Malchus Yosef vs. Yehuda

The Tosefta Berachot (4:16) asks אמרו לו [למדנו] רבינו אמר להם מפני מה זכה יהודה למלכות?  

The Midrash (90:3) says א"ר שמעון בן גמליאל יוסף משלו נתנו פִּיו שֶׁלֹא נָשַׁק בַּעֲבֵרָה, וְעַל פִּיךָ יִשַּׁק כָּל עַמִּי, גּוּפוֹ שֶׁלֹא נָגַע בַּעֲבֵרָה וַיַּלְבֵּשׁ אֹתוֹ בִּגְדֵי שֵׁשׁ, וכו

The Shiurei Daas (shmuz on Malchus) notes the difference in the terminology of the Midrashim that for Yosef it says he malchus was given משלו, it was something internal of Yosef that made him deserving but for Yehuda it says he merited malchus indicating it was thrust upon him do to his actions.  Why do Yehuda's actions allow malchus to be thrust upon him but Yosef is deserving and what is the nature of this difference if the malchus is innate or thrust upon the recipient?  

ויכלכל יוסף.  Yosef is associated with כל which is the middah of yesod, כי כל בשמים וארץ.  The middah of yesod is that one plays an active role to the degree of giving to others.  Yosef provided for the entire country.  His malchus emanates from his own self perfection.  From his own active self perfection.  That is משלו, his malchus is merely a reflection of his internal malchus, of his self control to abstain from averah.  His rulership over his own emotions, his own limbs, is what demands that he be given malchus over others.    

Yehuda is associated with the sefirah of malchus דלית ליה מגרמיה כלום, his essence is not about receiving from above.  He does stumble in sin, he is not perfect.  He doesn't receive malchut due to self perfection.  Instead, it is his acceptance of his mistake, in his acknowledgement that there is something outside of him, that allows malchut to be bestowed upon him.  

The Sfas Emes cites from the Rim that הלל corresponds to Yosef and הודאה to Yehuda.  What does this mean?  הלל is related to בהלו נרו, the tzidkus of Yosef shines forth (Sfas Emes Chanukah 5631, 5647.)  He has the middah of גואה דקדושה, to be confident in his avodah because he is successful.  Yehuda is the middah of הודאה, of acknowledging his errors.  He realizes everything he receives is a זכות to receive it from Hashem.  He on his own is underserving and is thankful for all that he obtains.      

The Darkness Of Monotony

The Midrash says חֹשֶׁךְ זה גלות יון שהחשיכה עיניהם של ישראל בגזירותיהן שהיתה אומרת להם כתבו על קרן השור שאין לכם חלק באלהי ישראל.  Why is the golus of יון called חושך and how does that connect with writing on the horn of the ox?  

The Bach (siman 670) says שעיקר גזירת היוונים היה ביטול העבודה, ומשום שכלל ישראל נתרשלו בעבודה,ועי"ז היה הגזירה על ביטול העבודה.  What is the nature of this attitude of התרשלות?  This happens when one's activities become a routine.  When one merely goes through the actions as rote without fire and passion.  Since the avodah was done on a daily basis for such a long period of time, the passion necessary for proper avodah was lost.  This led to יון.  Why does this lead to יון?  Because Yavan is the personification of monotony.  Aristo believed that the world was always around.  The laws of nature always existed and are unchangeable.  They are of the opinion that אין כל חדש תחת השמש, everything has a set system of laws preprogrammed that it must fit into and can not be changed.  This is noted by the Bnei Yissaschar in the very name of יון itself which shares the numerable value of the word גלגל for they believe everything fits under the rules of the galgalim,  יון, זה שמם לדראון ולחרפות, יו"ן בגימטריא גלג"ל, זה היה כל מגמתם להשכיח מישראל התורה רק להאמין שאין שום הנהגה למעלה מן הגלגלים והכל הוא בטבע הגלגלים ושפיטת הכוכבים.  (This gematria is already noted in Megalah Amukot Vaeschanan 66.) Or in other words, a גלגל is a circle that goes around, there is no way out, there is nothing beyond it.  When things are preprogramed to rules there is no excitement.  Excitement comes through chiddush.  Yavan is the anti-chiddush, anti- excitement.

Why did Yavan have a philosophy of קדמות העולם?  Why could they not accept something to be greater than the laws of nature?  Yavan's core belief is that for wisdom must be quantifiable.  Something can only be true if it can be proven and demonstrated to be the truth.  They were limited by the extent of their own ability to absorb and relate to information.  Only that which can be assessed and assessed by a human's senses and understanding was the accepted truth.  Since the world currently functions within the laws and boundaries of nature, they could not accept anything beyond that.  They were stuck in the own box that they had created.   

Daniel (Ch. 7) compares Yavan to a נמר.  As the Maharal notes, the נמר is associated with עזות as the Mishna Avos says הוי עז כנמר.  The Maharal says this is connected to chachma for לא הביישן למד, it requires an element of chutzpah to be able to question and come to the truth.  However, when one's wisom is totally derived from עזות and not tempered with the middah of ונפשי כעפר לכל תהיה, when there is a lack of מודים, a lack of acknowledgement that there may be wisdom beyond one's reach, then it can lead to one's downfall. 

Rav Nissim Gaon in his hakdamah to Shas says that nevuah stopped at the beginning of the reign of Alexander.  The navi had the capability to "see" that which is beyond the boundaries of the world.  The rise of Yavan comes about to stifle this power.  The malchus of Yavan is the antitheses to nevuah.  The ability to see the truth beyond the world's limitations was removed by Yavan.  This is the darkness that Yavan brings into the world.  When one is shrouded in utter darkness one can only feel themselves, they are not aware of anything beyond themselves.  This is the darkness which Yavan brings into the world, a lack of awareness of anything beyond the self. 

The ox represents the strength of this world.  רב תבואות בכח שור, the ox is used to plow and plant, the basis for human life in this world.  Yavan says true strength is by cultivating the powers that exist within this world.  There is nothing beyond that.   

להשכיחם תורתך.  The words חושך and שכוח share the same letters.  One forgets things that are not important to a person.  Things done as a routine are not what one remembers.  People remember that which is important, cherished and unique.  The influence of the the natural systems and order adhered to by Yavan leads to שכחה (see Shem MiShmuel Mekatz (5676).)   

The Sfas Emes interprets הרגיל בנר as one who brings light into the רגילות.  One who injects fire, passion into the actions of rote.  That is what Chanukah teaches us.  That is a lesson of the burning Chanukah candles.  The Shem MiShmuel adds that these days are auspicious to be able to inject  feelings of freshness, excitement and passion already from days yonder,  זמן כ"ה בכסלו הוא מסוגל להתחדשות והתחלת עבודה עוד מימות עולם כי במדרש שלמ"ד בתשרי נברא העולם הי' קרבן קין והבל בחנוכה, ובכ"ה בכסלו נגמר המשכן אלא שהמתין עם הקמתו עד חודש שנולד בו יצחק אבינו, ונראה כי עד נס חנוכה אף שהי' הזמן מסוגל להתחלת עבודה מטעמא דבעינן למימר קמן, מ"מ הי' כאלו אבן הי' מונח על פי הבאר, ובנס חנוכה מחמת גודל מסירת הנפש שהי' שם זכו שנגלל האבן מעל פי הבאר, והפתח פתוח וכל מי שנדבו לבו לכנוס יכנוס.

The Feminine Future

This post is an idea I suggested for my wife to say at her Neshai Chanukah event. 

In many seforim (see hakdamah to Chazon Ovadyah Chanukah) it is cited in the name of the Midrash that all the holidays will be בטל in the future except for Chanukah and Purim (in texts of Midrash we have, only Purim is mentioned, but this is a girsa many cite.)  What does it mean the holidays will be בטל if the laws of the Torah are not subject to change?  It means that the moadim will exist but their significance will fade in the great light of the Messianic era (see Teshuvot Rasha #13.)  Why is it that the holidays of Chanukah and Purim won't dim in the future as well?  

The holidays of Chanukah and Purim are unique in that they are the only holidays in which we find that woman are obligated in the mitzvot of the holiday due to the principle of אף הן היו באותו הנס and according to some opinions that means not only were they including in the same miracle but they were the catalyst for the miracle, Ester in the Purim story, and Yehudit in the Chanukah story.  

The possuk says about the days of the future (Yermiyahu 31:21) נקבה תסובב גבר, "a woman shall go after a man."  The Alter Rebbe explains that in the current state of affairs the man is the one to chase after the woman (Kiddushin 2b,) which reflects the heavenly flow from the זעיר אנפין (the masculine presence) into מלכות (the feminine presence.)  However, in the days of the future the state of מלכות will be elevated higher into the משפיע.  Hence, the woman will not play a passive role but an active role.  נקבה תסובב גבר, the woman will run after the man, she will seek to be משפיע to him, תסובב also as in סיבה ומסובב, she be be the cause for her husband's success.  There two modes are reflected in the last two of the sheva berachot.  The sixth beracha ends בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', מְשַׂמֵּחַ חָתָן וְכַלָּה, the chatan is first, he is the giver and the כלה is the recipient.  The final beracha which describes the Messianic era, מְהֵרָה ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ יִשָּׁמַע בְּעָרֵי יְהוּדָה וּבְחוּצוֹת יְרוּשָׁלָיִם וכו, ends בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה', מְשַׂמֵּחַ חָתָן עִם הַכַּלָּה, the word עם meaning through as in the chatan's strength will come through the woman.  

Hence, it is specifically the holidays that come about through the actions of woman that are a harbinger of the days of the future when the feminine presence will be dominant and therefore their light will only grow stronger in the days of the future. 

36

The Eliya Rabbah (672:2) says  כתב הרוקח מדליקין בחנוכה ל"ו נרות, לפי שבחנוכת עולם ויתן אותם אלהים ברקיע השמים להאיר על הארץ ואותה האור נשתמש בה אדם הראשון ל"ו שעות יום ו' י"ב שעות ולילה י"ב שעות ויום ז' י"ב שעות:  The 36 neros of Chanukah correspond to the original light which shined for 36 hours and then was hidden.  This hidden light is evoked through the lighting of the neros Chanukah.  See more about this on "שטייגן."

The Bnei Yissachar מאמרי חודש כסלו טבת מאמר א (#6) says:

 לדעתי על כן שם החודש (שהאיר בו הארה מן האור הגנוז ומכוסה בתורה) נקרא כסל"ו, כ"ס ל"ו, כיסוי ל"ו אור ונר ומאורות נתגלה ההארה בחדש הזה.  

The 36 candles and 36 hours of the original hidden light correspond as well to the 36 hours of the expansion of Shabbos (see more about it in otzar forum,) as the Bnei Yissachar delineates in Shabbas maamer 2, 

עוד אבוא לבאר לך עניין אחר בטעם תוספת שבת. הנה כתבתי לך אשר מרן האריז"ל כתב, אשר תוספת שבת יכולין להוסיף עד ל"א שעות, היינו מן חצות יום הששי עד שעה אחת בליל א', והיינו ל"א שעות. ועוד אמר, שלא יאמרו תחינה עד חצות ליל א', כי עד חצות לילה עדיין הוא הארת שבת. ואם כן, לפי זה הוה הארת שבת ל"ו שעות. יש לומר שהתוספת הזה כעניין כל המצוות בהידורם, כעניין שאמרו (בבא קמא ט ב), הידור מצוה עד שליש במצוה.  On Shabbas one is also able to get a slight experience of the hidden light of creation, as the Bnei Yissachar notes in Shabbas maamer 3 #7.

This may correspond to the 36 tzaddikim that are דמקבלי אפי שכינה בכל יום as the Gemarah Sukkah (45b) says. The tzaddikim are able to have a glimpse of the hidden light in their lives and hence they are מקבלי אפי שכינה בכל יום.  

The Rebbe's father, Rav Levi Yizchak also notes that כסלו can be split into כס לו and he relates לו to the gematria of the word אלה as in שאו מרום עיניכם וראו מי ברא אלה.  The word אלה represents the mask of the world, the façade that there is no G-d behind the scenes.  The name אלקים as noted by the Zohar is made up of the words אלה ים.  The name אלקים has the gematria of טבע.  It is up to a person to see the מי behind the mask of טבע, of the אלה.  The hidden light is what illuminates our vision to see that even in the טבע, in the dark days of כסלו, Hashem is really behind it all hidden from our view. 

Is Bechirah A Good Thing

The Gemarah Sotah (36b) says באתה דיוקנו של אביו ונראת לו בחלון.  Yosef had a glimpse of Yaakov's face and that is what stopped him from sinning.  If Yosef had an external experience which stopped him from sinning why is he given credit for withstanding the test of Potiphar's wife?  

One approach of some seforim is to say this was not an external revelation of the face of Yaakov being conjured up before him but was a reflection of an internal resolve on the part of Yosef not to sin.  Yosef looked within himself and saw that he bears a resemblance to the holy face of Yaakov, etched on the כסא הכבוד and he realized it is not worth throwing it all away to do a sin.  That is the חלון that Chazal mention, a window can reflect that face of the one who looks into it.  Yosef saw a reflection of his potential face, of the face of kedusha that he will obtain if he refrains from sin.  When Yosef had this thought process, he received the fortitude to abstain from sin (from sefer הגיון לבי.)   

The Sfas Emes (5636) has a chiddush which he uses to explain this problem.  As an introduction, one school of thought (I think the common understand,) is that bechirah is a positive quality of man (as some understand לם אלוקים means,) a reflection of the Godliness within mankind.  Choice is what elevates mankind over animals who act purely based upon instinct.  Mankind is endowed with the girt of choice, one is given the ability to control their natural tendencies and choose a path of action.  The Sfas Emes here says the total opposite is the truth.  In the thought of the Sfas Emes, bechirah is an outgrowth of golus.  "עיקר הגלות הוא תוס' הבחירה כי אם לא הי' הבחירה כלל לאדם הי' ממש בן חורין"  In other words, naturally man should be like a malach, automatically programmed to do the desire of Hashem.  It is the sin of Adam that brings bechirah into the world and man is thrust into a life of choice, a life of distinguishing good from bad, of peeling away layers of falsehood to try to reach the truth.  The Sfas Emes says the test of Yosef was such that it was not humanly possible to overcome.  The only way Yosef was stopped from sinning was "רק ע"י רצון ולב אמת וצדק שיש להצדיק. זוכה שיקחו ממנו הבחירה שיצא מהנסיון. ופי' שיסייענו משמים." a removal of bechirah.  The removal of bechirah from Yosef is a harbinger of the geulah from the golus of Mitzraim and the geulah from all of the goliout which occurs when bitachon is removed.  The Sfas Emes (Bo 5638) says that was the message of bechirah being removed from Pharoah.  The message is that bechirah, the darkness of golus, is also under control of Hashem and can only go so far as Hashem allows it.  The Sfas Emes does not quote this Chazal in this piece but it fits in light of his approach.  Yosef did not have it within himself to withstand sin and indeed it was only through an external removal of his bechirah that he was able to avoid sin (see Sefer שערים אל הפנימיות Chapter 4.)  

See another approach in Likutay Moharan (#72 and volume 2 #150,) I'm not sure what he means. 

Internal Beauty

Zechariah (9:13)  כִּֽי־דָרַ֨כְתִּי לִ֜י יְהוּדָ֗ה קֶשֶׁת מִלֵּ֣אתִי אֶפְרַ֔יִם וְעֽוֹרַרְתִּ֚י בָנַ֙יִךְ֙ צִיּ֔וֹן עַל־בָּנַ֖יִךְ יָוָ֑ן וְשַׂמְתִּ֖יךְ כְּחֶ֥רֶב גִּבּֽוֹר.  Why are the conquerors of יון referred to as the people of ציון specifically?  The Alshich says since the battle of Chanukah was waged by the Chasmoniam who were the bearers of the Torah which is associated with ציון as in כי מציון תצא תורה.  And it is the Torah which the possuk concludes is the great sword which will be used to smite Javan.  

However, even though the Alshich notes the beginning of the possuk notes Yehuda and Efraim and then continues to the בני ציון indicating a third group, there are seforim that point out a connection between ציון and יוסף.  The word ציון itself can be broken into צ יון in which the צ stands for צדיק, Yosef is called tzaddik.  Closer to the point, the gematria of יוסף and ציון is exactly the same, 156, see much ado about this in Kol Hator.  Why is the power of Yosef used to defeat יון and what is its connection to ציון?  

Yosef is the only man in Chumash described as יפה תואר ויפה מראה.  Rashi tells us in Vayetzeh when the same expression appears in the Torah's description of Rachel, that תאר is צורת הפרצוף and מראה is זיו קלסתר.  In other words, תאר refers to the actually form of the face, how everything comes together to create a beautiful image and מראה refers to the internal shine that radiates of the face.  חכמת אדם תאיר פניו, the face expresses the internal wisdom that exists within the individual.  The תאר is an external beauty but it is even deeper when accompanied by מראה, a reflection of an internal purity. Why is it significant to know that Yosef was handsome and why is he the only man in Chumash given this description?  צִיּוֹן כְּלִילַת יֳפִי or as the possuk (Tehillim 50:2) says מציון מכלל יפי.  Zion is also called יופי, why? 

In its purest form יופי is an expression of the heavenly dimension meeting earth.  Zion is the meeting place of heaven and earth.  Yosef is the midah of yesod, כל כל בשמים ובארץ, the midah which combines heaven and earth.  The beauty is a reflection of the gashmi being used for the proper designated, ruchni purpose.  When the gashmi is inline with the ruchni purpose it was created for the internal purity shines though.  The יופי is not a maaleh on its own accord but is a mirror of the internal beauty of something being used for its designated purpose.     

The Greeks were known for their appreciation of aesthetics.  The beauty of Yefes is meant to adorn the אהלי שם.  It is a means to accentuate the spiritual usage of Shem.  However, they appreciated beauty but not as a means to an end but rather as an end in of itself.  The root of such a mistake shares the same roots as the origins of the sin of idolatry.  They also started with noble intensions to serve Hashem through His messengers but in the end they worshipped the means, they viewed that as an end in its own right an missed the bridge to the connect back to Hashem.  They got stuck in יפה תואר but it was not יפה מראה, there was no reflection of an inner, genuine truth shining through.  (This part is based upon shiurim from Rav Moshe Shhapira.)     

Rav Kook writes (see as an example his letters volume 4) that Zion refers to Yerushalayim as the capital of the nation of Klal Yisrael.  It is the term used to describe the seat of the malchus of Yisrael, of the mundane power of government.  Yerushalayim refers to the place of kedusha, the place of the Mikdash, the place that parallels the spiritual realm above.  That is why, as Rav Kook explains in the letter, he wished to move away from Mizrachi, and Zionism to form דגל ירושלים, a movement devoted to bring kedusha to the settling of Zion.  

This is why Zion is called יופי.  Its יופי is a mirror of the usage of the mundane force of the government body to facilitate the kedusha of Yerushalayim to to shine.  This midah is embodied by Yosef.  It is precisely because Yosef had the capability to live in the depths of Egypt, the טומאת הארץ, that he did not get lost in the externalities of beauty, that he is described as being handsome. 

3,4 and 19 Kislev

The Gra (Aderes Eliyahu) in the beginning of Ha'azinu has many dikdukim in the possuk, האזינו השמים ואדברה ותשמע הארץ אמרי פי.  One of the points he raises it why the heavens is only afforded three words, האזינו השמים ואדברה while the earth gets four, ותשמע הארץ אמרי פי?  He explains that שמים refers to the Torah שבכתב and the ארץ refers to Torah שבעל פה.  He says the 4 and the 3 parallel the two types of שין on the tefillin of the head, the right side has a four pronged שין and the left side has a three pronged.  These also correspond to the three ברכת השחר in the morning and 4 in the evening.  How do these ideas all come together, what does the written Torah have to do with the number 4 and the oral Torah with the number 3?   

The Gemarah Shabbas (104a) says ג,ד stands for גומל דלים.  In the terminology of Chassidus ג refers to the middah of yesod which is the giver and the letter ד refers to malchut, the recipient.  The written Torah is the giver, it is given to Klal Yisrael from Hashem.  That is why it matches up with the number 3, the giver.  The oral Torah is the Torah composed by the recipients, Klal Yisrael.  The 4 pronged שין is on the right side of the tefillin, the side of chesed, the masculine side, the giver.  The 3 pronged שין in on the left side, that of gevurot, the feminine side, the recipient.  That is why there are 3 avos, three givers and 4 imahot, 4 receivers.  The morning is the time of chesed as well, there is a possibility of a bright new day.  The evening is the time of gevurot, of the time of taking in the events of the day.  That is the matchup of 3 to the written Torah, שמים and 4 to the oral Torah, ארץ.   

The name of the Alter Rebbe is שניאור which according to the Maharshal refers to שני אור, two forms of light.  The avodah of chassidus is to  take the ארץ and align it with שמים.  When the recipient is willing to acknowledge the giver that is the ultimate tikkun.  This is is hinted to by the fact that the original 19-20 Kislev liberation happened on a Tuesday- Wednesday, יום ג ויום ד.  The day is to celebrate the spreading forth of the recognition of the  complete presence of the שמים, the נותן in the ארץ. 

The Bas Ayin notes the the fact that Kislev is three months after Tishray and parallels this to the story of Yehuda and Tamar.  Rav Levi Yitzchak notes that there are two forms of three which correspond with two forms of giving the Torah.  The Torah was given in Sivan, the third month from the count from Nissan.  The Gemarah Shabbas (88a and Rav Nissan Gaon ad loc.) note many forms of three that were present at the giving of the Torah.  Moshe was the third child from the third shevet, Levi.  This is present at the giving of the written Torah from Hashem, the אתערותא דלעילא which happens in the third month from the method of counting from Nissan, the month of the greatest אתערותא דלעילא.  Chanukah is the holiday which is the precursor to the oral Torah and hence it happens in the third month counting from Tishray.  In other words, the count from אתערותא דלתתא, from man's own actions.  That is why Chanukah happened only through mesiras nefesh, it had to happen through the actions of man.  And the miracle happened through the חשמונאים, the descendants of Levi, the third tribe.  It is the oral Torah that leads us through the golus.  It is what distinguishes us from the gentiles.  While they may have the Septuagint, access to the written Torah, they do not have access to the oral Torah.  This is the three that leads to four, when the recipients, Klal Yisrael play an active role, and it is that fusion that guides us through the centuries. 

The "Sin" Of Reuvain

The Gemarah Shabbas (55b) says כל האומר ראובן חוטא אינו אלא טועה.  So why does the Torah write that Reuvain did a grave sin?  Rav Ruderman (Yeshuran volume 17) explains that every issur contains many layers to the prohibition.  There is the actual translation of the words prohibition and then there are degrees and levels to the prohibition.  As an example he says there is an issur not to kill and Chazal equate embarrassing another person to killing them.  In other words, to a degree, embarrassing a person is included in the issur of killing.  With this idea he answers a contradiction.  Rashi in the parsha (37:7) says וכן לא יעשה שהאומות גדרו עצמן מן העריות ע"י המבול.  He says even gentiles were careful about arayot.  But the Midrash  (V'zos Haberacha) says that Amon and Moav didn't take the Torah because they couldn't accept לא תנאף, but they kept the issur of arayot?  They kept the basic law of not having a forbidden relationship but all the extensions of the issur, הרהור, הסתכלות, וכו that they did not keep.  This is the peshat in the story of Reuvain as well.  According to his level his act was an act that was a degree of the issur of לשכב פילגש אביו.  He says this is the yesdo to explain many of the sins mentioned in Tanach.  

Rav Neventzal is מדייק the Gemarah doesn't say האומר ראובן חוטא טועה, that person is wrong for thinking Reuvain sinned but the Gemrah is very verbose and says  האומר ראובן חוטא אינו אלא טועה, why the extra words אינו אלא?  He explains the Gemarah is telling us that one is not just making a mistake in understanding a possuk but one's entire philosophy, one's entire outlook on understanding Tanach is wrong.  אינו אלא טועה means the entire person, his whole approach is mistaken.  Why?  Because it is self understood that such great people can not stumble in such a depraved an immoral sin.  Reuvain, who's name in engraved on the choshen, could not possibly have violated such a great sin.  Someone who doesn't understand that does not know how to read Tanach properly.  So, why does the Torah write it in such a manner?  He gives a משל from a precious diamond that even a small scratch makes the value diminish greatly since the more precious the item is, the greater the perfection demanded from it.  One will tolerate a small scratch in a regular stone but in a precious diamond than more is at stake.  So too for the great figure of Tanach, even there small miscues are cast as great sins for according to their level any lack of perfection taints to the level of a great sin for an ordinary person.     

The Dot In The Middle

In honor of the yima geulah of the month and connected to the parsha. 

Gemarah Berachot (8a)

כתיב פדה בשלום נפשי מקרב לי וגו' אמר הקב"ה כל העוסק בתורה ובגמילות חסדים ומתפלל עם הצבור מעלה אני עליו כאילו פדאני לי ולבני מבין אומות העולם.  

How are these things as if one is redeemed?  The Maharal explains (Netzach Ch. 10, Or Chadash 4:16) that golus means separation as Haman said מפוזר ומפורד, a state of division, a lack of cohesiveness.  On the national level that means that Klal Yisrael is not together but is scattered among various nations.  There is a lack of a concentration of everyone being together in the same land.  On an individual level it means פיזור הנפש where one is not able to put all of one's efforts concentrated into a task but instead one is always distracted by other nags and worries.  As the Chovot HaLevavot writes (into. to Shaar Habitachon) the pious one prays הרחמן יצילני מפיזור הנפש for that is the biggest distraction from being able to live properly in the present.  The antidote to golus, the פדיון, is joining together.  That is the tefillah bitzibbur, when a congregation can come together in prayer that is the opposite of golus.  Gemilas chasadim as well is an act of joining together with another individual to help them out.  Learning Torah is the antidote to פיזור הנפש, throwing one's self into the study of Torah purifies man's mind and allows him to see things in a clearer light (see Maharal himself who explains gemilas chasadim and Torah differently.)      

The root of all division and separation comes from the very forming of the world itself.  The Midrash (2:4) relates the words תהו ובהו חושך על פני תהום as a reference to the 4 גליות.  This means that the root of all the separations of golus stem from the very creation and concealment that exists from the very fact that the world is in existence. The existence of separation from one's source is an outgrowth of  the world's apparent separation from Hashem.  The world was created with a ה.  That is the 4 directions plus a middle point.  The 4 directions are the points of separation from the middle which was the point connected to Hashem and from there the world expands into the 4 directions of concealment to cover over the middle point. 

Esau's essence was to be lost in the world of the concealment.  Esau is Edom.  He sees red and that is taken in by it.  He is taken in by what meets the eye.  Yaakov's face was similar to that of Adam's.  His essence was compared to the essence of Adam, the צלם אלוקים reflected in man.  Esau takes the בגדי חמודות, he is taken in by the external glory of man, he doesn't grasp there is an internal beauty underneath.   

This is why Esau took along 400 men with him in order to combat Yaakov.  He wishes to bring the full power (4*10) of degrees of separation from the midpoint, the extreme of expansion, to drown Yaakov in being מפוזר ומפורד.  This is the קש of Esau (קש = 400.)  He is enthralled by the קד, the externality, the expansion of the physical world.  

The gematria of the word נשים is 400.  Woman take the seed of man and expand it.  They are given the creative capability of expansion.  That is why there are 4 אמהות to properly harness this power of expansion and tie it back to its source. 

The antidote to the number 4 of separation is the connection to the middle point, the number 5.  The ה inside עולם הזה.  The number 5 corresponds to the 5 levels of the neshama.  The greatest level is that of יחידה, the point of unification.  The yechida is the driving force behind action of mesiras nefesh.  To give own's self over totally to Hashem comes from the point of the soul that retains a connection despite all the concealments and that is the yechida.  When one uses mesiras nefesh then not only is the yechida accessed but all the levels of the neshama and the person himself throughout any great state of פיזור one may be in become illuminated by the light of the yechida.  The Gemarah cites the possuk of פדה בשלום.  Shalom is the point of unification of warring factors when they become united as one.  When the acts of Torah, chesed, tefillah bitzubbur are done, it elevates a person beyond the golus and then one is able to unite the concealment of the 4 directions of the world with their middle point. And the Rebbe adds in a maamer (Padah Beshalom 5741) every act of service of Hashem is also connected to mesiras nefesh and the yechida, 

ועפ"ז יובן הקשר דפדי' שבדרך מלחמה [העבודה שמצד חי', ולמטה יותר העבודה שמצד נר"נ] לפדה בשלום נפשי (יחידה), כי בכל עבודה ועבודה יש בה (בהעלם) המס"נ שמצד יחידה. וכדאיתא בתניא דעסק התורה והמצוות והתפלה הוא ענין מס"נ ממש. דכיון שאמיתית הענין דמס"נ (מס"נ ממש) הוא המס"נ שמצד יחידה, הרי נמצא, שבכל ענין דתורה ומצוות [אפילו הענינים הפשוטים דתומ"צ שאלמלא ניתנה תורה (ח"ו) היו למדים אותם מבהמת הארץ] יש כח המס"נ דיחידה.        

Self Defense

וַיִּירָ֧א יַֽעֲקֹ֛ב מְאֹ֖ד וַיֵּ֣צֶר ל֑וֹ.  What was he so afraid and worried about?  Rashi says וַיִּירָא שֶׁמָּא יֵהָרֵג, וַיֵּצֶר לוֹ אִם יַהֲרֹג הוּא אֶת אֲחֵרִים.  The Moshav Zekanim asks why is Yaakov afraid that he may kill, he can kill first in self defense?  He answers that he was afraid that he could have saved himself by merely inflicting damage and he may kill instead. 

The Mizrachi however is clear that in regard to Esau himself, who that was coming to kill Yaakov, there would be no limitations on Yaakov to try to avoid killing Easua for the rule of השכם והורגו gives free reign to kill the assailant.  He cites a Midrash that Yaakov was worried that if he kills Esau that his father would curse him, not because of the act of killing itself.  He adds that for the soldiers approaching with Esau however, he indeed would only have been allowed to maim them to protect himself as they were not coming solely to kill Yaakov.  According to the Mizrachi there seems to be a dispensation due to the rule of השכם והורגו that one who is being threatened to be killed is not bound by the rules of rodaf to limit the damage to the attacker but is given free reign to kill the attacker.  What is it about השכם והורגו that allows one to represe an attacker in self-defense without making any effort of avoiding killing? 

Rav Shmuel Rozovsky elaborates on this idea in Zichron Shmuel siman 83 and develops that there are two distinct parshios regarding stopping an attacker.  One halacha is that of a rodaf which obligates anyone that can to step in and save the attacked in order to save the individual being attacked.  This is not due to the rodaf forfeiting his life due to his act of attack but rather it is totally a law to protect the chased (see Rav Chayim law of Rotzeach Ch. 1.)  In regard to this law, there is no heter to kill the rodaf, it is only if it is the only means available to save the person under threat.  However, the law of השכם והורגו derived from בא במחתרת says that when an individual finds himself under threat, he has no issurim to worry about when employing self defense.  In other words, the attacked has no restrictions in place when using self defense and hence he doesn't have to make calculations to diminish the damage used in protection.  Or in the words of Rav Kook (Mishpat Konan siman 139,) using Talmudic language, for the attacked, the life of the rodaf is הותרה, he has no issurim when employing self defense but for the others the life of the rodaf is merely דחויה to save the attacked.  

Another area where we find a difference between the chased vs. a bystander is regarding if the rodaf needs to be warned before one kills him.  Although the Gemarah has a debate if the rodaf needs to be warned (Sanhedrin 72b-73a,) and the Rambam (Rotzeach 1:7) says one should attempt to warn the rodaf, the Rivash (Teshuva #238) suggests the one being attacked does not need to extend any warning against his attacker.  This is cited in Mishne L'meelch Choval (8:10) and see the words of the מגיה there.  The Achronim wish to explain the words of the Rivash in the same vein that for a defendant of his own life there are no rules involved.  However, it is noteworthy that the Rivash does not just say it is a whole other parsha of  השכם והורגו distinct form rodaf, but employs a practical sevarah that when one's life is in danger they do not think clearly.  In which case he may not go so far as to agree to the Mizrachi.  This point is noted by Rav Ovadia in Yabia Omer volume 4 Choshen Mishpat teshuva 5, although he seems to suggest the same sevarah as an explanation of the din of the Mizrachi.  (צ"ע does the practical sevarah function all in the same parsha of rodaf or is why one's self defense would be a separate parsha.) 

Rav Yosef Engel (Beis Haotzer Klal א אות טו cited in Teferes Yosef on the parsha,) is unsure whether the din of השכם והורגו should apply to a gentile or it is a chiddush din said for a Jew.  And if it is said only for a Jew why would the Mizrachi employ the sevarah to Yaakov's benefit?  He cites a proof from Tosfos Avodah Zarah (10b ד"ה חד) that it does apply even to a gentile and R.Y.E. says it must since השכם והורגו is a severah, even though it is derived from a unique parsha in Torah, it applies even to a gentile.  However, in Gilyonai Hashas Sanhedrin (72a) R.Y.E. ends with a צ"ע on the Tosfos if the din is derived from a possuk why would it apply to a gentile?  R.Y.E. there cites two possible sources for the law.  One is בא במחתרת as Rashi Berachot (58a) says but he also cites a Chizkuni Pinchas (25:18) that says כי צררים הם לכם מכאן אמרו אם בא להרגך השכם להרגו (based upon the Midrash there.)  Either way, in Gilyonai Hashas, R.Y.E. understands it is a chiddush din and should not apply to a gentile.  

The Rambam (Melachim 9:4) says בֶּן נֹחַ שֶׁהָרַג נֶפֶשׁ אֲפִלּוּ עֵבָּר בִּמְעֵי אִמּוֹ נֶהֱרָג עָלָיו. וְכֵן אִם הָרַג טְרֵפָה אוֹ שֶׁכְּפָתוֹ וּנְתָנוֹ לִפְנֵי אֲרִי אוֹ שֶׁהִנִּיחוֹ בָּרָעָב עַד שֶׁמֵּת. הוֹאִיל וְהֵמִית מִכָּל מָקוֹם נֶהֱרָג. וְכֵן אִם הָרַג רוֹדֵף שֶׁיָּכוֹל לְהַצִּילוֹ בְּאֶחָד מֵאֵיבָרָיו נֶהֱרָג עָלָיו. מַה שֶּׁאֵין כֵּן בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל.  The Raavad disagrees: א"א קשיא ליה אבנר. עכ"ל.  The Kesef Mishne explains his question:  והענין הוא דאמרינן בסנהדרין פרק נגמר הדין (סנהדרין דף מ״ט) ויטהו יואב אל תוך השער אמר ר״י שדנו דין סנהדרין אמר ליה מ״ט קטלתיה לעשאל עשאל רודף הוה היה לך להצילו באחד מאיבריו לא יכילי ליה ופשטו של מאמר זה מורה כדברי הראב״ד.  (See what he answers.)  Rav Kook (ibid) puts everything together and says when a Jew kills his assailant even when he could have stopped him by merely wounding him, he is exempt because his heter of השכם והורגו allows him to take the life of the assailant.  However, a gentile does not have the parsha of בא במחתרת, does not have the heter of השכם והורגו and hence, if he kills his assailant when he could have protected himself by merely wounding him, then he gets killed. 

I don't really understand the whole application of the laws of rodaf to the story of Yaakov and Esau in the parsha.  If there is a war, does a soldier need to start making calculations as to how to minimize damage to his attackers, the enemy?  Presumably, not, at war, one kills the enemy in all circumstances.  So, if Esau is coming to do battle why is Yaakov worrying about abiding by the laws of rodaf?  Perhaps, this was not considered a war as no fight had actually occurred yet, it was just a spot of great tension, וצ"ע.

Internal World

Mishlay (11:2) בא זדון ויבא קלון ואת צנועים חכמה, When willful wickedness comes, then comes disgrace, but with the modest is wisdom.  What does צניעות have to do with חכמה and why is it contrasted to disgrace?  The Midrash and the Gemarah  Megillah (13b) says אמר רבי חנינא: בשכר צניעות שהיתה בה ברחל, שמסרה לה סימנין לאחותה, זכתה ויצא ממנה שאול; ובשכר צניעות דהוה בשאול, דכתיב: ועל דבר המלוכה לא הגיד לו, זכה ויצאה ממנו אסתר, דכתיב: אין אסתר מגדת מולדתה.  How is Rachel's givingof  the signs to Leah a display of tzniut?

The Maharal in Nesiv Hatzniut describes the middah of tzniut as something which is internal, פנימי.  What does this mean?  A person has an internal world and an external world.  The internal world is the motherboard of a person, the inner dimension of a person which is how a person talks and relates to themselves in their own mind unaffected by external forces.  The outerworld is the user interface of a person, how they interact and get affected by the world at large.  The element of chachma is the wisdom one perceives from a moment of contemplation, from a point of internal reflection, of digging deeper into one's self to find new ideas . The middah of Rachel was that she did not get affected by the consequences of her actions as they related to herself, if internally it was the right thing, she went ahead and did it.  Rav Moshe Shapira explains that embarrassment or disgrace, is the opposite of tzniut.  A person gets embarrassed when their internal private world becomes revealed to others.  It was the tzinuit of Rachel that did not allow her to ignore the embarrassment of Leah.  Her sense of the importance of the internal world of an individual did not let her sit back and have Leah's inner feelings become public.  

The examples of tzniut mentioned in the Midrash of Shaul and Esther are examples of a person being quiet and not revealing something.  What does that have to do with tzniut?  It is through being quiet that one is able to absorb the inner workings of their own mind and develop an internal perspective on matters.  When there is dialogue with the outside world one loses the ability to be in touch with one's own self.  The avodah of being quiet is the hallmark of a person who's internal world is thriving.  

וַיִּפְגַּ֨ע בַּמָּק֜וֹם וַיָּ֤לֶן שָׁם֙ כִּי־בָ֣א הַשֶּׁ֔מֶשׁ, literally translated as "And he arrived at the place and lodged there because the sun had set."  The Gemarah (Berachot 26b) says the word פגיעה is a reference to tefillah teaching us that Yaakov installed the prayer service of arvit.  Why is this tefillah expressed using the terminology of ויפגע and how is מקום, place tied to this tefillah?  The time of night is when one can not see their surroundings.  A person's connection to the outer world is cut off.  It is during such a time frame where one's inner world is dominant.  It is at this time when one is able to tap into a deeper form of wisdom. The word פגיעה means to bump into.  At a time when one's mind is not preoccupied by external matters one may happen to bump into greater revelations, into inspiration that only is available to a person in solitude (Rav Kook Ein Ayah Berachot ibid.)  That is why the Rambam (Talmud Torah 3:13) on the importance of utilizing one's nights to learn Torah.  It is at during the night, a time of צניעות that one is able to tap into chachma, into deeper insights as they are revealed to a person who's inner world is open to receive.  

That is the the מקום.  When one is in connection with their internal self, in their own safe space, they are able to establish a new place, meaning a deeper form of existence, of self-awareness.  It is at night, when a person is alone with themselves that they are afforded the opportunity to conquer deeper depths, illuminate the depths of one's internal world. That is why the Rambam (Talmud Torah 3:13) on the importance of utilizing one's nights to learn Torah.  It is at during the night, a time of צניעות that one is able to tap into chachma, into deeper insights as they are revealed to a person who's inner world is open to receive.

Gemilas Chassadim

 ואעשך לגוי גדול ואברכך ואגדלה שמך והיה ברכה

Rashi says ד"א ואעשך לגוי גדול זהו שאומרים אלהי אברהם ואברכך זהו שאומרים אלהי יצחק ואגדלה שמך זהו שאומרים אלהי יעקב יכול יהיו חותמין בכולן ת"ל והיה ברכה בך חותמין ולא בהם.  Why do we end the first beracha of Shemone Esrai specifically with the name of Avraham, מגן אברהם?  Does Avraham want to be singled out, אין אדם מתקנא בבנו?  The Meglah Amukot (this is how I see it cited in his name ,even though I don't see him quite saying these words,)  says that the three Avos correspond to the three pillars of Torah (Yaakov,) Avodah (Yitzchak,) Gemilas chassadim (Avraham.)  The חתימה, what will ultimately seal the fate of Klal Yisrael for the better, is the merit of gemilas chassadim.  Even as the pillars of Torah and avodah get weakened through the long golus the merit of chesed is what will carry the day. 

The Divrey Yisrael (Modzitz) reads this into the possuk of the prayer of Yitzchak, וַיֵּצֵא יִצְחָק לָשׂוּחַ בַּשָּׂדֶה לִפְנוֹת עָרֶב וַיִּשָּׂא עֵינָיו וַיַּרְא וְהִנֵּה גְמַלִּים בָּאִים, Yitzchak saw at the end of the day, at the end of the golus, there will no lnger be the merit of avodah, his middah and he was worried what will be the merit of Klal Yisrael to be saved?  Then he saw the גְמַלִּים, the גמילות חסדים will be the merit for the geulah. 

He also reads this into the pessukim of Eliezer coming with the camels, ויקח העבד עשרה גמלים מגמלי אדניו, he took the middah of his master, of chesed, the next possuk continues, ויברך הגמלים מחוץ לעיר, this middah of chesed he took and it is used in the time of the golus outside the city, לעת ערב, in the time right before Mashiach, it will be our merit, לעת צאת השאבת, until it is time to leave the golus. 

This is what the Yalkut (Hosha 6:6) says כי חסד חפצתי ולא זבח. אמר הקב"ה חביב עלי חסד שאתם גומלים זה לזה יותר מכל הזבח שזבח שלמה לפני אלף עולות יעלה שלמה וכה"א זאת התורה לעולה למנחה, זאת התורה לא עולה ולא מנחה. פעם אחת היה רבן יוחנן בן זכאי מהלך בירושלים והיה רבי ייהושע מהלך אחריו ראה בית המקדש שהוא חרב אמר אוי לנו על הבית שחרב מקום שמתכפרין בו עונותינו, א"ל בני אל ירע לך שיש לנו כפרה אחרת שהיא כמותה ואי זה זה גמילות חסדים, לכך נאמר כי חסד חפצתי ולא זבח, ואומר אמרתי עולם חסד יבנה.  

As the possuk says ציון במשפט תפדה ושביה בצדקה, the redemption comes in the merit of tzedakah. In the words of the Alter Rebbe Egeres Hakodesh #9 אֵיךְ הֱיוֹת כָּל עִיקַּר עֲבוֹדַת ה' בָּעִתִּים הַלָּלוּ בְּעִקְּבוֹת מְשִׁיחָא הִיא עֲבוֹדַת הַצְּדָקָה,כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ־זִכְרוֹנָם־לִבְרָכָה: "אֵין יִשְׂרָאֵל נִגְאָלִין אֶלָּא בִּצְדָקָה".  

The Mishna in Avos says עַל שְׁלֹשָׁה דְּבָרִים הָעוֹלָם עוֹמֵד:עַל הַתּוֹרָה, וְעַל הָעֲבוֹדָה, וְעַל גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים   If chesed aligns with Avraham why is it mentioned last in the Mishna?  The Satmer Rebbe (R' Aharon) says based upon this idea, since chesed is the last zechut to stand up before the geulah it is mentioned last in the Mishna. 

The three pillars of Torah, avodah and gemilas chassadim may also align with mochin (Torah,) middot (avodah- avodah שבלב,) and maaseh (gemillas chassadim.)  A thought I once heard is that it is the lowest parts, that of maaseh that needs to be perfected before Mashiach.  That is why it is gemilas chassadim that is the final ticket to geulah. 

In the sichos of Rav Pinkus on Chanukah he says:

Even gentiles, in the merit of chesed get saved from wars!