Transcript
Good morning. בוקר טוב Boker tov. Hope everybody's staying warm on the frigid Boca morning. 40s is frigid. Should be raining iguanas later today. Okay, I want to thank our sponsors for the פרשה parsha series for the entire year, dear friends Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of David Grossman, Becky's father, לעילוי נשמת le'iluy nishmas דוד בן מנחם מניש Dovid ben Menachem Manish. Today's class is sponsored additionally by Mrs. Golda Sadavski in honor of her dear uncle and aunt, Rabbi Dr. Ed Kurtzer and Doris Kurtzer. Thank you very much. And also sponsored generously today by Mrs. Sylvia Brody in memory of her late husband, a special man, Arnie Brody, אשר יוסף בן בנימין Asher Yosef ben Binyamin, whose יארצייט yahrzeit is tonight as נשמה neshama should have an עליה aliyah. אמן Amen. Thank you, Mrs. Brody. פרשת ויצא Parshas Vayeitzei, page 144 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע וילך חרנה Vayeitzei Yaakov mi'Be'er Sheva vayeilech Charana. We're going to try to make it past the first פסוק pasuk today and get a little bit further into the פרשה parsha. So we'll see how far that we get. ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע וילך חרנה Vayeitzei Yaakov mi'Be'er Sheva vayeilech Charana. Yaakov left Be'er Sheva and he went to Charan. Everyone knows the famous worst Jewish joke of all time. How do you know יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu wore a hat? How do you know he wore a black hat? It says ויצא יעקב Vayeitzei Yaakov, would Yaakov go out without a hat? Worst joke of all time. Okay. ויפגע במקום וילן שם Vayifga bamakom vayalen sham. So Yaakov leaves Be'er Sheva and he goes to Charan. He leaves Be'er Sheva and he heads to Charan. And what happens there? ויפגע במקום וילן שם כי בא השמש Vayifga bamakom vayalen sham ki va hashemesh. He puts, he encounters the place and he spends the night there. Why? Because it got dark. ויקח מאבני המקום וישם מראשתיו Vayikach me'avnei hamakom vayasem m'raashosav. He takes the stones of the place, he puts it under his head. וישכב במקום ההוא Vayishkav bamakom hahu. And he dwells in that place. We all know this story. ויחלום Vayachalom, he has a dream. והנה סולם מוצב ארצה וראשו מגיע השמימה V'hinei sulam mutzav artza v'rosho magi'a hashamayma, a ladder that's based on the ground and the top of it is in the heavens. Someone once sent me up with a girl when I was dating and her selling point was she is a סולם מוצב ארצה וראשו מגיע השמימה sulam mutzav artza v'rosho magi'a hashamayma. She's very grounded here on earth, but she's very spiritual. השמימה Hashamayma. והנה מלאכי אלוקים עולים ויורדים בו V'hinei malachei Elokim olim v'yordim bo. Put that on your resume. It's good for the שידוך shidduch resume. You are סולם מוצב ארצה sulam mutzav artza. הנה מלאכי אלוקים עולים ויורדים בו Hinei malachei Elokim olim v'yordim bo, and there were angels of Hashem going up and going down. והנה ה' נצב עליו ויאמר אני ה' אלוקי אברהם אביך ואלוקי יצחק הארץ אשר אתה שוכב עליה לך אתננה ולזרעך V'hinei Hashem nitzav alav vayomar ani Hashem Elokei Avraham avicha v'Elokei Yitzchak ha'aretz asher atah shochev aleha l'cha et'nena u'l'zar'echa. And in this dream he sees God is standing over him. And he says, I am the Lord your God, God of Avram your father, God of Yitzchak. The land that you are lying on, I am giving it to you and your progeny. והיה זרעך כעפר הארץ V'haya zar'acha ka'afar ha'aretz, and your offspring will be like the עפר הארץ afar ha'aretz, the dust of the ground, of the earth. ופרצת ימה וקדמה וצפונה ונגבה ונברכו בך כל משפחות האדמה ובזרעך Ufaratzta yama v'kedma v'tzafona v'negba v'nivrichu v'cha kol mishpachos ha'adama u'v'zar'echa. Your family will spread out, ופרצת Ufaratzta, the Rebbe's campaign, go all over the globe, wherever there are Jews, you will go. And people who bless you, people will be blessed through you. And wherever you go, don't worry, I'm coming with you. Yaakov wakes up and he makes the startling statement. אכן יש ה' במקום Achen yesh Hashem bamakom, who knew? Who knew there's a holy place, God's here? ואנוכי לא ידעתי V'anochi lo yadati, I didn't know. ויירא ויאמר מה נורא המקום הזה Vayira vayomar mah nora hamakom hazeh. And he looks and he says, wow, he becomes frightened. He looks and he sees and he says, wow, what a wondrous place. אין זה כי אם בית אלוקים וזה שער השמים Ein zeh ki im beis Elokim v'zeh sha'ar hashamayim. That is the opening section of our פרשה parsha. Let's take a quick look at some fascinating, fascinating things here in the beginning of our פרשה parsha.First of all, ויפגע במקום vayifga bamakom. He encounters the מקום makom, the place. Again, where is this place? Unclear exactly. We have two traditions, we've spoken about it in the פרשה parsha class in the past. The ladder goes from one place to another. Where is the base of that ladder? There's a tradition it was in בית אל Beis El. Anyone here ever been to בית אל Beis El? If you go to the modern בית אל Beis El today, you'll see there's a big sign at the entrance of the city that says, we didn't need no US policy to tell us that we're legal. Doesn't say that. But it paraphrases that basically says that. It says, we've been legal since Yaakov put his weary head to rest right here and had a dream about a ladder going to heaven that happened right here. You go to the modern בית אל Beis El, there's a big sign at the entrance of the ישוב yishuv that says, thousands of years ago, Yaakov had that dream, it's been ours ever since. Others say it's in ירושלים Yerushalayim, it's on הר הבית Har Habayis. It's in the place where the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash was destined to stand that Yaakov put his head to rest and had that dream. As I said, we've spoken about and analyzed that in the past, not our topic for today. But he encounters a place. What is this generic place? It doesn't have a name. It doesn't get coordinates. How do you plug המקום hamakom into the GPS? How do you put it into Waze? How do you know how to get to המקום hamakom if you want to go visit the ויפגע במקום vayifga bamakom. What is the notion of this מקום makom? So first of all, we find that word מקום makom several times. We find it in תנ\"ך Tanach several times as a description of Hashem. We saw it earlier when Avram וירא את המקום מרחוק vayar es hamakom meirachok. Avram saw, especially if it's הר המוריה Har Hamoriah, if it's the Temple Mount, it's the very same place. Avram saw it from a distance. וירא מקום מרחוק vayar makom meirachok. And now ויפגע במקום vayifga bamakom. So הר הבית Har Habayis is called מקום makom. We also use מקום makom in our ritual. We use it in אבלות aveilus in particular when you pay a שבעה shiva call and you say המקום ינחם אתכם Hamakom yenachem eschem. אשכנזים Ashkenazim at least say המקום Hamakom, may God comfort you. So המקום Hamakom is a name for God. שולחן ערוך Shulchan Aruch records it not only in the case of a person who loses a loved one, if a person experienced an enormous financial loss, you say המקום ינחם Hamakom yenachem. It's also המקום Hamakom. We use it when we are wishing someone well, when we are wishing someone comfort. We also invoke it in the הגדה Haggadah. Anyone know where we say המקום Hamakom in the הגדה Haggadah? ברוך המקום ברוך הוא Baruch Hamakom baruch hu. Blessed is the place. What place? ברוך המקום Baruch Hamakom is God. ברוך המקום ברוך הוא Baruch Hamakom baruch hu. So we use the מקום makom in all of these different places. What is the word מקום makom?So Rav Soloveitchik writes, the paradigmatic figure who found Hashem despite his, despite his transcendence, is the prophet יחזקאל Yechezkel. יחזקאל's Yechezkel's prophetic revelation took place not in the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash, nor even in the land of Israel, but rather in a concentration camp in the midst of the bitter Babylonian exile among the captives on the river כבר Kevar. Yet despite the fact that it was a time of acute הסתר פנים hester panim, the heavens opened up and יחזקאל Yechezkel saw visions of Hashem. When יחזקאל Yechezkel declared, ברוך כבוד ה' ממקומו Baruch kevod Hashem mimkomo. Blessed is the glory of Hashem from his place. He was referring to the huge distance between Hashem and his people. Yaakov similarly encountered Hashem in a time of travail. Penniless, fleeing his brother on the road towards exile, Yaakov perceived Hashem as מקום makom. So this is the Rav's interpretation that when we see the name of God being used for מקום makom, it is a description of perceiving I am at a distance. Hashem is a place that's far off. It's inaccessible. I don't feel connected, I don't feel close. Hashem asks Avram to go perform the עקידה akeida, וירא את המקום מרחוק vayar es hamakom meirachok. He feels a distance. Yaakov now he's penniless, he's on the run, he's leaving the comfort and the cocoon and the protection of the tents in the plural that he dwelled in. And now he's on the road, he's fleeing, he's running, and he feels where's Hashem and what's happening and why is this happening? He feels at a distance. The ד' בנים daled banim, ברוך המקום ברוך הוא Baruch Hamakom baruch hu. Why are we using a name of Hashem? Because one of the בנים banim is a רשע rasha. So you may say, נבך nebach, how could I have a רשע rasha? One of my four sons at the table is a רשע rasha? For some, it's even worse if he's a תם tam or שאינו יודע לשאול she'eino yodeia lishol. Right? Only the חכם chacham gives נחת nachas. So ברוך המקום Baruch Hamakom, ברוך הוא baruch hu. המקום ינחם Hamakom yenachem, you don't feel Hashem very much in your life sitting low on the ground in the שבעה shiva chair, Hashem has just snatched from you someone you love, someone close to you, someone who's irreplaceable, and you don't feel so connected to him. So I don't say אבינו אב הרחמן Avinu av harachaman should give you נחמה nechama. I say המקום ינחם אתכם Hamakom yenachem eschem. The name of Hashem, the description of Hashem when there is a sense of and a feeling of distance.חז\"ל Chazal interpret the word מקום makom in the context of prayer. Both in regard to Yaakov and Avram. חז\"ל Chazal indicate Avram instituted שחרית Shacharis, וישכם אברהם בבוקר אל המקום אשר עמד שם vayashkem Avraham baboker el hamakom asher amad sham. He went to the מקום makom. Based on this פסוק pasuk, in which the word מקום makom also appears, they suggest Yaakov instituted מעריב Maariv. ויפגע במקום Vayifga bamakom, this is the origin of the תפילה tefillah of מעריב Maariv. The word מקום makom has the connotation of an appointment, a date, a rendezvous, in a certain place at a certain time. Prayer is a rendezvous with Hashem, says the Rav, which ideally takes place at a specific time and specific place every day. ויפגע במקום Vayifga bamakom. What's the best way to דאווען daven? It's in a מקום קבוע makom kavua. To have a set place. The גמרא Gemara says that who is a person who's humble? Someone who has a מקום קבוע makom kavua, and most understand it means in the שול shul, and it doesn't mean you have the right to kick anyone out of your seat if you're late. ד' אמות daled amos, six feet around that chair is still part of your מקום קבוע makom kavua. Don't kick anyone out. But רבנו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah in the גמרא Gemara understands the מקום קבוע makom kavua is not in שול shul. רבנו יונה Rabbeinu Yonah understands, if you דאווען daven at home, if you have to דאווען daven at home, or a woman who habitually דאווען davens at home, should have a designated place within the home for דאווענען davening. It's not sometimes in the kitchen, sometimes in the den, sometimes on the patch, sometimes on the porch, sometimes while I'm making the bread, while I'm answering the phone, while I'm putting away the dish, well it should be a designated place. ויפגע במקום Vayifga bamakom, מקום makom is תפילה tefillah. When you have a designated place and a designated time and a designated state of mind, it will be able to uplift you and enrich you and you'll דאווען daven.The קאצקער רבי Kotzker Rebbe, I'm going to quote a couple קאצקערס Kotzkers today. The קאצקער Kotzker had a great פשט pshat. קאצקער Kotzker says in our קדושה Kedusha we say, איה מקום כבודו Ayeh mekom kevodo. You know what the קאצקער Kotzker says? איה Ayeh! When you ask where are you Hashem? When you're looking for him, when you're searching for him, when you're trying to find him, that's מקום כבודו mekom kevodo, you found him. איה Ayeh, the search is מקום כבודו mekom kevodo. You found him. If you're not searching, if you're not missing him, if you're not looking for him, then he's not there. When is he there? When is it מקום כבודו mekom kevodo? When you say איה ayeh. So it's not איה מקום כבודו ayeh mekom kevodo, where is your place of your glory? It's איה ayeh. When a person, when a Jew looks, then he has found, she has found מקום כבודו mekom kevodo. A געוואלדיגע פשט gevaldige pshat.אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim says the ויז'ניצער רבי Vizhnitzer Rebbe, you ready for a good חסידות chasidus? חסידישע ווארט Chasidishe vort? Says the following: פסוק Pasuk says ויצא יעקב Vayeitzei Yaakov, Yaakov leaves באר שבע Be'er Sheva, and he goes to חרן Charan, and he encounters a place, and he cops a little sleep. He takes a ויאלון שם vayalen sham. ידוע מרבותינו הקדושים תלמידי הבעש\"ט Yadu'a mei'rabboseinu hakdoshim talmidei ha'Ba'al Shem Tov. He quotes from the students of the בעל שם טוב הקדוש זכותו יגן עלינו Ba'al Shem Tov Hakadosh zechuso yagen aleinu. שכאשר חפץ אדם לשוב בתשובה she'ka'asher chafetz adam lashuv b'tshuva, when a person wants to make a major change in their life, if a person wants to transform themselves in their health and fitness, in their relationship, in their spirituality, in their דאווענען davening, in their learning, in their מדות middos, whatever major change a person wants to undertake and undergo, לא יאריך בוידויים על חטאים שחטא lo ya'arich b'viduyim al chata'im she'chata, ויחשוב הרבה משפלות עצמו v'yachshov harbeh mi'shiflus atzmo. The way to propel you to a major change, the way to be inspired to radically transform yourself is not by immersing yourself and by marinating in everything you've done wrong. וידוי וידוי Vidui, vidui, I've been terrible and I'm this and I'm, I eat the wrong things and I don't exercise and I never move and I have no patience and I'm so jealous and I'm so arrogant, and על חטא על חטא al chet, al chet, and terrible, and I did this, and I did this, this, this, and now I'll be better. So the בעל שם טוב הקדוש Ba'al Shem Tov Hakadosh says that doesn't make a person better. I'm lowly, I'm unworthy, I'm incapable, I'm incompetent, I'm pathetic. No. That becomes a self-fulfilled prophecy, you'll never break out of that. But rather, זו המידה גרועה מכל zu hamiddah geru'a mikol, that's the worst. אלא יתבונן ויעמיק בגדלות הבורא יתברך שמו Ela yisbonen v'ya'amik b'gadlus ha'Borei yisbarach shemo. The thought process is not I'm so low, I'm being dragged down to the ground, but I have the capacity to be so high. ותחסרהו מעט מאלוקים vatichasreihu me'at mei'Elokim. דוד המלך Dovid Hamelech says in תהילים Tehillim, I think it's פרק ח' perek ches. ותחסרהו מעט מאלוקים Vatichasreihu me'at mei'Elokim. I'm just below God. הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the infinite, the omnipotent, and as his child, I'm right there with him. I'm royalty, I'm a prince, I'm a princess. I'm capable of incredible things, my potential knows no limits. I can and I will do so much better. I paint a picture in my mind's eye of who I can be. We'll see this more in a moment too. ומזה יתעורר לעבודת ה' בשמחה U'mizeh yis'orer l'avodas Hashem b'simcha. And that will awaken and arouse within you a desire to transform yourself that yes, you can, you can do it. בשמחה b'simcha, with a sense of joy, with a sense of joy.Now the truth is these were two schools of thought in מוסר mussar. We have three major schools of thought in, in the מוסר mussar movement, the תלמידים talmidim of רבי ישראל סלנטר Rav Yisrael Salanter, we're not going to get into now. We had קעלם Kelm, and נאווארדאק Navardok, סלבודקא Slabodka. One was גדלות האדם gadlus ha'adam. It was built on the idea ותחסרהו מעט מאלוקים vatichasreihu me'at mei'Elokim, you are the greatness of man, the greatness of man, you're royalty. And if you ever meet or you met or you had the privilege to learn or be in the presence of a תלמיד talmid of סלבודקא Slabodka, of someone who was influenced by the אלטער מסלבודקא Alter mi'Slabodka, you saw royalty, you saw greatness, you saw greatness. The אלטער מסלבודקא Alter mi'Slabodka had a tailor on staff in סלבודקא Slabodka. A בחור bachur wasn't allowed in the בית מדרש Beis Medrash if his, missing a button, if his jacket or pants had a tear. You didn't have a wardrobe like we have today. You had one pair, you wore it the entire year till you went home to visit. You weren't allowed in because we're, we're גדלות האדם gadlus ha'adam. You're angelic, you're royalty. Do you know who you are? So ר' ראובן Rav Ruderman, ר' יעקב קמנצקי Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky, and the תלמידים talmidim of סלבודקא Slabodka, ר' ביי טייץ Rabbi Taitz from Elizabeth, my father describes having grown up in Elizabeth and close with the Taitz family, saw Rabbi Taitz, you were accessing royalty, גדלות האדם gadlus ha'adam, who were capable of the greatness, the greatness of man, ר' הוטנר Rav Hutner, all these תלמידים talmidim of, of סלבודקא Slabodka. On the other hand, נאווארדאק Navardok said, שפלות האדם shiflus ha'adam. That's not going to make you great to think you're great. You know what's going to make you great? To realize how pathetic you are. To be humbled by how insignificant, inconsequential, unworthy, and pathetic you are. And so in נאווארדאק Navardok, the whole attitude of, of, of the מוסר mussar movement, you would find the top בחור bachur got to clean the toilets. And you would do things to intentionally embarrass yourself, to lower yourself.So those were arguments in the school of מוסר mussar, but in חסידות chasidus, there isn't such an argument. And here certainly for the ויז'ניצער רבי Vizhnitzer Rebbe, the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, he says, the way that you can grow is not by beating yourself up, the way you grow is by lifting yourself up. That's how you grow. And it brings שמחה simcha. And that's the פשט pshat in this פסוק pasuk. וזהו v'zehu, and therefore he says, ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע Vayeitzei Yaakov mi'Be'er Sheva. באר שבע Be'er Sheva בגמטריא b'gematria יצר הרע yetzer hara. כאשר יעקב שב מעוונותיו ka'asher Yaakov shav mei'avonosav, וילך חרנה vayeilech Charana, לא התעסק בוידויים ארוכים על חטאיו המביאים כעורון אף ואולם lo his'asek b'viduyim aruchim al chatav ha'mevi'im k'oren af v'olam, אלא ויפגע במקום ela vayifga bamakom, כי שהסביר על ה' יתברך מקום כל עולם ki she'hisbar al Hashem yisbarach makom kol olam, וילן שם vayalen sham. שם התעקף הרבה בהתבוננות בגדלות הבורא Sham his'akef harbeh b'hisbonenus b'gadlus ha'Borei. So ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע Vayeitzei Yaakov mi'Be'er Sheva, he wanted to get away from the יצר הרע yetzer hara. Yaakov was trying to escape. Literally he was fleeing the יצר הרע yetzer hara in the form of עשו Eisav, but figuratively he was fleeing the יצר הרע yetzer hara in the form of self-improvement trying to grow. So when you're running away from a יצר הרע yetzer hara, how do you get better? Not by wallowing and marinating and stewing in everything you did wrong in the past and not believing in yourself, but by connecting with הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu, by you realize אבינו אב הרחמן Avinu Av Harachaman, our father is rooting for us, cheering for us, supporting us, lifting us. He's there for us. He believes in us and if he believes in us, we should believe in ourselves. So when Yaakov is running from באר שבע Be'er Sheva, באר שבע Be'er Sheva is the יצר הרע yetzer hara בגמטריא b'gematria, you're running away from the יצר הרע yetzer hara, you have to run to חרנה Charana, ויפגע במקום vayifga bamakom, you encounter Hashem, וילן שם vayalen sham, and you dwell on Hashem. התבוננות איז התבודדות Hisbonenus is hisbodedus. Spend time thinking, talking, connecting with Hashem, realize גדלות האדם gadlus ha'adam, realize your greatness, ותחסרהו מעט מאלוקים vatichasreihu me'at mei'Elokim, you're practically an angel, and you'll realize how great you can become. This is the philosophy of self-improvement of a Jew.The wife of Lot was warned, don't turn around, סדום Sedom is being destroyed. And what did she do? She turned around. And what happened to her? She turned into a... So you know why? Did we talk about this in the פרשה שיר parsha shiur a few weeks ago? I don't remember. The good news is neither do you. So why did she turn into a pillar of salt? Why a pillar of salt? Because salt, what does salt do? Salt is a preservative. It locks something in the way it is and prevents it from progressing or changing. So the instruction to the family of Lot was, you're out. You got a new lease on life, you got a second chance, you can transform yourself, you can radically improve yourself. Don't turn around. Don't look at what you did wrong. And don't think about your past mistakes, and don't define yourself and limit yourself by where you were. Don't turn around and she can't help it. And we don't know, did she turn around nostalgically? Did she turn around longingly? Did she turn around with remorse and regret and shame? We don't know why she turned around, but we know she turned into a pillar of salt. Josephus, the Jewish historian claims that he saw that pillar of salt. He claims to have seen that pillar of salt. But she turned around, she turned into a pillar of salt. She preserved, she marinated, she she became stuck in who she was. If you want to break through, it's not by turning around, it's by looking forward. It's by lifting oneself up, it's by reaching for the stars. I quote also Rav Shlomo Mafka, I love to quote. We say in the end of אשרי Ashrei. We said this in סדר siddur snippets. ואנחנו נברך קה v'anachnu nevarech Kah, how do we praise you Hashem? מעתה ועד עולם me'atah v'ad olam. When I live life not looking backwards, but מעתה me'atah, from now ועד עולם v'ad olam. My whole, I can't change the past. I have no control over the past, I can't edit the past. I cannot change the past. The only thing I can change is the present. And by continuously changing the present, shape and mold my future. מעתה Me'atah, from now, ועד עולם v'ad olam. That's what we say in מעריב Maariv, what Yaakov introduced, ויפגע במקום vayifga bamakom. We say in מעריב Maariv, והסר שטן מלפנינו ומאחרינו v'haser satan milfaneinu u'mei'achareinu. The שטן מלפנינו satan milfaneinu I understand. It's going to be the cheesecake I have to look at at lunch, that's the שטן satan before me. The next time I drive by an inappropriate billboard, that's the שטן satan in front of me. If I juicy לשון הרע lashon hara to say about the rabbi at the end of the פרשה parsha class, to not tell it to the next person sitting, that's the שטן satan before me. That's מלפנינו milfaneinu. What's the שטן מאחרינו satan mei'achareinu? Who's the, if the שטן's satan's behind me, if he's behind me, what's the problem? What's the problem if I've already passed him, the שטן satan that's behind me? The answer is, מאחרינו mei'achareinu is a שטן satan. The temptation to turn around and to dwell on your past, and to dwell on your mistakes, and to believe that you can't improve and you can't change and you can't grow, that in itself is a form of a שטן satan.So we've seen ויפגע במקום vayifga bamakom, with the Rav's interpretation, the קאצקער רבי's Kotzker Rebbe's interpretation, the ויז'ניצער רבי's Vizhnitzer Rebbe's interpretation, a ויצא Vayeitzei, if you want to break out and you want to change something in your life, it's not by beating yourself up. It's not by the וידויים על החטאים viduyim al ha'chata'im, but it's not by beating yourself up, but rather it's by building yourself up. Now, what's going on here with the עולים ויורדים בו olim v'yordim bo? What's going on with the עולים ויורדים בו olim v'yordim bo? Going up and going down. We all know the רש\"י Rashi since we were a little kid, the מלאכים malachim should be coming down and going up. Why are they going up and coming down? They originate in heaven, then they come down. They don't originate down here on earth. These are the same מלאכים malachim. We, we know, we've heard that, that came for the שליחות shlichus, and now they're going up and, and coming down. What really is going on with this? What's going on with עולים ויורדים בו olim v'yordim bo? עולים ויורדים בו Olim v'yordim bo. So, Rav Schechter has the following interpretation. We just had the זכות zechus of hosting Rabbi Rav Schechter last שבת Shabbos for an amazing, amazing weekend. In his ספר sefer on פרשה parsha, on the חומש Chumash, he says the following. חז\"ל Chazal in בראשית רבה Breishis Rabbah, and I think both in פרקי דרבי אליעזר Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer, the רמב\"ן Ramban quotes, find this description in Yaakov's dream difficult. We usually visualize the מלאכים malachim as residing in שמים Shamayim. Yaakov should first see them descend and then ascend. The מדרש Midrash suggests that these מלאכים malachim represent the guiding ministers appointed to attend to the affairs of their respective nations. And the description ascending and descending refers to the rise and fall of the four kingdoms. So חז\"ל Chazal, the מדרש Midrash understands that descending and ascending is not a geographic description. It's not a physical description that they came down the ladder and went back up, but it means that these angels represent the four גלויות galuyos, the four nations, and their kingdoms will ascend and descend that we know historically, they rise and fall. Hashem showed this to Yaakov as one of the founding fathers of the Jewish nation, and he promised him his nation's fate would not rest in the hands of the מלאכים malachim, that כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael will be the חלק chelek, the portion of Hashem. Hashem will always be with you, Yaakov. והנה אנוכי עמך ושמרתיך בכל אשר תלך V'hinei anochi imcha u'shmarticha b'chol asher teilech. I'm showing you a vision, I want you to see the whole world. The Persians, the Babylonians, they rose, they failed, they fell. Look at the whole world, the British Empire, look at, look at the different segments of the world. They rose and they fell. Empires grew and then they became dismantled. And everyone else rises and falls, but you know who's a consistent, who's a constant, in a world of changing variables? כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael. You, the Jewish people, says the ריבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam. And why is that? Because והנה אנוכי עמך ושמרתיך בכל אשר תלך v'hinei anochi imcha u'shmarticha b'chol asher teilech. The ריבונו של עולם Ribono Shel Olam in this vision tells יעקב אבינו Yaakov Avinu, look around, other empires, leaders, powerful rulers will rise and fall. They will be subject to the rules of history, and you will transcend them. Why? Because I will be with you and I will protect you. The רמב\"ן Ramban explains if you analyze the history of any other civilization, you'll find a predictable rise and fall, followed by an utter demise. The Jewish nation however is למעלה מן הטבע l'maalah min hateva. We are above nature. And the רמב\"ן Ramban considers this because אין מזל לישראל ein mazal l'Yisrael. The גמרא Gemara comments, others are influenced by the constellations and by their horoscopes. And they look in their horoscope and it says, I'm gonna be this, נבך nebach, what can I do? Those are my limitations. That's the ceiling. That's my nature. No matter what I do to nurture a change, that's my nature, I can't change it. But the Jewish people, חז\"ל Chazal tell us, are אין מזל לישראל ein mazal l'Yisrael. We can transcend our nature. We could nurture ourselves towards greatness. אין מזל Ein mazal. It's not a horoscope, it's not a constellation, it's not an astrological sign, it's only the will and the dominion of הקדוש ברוך הוא Hakadosh Baruch Hu. And the רמב\"ן Ramban writes that it's one of his עיקרי אמונה ikarei emunah, one of the axioms of foundations of our faith is to know that nothing's random or chance or coincidence, that we are not subject to the rise and fall like other nations of the world, but all that happens to כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael and the Jewish people, we are not governed by the rules and regulations of history but only of Hashem. And that's the פשט pshat when Hashem brought Avram outside, says Rav Schechter, ויצא אותו החוצה v'yotzei oso hachutza, Hashem says, go out from your astrology, go out from your horoscope, go out from your zodiac signs because you're not subject to that. You're gonna have a son. Yeah, your horoscope says you're not, and yeah, the constellations predict you won't, but you're not subservient, you're not subject to that. אין מזל לישראל Ein mazal l'Yisrael, abandon those calculations. Your history is above nature, it's למעלה מן הטבע l'maalah min hateva.The Rav used to note that if we were to draw a chart outlining Jewish history, it would be represented by multiple cycles of peaks and troughs, not by one predictable rise and fall like other nations. It's not natural. As spelled out in the תורה Torah, that we continue to reside in ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael only if שמיטה shemittah is observed, or only the rainy season, there's so many supernatural parts about our history, our mere existence. אש תורה Aish Hatorah, in the old discovery seminar, I spent the summer when I was younger as a מדריך madrich in Discovery. Back then people had an attention span. So Discovery was two and a half days long. Today Discovery is two and a half minutes long. I think it's two and a half hours, it's not even a whole day today, because the whole world has changed. But back, back then, we were tasked by ר' נח ויינברג זצ\"ל Rav Noach Weinberg zatzal, my dear friend Avi Pollack and I, we spent the summer where we were busy trying to recruit Jews passing through to, you know, backpackers, the typical profile of a person, spend two and a half days, explore your history and your heritage. Come, come to the Discovery seminar. We were very religious back then, so we didn't want to go to בן יהודה Ben Yehuda street. We had just come out of, our ישיבה yeshiva, ישיבה קטנה yeshiva ketana, that's back when I was religious and I refused. בן יהודה Ben Yehuda street? You know, the way people are dressed and the atmosphere and the פריצות pritzus. So they made a meeting with us with ר' נח ויינברג זצ\"ל Rav Noach Weinberg zatzal, I'll never forget it. With his piercing eyes, he looked right at us and he said the following, said you're some fancy ישיבה בחור yeshiva bachur, you're some בן תורה ben Torah, you can't go to בן יהודה Ben Yehuda to find people who aren't religious to bring them to discovery? He said, let me ask you a question. If you were on the tracks while a train was headed to Auschwitz and a woman put her hand out, would you not pull her off? Because you're a בן תורה ben Torah, you're a ישיבה בחור yeshiva bachur, you wouldn't pull her off the train? Get to בן יהודה Ben Yehuda and start pulling people off the train. That's what he said to us. He believed that in his heart of hearts. It was not like a nice thing and a nice idea. He believed the trains are heading to Auschwitz, and he passed away before the intermarriage rate was 70%, what it is today. The trains are on overdrive, running efficiently, right to the disappearance of the Jewish people. And so I, I will never forget how strongly he said that. Anyway, in the Discovery when it was back two and a half days long, there was a whole session on, on the Seven Wonders of Jewish History. Anyone ever hear that talk? The Seven Wonders of Jewish History? It's a magnificent, Rav Moti Burger. Rav Moti Burger used to teach the Seven Wonders of Jewish History. I'm sure today you could find it online. And in it, he traces, there are, just like we have rules of nature, just like we have gravity, E equals mc squared, we have all kinds of, that's my physics knowledge right there. Just like we have rules of nature, so too there are rules of history. If a larger nation swallows a smaller nation, they are absorbed into the bigger nation, and the smaller nation loses its own language and takes on the language of the bigger nation, loses its culture, takes on the culture of the bigger nation, that if you disperse a people across, they will lose their identity. We have rules, there are rules. And those rules apply literally to everyone throughout history. That's why they were, became rules. There's one exception. The Jewish people defy all the rules. It's one of the wonders of the world that we are still here. For 2,000 years, we lived on foreign languages, with foreign cultures, in foreign lands, under foreign rule, and we stayed the Jewish people. We never lost being a member of כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael until we got our amazing miraculous gift of ארץ ישראל Eretz Yisrael. That's the promise here. That's the promise here. The עולים ויורדים olim v'yordim, all the other kingdoms, they rise and they fall, they ascend and descend to disappearance. And the Jewish people, אין מזל לישראל ein mazal l'Yisrael.And the נצי\"ב Netziv says, Rav Schechter actually mentioned it this past week when he was here, the משנה Mishnah in ראש השנה Rosh Hashanah talks about the four ראשי שנים roshei shanim, the non-Jewish kings date their documents from תשרי Tishrei, Jewish kings from ניסן Nisan. Why? Because we, the miracles of פסח Pesach, we're part of not the natural order, we are part of the supernatural order. The רד\"ק Radak says, the איסור issur of the גיד הנשה gid hanasheh, that when Yaakov sustains the injury from the שרו של עשו saro shel Eisav, when he wrestles through the night and he walks away injured, the רד\"ק Radak says, בני ישראל Bnei Yisrael are not to eat the גיד הנשה gid hanasheh because the angel struck Yaakov's hip socket on the גיד הנשה gid hanasheh. Yaakov's struggle with the angel teaches us the principle that although the nations of the world have been interested in annihilating the descendants of Yaakov, sometimes we walk away limping, we walked away from the Holocaust much more than just limping, having been amputated for many of our limbs, but we walk away throughout history often limping, but we walk away. And we learn to run again. We recover and we learn to run again. Look at the short time since so many of our people were amputated and look how in many ways, despite those intermarriage rates, more תורה Torah is being learned, more ישיבות yeshivos and כוללים kollelim, the strength of the תורה Torah community and so on and so forth. And he has more and more and more on this idea, מחא חודש mecha chodesh, and so on and so forth. Not for now. So the image of the coming down and going up is not a reflection of the direction, the trajectory of the angels, as much as the contrast of the other nations of the world who will rise and fall and disappear, and the Jewish people who are, in contrast, here to stay.The כתב סופר Ksav Sofer has another interpretation. There's an amazing מדרש Midrash that says that דיוקנו למעלה diyukno l'maalah, Yaakov's image above was, the angels came down and they saw דמות דיוקנו dmus diyukno below, and when they did, they tried to attack Yaakov, and what happened? והנה ה' נצב עליו V'hinei Hashem nitzav alav, Hashem stood over him and protected him. What in the world does this מדרש Midrash mean? What does that mean? The Yaakov above was the same as the Yaakov below, the angels wanted to attack, so Hashem protected, so the כתב סופר Ksav Sofer, Rav Soloveitchik says something similar but the כתב סופר Ksav Sofer says it most explicitly, the כתב סופר Ksav Sofer says, you know what it means, the following. Every one of us has an image above, and the image above is the image of the potential of who we can become. The image above is the image of the best version of us. And then there's an image below, and the image below is the real us, the real us who's not necessarily meeting our potential, who's not living as the best version of who we can be. There's a discrepancy between the image above and the image below, the דמות דיוקנו dmus diyukno above and the דמות דיוקנו diyukno below. The angels came down and they saw, whoa, Yaakov's image below is exactly his image above. Here's a mere mortal who's acting like an angel. Angels are עומדים omdim, not הולכים holchim, angels are stationary and still. They're not challenged by temptation, and therefore they're perfect. And here's somebody below whose image matches his image above, he's angelic, he's perfect. What is a mere mortal doing in our realm? So they want to attack him, but Hashem נצב עליו nitzav alav, the פסוק pasuk describes Hashem protects him and says, no, that's Yaakov's job. He's doing his job. Yaakov is extraordinary, he's exceptional, he's remarkable that his image below is what matches his image above. That's our mission, for our real us to sink with the best version of us, with the best version of who we can be. Rav Eliyahu Dagoz, my buddy, when he related the סאפער Ksav Sofer, it was a program, he had on a beautiful, beautiful פשט pshat.In a few weeks we'll read that יוסף Yosef is secluded, he's alone with אשת פוטיפר Eishes Potifar. And after relentlessly pursuing him, this is her moment. Everyone else is out of church for the day, she pretended that she was sick so she could stay home. It was a national holiday so the landscaper wasn't there, and the maid wasn't there, and the, and the butler wasn't there. She was going to be all alone with him in the house. And he came לעשות מלאכתו laasos melachto. The פסוק pasuk says he came to do his work. רש״י Rashi has two interpretations. One is to do his work, he was going to balance the books for פוטיפר Potifar. And the other interpretation לעשות מלאכתו laasos melachto meant he too knew no one else was going to be home. And after, after working tirelessly to withstand the, to withstand the advances of the wife of פוטיפר Potifar, יוסף Yosef was ready to give in. Somehow יוסף Yosef found the capacity to withstand and to run away, וינס החוצה vayanas achutza, he ran away and we know the rest of his history, he's called יוסף הצדיק Yosef HaTzadik because of it. Because of it. What gave him that courage, the strength to run away? So רש״י Rashi quotes, he saw the מדרש Medrash, he saw דמות דיוקנו של אביו dmus dyukno shel aviv. He saw the image, the appearance of his father. We'll talk about this more when we get to that פרשה parsha. Many beautiful interpretations, including my brother's theory, that יוסף Yosef hadn't seen a mirror from when he was sold by his brothers into slavery, he hadn't seen a mirror. And when he looked in the mirror, he looked just like his father. So he saw his father. When he looked in the mirror, he saw the exact image, he was the spitting image of his father. And now he felt, I'm, I'm the son of יעקב Yaakov, I can, I'm not going to do this. I can't do this. It's פאסט נישט past nisht. It's beneath me, I can't do it.But Rav Eliyahu does suggest based on this פשט pshat in the מדרש Medrash, the סאפער Ksav Sofer, about the דיוקנא dyukna above and the דיוקנא dyukna below. What did יוסף Yosef see? יוסף Yosef remembered that the father, his father was able, his real self matched his potential self. That יעקב Yaakov also struggled with temptation and opportunity. But יעקב Yaakov, his real self matched his potential self, his best version of himself. And that's what inspired him, I can do that too. I can be like that too. Maybe that's exactly what יוסף Yosef, that what יוסף Yosef saw. Good. The פסוק pasuk continues we saw when Hashem introduces himself, he says, he says, אנכי ה׳ אלקי אברהם אביך ואלקי יצחק Anochi Hashem Elokei Avraham avicha v'Elokei Yitzchak, הארץ אשר אתה שוכב עליה ha'aretz asher ata shochev aleha. I'm the Lord of your Avraham, your father, and I'm the Lord of of יצחק Yitzchak, and this land that you're on is what I'm going to what I'm going to give you. Why does he say אלקי אברהם אלקי יצחק Elokei Avraham Elokei Yitzchak? So it's a beautiful קאצקער רבי Kotsker Rebbe, a very important קאצקער רבי Kotsker Rebbe. I'll tell it to you. This קאצקער Kotsker? I'm sorry, not the קאצקער Kotsker, the בעל שם Baal Shem. The בעל שם Baal Shem says the following. אלקי אברהם Elokei Avraham. This is what happens when you have a million things open here. Sorry, one second, one second. Oh, here it is. The בעל שם טוב Baal Shem Tov wanted to know, why does it say, why doesn't it say אנכי ה׳ אלקי אברהם ויצחק אביך Anochi Hashem Elokei Avraham v'Yitzchak avicha? I'm the God of Avraham and Yitzchak. It is not an efficient use of Torah space. Say I'm the God of Avraham, I'm the God of Yitzchak. Just say I'm the God of Avraham and Yitzchak. And you could ask the same question about the beginning of every single אשרי Ashrei, every day. We can shorten דאווענען davening. Just say אלקי אברהם יצחק ויעקב Elokei Avraham Yitzchak v'Yaakov. Take out two words. אלקי אברהם אלקי יצחק ואלקי יעקב Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, v'Elokei Yaakov. Take out the second two אלקי Elokeis. Just make it אלקי אברהם יצחק ויעקב Elokei Avraham, Yitzchak v'Yaakov. It's terribly inefficient, both in our דאווענען davening and also here in this פסוק pasuk. Said the בעל שם Baal Shem. האבות הקדושים לא סמכו על עצמם מחקירת אבותיהם, אלא כל אחד מהם חקר לעומק שורש הדבר עד שהגיע לאמונה ברורה בבורא עולם. Ha'avos ha'kedoshim lo samchu al atzmam m'chakiras avoseihem, elah kol echad meihem chakar l'omek shoresh ha'davar ad she'higia l'emunah brurah b'Borei Olam. You know why it says אלקי אברהם אלקי יצחק ואלקי יעקב Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, v'Elokei Yaakov? Because יצחק Yitzchak and יעקב Yaakov didn't just believe in God because Avraham did. It's not אלקי אברהם Elokei Avraham, fine, I guess יצחק Yitzchak and יעקב Yaakov too. It's אלקי אברהם Elokei Avraham, אלקי יצחק Elokei Yitzchak, אלקי יעקב Elokei Yaakov. יצחק Yitzchak and יעקב Yaakov went on their own journey, they went on their own search. They asked their own איכה ayeka, where are you, Hashem? They had their own investigation, they discovered Hashem, they established their own relationship with Him. So therefore the אלקי אברהם Elokei Avraham is different than אלקי יצחק Elokei Yitzchak. And the אלקי יצחק Elokei Yitzchak is different than אלקי יעקב Elokei Yaakov. And that's not כפירה חלילה kefira chalila, I'm not suggesting there are multiple or different gods. ה' אחד Hashem echad, there's only one God, but we are different. And because we are different, every one of us, we have a unique and distinct relationship with him. We find him in a different place. We find him in a different way. And we have a different ongoing individualized relationship with him. I find that so, um, I find that so beautiful. Every time you דאווען daven, you start out, אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו Elokeinu v'Elokei avoseinu. Hashem you're the God of my fathers. And I want you to know even if I don't find you when I'm looking, then my relationship with you would be as the God of my forefathers. But even though you're the God of my forefathers, I'm not resting on my laurels and I'm not banking on just that, I'm looking for you for myself. So I start out every עמידה Amida and I say אלקינו ואלקי אבותינו Elokeinu v'Elokei avoseinu, you're the God of my forefathers. אלקי אברהם, אלקי יצחק, ואלקי יעקב Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, v'Elokei Yaakov, אלקי אפרים Elokei Ephraim. I'm going to look for you too. I'm having my own investigation. I'm going on my own search mission. I have my own unique distinct relationship with you. There's the duality. There's the relationship with Hashem because of our forefathers, even when we're struggling to connect. And there's the relationship we uniquely, individually have when we go search and we go find him ourselves. And that's what's being communicated, that's why it's inefficient, אלקי אברהם אלקי יצחק Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, not אלקי אברהם ויצחק Elokei Avraham v'Yitzchak. That's the פשט pshat that the הייליגע בעל שם heiliga Baal Shem says. Rav Soloveitchik has a similar פשט pshat. Undoubtedly he knew the בעל שם Baal Shem, or at least what his descendants said, his disciples said. And he says the following, Rav Soloveitchik. I'm going to skip because a few more things, I'll just skip to the end of his comment. He says, it is for this reason that the God of Avraham, the God of Yitzchak are construed in the possessive form. אלקי Elokei, possessive. This usage suggests that each of our forefathers retained a type of ownership, a קנין kinyan in God as it were. Although we assert to God as the earth and its fullness, לה' הארץ ומלואה l'Hashem ha'aretz u'melo'ah, a man can reciprocally attain ownership rights in God himself. The patriarchs obtained the ownership through their self-sacrifice, through the difficulties they endured. What an image the Rav paints. Make a קנין בהקדוש ברוך הוא kinyan b'Hakadosh Baruch Hu. A מסירות נפש mesirus nefesh, the sacrifice I made, the changes I, I, the transformation I underwent, the endurance, a person can make a קנין kinyan. אלקי Elokei sounds like I'm the owner. אלקי אברהם Elokei Avraham owned Hashem, Yitzchak owned Hashem, Yaakov owns Hashem. I, what happened? לה' הארץ ומלואה l'Hashem ha'aretz u'melo'ah. Hashem owns everything. What do you mean you own Hashem? It means you have an ownership in Hashem. You're invested in Hashem. So it's the Rav's interpretation. So I'll tell you a corollary is a beautiful Slonimer that the שיב שלום Siv Shalom says, the פסוק pasuk says in מלאה הארץ קניניך malo ha'aretz kinyanecha. The world is filled with קניניך kinyanecha. So the simple understanding is the world is filled with things, God, that you own. You own the world and everything in it. But the חסידיש chasidish interpretation is מלאה הארץ malo ha'aretz, the world is filled with קניניך kinyanecha, ways that we can acquire you. The world is filled with opportunities and invitations to find and invest and acquire a relationship with you. מלאה הארץ malo ha'aretz. You woke up this morning. It's a beautiful day. The gifts, the blessings, the opportunities, the anomalies, the coincidence, the things happening in our lives and around the world, מלאה הארץ malo ha'aretz, the entire world is filled with קניניך kinyanecha, ways that we can make a קנין kinyan in you, ways that you could become not only אלקי אברהם אלקי יצחק Elokei Avraham, Elokei Yitzchak, but אלקי Elokei us. That we're not just a link in a chain and relying on someone else's discovery, but that we are generating our own unique and distinct and personal relationship with you. Good. Hashem tells him you're going to be כעפר הארץ ke'afar ha'aretz. What does it mean you're going to be כעפר הארץ ke'afar ha'aretz? Says the, the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim from Vizhnitz says, הבטיח השם יתברך ליעקב אבינו עליו השלום כי יתברך זרעו במידת הענווה Hivtiach Hashem Yisborach l'Yaakov avinu, alav hashalom, ki yisborach zar'o b'midas ha'anavah. His children will be blessed with the character trait of humility. בחינת ונפשי כעפר b'chinas v'nafshi ke'afar, נפשי כעפר לכל תהיה nafshi ke'afar la'kol tihiyeh. What do we say in our דאווענען davening? Our עמידה Amida ends and we say ונפשי כעפר לכל תהיה v'nafshi ke'afar la'kol tihiyeh. May I be כעפר ke'afar. I don't need to be in lights, I don't need to have the most followers and the most retweets. נפשי כעפר nafshi ke'afar. I'm a loyal servant to Hashem. I'm serving you לשמה lishma, לשם שמים l'shem shamayim. ונפשי כעפר לכל תהיה V'nafshi ke'afar la'kol tihiyeh. As far as everyone else is concerned, let me just be כעפר ke'afar. So that's the פשט pshat says the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim, that והיה זרעך כעפר הארץ v'haya zar'acha ke'afar ha'aretz, your progeny, your offspring will have the capacity for humility. They won't be competing for the spotlight. It won't be about the stage, but כעפר הארץ ke'afar ha'aretz, they're going to be like the עפר הארץ afar ha'aretz, and that's what we דאווען daven. It was a prediction that that's what we will daven is for that sense of, for that sense of humility, which is the hope that we have. If you fast forward, the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim has a similar vort later in the פרשה parsha. When Yaakov comes to the well later in the פרשה parsha, and these shepherds at the well are slacking off, and he comes and he gives them מוסר mussar. He says, hey slackers, what are you doing? Sun's not down yet. Day's work's not over yet. What are you doing? And they listen to him. It's a whole separate פשט pshat that they listen to him. It's a big, big חידוש chiddush that the נצי\"ב Netziv points out. You know why they listened to him? Because he didn't say, hey slackers. What did he say? אחי מאין אתם Achai me'ayin atem? Hey brother, brothers, where are you from? Brothers, what's going on? When you have a relationship with someone that says you're my brother, אחי achai, אח ach, מאחי me'achai, I have a connection with you, then you can give them the feedback. You can't begin with the feedback. You got to begin with making somebody your אח ach. It's only when they feel like they're your brother that they will be open to influence, that they'll be open to feedback. Anyway, the אמרי חיים Imrei Chaim says, אחי, לזכות לאהבה ואחוה ורעות, אפשר רק על ידי שפלות האדם, מאין, רמז לענווה, אתם, אותיות אמת Achai, l'zkos l'ahavah v'achvah v'reius, efshar rak al yedei shiflus ha'adam. Me'ayin, remez l'anavah, atem, osios emes. He says, אחי achai, my brothers, you know why I can give you מוסר mussar? מאין Me'ayin, because I come from an attitude of אין ayin. I'm nothing. אין Ayin means I'm a nothingness, בטל bittel. I'm מבטל mevatel myself. I don't think I'm all that. I'm sharing feedback with you from a place of humility. So I called you אחי achai, and because I said מאין me'ayin, I come from אין ayin, I'm in a position to be able to give you some, to be able to give you some feedback. פסוק י\"ז Pasuk tet zayin. וייקץ יעקב משנתו ויאמר אכן יש ה' במקום הזה ואנכי לא ידעתי Vayikatz Yaakov mishnaso vayomer, achen yesh Hashem b'makom hazeh, v'anochi lo yadati. Oh, look, there's Hashem in this place and I didn't even know. I didn't even know. This is where the קאצקער רבי Kotsker Rebbe wonders, why did, why did Yaakov beat himself up? What do you mean Hashem is here and I didn't even know? ואנכי לא ידעתי V'anochi lo yadati. And if he did know, he wouldn't have gone to sleep and have that dream? In the dream he had contact with Hashem. In the dream he had prophecy. He saw angels. He saw God. ואנכי לא ידעתי V'anochi lo yadati, I didn't know. ואנכי לא ידעתי V'anochi lo yadati, and if ידעתי yadata then you wouldn't have gone to sleep and had that dream? Asks the קאצקער רבי Kotsker Rebbe. So the קאצקער Kotsker answers, יעקב אבינו לא רצה להשיג מדרגות גבוהות אלא על ידי עמל ויגיעה. משום כך אמר ואנכי לא ידעתי, שיש אלוקים במקום הזה. אילו ידעתי, הייתי עומד ומתאמץ להשיג קרבת אלוקים בהקיץ, ולא הייתי ישן במקום קדוש כזה Yaakov Avinu lo ratza l'hasig madregos g'vohos elah al yedei amal v'yegia. M'shum kach omar v'anochi lo yadati, she'yesh Elokim b'makom hazeh. Ilu yadati, hayisi omed u'misametz l'hasig kirvas Elokim b'hakitz v'lo hayisi yashen b'makom kadosh kaze. If I knew Hashem was accessible here, I would have worked hard to find him, not through some dream. Because the greatest way that we acquire קדושה kedusha is not passively, not when it's handed to us on a silver spoon. It's when it takes effort, it's when it takes מסירות נפש mesirus nefesh. So I wouldn't have slept walked through getting that prophecy. I would have looked for Hashem. ואנכי לא ידעתי V'anochi lo yadati, says the קאצקער רבי Kotsker Rebbe. The highest level of holiness is the work that we do. That's the Rav's פשט pshat. Why is הר הבית Har HaBayis the holiest place not הר סיני Har Sinai? Torah was given on הר סיני Har Sinai. Why is הר הבית Har HaBayis the holiest and not הר סיני Har Sinai? Because הר סיני Har Sinai was top down. Hashem handed us the Torah. הר הבית Har HaBayis is bottom up. The עקידת יצחק Akeidas Yitzchak, the מסירות נפש mesirus nefesh. קדושה Kedusha. הר סיני Har Sinai is not a holy place. הר המוריה Har HaMoriah has levels of holiness that are the highest. Because holiness is the result of effort and work, not of handing it to you. And that's why Yaakov says, ואנכי לא ידעתי v'anochi lo yadati, but if ידעתי yadati, then I would have, then I would have looked for you here. Then I would have looked for you here. I have to end early today, I apologize. I'll end by telling you the following fascination. Our parsha is the whole story of Rochel's struggles to have a child and Leah is the one who's שנואה snu'ah. If I had more time I'd talk to you about that whole שנואה snu'ah. The מפרשים meforshim all bend themselves in a pretzel to talk about what does it mean that she's שנואה snu'ah? What does it mean? The רמב\"ן Ramban says Yaakov didn't hate Leah, he carried resentment that she deceived him and for switching Rochel on their night. But of course he didn't hate, he couldn't hate, he couldn't hate a wife. Others say that it means שנואה snu'ah doesn't mean Yaakov hated her, it just meant he loved her less than Rochel so she felt hated in contrast, but of course he didn't. But it still says שנואה snu'ah. Says he hated her. Leah there's a lot more to talk about another time, but Leah felt hated. Rochel all she wanted to do was be a mother. And Leah what does all she wanted? To be Yaakov's wife. Leah couldn't compete for Yaakov's love and Rochel couldn't compete for being a mother the way Leah was. And that's this whole story of our פרשה parsha. And if you were to freeze frame our פרשה parsha in that story you'd say neither got what they want. Yes, Rochel ends up having a child, a children, but far fewer. Rochel's dreams are unrealized in many ways. Leah's dreams are unrealized in many ways if you were to stop and look there. But don't stop and look there. Look now from the perspective of history and you'll find it's a fascinating insight. That Rochel and Leah are recorded and memorialized in history exactly in the roles that they craved the most. Where's Leah buried? Next to Yaakov. Rochel is in קבר רחל Kever Rachel. For eternity, Leah is Yaakov's wife, buried right next to Yaakov in מערת המכפלה Maras Hamachpela, while Rochel is elsewhere. And though Rochel is not Yaakov's wife in for eternity and perpetuity, who is Rochel? רחל אמנו Rachel Imeinu. She is buried specifically so that her children when they are led to גלות gullus walk by and she דאווענס davens on our behalf. So even though sometimes it's a message for our lives, in the moment it feels like our dreams are so unrealized and unfulfilled, but if you have not the short version of history, but the long eye on history, you realize that sometimes with a little context and a longer lens, you're able to see those dreams and realize fulfilled to their greatest. Rochel just wanted to be a mother, she's forever רחל אמנו Rachel Imeinu. Leah just wanted to be loved as Yaakov's wife, forever she lies next to him in מערת המכפלה Maras Hamachpela.
