Audio talks on our daily lives
Before the Mitzvah and after the Mitzvah: What we learn from Yaakov's relationship with Laban and Esau
The Torah is not a history book. The outer events of our forefathers’ lives are recorded in the Torah. But the meaning of these events and the intentions of the protagonists are recorded in the inner aspect of the Torah, the Zohar. It’s when we put the inner intentions together with the events that we begin to understand why these stories are important for us today in living our own lives. In this shiur we will look at one example in which Yaakov teaches us how to handle our own selfishness and ego, before we going to do a mitzvah and how we need to relate to it after the mitzvah by looking at the story of his relationship with both Laban and Esau.
The Torah is not a history book. The outer events of our forefathers’ lives are recorded in the Torah. But the meaning of these events and the intentions of the protagonists are recorded in the inner aspect of the Torah, the Zohar. It’s when we put the inner intentions together with the events that we begin to understand why these stories are important for us today in living our own lives. In this shiur we will look at one example in which Yaakov teaches us how to handle our own selfishness and ego, before we going to do a mitzvah and how we need to relate to it after the mitzvah by looking at the story of his relationship with both Laban and Esau.
Before the story of Joseph and the brothers, brotherhood does not seem to have been an important value in family life. In the selling of Joseph as a slave to Egypt, both Joseph and his brothers discover they have lost something precious and now have to work hard to regain it. But the gain is far greater than they imagined. In discovering brotherhood they lay the foundations of discovering the common humanity that binds us all together.
There is a famine in the land, and Abraham decides to go down to Egypt, taking Sarai with him. The Zohar teaches that the famine was a spiritual thirst for the light of God. In which case why go down to the consciousness of Egypt, known as a source of spiritual pollution? Why does Abraham ask Sarai to say she is his sister not his wife? This most peculiar story, found in the early life of Abraham takes on a new dimension when looked though the inner dimension of the Zohar, and tells us much about how we too, need to handle the different aspects of good and evil found within ourselves.
The story of the two brothers Cain and Abel is written in Genesis.
This is what it says:
“And Cain brought an offering to the Lord from the fruits of the land, whereas Able brought from the firstborn of his flock and from their fat. And God paid attention to Abel and to his offering, but to Cain and his offering he paid no attention. “
Genesis chapter 4And we all know the tragic ending.
Rabbi Yehuda Leib Ashlag, the great master Kabbalist, relates to the stories in the Torah as depicting elements that are within ourselves. This comes from the fact that every single human being is an entire world in himself or in herself. Therefore everything that is happening outside in the world is also happening within ourselves.
The Cain within us is the human intelligence which a person can use in order to try to acquire revelations of the light of God. as Eve said’ With this man I have acquired God, and she called his name Cain, which means acquisition. Cain knows that he can only receive the light of God if he occupies himself by giving, so he humbles himself and offers to God the fruits of the ground , “the ground” representing his outward humility. But he is really deceiving himself, because his desire is really to receive. God pays no heed to this offering . The desire to receive in spirituality is the largest of the desires to receive for ourselves alone.
But we also have the element of Abel within us. The word Abel signifies the heart. Abel wants with all his heart to give unconditionally to God even if the offering is small. As we try to give unconditionally we discover our true egoistic nature. So the Abel within us goes in and out of the framework of holiness. Abel is represented by a shepherd, he gathers up his little lambs of faith. As we stumble all we can do is offer our first steps in faith that God will forgive us and help us come toward Him.. This is the offering that God heeds and thus the Abel within us helps us to feel blessed.
The Cain within us can never really be happy because it is always looking to see what God owes him for his work, whereas the Able within us is happy and feels privileged , no matter how small the offering is
The word with which the Torah opens is Bereishit. This word is one of the most discussed words in the Zohar because it contains within itself the sodot, the inner meanings of the origin of creation, the inner meanings of the nature of creation, and of creation’s ultimate destiny.
In this short piece we will consider one aspect only: the word ברא bara creation itself. What actually was created?
The holy Ari teaches us that prior to creation, reality is entirely filled with the limitless light of God, His goodness. Since this goodness contains all that is, the only new creation that can possibly be, is a state of emptiness. So the word ברא implies emptiness. It describes a state of consciousness in which we are outside of the consciousness of light. It is a state of longing, a state of being incomplete. If our natural state is one of being filled with light, then the state of creation is therefore an unnatural one. Indeed, this is how we experience it.
The story of Joseph and his brothers is a story filled with passion, anger and reconciliation. Most of all, it is a story that describes the search for and the development of the quality of brotherhood.
Although other brothers have been described in the Torah, the quality of brotherhood has not, until now, been one sought for. Ever since Cain and Abel, the most that any pair of brothers has looked for is for the different brothers to part and go their independent ways in peace.
In contrast, all twelve sons of Jacob are called the 12 tribes of Yah. They are twelve distinct individuals who each have their own way of serving God: Joseph’s way of working for God was most suited for the end of the Tikkun, the time of redemption. Indeed his pathway is that of redeemer, . Judah, in contrast , believes that faith and prayer is the right way to serve God. They could not agree.
In the search for brotherhood, the brothers first have to develop the vessel for the light of brotherhood, that is, they have to develop the lack and the need in their awareness for brotherhood.
Our world, both politically and culturally is in turmoil. Our value systems are being turned upside down. Freedom of speech in the West is no longer guaranteed. Our economic systems serve only a few with the majority suffering under huge burdens. And, in more than one country, democracy itself and the freedom of the individual are under attack. All this was true before, but now added to that is the Coronavirus crisis and the latest riots in the US and the world. Where are we heading?
Times of chaos are definitely uncomfortable for us: and we are the individuals who are destined to live through them. But such times also provide opportunities for us to reassess our values and to make new decisions in the directions that we, as individuals, as families, and as communities want to go.
When we look back on our lives, we find many things we wish we had done differently. Yet ultimately everything that transpired did so according to the will of God. So what do we need to say sorry for?
This question was asked by the great Kabbalist Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag. He considers a saying of the Sages of the Talmud,
” The evil inclination would prevail over a person every day and if God does not help him he does not manage to overcome it. “
This would seem to suggest that we are not to blame for our sins. In which case what is the real sin?
In this article, Rabbi Ashlag looks at the source of our mistakes, and shows us that the real sin lies in our not asking for help from the Creator to deal with them. We need to believe that not only God wants to help us , but that He really can!
Every person, whether male or female, who aspires to become close to the Creator in the sense of resembling HaShem in giving unconditional love to his or her fellows or to the Creator is called by the name of Adam, from the scripture אדמה לעליון, “I will resemble the Most High.”
How can we become Adam? How can we attain the desire of becoming the best we can be?
Feeling sad and feeling happy all at the same time? Conflicting emotions aren’t that rare; interestingly enough the Zohar talks about them in context with the person who wants to draw closer to God again after having strayed. How can he come close to God when he is feeling sad, when the injunction is ” serve the Lord with gladness”
“In every generation, a man is obliged to see himself or herself, as if he is coming out of Egypt.” The coming out of Egypt, is a present reality for each and every one of us. Each one of us has within us our own personal Egypt, our own limitations that we need help in overcoming. We need our own redemption.
The soul’s origin is God. To return, to do the work of teshuvah, is to return to our origin;This opportunity is a gift of the Creator to all of creation. From the teachings of Rabbi Kook and Rabbi Baruch Shalom Ashlag.
Prayer is our connection with our Source. Yet there are many sad and broken people in the world who yet do not call out to the Divine for help. Rabbi Ashlag teaches us that the very turning to God constitutes a Divine call to us. Zohar
Our feelings actually originate with the very Thought of Creation, whereby the Creator desires to give pleasure to all the created beings. Thus we all long for pleasure, and that is a given. But what is not a given, is how we receive this pleasure?
Since the flood, silence. God had not revealed himself to mankind again. What was He waiting for?
On the finish of the Creation, the words of the Torah are, vayhal Elohim, “and God finished”. But the Holy Or HaChaim, Rabbi Ibn Atar, tells us that these words also have the connotation of God “yearning” for Man. What was He yearning for?
“O God, My God, You, I seek You. My soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You, in an arid and thirsty land without water” ( Psalm 63). David said these words when he was in sorrow and trouble and is teaching the consciousness of God’s light when it is concealed from us and how we may yet connect with God even when we can’t.
From the Zohar.
A holy dialogue increases the life and goodness in the world. Blessing God for everything we enjoy is a simple and wonderful way that Judaism teaches us to change the one-way flow of God’s goodness into a productive dialogue.
By considering what the basic identity and makeup of Cain and Abel was, we can find how they are in fact elements represented in each one of us. Once we have identified them, we can ask ourselves the most important question of all: How do we stop our inner Cain “murdering” our inner Abel?
The worlds are connected with each other like a staircase. Influencing each other. Man has a crucial and pivotal role to play in Creation. and prayer , when it goes up can influence for the good.Dedicated to the safe return of Ayal ben Iris Teshurah, Gilad Michael ben Bat Galim,Yaakov Naftali Ben Rachel Devorah.
We all have moments of connection with our soul, with the Divine within us,….and we all have moments when we feel sad or depressed or spiritless. How do we keep ourselves from falling into the grip of the will to receive for ourselves alone and ending up separated from our soul, from God?
“It is a natural law for every created being, that whatever is to be found outside the framework of his own body, seems to him to be empty and completely unreal.” Rabbi Ashlag, Matan Torah. download
A lesson from the Zohar itself.
Rabbi Yoseph Ben Yehoshua ben Levi had a near death experience. When he had recovered he told that he saw in the next world, a world of opposite values to those we value in this ego -ruled world. Chasing after our ego values is like chasing after tinsel.
Love your neighbor as yourself is actually a statement which sums up the whole of the Torah. In this talk we look at the relationship between loving our neighbor unconditionally and the soul. From Matan Torah by Rabbi Ashlag.
Why did Avraham break off from his communication with God and turn to give hospitality to the angels? This tiny detail in the life of Avraham Aveinu, has a profound meaning for us today.
The holy Rabbi of Pieczetsna, Rabbi Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, taught his community during the last years of the Warsaw Ghetto. He faced this issue of faith in God in the worst of all imaginable circumstances.
The souls exist in different states simultaneously. how and in what way do I choose my path? From the teachings of Rabbi Ashlag.
Why did the soul, so perfect and pure, come into this troubled and difficult existence? From a letter written by the Baal haSulam
The Purpose of Creation seems remote from us. Yet, all. that happens to us and all that we choose is in fact the consequence of the Purpose of the Creation unfolding right within our lives
When we say the first six words of the Shema, tradition has it that we respond with a whisper, “Blessed be His glorious Name for ever and ever.
Loving God isn’t an easy thing for most of us. We tend to take the good times as our due or for granted , and in bad we just feel miserable and angry. How can we remain open to love?