To the Degree We Are Willing to Give Up of Ourselves, to that Degree We Have Life
The portion of Vayechi in the Torah is special and different. There is no open line, no emptiness between the portions. There is no great break between the previous portion and this week’s portion. Rashi, the great commentator, says the reason there is no break is that this week’s Parashah is the beginning of the difficulties. Their eyes were closed from the pain and suffering of the exile.
The Kabbalists never look at or understand the Torah or the explanation in a way that reveals negativity. This week’s Parashah begins “Ya’akov lived in Egypt.” Right after that he was ready to leave this world.
In the Talmud it says something very scary. Rabba and Rabbi Yosef are talking about what they are willing to do to bring an end to pain and suffering in our world. One of them said, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to end pain and suffering of the world even if I don’t merit to be a part of it. The second said he was willing to do the work even if he was terribly humiliated in the process. It says these words in the Talmud, so I guess I can say them: even if I have to live in the dung of a donkey, if I can help in any way. These two, Rabba and Rabbi Yosef, knew what was ultimately the purpose of their lives–to bring the end of pain and suffering.
Usually when we think about it, if we are at that point, it’s what can I do to help the world to remove pain and suffering and death? But the true giants, and we are not there, said they were willing to give up everything, even their own ability to be there at the time that pain and suffering end.
What’s the secret to life?
What’s most important from this, without going into the details, is that they ask one of the great sages: what’s the secret to life? Everybody lives, but is life the fulfillment and joy it was meant to be? Not simply living in our world, but having a life with fulfillment, peace and joy. The secret to life is if a person if willing to give up his life for this. How do we understand this?
For those of us who have had the merit to be around the Rav for all these years–and everyone can take part in this–is that to the degree we are willing to give up of ourselves, to bring joy, peace, and fulfillment, to bring the ultimate revelation of Light in our world, to that degree we have Life. To give up of ourselves is not just a spiritual concept. To give up of ourselves is the secret to a real life.
The Rav’s lesson is: The only reason he does what he does is because he is the most selfish person in the world. He was willing to give up completely of himself. “Ya’akov lived,” and his life was full of Light. He was willing to give himself up completely to bring Light into this world, to bring fulfillment into other people’s lives.
To the degree we are willing to give up of ourselves, to that degree we have Life
The question is not how spiritual we are, but how concerned we are for others and for bringing Light into our world. We have to be clear that to the degree we are willing to give up of ourselves to do difficult things–and difficult is a whole range for each of us–to that degree we have Life. To that degree we have a true connection to the Creator.
Rav Ashlag asks: How do you connect to the Creator? By acting like the Creator to bring the end of pain and suffering. As we become more and more willing to give of ourselves, to help others, to that degree we bring more Life into our lives.
The darkness in my life, and the end of pain and suffering, are one in the same
Unfortunately, we view this as a high spiritual concept. I’m involved with all the darkness I have, and I hear other people talking about bringing the end of pain and suffering. But those two things, the darkness in my life, and the end of pain and suffering, are intertwined. They are one in the same.
If we want to have Vayechi, peace and joy, we have to be willing to sacrifice ourselves to help others. The paradox is we sacrifice ourselves because we want more for ourselves.
How do you gain true Life?
How do you gain true Life? Not life with depression and sadness. How do you gain true Life? Find those things you are willing to give up of yourself to help another person. Think of the greater picture of ending pain and suffering in our world. To that degree we gain Life. Vayechi, the way to gain Life, to whatever degree. That’s when people like Rabbi Shimon and Ya’akov merited true Life. Ya’akov never died because he was willing to give completely of himself.
Ending pain and suffering in our world is the key to my Life
We are not there yet. But what has to be clear is that ending pain and suffering in our world is not simply a nice spiritual concept; it is the key to my life, the key to the fulfillment and joy that I will have in my life. The gift that Jacob gives us on this Shabbat, that every single one of us should think about, is that if we want to gain true Life, we have to ask ourselves, what is it that I am willing to give of myself?
HaRav’s introduction to the Tikkune Zohar
I want to share one short thing. A few weeks ago my son was in his room and was scared to go to sleep. What do you do when you are afraid? You read Zohar. He had a volume in his room. Rav Ashlag, the founder of the Centre, completed the first translation to Hebrew, but he didn’t complete all of it. Then Rav Brandwein, his student, the Rav’s teacher, continued after the death of Rav Ashlag to translate the Zohar from Aramaic to Hebrew. And he didn’t finish it. I completed that process of the Tikunei Zohar. That’s the volume my son had in his room. And the Rav wrote an introduction. I’d just like to share a little bit of the introduction.
The Rav writes: my teacher, Rav Brandwein, told me that everything he wrote was what he received from his teacher Rav Ashlag. But, the Rav writes, unfortunately my teacher didn’t have the ability to finish the translation of the Tikunei Zohar while he was alive. The Rav writes that I knew the time would come, and my teacher Rav Brandwein would merit to see his work completed.
Without getting people to begin their study of Kabbalah nobody would open the Zohar
The Rav here says an amazing thing. All the years, from the time Rav Brandwein passed away, I was concerned, I was worried, when will the completion of the Tikunei Zohar be translated into Hebrew? The Rav writes, my teacher came to me when I was writing all the other books. I knew he would come to me and help complete the translation. I knew this translation needed to be completed to bring the end of pain and suffering. But I knew that without getting people to begin their study of Kabbalah, nobody would open the Zohar. So what was the point of me, the Rav, trying to finish this translation?
I saw there was an opening from above to bring people closer through my classes and my books. I knew that was where I needed to focus my time. I did not have time to complete what my teacher, Rav Brandwein, wanted to do–the completion of the Tikunei Zohar.
The Rav writes of what he and my mother merited to do. All that time the completion of the translation of the Zohar was not done yet, but I received the message from my teacher of what was more important to save people’s lives.
And the Rav writes, there wasn’t one day, from 1969, when Rav Brandwein passed away, until today, that I didn’t feel the pain that this work was not complete. And he said, when my son (Michael said, with tears in his eyes, “He’s talking about me.”) came to me and told me he wanted to continue this translation, I started crying. The Rav said, I felt so much pain all these years that this translation wasn’t done. The Rav said he could not explain in words the joy that he felt on that day.
It’s not available yet in English, but for those of you who can read Hebrew, I highly recommend you read the Rav’s introduction. For me it’s another reminder of a person who dedicated his life to others to end pain and suffering in this world. That is the secret the Rav taught all of us. That is the secret of Life.
We need to feel the pain of others, feel all the pain there is in this world. We have to do whatever we can do. We have to do much more than we have done so far to end pain and suffering of this world. That is the greatest of all the secrets. That is the secret for our Life. To the degree we help others, to that degree we will have fulfillment in our life.