Chasidut su Genesi 50:63
Kedushat Levi
The general rule is, on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur the Holy One of Blessing remembers Yisrael for good, and only on Chanukah Yisrael sees the good in the mind and in thoughts (intellectually). This is because the expression "eyes of the congregation" is explained by Rashi z"l as "sages of the congregation" (see Rashi on Bamidbar 15:24) and therefore in Chanukah, [the miracle is celebrated] by lights, since this is an expression of seeing/vision, and after that Purim [the miracle is celebrated] in speaking, since we read the Megilah, and on Pesach [the miracle is celebrated] in deed, which is eating matzah. And therefore Chanukah is [celebrated using] vision, and is on the month of Kislev, connected to "the inhabitants of Cnaan saw" (Gen. 50:11), which teaches regarding seeing.
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Me'or Einayim
And you give life to them all (Nehemiah 9:6), you contract, as if it were possible, down to the lowest levels; and a portion of Divinity from above is placed within the darkness of materiality. For the whole essence of the intention is so that the lowest levels can rise above and have the advantage of light over darkness (Ecclesiastes 2:13). And this is the meaning of Joseph’s descent to Egypt, the lowest levels, “the ocean strait;” for through this enjoyment is increased as is written, the advantage of light, that enjoyment advances when it is lifted over darkness, and therefore he is called Joseph, connoting addition [tosefet]. And that is [the meaning of the verse (Gen. 42:1)] when Jacob saw that there was grain [shever] — connoting breakage [shvirah], which are the degenerations of Heavenly Wisdom, Torah that has fallen and broken; all that descends from its level is called “broken.” In Egypt, in the ocean strait: for he saw there degenerations of Torah that fell there and needed to be clarified and elevated. And he said, Go down there (Gen. 42:2) to elevate and descend to bring [them] to the life-force of the root and the self. And that is the meaning of Joseph died (Gen. 50:26), for the fact that the Torah descended until the final level is called “death,” for whatever descends from its level is called “death” (Zohar 3:135b). And they embalmed him (Gen. 50:26): for the Torah is called “Tree of Life,” and with trees we go according to the ripening of fruit, which is to say even though he descended to the final level he bore fruit. And he was put in a coffin (Gen. 50:26), as in the statement [of our Sages] of Blessed Memory, “The Tablets and the Broken Tablets were placed in the ark” (Bava Batra 14b): even the degenerations have elevation to be in the ark just like the Tablets, which are the Torah itself. And we will return to the matter at hand: since in every thing it is the Torah that gives that thing life, one should not look at any thing in its materiality, only at the internality of the thing in the secret of The wise person has his eyes in his head (Ecclesiastes 2:14); and in the Zohar they said, “And where else should a person’s eyes be? Rather, a wise person gazes to see who stands above his head” (Zohar 3:187a), which is to say that in every thing he should gaze toward the beginning of that thing: from where it evolved and who is that thing’s root.
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Kedushat Levi
There is another approach to this word found in the explanation by Nachmanides, (last section) on פרשת בשלח, on Exodus 17,9 according to which whatever Moses and Joshua had done in their time would be re-enacted by the prophet Elijah and the messiah, descended from Joseph in due course. According to our tradition the messiah from the house of David will reveal himself only after the death of the messiah from the house of Joseph., so that the process of redemption will begin with the appearance of the prophet Elijah, followed by the messiah from the house of Joseph, and will be completed with the redemption under the messiah from the house of David. This trilogy is alluded to by the shalshelet above the word וימאן. When Joseph reminded himself of this sequence, he was reinforced in his determination not to give in to the allure of Potiphar’s wife. This is also why the Torah reports in Genesis 50,23 וירא יוסף לאפרים בני שלשים, “Joseph was privileged to see a third generation of Ephrayim.” The final letter ם at the end of this verse is mysterious. [We would have expected the letter י instead, indicating the ordinal number “third.” Ed.] This letter is an allusion to Isaiah 9,6 where the word לםרבה המשרה, is written with the final letter ם at the beginning of the word. According to our tradition (Sanhedrin 94) the final letter ם there is an allusion to the final letter ם in the word אפרים, a hint that the messiah from the house of Joseph will be a descendant of Ephrayim. (Compare Bamidbar Rabbah 14,2. Zohar II 100, also elaborates on the subject of the messiah from the house of David following the messiah from the house of Joseph when discussing aspects of the levirate marriage.)
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Kedushat Levi
Genesis 50,19. “Joseph said to them: ‘do not fear for I am in place of G’d.’” According to Onkelos the meaning of this line is: “since G’d when He performs an act that appears to us as evil, although He knows that it will turn out for our benefit, I, if I were to be instead of G’d, I would have to perform a similar act against you. Since it is not within man’s power to foresee how his actions will turn out in the end, I am obviously not entitled to do something that begins by being harmful.”
Looking at the plain meaning of the text it is difficult to understand Onkelos.
Perhaps we have to fall back on the principle that every human being, as part of his character, (virtues) must endeavour to maintain close relations with his Creator. This involves a degree of awe and reverence for the Creator to be present in his mind at all times. It also presumes that he is imbued with a degree of love for his Creator, as he contemplates the greatness of G’d. He is obligated to do this if for no other reason than G’d has performed so many more deeds of loving kindness for the Jewish people than He has performed for any other nation. The same is true for other attributes of G’d that have been of benefit to us on numerous occasions. The sum total of such a relationship between us, the creature, and the Creator, makes this an עולם האמת, a world in which truth is predominant. Once we appreciate this we can understand the Talmud in Megillah 18 in which the rhetorical question is posed of how we know that G’d had referred to Yaakov by the title א-ל, a name used for referring to Him on many occasions?
The foregoing will also help us understand what the Talmud meant when it described G’d as having built and destroyed worlds on a regular basis before He commenced with the construction of the universe described in Bereshit. The Talmud in Baba Batra 75 tells us that just as G’d has been building worlds, so the righteous, in a future, refined world, will also “build worlds;” not only that but they will be given titles used by G’d to describe Himself. The ministering angels when meeting up with these righteous will address them as “your holiness.” Although such statements first strike us as bordering on blasphemy, when we consider that these “righteous people” have already acquired many of G’d’s own attributes, it is not difficult to understand the Talmudic references to the future better state of the world at all.
If man has not attained the level of perfection described in the last few lines, then instead of being accorded titles that he can share with G’d, he remains below that spiritual level; this is why Joseph asks his brothers if they have such a low opinion of him that he is תחת אלוקים, “beneath the level of minimal perfection” described in the Talmud, so that he would be capable of dealing on a basis of revenge with them.
If man has not attained the level of perfection described in the last few lines, then instead of being accorded titles that he can share with G’d, he remains below that spiritual level; this is why Joseph asks his brothers if they have such a low opinion of him that he is תחת אלוקים, “beneath the level of minimal perfection” described in the Talmud, so that he would be capable of dealing on a basis of revenge with them.
Looking at the plain meaning of the text it is difficult to understand Onkelos.
Perhaps we have to fall back on the principle that every human being, as part of his character, (virtues) must endeavour to maintain close relations with his Creator. This involves a degree of awe and reverence for the Creator to be present in his mind at all times. It also presumes that he is imbued with a degree of love for his Creator, as he contemplates the greatness of G’d. He is obligated to do this if for no other reason than G’d has performed so many more deeds of loving kindness for the Jewish people than He has performed for any other nation. The same is true for other attributes of G’d that have been of benefit to us on numerous occasions. The sum total of such a relationship between us, the creature, and the Creator, makes this an עולם האמת, a world in which truth is predominant. Once we appreciate this we can understand the Talmud in Megillah 18 in which the rhetorical question is posed of how we know that G’d had referred to Yaakov by the title א-ל, a name used for referring to Him on many occasions?
The foregoing will also help us understand what the Talmud meant when it described G’d as having built and destroyed worlds on a regular basis before He commenced with the construction of the universe described in Bereshit. The Talmud in Baba Batra 75 tells us that just as G’d has been building worlds, so the righteous, in a future, refined world, will also “build worlds;” not only that but they will be given titles used by G’d to describe Himself. The ministering angels when meeting up with these righteous will address them as “your holiness.” Although such statements first strike us as bordering on blasphemy, when we consider that these “righteous people” have already acquired many of G’d’s own attributes, it is not difficult to understand the Talmudic references to the future better state of the world at all.
If man has not attained the level of perfection described in the last few lines, then instead of being accorded titles that he can share with G’d, he remains below that spiritual level; this is why Joseph asks his brothers if they have such a low opinion of him that he is תחת אלוקים, “beneath the level of minimal perfection” described in the Talmud, so that he would be capable of dealing on a basis of revenge with them.
If man has not attained the level of perfection described in the last few lines, then instead of being accorded titles that he can share with G’d, he remains below that spiritual level; this is why Joseph asks his brothers if they have such a low opinion of him that he is תחת אלוקים, “beneath the level of minimal perfection” described in the Talmud, so that he would be capable of dealing on a basis of revenge with them.
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