Chasidut su Genesi 28:10
וַיֵּצֵ֥א יַעֲקֹ֖ב מִבְּאֵ֣ר שָׁ֑בַע וַיֵּ֖לֶךְ חָרָֽנָה׃
Giacobbe, uscito di Beer-Sceva, si avviò verso Hharàn.
Kedushat Levi
Genesis 28,10. “Yaakov left Beer Sheva, etc.;” [I presume the connection to Chanukah the author makes here is based on his having composed this commentary for a Shabbat Chanukah sermon. Ed.]
The reason why the miracle of Chanukah, actually the miracle of the cruse of oil, is popularly known as the “miracle of Chanukah,” is due to the word חנוכה, being a derivative of חנוך, “consecration.” We find in Exodus 29,33 in connection with the consecration of the priestly garments, that before the priests were allowed to perform their sacred service they had to be provided with suitable vessels to be used, i.e. priestly garments. Wearing these priestly garments was so important that if they performed their duties improperly dressed (even missing one of these garments) this was a cardinal sin. (Maimonides 10,4 hilchot kley hamikdash) The container in which certain offerings were presented, were as integral a part of the ritual as the ritual itself. The garments are the “container” in which the priestly body performs his sacred task. It or they, are viewed like a חנוך, educational tool, consecration, that must precede the actual ritual in order for the priest to be truly a priest.
[Possibly, the emphasis on this in connection with the priests especially, is due to the fact that the priest was born to his status, and it would have been most unseemly for him not to undergo preparations before fulfilling his sacred tasks. Rabbis might not need this, as they were not born to the Rabbinate but had to study and pass exams before being granted their titles, ordination. Ed.]
Children are trained to perform the commandments before becoming legally of age, i.e. בר מצוה or בת מצוה, as the case may be, before being ushered into adulthood and all that this entails.
Our patriarch Yaakov had contemplated the awesome fact of the Unity of G’d from the day he was able to think, and he realized that the foundation of all parts of the universe was the Jewish people, i.e. if there were to be no Jewish people, G’d’s work of creating the universe would have been in vain.
Zohar I,24 (and elsewhere) states that ישראל עלה במחשבה בראשית, “the eventual existence of the Jewish people was the first thought that G’d entertained when contemplating the creation of this universe.” Numerous scriptural verses are quoted in support of this statement, one of which that concerns us especially being that Israel was also known as אבן as in “foundation stone,” seeing that the entire universe emerged from that origin. The Jewish people therefore are not only the “root” of mankind, but also in no lesser degree the founders of the celestial regions. While still in the stage of being only a thought in G’d’s mind, they were called אבן, “rock” in the singular mode, as at that point the true unity of the Jewish people and what they represent could be found.
Our ancestor Yaakov attempted with all the intellectual and emotional powers at his disposal to unravel the secrets of these concepts in order to convert Israel’s potential into an actual. As per Genesis 49,24 he wanted משם רועה אבן ישראל, “to lay the foundation stone of Israel,” as the shepherd of a nation consisting of 12 tribes that parallel the 12 bisections of the 6 sides of the cube when the universe is portrayed as a cube, dividing it into 12 triangles (compare Sefer Yetzirah, “Book of creation”) by bisecting each side from corner to corner. Each of the tribes of the Jewish people represents one of these “triangles.” In order for the celestial merkavah, Divine chariot, to be complete it must be comprised of 600000 components, the number of Jewish male adults that were redeemed from bondage in Egypt. According to our sages, the Presence of the Shechinah will not manifest itself as resting above the Jewish people when they number less than these 600000. According to our author, when the Torah in Genesis 28,11 describes how Yaakov took “stones” in order to prepare to spend the night, and he put his head on of the stones to serve as his “pillow,” the Torah merely illustrates the kind of thoughts that preoccupied Yaakov at that time, and how during his “dream” of the ladder he experienced Divine insights that had never been revealed to him.
Nonetheless, in view of the sages having said that no verse in the Torah must be explained in a way that departs completely from the written text and its plain meaning, we must pay attention to this also. [I believe that in accordance with the above Yaakov/Yisrael’s role as רועה אבן ישראל, “shepherd of the nucleus of the people” of Israel began here. Ed.]
According to the plain text there is no question that Yaakov placed his head on real stones, as he had no softer pillow at hand. Nonetheless while lying with these rocks as his pillow, he thought of matters far beyond his immediate and pressing terrestrial concerns. Perhaps this very fact qualified him for experiencing the first of his many Divine visions, although this time he was not certain for 34 years that it had indeed been a divine vision. According to our sages, during this night Yaakov’s mind foresaw the ruins of two Temples and the great anger that the Jewish people, his descendants, would provoke in G’d’s mind on numerous occasions.
The reason why the miracle of Chanukah, actually the miracle of the cruse of oil, is popularly known as the “miracle of Chanukah,” is due to the word חנוכה, being a derivative of חנוך, “consecration.” We find in Exodus 29,33 in connection with the consecration of the priestly garments, that before the priests were allowed to perform their sacred service they had to be provided with suitable vessels to be used, i.e. priestly garments. Wearing these priestly garments was so important that if they performed their duties improperly dressed (even missing one of these garments) this was a cardinal sin. (Maimonides 10,4 hilchot kley hamikdash) The container in which certain offerings were presented, were as integral a part of the ritual as the ritual itself. The garments are the “container” in which the priestly body performs his sacred task. It or they, are viewed like a חנוך, educational tool, consecration, that must precede the actual ritual in order for the priest to be truly a priest.
[Possibly, the emphasis on this in connection with the priests especially, is due to the fact that the priest was born to his status, and it would have been most unseemly for him not to undergo preparations before fulfilling his sacred tasks. Rabbis might not need this, as they were not born to the Rabbinate but had to study and pass exams before being granted their titles, ordination. Ed.]
Children are trained to perform the commandments before becoming legally of age, i.e. בר מצוה or בת מצוה, as the case may be, before being ushered into adulthood and all that this entails.
Our patriarch Yaakov had contemplated the awesome fact of the Unity of G’d from the day he was able to think, and he realized that the foundation of all parts of the universe was the Jewish people, i.e. if there were to be no Jewish people, G’d’s work of creating the universe would have been in vain.
Zohar I,24 (and elsewhere) states that ישראל עלה במחשבה בראשית, “the eventual existence of the Jewish people was the first thought that G’d entertained when contemplating the creation of this universe.” Numerous scriptural verses are quoted in support of this statement, one of which that concerns us especially being that Israel was also known as אבן as in “foundation stone,” seeing that the entire universe emerged from that origin. The Jewish people therefore are not only the “root” of mankind, but also in no lesser degree the founders of the celestial regions. While still in the stage of being only a thought in G’d’s mind, they were called אבן, “rock” in the singular mode, as at that point the true unity of the Jewish people and what they represent could be found.
Our ancestor Yaakov attempted with all the intellectual and emotional powers at his disposal to unravel the secrets of these concepts in order to convert Israel’s potential into an actual. As per Genesis 49,24 he wanted משם רועה אבן ישראל, “to lay the foundation stone of Israel,” as the shepherd of a nation consisting of 12 tribes that parallel the 12 bisections of the 6 sides of the cube when the universe is portrayed as a cube, dividing it into 12 triangles (compare Sefer Yetzirah, “Book of creation”) by bisecting each side from corner to corner. Each of the tribes of the Jewish people represents one of these “triangles.” In order for the celestial merkavah, Divine chariot, to be complete it must be comprised of 600000 components, the number of Jewish male adults that were redeemed from bondage in Egypt. According to our sages, the Presence of the Shechinah will not manifest itself as resting above the Jewish people when they number less than these 600000. According to our author, when the Torah in Genesis 28,11 describes how Yaakov took “stones” in order to prepare to spend the night, and he put his head on of the stones to serve as his “pillow,” the Torah merely illustrates the kind of thoughts that preoccupied Yaakov at that time, and how during his “dream” of the ladder he experienced Divine insights that had never been revealed to him.
Nonetheless, in view of the sages having said that no verse in the Torah must be explained in a way that departs completely from the written text and its plain meaning, we must pay attention to this also. [I believe that in accordance with the above Yaakov/Yisrael’s role as רועה אבן ישראל, “shepherd of the nucleus of the people” of Israel began here. Ed.]
According to the plain text there is no question that Yaakov placed his head on real stones, as he had no softer pillow at hand. Nonetheless while lying with these rocks as his pillow, he thought of matters far beyond his immediate and pressing terrestrial concerns. Perhaps this very fact qualified him for experiencing the first of his many Divine visions, although this time he was not certain for 34 years that it had indeed been a divine vision. According to our sages, during this night Yaakov’s mind foresaw the ruins of two Temples and the great anger that the Jewish people, his descendants, would provoke in G’d’s mind on numerous occasions.
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Me'or Einayim
Jacob left Beersheba and went toward Haran (Gen. 28:10). Rashi explained, “When he arrived in Haran he resolved to go back; immediately the land contracted for him, which is And he came to a certain place (Gen. 28:11).”
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Kedushat Levi
Genesis 29,10. “it was when Yaakov saw Rachel, etc.;” [the following has to be understood against the background of Yaakov, until that moment, not having felt capable of removing the stone from the top of the well. Ed.]
This verse is an allusion to the joy experienced by bride and groom, which is also compared to the joy of the Jewish people making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem on the festivals, as we know from Ezekiel 11,19 where the prophet describes the reaction of the returning exiles being the feeling that a heavy stone has been lifted from their hearts. The “stone” there describes the weight of the left side of the emanations, the seat of the forces of Satan, the crushing weight of which prevented the Jewish people from experiencing prophetic insights while in exile. Our author cites psalms 90,12 ונביא לבב חכמה, “so that we may obtain a wise heart,” as a heart capable of receiving prophetic insights. Yaakov’s being able to remove the rock from the well once he set eyes on Rachel, means that obstacles to serving the Lord were removed by his vision of Rachel.
This verse is an allusion to the joy experienced by bride and groom, which is also compared to the joy of the Jewish people making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem on the festivals, as we know from Ezekiel 11,19 where the prophet describes the reaction of the returning exiles being the feeling that a heavy stone has been lifted from their hearts. The “stone” there describes the weight of the left side of the emanations, the seat of the forces of Satan, the crushing weight of which prevented the Jewish people from experiencing prophetic insights while in exile. Our author cites psalms 90,12 ונביא לבב חכמה, “so that we may obtain a wise heart,” as a heart capable of receiving prophetic insights. Yaakov’s being able to remove the rock from the well once he set eyes on Rachel, means that obstacles to serving the Lord were removed by his vision of Rachel.
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