Musar su Genesi 47:31

The deeper meaning of the word is that it is an instrument ready and willing to be fashioned by G–d. Acceptance of Divine input from the Celestial Regions results in a spiritual awakening in our regions. Our sages who stated that the sacrificial service is something needed in the Celestial Regions meant that the concept of Israel in the Celestial Regions depends on this input from us through our sacrifices for the furtherance of its own perfection. This is the meaning of Psalms 20,3: ישלח עזרך מקדש "May He send you help from the Sanctuary." It is a reference to sanctity in the "higher" regions helping to establish sanctity in our "lower" regions. The meaning of the word מקודש is also that "for the sake of the sanctity which will emanate from our regions G–d sends His help from above." Jacob merited this level of sanctity because he, as the first of the patriarchs, succeeded to sire children all of whom were loyal to G–d and His teachings. As a result he qualified for the name corresponding to all that the name ישראל in the Celestial Regions in connection with מעשה בראשית stands for. This is the mystical dimension of Genesis 47,31: וישתחו ישראל על ראש המטה, "Israel bowed at the head of the bed." This is also the mystical dimension of Midrash Tanchuma Kedoshim 1 אתם מתקדשים בי ואני מתקדש בכם, "You will become sanctified through Me, and I will become sanctified through you." Whichever way you look at this, it all expresses צדקה, "righteousness," as it shows G–d's desire to help those who wish to sanctify themselves.

When the Torah reports Israel as bowing down at the head of the bed, 47,31) ראש המטה), this is a reference to Jacob and his "bed" (children) jointly having completed the בנין, and having thereby acquired a claim to a domain higher than that of בנין itself. If the ultimate that Jacob attained is symbolized by the word Mittah, the ultimate that Moses attained is symbolized by a word composed of the same letters, i.e. Matteh, only the vowels being different. He is described as holding the מטה אלוקים בידו, the staff of G–d in his hand, an allusion to a higher היכל השם. The word is composed of the letters מט,+ the letter "heh". 49 of the 50 gates of בינה were revealed to Moses; the letter ה is an allusion to the first letter ה in the Ineffable Name, a letter representing בינה.

The verse which tells us that Jacob bowed at the head of the bed, is an allusion to the phylacteries of the head; Jacob's extension, Joseph and his brothers, are the allusion to the phylacteries of the hand. When Jacob crossed his hands (48,14) while blessing Joseph's sons, he took a cue from the manner in which we don the phylacteries.

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.