G–d of Israel. Finally, the words על פני תהום, refer to the exile under the Romans, Edom, which seems bottomless like the תהום, Deep. When the Torah continues ורוח אלוקים מרחפת על פני המים, "The spirit of the Lord hovered over the expanse of the water," Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish views this statement as an allusion to the spirit of the Messiah of whom it was said in Isaiah 11,2 that: "the spirit of the Lord rested on him." How does one merit that the spirit of the Lord comes to rest on one? By the merit of repentance which is compared to water, as we know from Lamentations 2,18: "Fair Zion, shed tears like water day and night!"

The subject matter this Midrash concentrated on is the קליפה, peel, that was created by Adam's sin, which caused the brilliant light prevailing at the time of Creation to be withdrawn, and which can only be regained through efforts to refine oneself and to repair the damage done by Adam. The means to achieve such refinement is the series of exiles. Once having lived through these exiles, Israel's sins will be expiated, the Messiah will arrive and the world will once again be bathed in the brilliant light that prevailed when Adam and Eve wore clothes woven of light. The experience of the Jewish people in Egypt was of a similar nature. Israel, which still suffered from a degree of pollutants absorbed through the serpent, was cleansed and left Egypt with its head held high. All the judgments visited upon the Egyptians were in the nature of what our sages call חידוש העולם, a renewal of universal dimensions. The phenomena displayed testified to the fact that it was G–d who had created the universe and who could work His will upon it. We have explained all this in its appropriate place. G–d had already alluded to the other exiles at the time he concluded the original covenant with Abraham reported in לך לך chapter 15. The operative words at the time were: אימה, חשיכה גדולה נופלת עליו.

By the time the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai, the process of refinement had advanced so far that the world was ready to revert to its original state. This is indeed what would have happened had it not been for the sin of the golden calf. The reason that Jacob merited to receive allusions to the four exiles was because he, like Adam before his sin, represented the spiritual beauty of the world.

Rabbi Oshiyah in Bereshit Rabbah 92, 3 comments that when Jacob said to his sons in Genesis 43,14 prior to their second descent to Egypt: "May the Lord Shaddai grant you mercy when you appear before the man, etc.," he alluded to the 4 exiles. The word "the man," i.e. האיש, in that verse referred to G–d who is described as איש מלחמה in the song the Israelites sang after crossing the sea of reeds (Exodus 15,3). When Jacob continued "and he will send to you your brother," [the Midrash presumably reads the word Achichem, "your brother," singular as Acheychem, "your brothers," Ed.] this refers to the Ten Tribes; the words: "the other one and Benjamin," refer to Benjamin and Yehudah. When Jacob (in his capacity of the nation's founding father) continued: "as for me, if I am to be bereaved, I am to be bereaved," refers to the two destructions of the first and second Temple respectively. Jacob implies that there will not be a third destruction.

One of the things that provoked the Midrash into seeing these allusions in Jacob's words – which to most of us seem far-fetched – is that Rabbi Oshiyah found it difficult to assume that Jacob, engaged in encouraging the brothers on their mission to Egypt, would end on such a pessimistic note as ואני כאשר שכולתי שכולתי. We have a tradition that whereas righteous people frequently experience trials and tribulations in the first half of their lives, they find that their lives eventually become blessed with tranquility. It would therefore have been out of character for Jacob to even consider further bereavements. This is why Rabbi Oshiyah saw an optimistic note in Jacob's remarks, a conviction that the worst was behind him, that the bereavements experienced had achieved their purpose and brought about the necessary תקון to secure a happy future.

Jacob, when he said these words, may possibly have experienced a moment of divine inspiration about the need for the kingdom of Joseph to precede that of Yehudah. What plagued Jacob was 1) that he simultaneously foresaw that the kingdom of David would be split when Jerovam of the tribe of Joseph would command the allegiance of ten of the twelve tribes. At that time Yehudah and Benjamin alone would remain loyal to the house of David. This was one factor which led to the destruction of the first Temple; 2) because Jerovam erected the golden calves which the Ten Tribes worshiped. Later on, Israel committed many other grievous sins. Even the tribes of Yehudah and Benjamin were infected eventually, until this brought about their exile. During the second Temple the Hasmoneans appropriated the "crown" of Royalty which should have been Yehudah's. We have already quoted Nachmanides who explains how the ascent of the slave Herod to the throne in Jerusalem was a punishment for that error of the Hasmoneans, and became the beginning of the end of the second Temple which was eventually destroyed by the Romans.

Let us get back to Jacob's desire to settle in the land of Israel and lead a tranquil life, as indicated by the opening words of our פרשה. Bereshit Rabbah 84,3 quotes Job 3,26: לא שלותי ולא שקטתי ולא נחתי ויבא רוגז, "I had no repose--no quiet-- no rest and trouble came," as paralleling what Jacob said that he had not experienced repose from his trouble with Esau, nor quiet from Laban, nor rest from the rape of Dinah. Now, without respite, he was faced with the trouble involving Joseph. Some of our Kabbalists see all these four troubles Jacob experienced alluded to in the single word וישב. The letters in that word are the respective second letters in the words יוסף, דינה, עשו and לבן.

We have seen again and again how all the experiences the patriarchs had in their private lives foreshadowed experiences the Jews would have in their communal lives. This is why I believe that the four problems mentioned in the Midrash based on the verse in Job or on the letters in the word וישב also allude to the four exiles the Jewish people experienced. The troubles with Joseph parallel the Babylonian exile which, as we explained above, was the result of the tribe of Joseph splitting the kingdom of David which eventually led to the destruction of the Temple. The trouble Jacob experienced with Laban was that the latter tried to uproot the entire concept of an eventual Jewish people, something like the attempt by Haman under the Medes to uproot the Jewish nation male and female including infants. The problem Jacob experienced with Dinah paralleled the Jewish experience during the exile under the Greeks, who, inter alia, decreed that no Jewish virgin could marry until she had been violated by a Greek Priest. This is why Hannah the Hasmonean became a martyr for her religion and became instrumental in bringing about the redemption from that exile. The problems Jacob experienced with Esau are the same problems we experience until this very day with the descendants of Esau in this the longest of all exiles. After having concluded the first verse of our פרשה, the Torah alludes to the final redemption when it mentions Jacob's תולדות. The Torah alludes to the time when those descendants will have achieved spiritual maturity, will enjoy the light under the kingdom of the Messiah.

When Jacob, in sending the brothers on their way to Egypt, referred to G–d as the G–d whose name is שד"י, i.e. the G–d who said די, "enough," at the end of the process of Creation, he used that name of G–d to indicate that there would now be an end to the troubles of his family, i.e. the Jewish people, to the extent that his family's experiences mirrored the future experiences of the Jewish people. The name שד"י also alludes to the respective first letters of the names שלמה-דוד-ישי which spell שד"י. when combined. We have already shown that Yishai symbolised נחש, that David, who emerged from Yishai, symbolized צפע, a snake whose poison is more potent than that of a regular נחש, but that out of these both came Solomon who built the Temple. This all confirms the theory of תמורה, that something perceived as evil is subject to metamorphosis.

From all that I have written the significance of Yehudah, Joseph and Benjamin is quite apparent. The Temple, which was built on tribal property belonging to Benjamin, was the site on which the feet of the שכינה rested, as we know from Isaiah 60,13: "To adorn the site of My Sanctuary, to glorify the place where My feet rest." We also have Exodus 3,5 in which Moses is told at the burning bush: "Take off your sandals from your feet for the ground you are standing on is holy ground. It is also significant that the price received by the brothers for the sale of Joseph is described by the prophet Amos 2,6 as the price of a pair of sandals, whereas in 8,6 the prophet described that G–d will not forgive those who buy the needy for the price of a pair of sandals. [In all these examples the sandals symbolize the foundation, basis. Ed.]

Joseph is the pillar the world rests on because the צדיק righteous person, is the יסוד, foundation of the universe, the pillar which supports the universe. The feet are the support of the rest of the "body." It follows that between them they form the "feet" of the שכינה. We view Joseph as the "pillar" of the world, Yehudah as the fourth leg of G–d's throne, enabling it to "stand." When the Torah reports the birth of Yehudah, we find that it continues with the words ותעמוד מלדת, "She, (Leah) stood from giving birth." The message that the Torah wishes to convey is that it was this birth that enabled the throne of G–d to stand firmly. Finally, Benjamin is perceived as the ירך, the thigh or reproductive organ of the body. He had not bowed to Esau because he had not been born when Jacob met his brother. He was therefore fit to serve as the site of the altar, from which G–d's blessings are received.

Some mystical elements pertaining to the Chanukah lights: We shall now proceed to explain part of the deeper meaning of the חנוכה lights which issue forth from the ירך המנורה, the stem of the candelabra (the equivalent of ירך, thigh, in a human body). The expression רגל, foot, is also found in connection with נר, light, when the Psalmist describes הר לרגלי דברך, "Your word is a lamp to my feet" (Psalms 119,105). According to Halachah, the period during which the Chanukah lights have to burn concludes when תכלה רגל מן השוק, when the foot (pedestrian) leaves the market-place, when the streets empty out. Let us get back to the meaning of the word ירך. The Torah reported that Samael succeeded in dislocating Jacob's כף ירך, thigh joint. The immediate cause for this had been Jacob's having remained alone while he had gone to retrieve some trinkets of minor value (Rashi on 32,25). No doubt these פכים קטנים, "insignificant trinkets," are of great symbolical significance. We are reminded of the פך קטן, "small cruse" of oil which the Hasmoneans found when they entered the Temple precincts after their victory over the Greeks.

Before going into the symbolics of that cruse of pure, uncontaminated olive oil, let me review a statement by our sages in Megillah 14a dealing with Samuel I 2,1: רמה קרני, "He raised my horn." The Talmud points out that when Chanah gave thanks to G–d for having raised her קרן (granted her a son, Samuel), she deliberately did not use the expression פכי, my cruse, [another word for a container for oil for anointing]. Her reason for this was that whereas the dynasty of all the Jewish kings who were anointed from a קרן, horn, endured, all those who were anointed from a פך, found that their dynasty did not continue for long. King Saul and King Yehu are examples of kings who were anointed from a פך. David and Solomon, were anointed from a קרן, horn, containing the שמן המשחה, special oil for anointing the Priests or kings. Another important statement by our sages which contributes much to our understanding of the mystique of the Chanukah lights is the statement that the ox offered as a sacrifice by Adam had only one קרן, horn, on its forehead (Shabbat 28b).

The meaning behind this is that Adam was on a spiritual level that made him fit to wear garments of light, and even his heel radiated a light more brilliant than the sun. Had he not sinned, his facial skin would have radiated a blinding light. Light is also called קרן, as we know from Chabakuk 3,4: ונגה כאור תהיה, קרנים מידו לו, "It is a brilliant light which gives off rays on every side". When we look at the sun we observe that many lines emanate from it. These are what are called קרני החמה, the "horns," or rays, of the sun. Once Adam sinned and had to switch to leather garments, i.e. garments whose raw material came from the dust of the earth, he became clay, just like the clay in the hands of the potter. Adam's new status is best described in Lamentations 4,2, where the prophet Jeremiah speaks of המסולאים בפז, איכה נחשבו לנהבלי חרש מעשה ידי יוצר, "Those who used to be valued as fine gold are now accounted as earthen pots fashioned by a potter." Adam's decline is compared to the decline from being קרן-like, to becoming פך-like. The name אדם originally related to a superior kind of אדמה. Subsequently it related to the inferior material we know as אדמה, dust from the earth. From that latter material one constructs the cruses, clay פכים. As long as Adam was on his original spiritual level, he himself was the offering to G–d, as hinted in Leviticus 1,2, that in the first instance one should make an offering of oneself to G–d. At that time man was like the souls of the righteous; these are described as being offered to G–d by the angel Michael after they have departed this earth. When the Psalmist tells us that man did not even spend one single night in his original innocence and now has become likened to the beasts (Psalms 49,14), he thereby hints that man descended to the level of the ox. The deeper meaning of the Midrash which tells us that the ox sacrificed by Adam had only one קרן, horn, is proof that he retains a small vestige of the image of קרן, though on a much lower plane than before.

When the Torah discusses legislation involving damages caused by an animal's horn (Exodus 21,35), it is a rule of thumb that an animal which had a blameless record, was never aggressive, is held responsible (its owner) for half the damage it has caused. If, however, the animal had a record of causing damage, its owner is assessed the full value of any damage it has caused. When a human being causes damage he is always considered as having a record of aggressiveness and is therefore always held responsible for the total damage he causes. This all dates back to original man who had caused severe damage to this world, so that all human beings who came after him must consider themselves as having been forewarned. G–d had warned him that "on the day you eat from it you will become mortal." Adam had been fully awake at the time the serpent seduced him; this is why he could not plead extenuating circumstances. He also sinned while asleep, since, during the one hundred and thirty years that he did not cohabit with his wife he emitted semen nocturnally, which in turn was converted into all kinds of destructive spirits, as we have explained elsewhere. This was all due to his having absorbed pollutants emitted by the serpent. As a result, man is held fully responsible for damage caused by him both while awake and while asleep. When we speak about man as being מועד לעולם, forewarned concerning any sin he commits, and therefore fully responsible for his actions, this means that he pays the full penalty, mortality, for his transgressions. This mortality is passed on from generation to generation.

The patriarch Jacob, who is described in the Torah as איש תם, as opposed to אדם מועד לעולם, was the first person since Adam who did not fit that mould. He was extremely careful not to waste even a single drop of his semen so that he was able to describe Reuben, who was born to him when he was 84 or 85 years old, as ראשית אוני, the product of his first drop of semen (49,3). As a result [of not being guilty of sins committed while asleep. Ed.] he had to pay only half the damage for any sins he committed, i.e. his death was not total, he did not die as Jacob, only as Israel, as we have explained at length in פרשת וישלח. Significantly, Jacob was 130 years old when he arrived in Egypt. Both he and his descendants made up for the 130 years that Adam had emitted semen nocturnally without sleeping with his wife. The redeemer (Moses), whose skin later on radiated light like a קרן, (Exodus 34,29) was born when his mother Yocheved was 130 years old (Sotah 12 on Exodus 2,2).

The effect of the serpent's pollutants had continued unabated until the birth of the twin brothers Jacob and Esau. At that point, most of the pollutants absorbed by Esau, remained tattooed on the thigh of Esau, so that it could be said of Jacob (as did Bileam) that he was not infected by the serpent. Samael, the spiritual patron of Esau, touched and injured the thigh joint of Jacob, causing a degree of impurity conferred through bodily contact; this was transferred to the ירך of the tribes because they bowed before Esau who represented an alien deity. Ever since then the tribes were in need of spiritual refinement. Benjamin, on the other hand, was above the need for such refinement; this is why one of his descendants, Saul, was first able to wear the "crown" of kingdom. Thus it came about that every Jew bowed before Saul the representative of Benjamin. Such a situation, however, could not endure for long because Saul was not anointed by means of a קרן. Only David and his descendants could be anointed by oil poured from the קרן. The kingdom of שאול was only a "borrowed" kingdom, as the name שאול implies. שאול was anointed from a cruse because the time was not yet ripe for אדם to be rehabilitated, a task that was reserved for David, who was Adam's reincarnation. The mystique of פכים קטנים is alluded to in Samuel I 16,17 where Samuel says to Saul: הלא אם קטון אתה בעינך, "Even though you regard yourself as small (insignificant), etc." The reference to Saul's "smallness" was to the fact that Benjamin was the youngest of the brothers. Samuel told Saul that the reason he had been chosen to become king was precisely because he was a member of the youngest (smallest) tribe, since his ancestor had not bowed to Esau because he had not had a chance to, not having been born yet.

When Rashi refers to Jacob as staying behind to retrieve פכים קטנים, he meant that Jacob was solitary as long as Benjamin had not been born. When G–d had told Jacob at Bet El in 35,11: "Be fruitful and multiply…and kings will come forth from your loins," He used the plural to indicate that He referred to King Saul and his son Ish Boshet who were both anointed from a cruse. David and Solomon were anointed from a horn. Due to our various and numerous sins, G–d גדע, "dehorned Israel in a display of burning anger" (Lamentations 2,3), until in the future the horn of G–d's anointed Messiah will again be raised.

The exile under the Greeks who were known as קרן, horn, was also called similarly, as we know from Daniel 8,5: והצפיר קרן חזות בעיניו, "And the he-goat had a conspicuous horn between its eyes." This was an allusion to the victories of Alexander the Great. The Greeks darkened the eyes of Israel and wanted to deprive it of any vestige of holiness, even of the reduced level of holiness Israel still possessed and symbolized by the ox's single horn as described on page 340. The Greeks demanded that the Jews inscribe on the horn of their oxen that they had dissociated themselves from the G–d of Israel. It was therefore appropriate that when the Hasmoneans defeated the Greeks they should find a cruse of uncontaminated oil. Since they did not institute the rule of the dynasty of David, however, they found a פך, cruse, which was sealed by the seal of the High Priest instead of a קרן, horn.

I have pointed out earlier how Nachmanides has severely faulted the Hasmoneans for grabbing the "crown" of Royalty in addition to the "crown" of Priesthood. The Hasmoneans believed that they personified both the "crown" of Royalty and that of the Priesthood, remembering that Tamar, who was not descended from Yehudah but from Shem, became the maternal matriarch of the Davidic Kingdom. Her ancestor Shem (in his capacity of Malki Tzedek), had also combined the "crowns" of both Royalty and Priesthood in his person. The Hasmoneans used this example as their precedent. When they proclaimed Hallel and sang songs and at the same time kindled the oil that bore the stamp of the High Priest they felt that they symbolised the combined virtues of David and that of the High Priest.

What all this has to do with Samael injuring the כף ירך יעקב, the thigh joint of Jacob, is simple. Our sages say on 32,26: וירא כי לא יוכל לו, ויגע בכף ירכו ותקע כך ירך יעקב, that the thigh joint of Jacob refers to the later descendants who experienced the harsh decrees by the various nations who were their hosts in exile. When the Hasmoneans overcame the Greeks, they reversed this injury, i.e. the כף became a פך a cruse of oil. What had been a vulnerable part of Jacob's ירך now became the solid basis of the candelabra, ירך מנורה.

There is a deep significance in the fact that the two words כף and פך consist of the same letters. The only difference between them is that the letter כ in the word כף is כפופה, bent over, closed, whereas the same latter in the word פך is open. The former shape is an inferior one, as it alludes to a closed palm, someone who is tight-fisted. The letter פ alludes to the mouth above. When the letter ך is open, it reminds us of open-handed charity, i.e. פתח את ידך, "open your hand." Having opened one's hand, it is important to keep one's mouth closed as indicated by the shape of the letter פ, when it is כפופה, closed. There is no greater virtue than silence (Avot 1,17). Thus the combination of an open ך, and a closed פ, is an excellent one. Both Joseph and the brothers committed an error. Joseph talked too much by bringing evil gossip about his brothers to his father (37,2). The brothers erred by being greedy for money and stooped low enough to sell their brother Joseph for twenty pieces of silver.

In the account of the Hasmoneans’ victory portrayed by Josephus ben Gurion we find that the Hasmoneans distributed much of the loot to the poor and needy. In other words, they displayed open-handedness. They afterwards executed Jewish informers who had betrayed their countrymen to the Greek authorities. According to Josephus Yehudah Ha-makkabi executed such informers personally. In this way the Hasmoneans made up for the errors committed by a mouth that had been too open; they closed it. This is the mystique of the word פך which is the very reverse of the word כף.

Perhaps this is also alluded to in the Halachah that one may not eulogize someone during the Chanukah festival. The Rabbis described an adequate eulogy as one in which one smites the palm on the thigh as a symbolic infliction of pain upon oneself in commemoration of what Samael did to Jacob [based on Jeremiah 31,18 Ed.]. In the future the פך, cruse, will be exchanged for a קרן, horn; the body will once more be fit to wear garments made of light, and both soul and body will radiate light. This is the mystery behind the words in Genesis 1, 16 where we hear about the "great light and the little light." The great light is the light emitted from the soul. The Torah instructs both body and soul to function as מאורות, sources of enlightenment. The body is the receptacle of the soul; under the proper conditions the body enables the soul to shine forth brightly. The cruse in our parable is the body which, when filled with oil, spreads light. The light of the candelabra illuminates upwards. It is in the nature of light to strive upwards. This is why the soul is called "the great light."

The Talmud Shabbat 21b quotes a Baraitha according to which it is obligatory to kindle one Chanukah light per household, whereas if one wishes to perform the מצוה in the best possible way every member of the household kindles a light in commemoration of the great miracle that occurred at the time. Those who wish to excel still further in their מצוה performance light an additional light every evening of the eight evenings in question according to the school of Hillel, or, according to the school of Shammai, they light eight lights the first evening and one light less every subsequent evening. Ullah says that two scholars (Rabbi Yossi bar Avin and Rabbi Yossi bar Zevida) disagreed as to why the school of Hillel and the school of Shammai in turn disagreed on the proper course to follow. One Rabbi said that the reason that the school of Shammai holds that one kindles one light less each evening is that the number of lights indicates how many days of the holiday are still to come, (the literal quote is ימים הנכנסים, we adopt Rashi's translation of this, however), whereas the school of Hillel is concerned with the number of days of the holiday that have already passed. The other Rabbi holds that the difference between the two schools of thought is due to the school of Hillel holding that in matters of sanctity one progresses "upwards," i.e. מעלין בקודש ואין מורידין. The reason that the school of Shammai holds that one kindles one less light each night, however, is that we follow the pattern established by the Torah on Sukkot, when successively fewer bulls were offered on each of the seven days of the holiday (Numbers 29,12-34). Rabbi Bar Chanah reported in the name of Rabbi Yochanan that the two Rabbis Yossi quoted were flanked by two elders, one of whom followed the directive of the school of Shammai, whereas the other followed the directive of the school of Hillel. Each of those two elders justified his practice by citing the last two reasons mentioned. Thus far the Talmud on the subject.

In all matters of disputes between the school of Hillel and the school of Shammai we rule according to the view expressed by the school of Hillel, except in six instances. This means that the views of the school of Shammai are ignored when it comes to practice. Why, in this instance, does the Talmud appear to give one the choice as to how to conduct oneself?

The true reason is that the Talmud, when giving the views of the two Rabbis Yossi, stated: "One said this and the other said that." The fact that the Talmud did not identify who said what means that the two Rabbis did not disagree. Each only cited one possible reason for the different opinions. The lights allude to the souls, as we know from Proverbs 20,27: נר ה' נשמת אדם, "The soul of man is the light of the Lord." We know that nowadays most of the souls inhabiting bodies are re-incarnations of people who have lived in earlier times. The best of such kind of re-incarnation one can experience is if the soul is allotted to someone who is related to the former incarnation, as has been explained by the Rekanati in connection with the legislation of the levirate marriage. When Yehudah said to his son Onan that he should marry the widow of his brother Er (38,8), he meant that the first child to be produced from such union would become the re-incarnation of Er. Later on his intention of having Er re-incarnated became fulfilled through his own union with Tamar. When Peretz and Zerach were born by Tamar, they were the respective reincarnations of both Er and Onan (Onan also having died in the meantime). The Rekanati explains this at length. When the Talmud said that the essence of the Chanukah light is that a person should light one light for his house- read: "family"- this is an allusion to the duty of ensuring re-incarnation by means of the levirate marriage.

The Talmud continued by saying that the מהדרין, the people who wish to fulfill the מצוה in a better fashion, should each light a light in honor of the miracle. This is an advice to each of us not to rely on our eventual rehabilitation by means of re-incarnation, but to strive to light sufficient spiritual light during our first round of life on this earth so that there will not be a need for our souls to become "recycled" by means of גלגול נשמות.

As to the מהדרין מן המהדרין, the group of people who increase or decrease the number of Chanukah lights they kindle each evening, each of their methods corresponds to valid Torah principles, i.e. אלו ואלו דברי אלוקים חיים. Both groups are convinced that in the future both body and soul will achieve hitherto unheard-of perfection. Both are convinced that both body and soul will enjoy an infinite lifespan upon arrival of that time in history. The vessels that allude to this infinity are the oil receptacles, an allusion to man's body, which is the vessel. The lights dispensed by those receptacles allude to the soul.

The school of Shammai speaks primarily about the perfection to be achieved by the body and how brightly it will shine, whereas the school of Hillel is more concerned with the perfection of the soul. The school of Shammai holds that since, in essence, anything connected with the soul is invisible, and becomes noticeable only by means of its vessel, the body, the fact that in the future even that vessel, i.e. the body itself will progressively emit light, eliminates the difference between body and soul. It is therefore appropriate to symbolise this by a constantly decreasing difference between that which stands for the body and that which stands for the soul. If one follows the school of Shammai, the method of lighting Chanukah lights parallels the progress of the body towards Utopia; progressively fewer and fewer vessels will be needed to achieve this lofty aim. This is the deeper meaning of the expression that "we mark the days that are still to come," quoted by the Talmud as a reason for the practice suggested by the Shammaites. i.e. the days to our achieving our objective. The Talmud deliberately speaks about "days" instead of "nights or evenings" [as would appear more appropriate for the time when lights are burning. Ed.]. This concept is also present in the celebrations on the Sukkot festival when fewer and fewer bulls are offered up with every passing day of the holiday, since we have come closer to our spiritual goal with every passing day. Finally, on the eighth day, the day that symbolizes the World to Come, only a single bull is offered on the altar, because the influence of the 70 Gentile nations has previously been neutralized by the seventy bulls we have offered during the preceding days. The eighth day of Chanukah is to be viewed as paralleling the spiritual achievement symbolized by Shmini Ha-Atzeret.

The school of Hillel, however, was concerned with the days that have passed, according to the principle היום לעשותם, that the time to perform the commandments is "today." What this means is that with each passing day, due to the cumulative effect of מצוה performance, we advance higher and higher spiritually, מעלין בקודש. Torah scholars deepen their understanding and knowledge of Torah as they advance in age, whereas ordinary individuals are liable to become progressively more forgetful and senile. The reason for this is that the scholar's נפש, basic spiritual soul, attaches itself progressively more to his רוח, a higher level of soul, and eventually to his נשמה, the highest level of soul. The נשמה in turn establishes direct contact with G–d. We observe a constantly upward-striving motion.

To get back to the subject of the cruse made of earthenware to be eventually exchanged for the קרן, horn. Not only will the פך be traded for a קרן in the future, but even the כף will undergo תיקון, metamorphosis, and instead of representing כף חובה, the side of the scale containing our debits, will become כף זכות, the side of the scale containing our merits. When the princes each brought their offerings on the occasion of the dedication of the Holy Tabernacle recorded in Numbers chapter 7, each one of them brought כף אחת מלאה קטורת, one spoonful of incense. The princes alluded to the תיקון, rehabilitation of original man, by each one including in their offering a bowl of silver weighing 130 (unspecified units of silver) thus alluding to the 130 years that Adam had failed to perform the commandment to be fruitful and to multiply. Rashi elaborates on this theme in Numbers 7,19. In Psalms 139,5: ותשת עלי כפכה, "You have laid Your hands upon me," we find an allusion to the diminution of man to the numerical equivalent of one hundred=כף, something caused by the serpent, as we know from Exodus 4,4 when G–d showed Moses that his staff turned into a serpent while in his כף. In the future we will witness fulfillment of Kings II 11,12: ויכו כף, ויאמרו יחי המלך, "They clapped their hands and shouted "long live the king!" (The subject dealt with is the crowning of Yoash, last surviving member of the Davidic dynasty after Athaliah had murdered all the others. Yoash's reign ushered in a rejuvenation of the kingdom of Yehudah under a king loyal to G–d and tutored by a pious High priest Yeho-yadah.) The כף in the verse quoted symbolizes the positive aspect of the word, and is an allusion to a similar event of far greater dimensions in the future. The כף full of incense, would be offered by Aaron (or his sons if suitable) in the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement. The כף will be כפופה, closed, because when we are worthy we will experience the blessing of Deuteronomy 15,4 that there will not be anyone who is destitute (in need of a כף פתוחה, a handout from an open hand). The פ in that word which is open, will reflect the emotions expressed in Psalms 126,2 which deals with the return of G–d to Zion, and which describes our mouths as filled with laughter and joy.

The common denominator between these allusions to Chanukah and our פרשיות, is that the whole purpose of exile is to achieve the physical and spiritual refinement which leads to ultimate redemption. All vestiges of the influence of the original serpent and subsequent Samael must be eliminated before "the house of Jacob will become fire and the house of Joseph a flame, whereas the house of Esau will become straw." (Ovadiah 1,18).

There is an interesting parable in Bereshit Rabbah (84,5) about a smith who had an open shop in the middle of the public square, and whose son, a jeweller, opened his shop opposite that of his father. [Obviously, the son had to melt down metal at great heat and therefore, just like his father, needed a bellows to fan the flames under the crucible. Ed]. The father noticed that many bundles of thorns [metaphor for irritants Ed.] were being brought into the neighborhood and became concerned about their purpose. An intelligent bystander told the father that he had no reason to be concerned about these thorns since a single spark of his and his son's establishment would start a fire that would consume all the bundles in no time at all. Jacob became very concerned when he witnessed the development of Esau into a mighty clan, as reported by the Torah at length. G–d ridiculed his concern and told him that a single spark of Jacob's or Joseph's would be enough to destroy all of Esau by fire. This is the meaning of the verse from Ovadiah which we quoted earlier.

The Midrash Tanchuma on our פרשה quotes the same parable with a slightly different text. Instead of thorns, the hazardous material there is described as flax. The son, i.e. Joseph, is not described as a jeweler but also as a smith, just like his father. Whereas in the Tanchuma a single spark is deemed sufficient to destroy Esau by fire, the version in Bereshit Rabbah speaks about one spark each from the father and the son respectively.

We find a similar discussion in Bava Kamma (62b), in conjunction with rules about where to place the Chanukah lights. First we are told that any damage due to sparks emitted from the anvil is the smith's responsibility. We are also taught there that if a camel laden with flax walks in the public domain near which Chanukah lights are burning, the owner of those lights is not responsible for damage sustained by the flax (at least according to Rabbi Yehudah). If the lights causing the damage did not serve a מצוה purpose, everybody agrees that the owner is responsible. The discussion about possible damage caused by the Chanukah lights is also mentioned in Shabbat 21b, where most of the details about Chanukah observances may be found.

When the serpent cohabited with Eve it infected her with its pollutant which in turn became mixed with the sperm from which Cain was born; according to the Zohar this pollutant has remained an integral part of man ever since. This pollutant is known as קינא דמסאבותא. Abel, on the other hand, was of holy seed, and in due course his soul entered the body of his younger brother Sheth. Sheth's soul in turn became the soul of Moses, whose skin (body) became so holy that it went on to shine forth, as we have seen from Exodus chapter 34. Moses achieved the status symbolised by קרן. While it is true that the pollutant of the serpent spread throughout the generations, the greatest concentration was found in Cain and his descendants. Later on this pollutant was concentrated in Esau [and therefore, because Noach had married a descendant of Cain, the deluge did not destroy that accumulation of pollutants entirely when all the other descendants of Cain perished. Ed. ]. Jacob remained untainted by the pollutant until his encounter with Samael. This necessitated the exile in Egypt, the land in which his descendants experienced physical and spiritual refinement. Just as that process commenced with Joseph then, so it will be in the future when the משיח בן יוסף will play the role that the original Joseph played in Egypt. He will eradicate all traces of the serpent's pollutants.

The flax and camels in the story in the Tanchuma that we quoted are metaphors. The example of the camels laden with flax refers to Cain, whose sacrifice (the one G–d rejected) consisted of flax (Tanchuma Bereshit 9). The example of the camel is a metaphor for Esau who had said to Jacob: הלעיטני נא מן האדום האדום הזה (Genesis 25,30). The expression הלעיטני is reminiscent of camels as we know from Shabbat 155, that whereas one must not stuff a lot of food down a camel's throat (on the Sabbath), one may feed it by a method called מלעיטין. The reason that Rabbi Levi in Bereshit Rabbah used the metaphor of קוצים, thorns, is because G–d told Adam after he had eaten from the tree of knowledge that the earth would respond to his efforts by bringing forth קוץ ודרדר, thorn and thistle (Genesis 3,17).

Concerning the example of the פטיש, hammer, used in the Tanchuma, the author of that story views the Torah like a hammer which when applied to a rock splits it and releases the kernel while the sparks produced burn the קליפות. This is why the author of the Tanchuma speaks about the son also being a smith. A smith is always busy applying the hammer to the anvil. Rabbi Levi chose the metaphor of the jeweler, goldsmith, since this is also a metaphor for Torah which described "gold as being found in a land called good" (Genesis 2,12). The land referred to is ארץ ישראל, and in no other country can Torah be studied as effectively as in ארץ ישראל (Bereshit Rabbah 16,4). The smith and the goldsmith therefore are metaphors describing the same thing. The forces of Esau will be burned by Jacob whose house will be a fire, as well as by the house of Joseph which will be like a flame.

These metaphors of the prophet Ovadiah are described as sparks (pl), or a spark(s) by Rabbi Levi in Bereshit Rabbah and the author of the Tanchuma respectively. There is no real difference between the authors of these two parables. When the Talmud distinguishes between different circumstances when an owner of a store who has light burning outside on the side of the public domain is liable for damages caused by his lights, the criteria which determine liability are the following: While it is agreed that it is the function of the Jewish people to destroy the descendants of Esau, and the flax carried by the camels, and sparks originating from either Jacob's smithy or Joseph's smithy (to use the metaphors of the Midrash) are the means to accomplish this, there is a question of timing involved.

In G–d's Master Plan the timetable for such developments has been recorded. If the Jewish people proceed irrespective of G–d's timetable, then they are liable for any damage which their sparks cause. If they act in accordance with G–d's timetable, they are not liable for damage inflicted on Esau. When the storekeeper placed his Chanukah lights at the side of the road on Chanukah, he had complied with G–d's timetable for the emission of such "sparks," hence Rabbi Yehudah holds that he is not liable for any damage inflicted on the flax. Jewish history has known periods when some people tried to hasten the arrival of the Messiah. The first time this occurred was when members of the tribe of Ephrayim (misreading G–d's timetable 30 years before the Exodus) rebelled, left Egypt and attacked the Philistines in d,. According to our tradition this resulted in the death of 200,000 of their number. (cf. Chronicles I 7,21. Zavad and his brother Shutelach are assumed to have been the leaders of that ill fated expedition. More about this in Sanhedrin 92). The metaphor of the camel laden with flax passing the "merchant's store" with a light lit before it, is an allusion to Esau passing G–d's Temple endangering it with hazardous material. G–d is the "merchant" in the Midrash. [He is perceived as extending credit to man and recording the amount of credit extended. Man repays by performing the מצות in the Torah. Ed] The store is a metaphor for the ארבע אמות של הלכה, the four cubits of Halachah that G–d claims on earth in our days. According to Berachot 8, this is all that G–d "owns" in our world since the day the Temple was destroyed. The site of these four cubits is where the Temple used to stand, seeing G–d loves the gates of Zion as we know from Psalms 87,2 and Berachot 8a. The Temple has been referred to as בירה, the same word used for the conflagration caused by the fire described in Talmud Baba Kama 62, when the burning flax sets fire to the building of the merchant i.e. G–d's Temple (in an example where the animal was so overloaded that part of the flax crossed the threshold of the store). In that example, the owner of the camel is liable.

Although this parable describes the descendants of Esau as burning the Holy Temple, we must remember that no human being can burn G–d's building unless G–d wants it burned. To remind us of this, Jeremiah, in Lamentations 1,13, describes the Temple as being burned ממרום, "By Heavenly decree. This appears to make G–d guilty of the burning of the Holy Temple, in line with the example quoted in Baba Kama. Exodus 22,5 describes a situation where a fire is lit within one's private domain, the fire crosses that domains's boundary, ומצא קוצים, and "encounters stray thorns," as a result of which the neighbor's corn-stacks are burned. The Torah clearly holds the party that started the fire as liable for any damages arising from his action. Allegorically speaking, G–d assumes the blame for the destruction of the Temple, saying: "I have lit the fire." This is the meaning of Lamentions 4,11: ויצת אש בציון ותאכל יסודותיה, "G–d set fire to Zion and it consumed its foundations." G–d will also personally rebuild it, as we know from Zachariah 2,9: ואני אהיה לה נאום ה' חומת אש מסביב ולכבוד אהיה בתוכה "I, says the Lord, shall be a wall of fire surrounding it, and I shall be glory in her midst." When the Torah had said in Exodus 22,5 שלם ישלם המבעיר את הבערה, that the one who started the fire shalll surely pay for the damage, G–d says that it is He who has to pay for the damage caused by the fire.

This is why Rabbi Yehudah in the Talmud Baba Kama declared that the storekeeper who placed his Chanukah lights besides his store straddling the public domain was free from making restitution to the owner of the flax that was burned. It is based on the concept that the Gentile nations never controlled the Temple, it always remained under the control of G–d. However, we must not assume that the same considerations apply to other matters that have been sanctified [in most instances by man himself. Ed]. The Chanukah lights symbolize an exceptional event; we light those lights to commemorate victory over a terrible decree. Eichah Rabbati describes the following occurrence. A certain Roman governor, cursed be his name and memory, had a baby born to him on the 9th of Av, a day when the Jews observed mourning for the destruction of the Temple (which had occurred on that date). The baby in question died on Chanukah, a date when Jews celebrate. The governor misinterpreted both reactions by the Jews as directed against himself and, as an act of revenge, he had many of them killed. This decree passed by our enemies is an illustration of what the prophet Zachariah 1,15 speaks about when he says (in the name of G–d): אני קצפתי מעט והמה עזרו לרעה "I was only angry a little, but they overdid the punishment. This very exaggerated maltreatment of the Jewish people by their hosts in exile was a blessing in disguise. It led to the Jewish people's refinement and to the cancellation of their guilt. The torment the Jewish people experienced prior to their victory resulting in their lighting the Chanukah lights also enabled them to experience the spiritual uplift which is part of that experience, and which is mystically bound up with the seven arms of the candelabra whose lights are shining towards the centre shaft of its counterpart in Heaven. This idea was alluded to in Pharaoh's dream when the seven ears of good corn all grew on one stalk (41,5). The Psalmist, aware that the evil done to us by our enemies will be exchanged for good, composed Psalm 30 which we are in the habit of reciting each day during Chanukah.

The opening words of Psalm 30, מזמור שיר, require analysis. The word שיר, definitely refers to good one has experienced and for which one offers thanks. The word מזמור, however, can have more than one meaning. It may come from the word Zamar, cut off, as in Leviticus 25,4: לא תזמור כרמך, "Do not prune your vineyard." It may also come from the word Zemer melody, tune. The word דליתני in the second verse of the Psalm may also be understood in either of two ways. It may be connected to the root דל, poor, or it may be similar in meaning to the preceding word ארוממך, "I will exalt You," being derived from Dalah, to draw water, i.e. to raise water. In the former case the meaning would be negative, in the latter case it would be positive. The reason that David expressed himself so ambivalently is that he wanted to teach us that experiences such as exile which are first perceived by those who suffer it as negative, may actually be most positive in view of the developments to which they may lead. Even the destruction of the Holy Temple is viewed by the Psalmist as a harbinger of a better future. Because the Temple was destroyed, the Temple that will eventually take its place will spread a far greater spiritual light than its predecessor. The line: "I will extol you O Lord, You have lifted me up," (verse 2) means "even though I was poor, You have not let my enemies rejoice over me." These words may allude to what is reported in Eycha Rabbati that when the Jews exiled with Tzidkiyahu came to Babylon, the Jews who had been exiled earlier under king Yechonyah were forced by their captors to welcome the newcomers and to take an active part in the joy of their conquerors. The meaning of: "You have not let my enemies rejoice over me" is that David was spared what his descendants had to experience. Such was the worst kind of (דלות) דליתני that one can experience. Israel experienced this extreme manifestation of the attribute of Justice at work against itself. The trauma of the destruction of the Temple was an exception, however, since even the angels מלאכי שלום shed bitter tears when that occurred.

The principle that all negative experiences will be recognized eventually as positive developments has applied ever since in our history. This is what the Psalmist had in mind in verse 3. When he said: "Lord my G–d, when I cried out to You, and You healed me" David meant that he realized (as per Psalms 41,5: "Heal me for I have sinned against You"), that the matters which caused him to cry out were in reality only experienced in order to serve as a cure or remedy for his soul. When he went on: "Lord, You have brought me up from She-ol," our sages in Bereshit Rabbah 44,21 comment on פרשת לך לך that Abraham chose exile for his descendants in order to spare them the experience of Gehinom otherwise known as "She'ol."

We find a clear allusion to the fact that we will be spared that ultimate degradation in Leviticus 26,44 where the Torah discusses all the punishments that will be inflicted on the Jewish nation for rebellion against the laws of the Torah: "Yet, even then when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or spurn them so as to destroy them, annulling My covenant with them; for I the Lord am their G–d." The destruction G–d speaks of is the descent into the pit called "Gehinom." David refers to it by saying חייתני מיורדי בור, "You have preserved me from going down into the Pit" (verse 4). There is a further allusion here to Lamentations 3,53: צמתו בבור חיי, "They have ended my life in a pit." When David continues in verse 5: זמרו לה' חסידיו, "O you faithful sing to Him," he refers to the Ineffable Name by means of which many miracles have been performed, a "hidden" name, as G–d already told Moses when He said to him in Exodus 3,15: זה שמי לעלם וזה זכרי לדור דור, "This is My Name, the hidden one, (forever) and My appellation for all eternity." The reason that the word לעולם is spelled defective there is to alert us to the hidden aspects of G–d's name. The two references to זה, are: one to the Ineffable four-lettered Name, the other to the name א-ד-נ-י, which equals the numerical value of the word היכל, Sanctuary, i.e. 65. The mystique of G–d's name is its association with the Sanctuary.

David goes on to say: הודו, "give praise," an allusion to Lamentations 1,13: כל היום דוה, "in misery all day long" (constantly). The Zohar, in understanding the "day" as the day of G–d's timetable, i.e. 1000 years in our reckoning – as we have explained on several occasions – feels that the present exile was decreed for a minimum of 1000 years. This period could prove fatal for the Jewish people as alluded to when you reverse the letters in the word הוד i.e. דוה. When the Psalmist states in Psalms 96,6: הוד והדר לפניו עוז וחדוה במקומו, according to our sages, the word הדר is derived from the word הדרן, "review or reversal. If our actions are "good," then the result is הוד; if they are "evil," the result would be דוה, ongoing misery. Either way, all this happens in His Presence, i.e. G–d arranges that even the "evil" will eventually turn into good, i.e. the result of דוה will eventually be הוד, praise of G–d. I have explained this in greater detail elsewhere. The idea that הוד is reversible is expressed very clearly in Daniel 10,8: והודי נהפך עלי למשחית "My splendor turned into a destructive force."

David continues in verse 6: כי רגע באפו חיים ברצונו, "For He is angry but a moment, when He is pleased there is life." The life referred to is Eternal Life, whereas G–d's anger – its purpose everlasting good – is very brief.

David goes on: "One may lie down weeping at nightfall; but in the morning there are shouts of joy." Why did David not contrast "weeping" with שחוק, "laughter?" After all Solomon in Kohelet 3,4 describes the opposite of weeping as laughter. When David mentions that by morning there will be "joy," he thereby tells us something that goes beyond the antithesis of weeping. Rabbi Moshe Alshich has explained this in his commentary on Psalms 126,2, where he says that the joy referred to at the time under discussion in that Psalm will spill over from the mouth (lips) to the tongue. It is only by a miracle that the tongue can rejoice at a time when the mouth is full of laughter. When the Gentile nations observe this, (126,3) they will comment that G–d has indeed done great things for the Jewish people. At any rate, the trials do not last longer than from evening to morning.

David continues in verses 7 and 8 of Psalm 30 that whereas at one time he had thought himself unshakably firmly enthroned, he had a rude awakening. In due course, he found himself terrified by G–d's "hiding His face" from him. The great lesson to be learned from G–d's guidance is not to become over confident when things are going well and not to despair when fate seems to have turned against one. When one finds oneself in trouble, one is to call upon G–d as did David, הייתי נבהל אליך ה' אקרא.

When David says in verse 9: ואל ה' אתחנן, this means that he pleaded on behalf of G–d, or the שכינה, Divine Presence, which is forced into exile alongside the Jewish people. When the time for salvation arrives, the שיכנה also experiences salvation, i.e. לה' הישועה על עמך (Psalms 3,9) and Israel experiences חנינה, compassion and favor. Berachot 7a, expresses this idea graphically when we are told that Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha (a High Priest) once entered the Holy of Holies in order to offer the incense offering. While inside, he had a vision of Akatriel (one of the names of G–d) sitting on a throne asking him: "Yishmael My son, bless Me!" The High Priest responded by saying: "May it be Your will to suppress Your anger etc…. and to treat Your children with the attribute of Mercy."

In verse 10 David continues: "What is to be gained from my death, from my descent into the Pit?" Scripture is replete with similar statements as well as requests to G–d to avenge Jewish blood. What good are all these requests unless there was another future in store for us? This is why David stresses the reversal of lament, מספד, into מחול, dancing in verse 12. In verse 11 David appeals for the redemption, the gathering in of the exiles; this is similar to our prayer , והוא ישמיענו ברחמיו שנית לעיני כל חי "He will let us know a second time in His mercy in the presence of all things living" (Kedushah prayer of Mussaf).

When David says in verse 12 הפכת מספדי למחול לי, "You have turned my lament into dancing," he refers to the רגע באפו, "G–d's brief moment of anger" (verse 6). The curse is now to become a blessing instead. Berachot 7a discusses the brief span of G–d's anger based on Bileam's comment in Numbers 23,8 that he, the expert at timing G–d's "moods," had been unable (because of G–d's anger at the time) to find the opening to make a curse effective. Tosafot ask what good it would have done Bileam to pinpoint that anger, seeing it only lasts a רגע, moment (the length of time it takes to utter the word רגע); they answer that all Bileam had to say was "כלם," "destroy them!" By reversing that word כלם into מלך, king, the curse was converted into a blessing. This is the secret of the expression ותרועת מלך בו (Numbers 23,21), of which Bileam speaks. David also alludes to the repentance which we will perform when we experience persecution. According to the Arizal, the letters in the word תשובה, repentance, are the first letters of the words: תענית, שק, ואפר, בכיה, הספד. One can recognize a person's penitence by observing these five manifestations of remorse. In our Psalm the same idea is alluded to by the words: היודך עפר, הפכת מספדי, פתחת שקי, בערב ילין בכי. The תענית is alluded to by the words: ותאזרני שמחה, "You girded me with joy," parallel to Kohelet 9,7: אכול בשמחה לחמך, "Eat your bread [reversal of fasting. Ed.] joyfully."

Finally, in verse 13, when David says: למען יזמרך כבוד ולא ידום, “So that my whole being might sing hymns to You and not remain silent," we may understand this when we consider that when Aaron's two sons died, Aaron mourned them by remaining silent, i.e. וידום אהרון (Leviticus 10,3). In the future, when death will have been banished, there will no longer be a reason to observe such a silence; at that time ה' אלוקי לעולם אודך, "O Lord my G–d, I will praise You forever."