This week’s portion deals a lot with the kohenim. It says the kohen, the priest, is not allowed to become impure. The commentators explain.

The kohenim are doing their work in the Mishkan. They have a very important job. They do their work right by the Light of the Creator. It says it’s not right, it doesn’t seem fitting for someone that close to the Creator to see a dead body.

It’s talking about all of us who make a decision to be a priest. It’s talking about all of us who make a decision that I dedicate my life to the work of the Creator. If you want to be kohenim, if you want to be a person dedicating their lives to the Light of the Creator, you have to live in a consciousness of immortality.

It’s not right for a person to be a priest and be involved with death. The idea, if you really want to be connect to this work there has to be an element of you connected to immortality.

For those who had the merit to be around the Rav, you know the Rav has this. The Rav lives in immortality. And Rav Ashlag always speaks about this.

The lesson we should take is, and this is a concept that may be a little bit beyond us. It’s not fitting, the commentary says, that a kohen should see a dead body. It’s not fitting that someone so close to the Light of the Creator should see death.

If a person takes himself to be a priest, there is an element of him that should never see death. There’s an element of us that should be living in immortality. If we are people dedicating ourselves to the Light of the Creator it’s not fitting for us to live in the world of death.

Don’t connect to the world of death, meaning don’t connect to the world of Desire to Receive for the Self-Alone. Rav Ashlag makes very clear what death is? Death is a person connected to Desire to Receive for the Self-Alone.

If you really want to be a kohenim, if you really want to be a person who has dedicated their lives to the work of the Creator, you have to be separate from the Desire to Receive for the Self-Alone. The Desire to Receive for the Self-Alone is the impurity of death.

Rav Chaim Vital wrote a book called Sha’arei Kedusha the Gates of Holiness. He writes that every person, every one of us, can and is meant to merit ruach hakodesh, Divine Inspiration. Literally always constantly being connected to the Light of the Creator.
How do you do it? By becoming holy, by becoming pure.
One of the unique qualities of this Shabbat, this reading, is that it was said in the gathering of all the people. This is one of the only times when the Creator called everybody together. He gathered everybody together to tell every single one of us. Every single one of us can merit ruach hakodesh. Every single one of us can merit Divine Inspiration; a complete and total connection to the Light of the Creator, a complete and total bond. But it has to come with a strengthening of our purity.
Sometimes we allow ourselves not to be pure. We say you know, so what if I’ll be pure? Where will that get me to? As the Or Chaim, the great kabbalist Rabbi Chaim ben Attar explains, it’s a continual life-long process.
Knowing that we have that capacity, that we have that ability, that’s number one. The RaMCHaL, Rabbi Chaim Moshe Luzzatto the great Italian kabbalist, in Mesilat Yesharim writes the pathways. He quotes the saying of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair. Have clarity on the fact. Know and never forget that no matter where we are now every single one of us can and is meant to get to that level of ruach hakodesh, to the level of Divine Inspiration.
And number two, knowing how to achieve it. As Rav Ashlag learned from his teacher. Think: If it’s not tomorrow, if it’s not next year, it’s in my future. I’m going to achieve the Divine Inspiration, ruach hakodesh.
What does that mean about how I can allow myself to act? Or how I direct my life?
What happens is we often, not we, the negative side tells us: You know what, how high can you go? How high can you go? Because we don’t believe that we have the capacity for ruach hakodesh, for Divine Inspiration, we allow ourselves to act in ways that won’t bring us there.

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One of the problems of illusions that we fall to is we get so involved in what is happening to us, what other people are doing for us, what we have to do for other people. We forget the only reason anything happens to me, the only reason for my interactions with other people. At the end there is only one purpose: My change.

In the Introduction to Ten Luminous Emanations Rav Ashlag quotes a section from the Talmud. It says every person needs to say “the world was created for me.” What does that mean?

Everything here, every interaction today, every interaction in my life, is only for me. Not for the good or the help I will give to others. It’s only for me. All the people in the world and all the interactions that I have in my life are to help me change. The entire world, everything in my life, is for one purpose: To give me the opportunities I need.

These interactions, the other people in the world, help me perfect my qualities. The only reason I have interactions with other people is to perfect myself. Rav Ashlag says that we perfect our qualities until they become the way they are supposed to be for the Light of the Creator.

It’s so easy to start thinking about what I have to do for other people in the sense that creates either worry or all kinds of disconnect from the Light of the Creator.

Often, certainly those of us involved in the spiritual work, and all of us to one degree or another, are teachers of other people. We often get involved with the affects of that work. We forget the only reason for this interaction was for me to grow, for me to change, for me to become a better person.

The situation we are in is because the Creator knows we need to have this interaction to become what we need to be. Everything that is happening in my life is for only one purpose. It is for me to change, for me to grow. If I’m so involved in everybody else, and things that I have to do externally, that I forget that everything that happens is for me to change, for me to grow, I missed everything. No responsibility, no interaction, no work, is for any other purpose than for me to change.

We live in the world of illusion. We think we need to create an outcome. None of that. All these things are in my life because I have to change from them and through them. All the situations, good things and bad things, chaos and positivity, are not here for me to solve or take care of. They are here for me to grow from.

If we really understand it and live it, it can diminish so much worry, and our minds won’t be diminished by this worry.

Tonight is the death anniversary of Rabbi Elimelech of Lejensk. There is a lot that can and should be said about Rabbi Elimelech. One interesting thing that I was reading tonight.

We know that the Noam Elimelech, the book of teachings, does not have any Torah on Vayak’hel. It skips and goes straight to Pekudei. One of the students writes the reason is because Rabbi Elimelech passed away in Vayak’hel. The pieces of Vayak’hel were included in Pekudei. They felt the need to leave Vayak’hel empty to one degree to indicate the darkness or lack that was created.

This is true about all tzadikkim. Why do we come together on the death anniversary of a righteous person? The idea is when the souls leave our world they go to a different place. Certainly righteous souls. And we speak in the Endless World where everything is complete. There is no good or bad.

That means their connection to the pain is also diminished. We come together on the death anniversary to awaken them to our pain, to say don’t forget us and come back to help us. It’s easy for them to see the good, but we are still in pain. Please, don’t forget about us and help us.

I want to share something from this week’s Parashah from Noam Elimelech, two or three stories.

We know as we read the words of a righteous person we awaken their soul, we awaken their Light. We know Rabbi Elimelech did not write a will, teaching before he died. Most kabbalists do. They explain the book is his spiritual work. Depending on a person’s spiritual level, to that degree you can understand the book.

A righteous person, as we just said, the reality is he is in the Upper World. He doesn’t really deal in our world. But because they have a strong desire that the Creator should send down to us all kinds of blessings, therefore a righteous person has to detach themselves a little bit from the Upper World to come down into our world.

And this is something that Rabbi Elimelech of Lejensk speaks about a while. This is something if you are serious about your spiritual work you question yourself. There is always the desire to make yourself perfect, and to help others. The more time you spend with others the less focus on your own spiritual growth. There is always the balance that has to be kept to perfect ourselves and to assist others.

Rabbi Elimelech says how can we awaken people’s desire to connect to the Light of the Creator? We know Rabbi Elimelech of Lejensk, throughout his writing he talks about the righteous souls. All of us have that spark of righteousness within us, and he is talking to all of us.

This is a new teaching from Rabbi Elimelech of Lejensk. How can we awaken people? One way is to teach, to explain to people. But there’s another level. When people see your great desire to do good for them, that simply by people seeing your great desire to do good for them, that injects within them an awakening of a desire to connect to the Light of the Creator.

It’s an important understanding. Very often when you are teaching, trying to teach people, it’s important to focus on the teaching, to what you are trying to awaken in them. But there is this additional pathway into hearts and souls by showing how great your desire is for them to have happiness, fulfillment, blessings. That revelation of your desire for goodness to come to them can awaken their desire to connect to the Light without any understanding on their part. Simply by showing them your desire for goodness to come to them, it awakens their desire.

This is true with our students, our children, our family and friends. It’s important that we speak and reveal our desire for goodness to come to them. It’s not enough to teach, to explain. If it’s not there, we have to awaken it. If to one person I’m only teaching, not awakening within my heart a desire for them to have good, I’m not a complete teacher. There are different pathways we have to explore. One path is teaching. A second pathway is to show our desire for them to have goodness.

It says Aaron raised his hands, and I think this is a cute teaching from Rabbi Elimelech. He says, sometimes when you are becoming awakened in your spiritual work, sometimes from the excitement, the joy of being awakened you start clapping your hands. Therefore the spiritual work can be called the work of the hands. But what type of work. The clapping that comes from your awakening to the Light of the Creator.

What Rabbi Elimelech is saying, when it says Aaron raised his hands to the people, on some level he was excited from the spiritual connection and he started clapping his hands. This is another interesting idea. If our spiritual work, at least at sometimes, does not fill us with such excitement and joy that we cannot help ourselves from clapping there is something missing.

Rabbi Elimelech says the spiritual work is called the work of the hands. Why? Is has to come to the point we are so excited and full of the Light that we start clapping. I like that story.

There are three stories that I’d like to share.

Rabbi Elimelech had many students. One of them wrote a book called….one of the close students. He quotes his teacher many times in the book. He tells this story. Towards the end of Rabbi Elimelech’s life, for a few days. He had four bothers at least. Rav Zusha was 15 years older than Rabbi Elimelech. He brought his brother to be a student in the path of the Bal Shem Tov, but he never met the Bal Shem Tov. Rav Zuash lived 15 years longer than Rabbi Elimelech, so he was 30 years older than Rabbi Elimelech when he passed away.

It is getting closer to the passing of Rabbi Elimelech, and he keeps telling his student day after day prepare yourself, prepare yourself, become stronger.

One night around midnight Rabbi Elimelech wakes the students up. Rabbi Elimelech takes his staff and he walks with his students to the cemetery. They came to a place in the cemetery where Rabbi Elimelech stopped. He said to his students, make sure you are strong.

At midnight, it was as if a window opened up in the heavens and a strong light, fire came out. They saw, they had this vision of this Light throwing sparks all over the world. The student, ….., couldn’t take this Light that shown through out the world. He had to cover his eyes not to see this tremendous Light.

After that window closed Rabbi Elimelech told his student, now you can understand who the Bal Shem Tov was. That was the Light of the Bal Shem Tov.

Rabbi Elimelech said he didn’t want to leave this world until he saw the Bal Shem Tov. Because of his work he merited to see the revelation of the soul of the Bal Shem Tov to him.

It says that before he passed away he told his students that he wanted to be buried on the spot where he was standing when the soul of the Bal Shem Tov was revealed to him. He is buried on that spot where the revelation of the soul of the Bal Shem Tov came to him.

A second story is about …Moshe. He was in the time of the Bal Shem Tov but never met the Bal Shem Tov. His son became very sick. He sent two students to go to the grave of Rabbi Elimelech of Lejensk. He told them when you come to the gate of the cemetery you should say, you should announce to all the graves that we are going to give money for the sake of any one of the souls that becomes awakened to tell Rabbi Elimelech that we are here to pray.

The Zohar speaks of the fact that sometimes you need a lower soul to awaken a higher soul.

He says to make a note of these messengers, of the moment when they came into the cemetery.

The son who had been in a coma for a long time he began to wake up. He tells his father I know I will be healed, I will be healthy. His father asks how do you know? The son says a vision came to me, an old man, Rabbi Elimelech of Lejensk, and he blessed me. I know I will be healed.

When the two messengers came back he asked them what time were you there. The exact time they got to the cemetery and made the announcements to the souls was the exact moment the son was awakened and began to be healed.

We know that as we tell these stories we are awaken this Light in our world. We are awakening the Light from Rabbi Elimelech to give all of us the ability to awaken these miracles for ourselves and for the world.

The second to last story. And this is a story told in many different places. During World War II, as the Nazis were going through Poland then came to Lejensk. They killed as many people as they could find. Many people went to hide by the grave of Rabbi Elimelech. The Nazis came and wanted to destroy the grave before they killed the people. As they dug in the ground they saw Rabbi Elimelech dressed in the clothes he was buried in and his face was shining. They covered the grave and left. And all the people there in the room were saved.

The last story is a story that many of us know. But it’s important that we remind ourselves. One of Rabbi Elimelech’s and Rav Zusha’s brothers was Rabbi Nachum. He became very sick with a disease. The doctors said nobody should be next to him, he was going to die, and it was contagious. One of the older people in the community said at my age it won’t make that big a difference and he took upon himself to take care of Rabbi Nachum in his last days.

The old man is in the room, helping Rabbi Nachum to eat, but he knows it’s clear that he only has a few days to live. The old man lit a candle and sat on the side of the room. Suddenly Rabbi Nachum becomes completely quiet and the old man is sure he has died.

We know that when a person leaves this world, as soon as possible the body is moved to the floor. The old man was getting ready to bring the body down.

Suddenly he sees as if a new soul comes into the body of Rabbi Nachum and he becomes awakened. That next morning Rabbi Nachum was like a healthy person. The old man says what happened? Obviously this is not a normal recovery.

The old man says I saw you already dead, and I’m about to put your body on the ground and you become awakened. Rabbi Nachum says I can’t tell you. The old man says I risked my life to take care of you, I think you owe me to tell me. He becomes tough. He says I command you to tell me the truth.

Rabbi Nachum tells the old man he died. His soul left his body. There he met his brother Rabbi Elimelech. His brother asked what are you doing here? Rabbi Nachum said the decrees came that I am supposed to die so I’m here in heaven.

Rabbi Elimelech says how can you kill someone so young? He has children, a wife to take care of. He said I don’t agree with this decrees. I ask that the supernal court sit down again and come to another decision.

Suddenly Rav Zusha comes. Rabbi Elimelech was talking, trying to change things. But Rav Zusha doesn’t’ fool around. He says take his hand, let’s go. The supernal court says you can’t just grab the soul after it’s been decreed that they shall die. How dare you, Rabbi Elimelech and Rav Zusha, send his soul back down.

A voice came out and said the book that Zusha has under his arm is the holy Zohar. He studies the Zohar. Because he studies the Zohar, the voice said, he can do whatever he wants. Nothing can be held back from him. Therefore we have to listen and do everything he says.

Rabbi Nachum finished the story. My holy brothers, they woke me up. This all happened in a second. And that’s when my soul came back and when I began being healed.

There’s so much that can be learned. This idea, why Rav Zusha, and not Rabbi Elimelech. A lot of people study Zohar. Zusha has no doubt that because of his connection to the Zohar there was nothing he couldn’t do. Because he had no doubt, there was nothing he couldn’t do.

Certainly on this night, with the assistance of Rabbi Elimelech, to awaken within ourselves the spark of the tzadik that everyone has, and the power of the assistance.

During the blessing:

The reason we do mezonot and l’chaim, now there is a tremendous amount of Light of the revelation of the soul. How do we make sure we hold onto it? By ingesting the liquor and the cookies. We actually bring it into our world.

When we say l’chaim we should be thinking about the fact that it’s not only about the people here, but we want to draw the Light to the entire world. We draw the light of Rabbi Elimelech through saying l’chaim here into the whole world.

We’re here at Rav Ashlag’s, so it’s only fitting that our lesson this week has to do with Rav Ashlag.

We know that the appreciation is the vessel to draw the next Light. It’s important not only to have an appreciation for Rav Ashlag, but also to grow our appreciation for Rav Ashlag. The more we grow our appreciation for Rav Ashlag the more of a connection we have. We know of all the amazing things that Rav Ashlag did in his generation was because the generation was ready.

The Creator Reveals Our Filth for the Sake of Changing It

At a time when the Israelites were on a high spiritual level tsara’at, leprosy was a reality. It’s clear the Israelites only had the merit to have the whole framework of leprosy when they were on a high spiritual level. It’s an interesting paradox. On the one hand leprosy is not a positive thing. Who wants to have leprosy? On the other hand it is also viewed as a gift.

Rav Ashlag reveals that the Creator only shows us something that needs to be changed when we can do something about it. If we cannot correct it, if we don’t have the capacity, the desire, it won’t be shown to us. Because the Creator knows that we don’t have the capacity to change it.

Rav Ashlag asks why often when we look around ourselves, and certainly when we look out into the world, there are a lot of people that don’t have a desire to change. More than that, they don’t have an understanding of the need to change. Many people don’t see anything wrong with them.

The reason why so many people out there don’t see anything wrong is because the Creator knows they don’t have the capacity to change. The Creator will never show us something wrong about ourselves if we can’t change it.

Rav Ashlag uses the example of a person who has been working outside all day. When he goes to the mirror he sees a dirty person in the mirror. He spends 30 minutes cleaning the mirror. When he is finished he still sees a dirty person in the mirror. He takes a towel and soap and spends all day cleaning the mirror. At the end of the day he still sees a dirty person in the mirror. If he would take the time to clean his own face he would not see a dirty person in the mirror.

The lesson for us is we should be thankful when we see our negativity. What is tsara’at, leprosy? It is the coming out. When a person is pure inside, to whatever degree, then negativity has to be pushed out into the world.

If we are not constantly being shown what is wrong with us it is not a good sign. It is an unfortunate sign that the Creator is saying we can’t correct it, and therefore He cannot show it to us.

If the Creator is not revealing this tsara’at, leprosy to us it doesn’t mean we don’t have things to correct. It means there is so much darkness inside us that the new darkness can stay. It’s not a good thing to not see more filth.

When we see filth outside, it’s not because it is outside. As we see more filth we should be filled with joy and happiness because the Creator sees we are ready to correct. It’s a gift that the Creator gives us. This Shabbat we have to ask and beg that the Creator never gives up on us and that He keeps revealing this gift to us. We have to ask the Creator, beg for the gift to see the filth that is inside; beg the Creator to give us the ability to change ourself.

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The problem with life’s tests is that we always perceive before we go into a test that it will be difficult, but we think that whatever I understand now will sort of help me through it. In reality, when a person goes through a test, what he thought he had to sustain him has to be taken away or it is not a true test.

In the story of the Golden Calf, we know that the fall came in the last 6 hours before Moshe was supposed to return. The Midrash explains how the Israelites fell? There was a vision created of the death of Moshe. The Israelites saw Moshe was dead and being carried by the angels. Then came the question, are you going to have certainty in Moshe who said he would be back in 40 days, or are you going to believe your eyes?

When we go through tests of consciousness, whatever clarity we had is not there anymore. And not only is it not there any more, the opposite is there.

The Zohar talks very clearly of certainty referring to Jacob. Very often people mistake certainty as being certain in what I want to happen and the Light will make it so. That’s not certainty. As the Zohar makes very clear, certainty is in the Light of the Creator, and that what is right is going to happen. It’s a very great distinction. As Rav Brandwein explains in his letters to the Rav, certainty only works in its truest sense when my desire is the Light’s desire.

If I desire that everything will remain easy for me, I can have certainty forever and it’s probably not going to happen. That is not in alignment with what the Light wants for me. The Light wants that I will grow and change. If I want to be in comfort that is not certainty. True certainty is in doing what I need to do in life. When I am doing what I need to do, what the Light knows is best for me will occur.

Very often when something we perceive as negative happens, we think if that can happen then anything else can happen. Rav Ashlag and the Zohar explain that if a person’s certainty is moved by something that he doesn’t understand, or didn’t want to happen, it is never true certainty.

Rav Ashlag speaks about the concept of certainty beyond understanding. This is true certainty. If it is based on everything always going the way I want it to go, that is some sort of silly trick we put ourselves through. Real certainty is that assuming I’m doing the work, whatever is right for me is going to occur. That’s what the Zohar says. That means that my desire for the outcome is secondary to what I want the Light’s outcome to be. The spiritual work that we do is to remove the veils from the Light becoming manifested.

It says in the Zohar, a section the Rav always quoted, in the time we are getting closer and closer to, in the time of the greatest tests, in the time of Oy and Ashrei, it says worthy are those who keep their certainty in this time.

Times are changing, and in dramatic ways. We are coming close to the time of Oy and Ashrei, to the time when true certainty will be tested. Whenever something occurs that we don’t understand, we have two choices. We can drop our certainty, and who knows if we will recover, or we can say no, I will maintain and strengthen my certainty. One of the reasons things occur is to give us the opportunity, the merit, to strengthen our certainty.

There is no way that whatever certainty we have today will take us through the gamar hatikun. We have to make this distinction. We have to grow our certainty. It’s not to guarantee the result that I want. It’s to guarantee the realm the Light wants. If something happens that I don’t understand, does my certainty drop? Do I start worrying about everything else now?

We need to maintain and to strengthen certainty, for many reasons. Not the least of which is as we come closer and closer to the gamar hatikun, the test of certainty is because we need these tests. We need to have real certainty.

The test of certainty is not when things are the way you want them to be. The real test of certainty is when things are not what you want them to be. Are you at the level of doubt, or the level of certainty? We need to strengthen our certainty, not just because it helps, but because this is where we need to go.

The Bal Shem Tov is buried in the Ukraine. The first day we spent in Poland, the second day we spent in the Ukraine. One of the most amazing experiences happened to work out this way: we traveled for three days, and by the time we came to the Bal Shem Tov, as when we came to Rabbi Elimelech of Lejensk, it was late at night and it was dark.

The Bal Shem Tov is buried on the outskirts of what is still a town. From the moment you walk into these places until the moment you leave, you can’t help but feel this awakening, this Light.

The Bal Shem Tov teaches a very important lesson concerning this week’s Parashah, concerning the galut hada’at, the coming out of the exile of our consciousness, which we all still have.

(4:43) The Bal Shem Tov explains that when it says–and we say this in the Kriat Shma, we say this in the prayers (4:52) you should know today, and return it to your heart (4:58)–that the Creator is above and below, and the verse adds these two very important words: ayin od, and there is nothing else.

The Bal Shem Tov explains. We know that many of us believe that there is a Creator, there is a being that brought about this world. It says you should know and return to your heart and think in your heart about this concept. What does it mean when it says ayin od, there is nothing else?

(5:36) If you accept that there is one Creator, then obviously you are not thinking there are other creators, so what is the necessity of adding those two words–ayin od? (5:51) The Bal Shem Tov explains. (5:56) It’s not that there is not another creator (6:03). When we talk about having true consciousness, it’s not simply about an understanding that there is a Creator of this world, and there are not other creators, gods, but that everything in this world is God. There isn’t anything in this world that is not God. When you look at anything of a physical nature, when you look at everything around you, have clarity and consciousness that everything is the Light of God. There is nothing, ayin od, there is nothing besides that.

Everything around us that seems to be of a physical nature is an illusion, a concealment

Even though we all see all kinds of physicality around us, we should know that everything around us that seems to be of a physical nature is an illusion, a concealment. The reality is that there is nothing in this world that is not the Light of God.

If the Light of the Creator is removed from anything, it all goes back to nothingness

In everything of a physical nature there is the essence, the Light of God that pulsates through everything. If the Light of the Creator would be removed from anything for even one second, it would all go back to nothingness.

There is a famous story. We went to see Rabbi Yehuda Tzvi of Stratin, who is the great-great-great-grandfather of the Rav’s teacher, Rav Brandwein. He was a student of Rabbi Uri of Starlisk, who was known as “the angel.” The story that Rav Brandwein tells the Rav, and the Rav tells us, is that when Rav Uri would drink coffee or tea, he would hold the sugar in one hand and he would drink the tea. He would taste the sweetness in his mouth as he was drinking the tea. When he was done he would open up his hand and there would be nothing left in his hand. Why? His consciousness was at this level. He knew that everything was one, and everything was the Light of the Creator. So whether he takes away the sweetness, which is a manifestation of the Light of the Creator, through his mouth or from his hand, it makes no difference. He could draw that Light into his taste buds in any way because it’s all one.

There is no separation. There is no hand and mouth and sugar and tea. It is all One. It is all the Light of the Creator. Once you have that consciousness, you can draw out the Light of the Creator from everything, in every way.

The greater our consciousness that everything is the Light of the Creator, the more Light is revealed

When we awaken this consciousness, and again, it’s not simply about the way we think, but the greater our consciousness is that this is all the Light of the Creator, the more of that Light that is revealed.

That is our work in this world. The Light of consciousness isn’t only that we become aware of the reality, but also that the awareness that everything around us is the Light of the Creator actually awakens that revelation, that Light, even stronger.

Only in our eyes and in our consciousness do things seem to be separate

Only in our eyes and in our consciousness do things seem to be separate. When we talk about Tzimtzum, when we talk about the constriction of the Creator’s Light, all it means is that there was a layer put over the Light of the Creator. There is no removal, there is no absence, there is no lack, there is no loss of Light. It means there were layers and veils put upon the Light of the Creator. It is an illusion that the world seems full of separateness, full of physicality.

Nothing in this world is anything but the Light of the Creator

That’s why the ancient word, the Hebrew word for world is olam, world, lashon (10:41), which is from the word of concealment or removal, because the Creator concealed His Light in this physicality. But the reality is there is nothing in this world, nothing in this room, that is anything but the Light of the Creator.

This is the consciousness, this is the beautiful understanding. When we look at the stories in the Torah, unfortunately, we can look at it as people enslaved and in physical difficulties. But, of course, that’s not why we read it. And, of course, that is not what happened.

Going out of galut hada’at, out of exile, is gaining clarity of consciousness

What happened to those people thousands of years ago, and what we can awaken for ourselves today, is clarity of consciousness, going out of galut hada’at, going out from the exile of our consciousness.

And what is the greatest exile of our consciousness? What is the greatest lack that we have in our consciousnes? That we see everything around us as separate. We see physicality as separate. We see no Light of the Creator everywhere we look. That is the greatest exile of consciousness.

This is the gift on this Shabbat, and everyone of us has this gift as we desire it, as we ask for it, that when we begin to awaken, as we listen to the Torah, for our consciousness to go out of exile.

When a person begins this process, and this is consciousness and constant work, what this means is that when I look at this podium, when I look at a table, this isn’t simply wood, this is the Light of the Creator manifest in wood. When I look around, and most importantly, when I look at another person, I don’t say this is another person who either upsets me or angers me or makes me feel good, this is the Light of the Creator manifested in a person.

The only reason difficulties come into our lives is because we are separate from the Light of the Creator

And this is a great secret. The only reason why difficulties come into our lives is because we see them as separate from the Light of the Creator.

The Bal Shem Tov teaches that when we sees within the darkness the Light, within the physicality the Light, then the Light is manifest and revealed, and difficulties and problems go away.

The Kabbalists, when they talk about the exile in Egypt, talk about it as galut hada’at, the exile of the mind. When we talk about going out of Egypt, it’s not going out of physical work, out of physical difficulties. Most importantly, at its core, it’s about going out of limited consciousness. Galut Hada’at, lack of understanding, lack of vision, lack of seeing.

The Kotzker Rebbe said that when souls come down to this world, the souls are on a ladder. As the ladder comes closer to this world, the souls jump off, step off the ladder. Then the ladder slowly rises up again towards the heavens.

Some people jump up to try to grab the ladder again. They jump up once, and twice, and three times. They see that they haven’t been able to grasp it and they stop. Then there’s a second group that keeps on jumping for months and months, and years and years, but eventually, after all that time when they can’t grasp the ladder, they stop jumping. The third group, a much smaller group, is the group that keeps on jumping and never stops jumping. Those souls are taken by the Creator back up to that connection, back up to that ladder.

The striving and pushing that is needed is way beyond what we allow ourselves to do

The idea, and this is true in many of the teachings of these great Kabbalists, is that the point which we came to this world to accomplish, to connect, the type of striving, the type of pushing, is way beyond what we allow ourselves to do.

There are many awakenings, both in understanding and in feeling, that one has when one goes to the graves of the Righteous. For me the two of the most powerful are Rabbi Elimelech of Lejensk and the Bal Shem Tov.

We should all think about how weak and limited we are in pushing ourselves

What it awakened for me, and something I think we should all awaken within ourselves, and think about, is how limited we are in pushing ourselves, how limited we are in pushing ourselves.

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.

I want to share from the Kedushat HaLevi, the great Kabbalist Rabbi Levi Yitzhak of Berditshev.

There’s a whole discussion about Efrayim and Menashe, the younger and older son. Joseph assumed the right hand on Menashe and the left on Efrayim. But Jacob changed hands, putting his right hand on the younger son and left hand on the older son. Jacob and Joseph had a discussion. Kedushat HaLevi reveals an important and powerful secret, based on the verse that says all the sickness, all the illness, all the negativity the Creator put in Egypt, I won’t put on you because I, God, am your healer. (Exodus 15:26)

The question is, if there is no sickness, why do you need a healer? The verse states that all the sickness that was in Egypt, I won’t give to you, because I am your healer. If there is no sickness, you don’t need a healer. If you need a healer, there is sickness.

Kabbalah is not the path to make your life easy

B’li ayin hara, I have the merit. Those of you who saw the Rosh Chodesh lecture, we took it from the Rav’s lectures of years past. We worked several months ahead of time to prepare the video. I’m now working on Adar, a few months from now. The Rav says a few very important things. One of the things he speaks about is that people think Kabbalah can make your life easier. The Rav says that is not true. The path of Kabbalah is not the path to make your life easy; it is the path to get the ultimate, the most complete fulfillment that we can in this world.

The process will not, cannot, be an easy one.

The reality is that the process will not, cannot, be an easy one. There will be difficulties along this path. In order to grow to the next level, there has to be a break of the previous vessel.

We have to break the vessel that we have in order to merit a larger, greater vessel.

This is the secret Kedushat HaLevi reveals to us in this Parashah. Every one of us has a vessel. Some of the vessels are larger, some are smaller, but none of our vessels–our capacities to bring into our lives the peace, the joy, and fulfillment that comes with it–none of our vessels are as large as they should be. None of us is able to achieve the ultimate Light. What has to happen? We have to break the vessel that we have in order to merit a larger, greater vessel.

There are two paths of difficulty.

The difficulties that we have in our lives follow two different paths of difficulty: one is a path that leads nowhere, and one is a path where we break smaller vessels and create larger vessels.

Any difficulty is for the purpose of breaking a smaller vessel.

Efrayim and Menashe represent different energies. Efrayim is about more and more. Menashe is the energy of falling, the energy of difficulty. What Ya’akov was doing, what he was injecting into us, what he was revealing to us, and what the Kedushat HaLevi makes clear is the consciousness we need to hear: I won’t give you any difficulty that is not for the purpose of breaking a smaller vessel and giving you a greater vessel. It won’t be easy. There will be difficulty.

The only reason for difficulty, if a person is connected, is doing the work, is because it is the process of breaking a small vessel and preparing him for a greater vessel.

The difficulties only come because you are holding onto a smaller vessel.

Ya’akov was teaching Yosef: you think the difficulty comes first and the Creator gives you the healing. If you are on the path, Yosef, and this is what Jacob was telling him, Efrayim comes before Menashe. The difficulties only come because you are holding onto a smaller vessel. That vessel needs to be broken before you receive a larger vessel that can bring greater fulfillment and more Light.

What is the sickness of Egypt? It is the sickness that simply brings pain.

What is the sickness of Egypt? It is the sickness that simply brings pain. Yes, there will be difficulties, but the only reason is because you are holding onto a smaller vessel. That vessel needs to be broken to receive a greater vessel, more Light, more fulfillment, more joy.

The Creator says you cannot have two vessels.

Jacob is injecting every single one of us with this ability to connect to a greater vessel. Whenever we have difficulties in our life, we have two paths of consciousness. We can hold onto the smaller vessel that we have in our lives. Or we can say no, I know the reason this is happening to me. Before this even happened, there was a greater vessel waiting for me. The Creator says you cannot have two vessels. You can have one or the other. I have to break the smaller vessel to have the greater vessel.

The greater Light, the greater vessel, is created before the smaller vessel is broken.

The Rav always says that whenever we find ourselves in a place where we are down, a place where there is need for healing, the consciousness is not that we have difficulty and have to find the solution, but that there is a greater vessel for me. This difficulty is the gift to help me break the smaller vessel so I can receive the larger vessel.

It’s an important lesson that changes our consciousness and the ability to receive the greater vessel.

Jacob put his hand on Efrayim and said the greater vessel comes before the difficulty. I know before this even happened, there was a greater vessel prepared for me. I’m going to let go of the small vessel, not hold onto the pain and difficulty. I will be ready to receive the greater Light and the greater vessel from the Creator.

Use difficulties as opportunities to bring more Light.

This is how to deal with difficulties, to use them as opportunities to bring more Light, more fulfillment, more joy, the greater vessel, into our lives.

It’s important to hear difficult concepts so we can aspire to them.

This story from the Zohar is one of my favorite stories. (Zohar, Vayechi, Section 19, Verses 144-152.) We know Rabbi Shimon had a small and closed group of students around him. Rabbi Yitzchak was one of them.

Rabbi Yitzchak was sitting at the door and was sad. Rabbi Yehuda came out and saw he was sitting there and was sad. Rabbi Yehuda said, “Why is today different than any other day?”

We know to truly connect to the Light of the Creator one must be full of joy.

Rabbi Yehuda said, “What happened? Something different must have happened today that you are sad.”

Rabbi Yitzchak said, “I have come to ask three things. One, when you say the words of Torah, the words of wisdom, and when you mention things that I have taught, things that I have shared with you, that you should say them in my name.”

When we share words of wisdom, it’s important to say the name of the person who taught them. It brings Light to their soul, even if they have left this world.

“Rabbi Yehuda, everything you have heard me say, say it in my name. The second thing is that you teach my son Joseph, who was young at that time, that you teach him that path.”

The third thing Rabbi Yitzchak asks of Rabbi Yehuda is that for the seven days after Rabbi Yitzchak’s death, Rabbi Yehuda should go to the grave and make his requests on his grave.

Rabbi Yitzchak tells Rabbi Yehuda that he has a premonition he will die. Rabbi Yehuda asks, “How do you know you will leave this world?”

We know that people, when they are on a high spiritual level, when they sleep, their soul, through their dreams, reveals secrets with great clarity.

Rabbi Yitzchak said, “My dreams are not as clear as they used to be. What this means is my soul and body are beginning to separate. When I come to a certain place in the prayer, Shome’ah tefilah, (Verse 146) and look at the wall, I don’t see my shadow.”

We know the shadow is the bridge between the body and the soul. As the connection diminishes, the shadow diminishes.

Rabbi Yitzchak had the feeling he was about to leave this world, and that’s why he went to Rabbi Yehuda. Where do you go with a problem, with a judgment? They went to Rabbi Shimon. As they came, of course he was studying.

Rabbi Shimon raised his eyes and saw Rabbi Yitzchak. Rabbi Shimon saw that the Angel of Death was dancing around Rabbi Yitzchak. Rabbi Shimon grabbed the hand of Rabbi Yitzchak and he said, “I decree whoever usually comes into my house, he can enter; whoever does not usually come into my house, should not enter.” Rabbi Yitzchak and Rabbi Yehuda walked in. The Angel of Death was tied up outside.

As we know, where Rabbi Shimon is, there cannot be any entrance for the Angel of Death, for danger, for judgment.

Rabbi Shimon saw that Rabbi Yitzchak still had another 8 hours to live in this world. What do you do if they only have 8 hours? You try to reveal a little more Light.

Rabbi Shimon sat Rabbi Yitzchak in front of him and was teaching him, revealing more Light, revealing more secrets. Rabbi Shimon said to his son, Rabbi Elazar, “Guard, and whoever comes by, don’t speak to him. If he wants to enter, make sure you do everything you can so that they cannot enter.”

Rabbi Shimon said to Rabbi Yitzchak, “Have you seen the image of your father?”

We know a person, before they leave this world, his parents, and those close to them that have left before, appear to him.

Rabbi Yitzchak said, “No, I haven’t seen him yet.”

As we hear the words from the Zohar, we are not hearing a story, we are awakening the energy both for ourselves and for the world. It’s important that we have this consciousness, that when we hear the words from the Zohar, that we are not hearing a story, that we are awakening the energy both for ourselves and for the world.

Rabbi Shimon stood up and said to the Creator, “Master of the world, Rabbi Yitzchak is one of ours, one of the close students. He is one of the seven.”

We know Rabbi Shimon had 10 close students, himself, his son, and eight others. But at the time of the Great Assembly, three of the friends had completed their correction and left this world. Then there were seven. Rabbi Shimon called them “the eyes.”

Rabbi Shimon said, “I am holding on to Rabbi Yitzchak, give him to me.” A voice called out and said, “Rabbi Shimon holds up the chair of the Creator.” The voice said, “He is yours, Rabbi Yitzchak is yours. When you decide to come, to leave this world, bring him with you.”

As this was happening, Rabbi Elazar, who was standing outside making sure the Angel of Death did not come in, he saw the Angel of Death go away. Rabbi Elazar said there could be no judgment in the place where Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was.

The story goes on. They helped Rabbi Yitzchak come back down into this world.

The most important verse is lait koftera detifsa, beater Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai sachiach (Verse 152): There can be no judgment in the place where Rabbi Shimon is.

We know when a person, certainly the righteous, have left us, their energy is in the work they have left in this world. Rabbi Shimon is in the Zohar. This story is to give us a greater appreciation of the true power of Rabbi Shimon, of the true power of connecting to the Zohar. To the degree we cleave to the Zohar, to the degree that we cleave to Rabbi Shimon, to that degree we merit the Light.

There can be no judgment where Rabbi Shimon is. Every one of us has a connection to Rabbi Simon in a different way. When there is a true connection, as Rabbi Yitzchak had, there can be no judgment.

Most of you know the story of the letters of Abraham, the man who was with Rav Ashlag. The student is here for Chanukah, and yesterday she shared a story with me. She said the only reason people know Rav Ashlag is because of Rav Brandwein. Abraham told her this story.

As an aside, we know Rav Ashlag didn’t have any money. If you came to study with Rav Ashlag, you had to pay a lot of money. His students were all very poor, but he said the only purpose for studying is to spread the Zohar.
Because they couldn’t afford to pay, they would gather whatever money they had; one student would study and then tell the others what Rav Ashlag taught. We have to ask ourselves if what we are doing is spreading this further.

Rav Ashlag didn’t have the money for the printer. The printer would print until the money would run out. One day Rav Brandwein came to the printer dressed in his work clothes as a mason, with his monthly paycheck. He gave his paycheck to the printer and said, please, continue the printing, but don’t tell Rav Ashlag. The next month he did it again. Rav Brandwein came dressed straight from work and asked, please continue the printing.

The question we have to ask ourselves is how many of us appreciate the Light? How much do we appreciate the power that is the Zohar. This is the time of the revelation of the concealed Light, the Or HaGanuz, the Light all of us and the world needs. This is the Light that is instilled in the Zohar.

How much are we willing to do?

The first question we have to ask is how much appreciation do we have for the energy that is the Zohar? What are we willing to do? What are we willing to give up to get this Light out into the world? When we hear stories like this we realize how far we are. How much are we willing to do?

I want to share with you a section from the Zohar Hadash, that is not printed yet in our set. And the wise shall shine like the Light of the firmament. Who are the ones who understand? Who are the wise? It was Rabbi Shimon and his friends. When they came together to reveal the Light of the Zohar, the concealed Light that we begin the process of the revelation on Chanukah, a desire, an awakening, an agreement from above was revealed.

Rabbi Shimon received the permission to reveal these great secrets, these great Lights. All the angels from above, all the righteous that had ever lived, they all came to assist this revelation. The Zohar says the reason why they came was because in this world and in the supernal world there is great pain.

Through the study and the revelation of the Light of the Zohar, there will be freedom for the whole world

The pain that was in this world was so great at the time, and the pain they saw that would be in this world, they knew they had to reveal the Zohar. The Creator and the Shechinah agreed that this Light must be revealed. The Creator brought together the supernal Lights and the lower Lights to remove the pain from the Shechinah, from the collective energy, and from our world; to bring freedom both to the Shechinah and to those of us who live in this world. Through the study and the revelation of this Light of the Zohar, there will be freedom for the whole world.

The Zohar says, when the Zohar is truly revealed in the world many people will gather around it. As it says at the revelation on Mt. Sinai, those who are with us, and all the souls that weren’t there, every soul that has ever been in this world, from beginning to end, had the permission to connect to the Light of the Zohar when it is revealed.

When I read many people will gather around and study it, I asked, and we all have to ask ourselves, has it happened yet? Have many people gathered around the Zohar to reveal the Light? Unfortunately, the answer is no. It has not happened yet.

On Thursday I received an email. I won’t say the name of the person. This woman said she had been studying Kabbalah for almost 3 years. She was a single, divorced mother of an 8-year-old named Jake.

She said, “He wears his red string proudly, and when asked what it means, he gives a detailed description to whoever is asking–’I have been working hard to let the Light shine through.’ There is one book we are missing that we find is key to our learning experience. That book is the Zohar. We find that every book suggests we read the Zohar. The problem is we cannot afford the Zohar. I have searched sites, and cannot find one that is affordable. I was wondering if you can help me.”

All of us know we have the scholarship program. Every month thousands of people are studying Kabbalah through the program. We emailed this woman on Thursday, saying “We will send you a set of Zohar.”

Then she sent a second email: “I received an email that stated I would receive a complimentary copy of the English Zohar. I was sitting at my desk at work and began to cry. I hope that I do not sound like I am rambling, but I am full of excitement and needed to let you know.”

I thought as I read both emails, and I started crying. For most of you who know me, that’s not a big deal. But one of the things that I realized yesterday–and I was talking to Monica about this–How many people in the Centre who have a Zohar have the appreciation that this woman and her son have? The reality is, because it came so easy, we probably don’t have the appreciation.

There is a section that always bothered me about this story in the bible. Jacob told Yosef to find his brothers. Jacob said to Yosef, “Your brothers are in Shechem, go to them.” And Yosef went from Hebron to Shechem to try to find his brothers.

It says in the Torah he came across a person. Yosef was lost. This man said, “Do you need directions? Can I help you? What are you looking for?” Yosef said, “I’m looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they are.” The man told Yosef they had gone away from there. They said they would go to a place called Dothan.

Yosef heard from this man where his brothers were, and he went and found them in Dothan. This was the beginning of the process of Yosef being sold as a slave.

Who was the man that gave Yosef directions?

Rashi explains that this man Yosef ran into was the angel Gabriel. This whole conversation was actually all secrets. As we read it in the Torah, it seems to be a discussion of directions, but there is a much deeper level.

Yosef’s brothers had left all their feeling of brotherhood.

When Gabriel said that the brothers had left this place, what he meant was they had left all their feelings of brotherhood toward Yosef, their feelings of love and care. When he said that he heard them say they wanted to go to Dothan, he meant they went to find traps and ways to kill Joseph.

Yosef didn’t meet a man, he met an angel.

If we understand this, then the RaMBaN explains the next big question. Rather than reading the literal understanding, kabbalists say Yosef didn’t meet a man, he met an angel, and the angel was telling him the brothers were looking for ways to harm him. The RaMBaN says it cannot be that Gabriel was telling Joseph outright all the secrets, that they have lost all care for you. The angel was telling him the truth, but he was telling him in a way that could be understood other ways. If Yosef wanted to hear directions, he heard directions. But if he was open to hear a little deeper, he would have heard the truth. The Or Chaim, Rabbi Chaim Ben Atar, says very clearly, if this is true, why didn’t Yosef go back? He says, Yosef understood the conversation with the angel literally–he was giving him directions.

Why didn’t Yosef understand the angel’s secrets?

The question is, if the angel was telling him secrets, why didn’t Yosef understand that? If he didn’t understand, why does the Torah tell us the story? Yosef found a simple person and asked for directions.

I have to tell you, this section always bothered me. What was the purpose of the angel telling Yosef things he didn’t understand? Yosef did not understand the angel was telling him the brothers were looking for ways to harm him.

Yosef was busy with his life.

I understood the lesson this week. It’s one of those ideas that if we truly understand can change our view of how we see things in our lives. Yosef had a great opportunity to save pain for himself and for his brothers, but Yosef was busy in life. His father told him to go do something and he was busy doing it.

He asked for directions and got them. Wait Yosef! Why is this man talking to you like this? Is it simply a coincidence? Maybe there is something deeper here. Maybe there is something you should pay attention to.

The angels always leave room for free will.

Kabbalists reveal this was an angel, sent to wake Yosef up. The angels, we know, always leave room for free will. There will never be a situation where it is clear 100% that we have to do this. Then there is no free will. How many times do we say “God, tell me exactly what to do?” For most of us, the reality is that God is not going to send an angel that says, “This is what you need to do.”

For all of us, what will happen is what happened with Yosef. The angel did come, and did give him a message, but Yosef was oblivious because he was busy. Give me the directions, I need a fix, tell me where to go.

If Yosef had said, “There is probably a greater purpose, let me not lose myself in the business of my life. Let me be open to the messages that are going to come to me. Let me think about why I find myself in this situation.” If Yosef had done that, if he had said I know the Creator is giving me a message, he would have said, “One second, I’m in the middle of a field. What is this guy doing here? Maybe there is something deeper for me. He is talking in a funny way. Why?”

Yosef wasn’t thinking about his path, the Light, and what he was doing.

There wasn’t an obvious message. But if Rashi could understand it, Yosef could certainly understand it. But Yosef wasn’t thinking in that way. He wasn’t thinking, let me think about my path, the Light, what I’m doing.

Listen, stop, ask, and try to understand.

I’m sure that before Yosef set out, he said, “God, tell me what to do.” If Gabriel had said, “I’m from God. Don’t go to your brothers,” he wouldn’t have gone. That didn’t happen for Yosef, and it will not happen for us. He could have said, “I know the Creator is going to send me a message, I will listen, I will stop, I will ask, and try to understand.” But only–and this is the lesson for us–only when we live that way. They say many other places that if Yosef knew the importance of what he was doing, he would have acted in a completely different way.

Every single one of us is in the process of great revelation.

Every single one of us is writing a Torah, is in the process of a great revelation. The problem is that we are not waiting to see it, not waiting to hear the messages that are coming to us. For the most part, the messages will not come in clarity. There will always be the place of free will. In order to make sure we hear, and do what we are meant to do, we need to stop. We need to understand why this is happening, what the message is for us.

We are not listening, not asking, not trying to understand.

What the Torah is telling us is that this is us, all the time. People are coming to us all the time. God is coming all the time and telling us the right way to go. But we are not listening, not asking, not trying to understand.

The gift this Shabbat is to begin the process of really hearing.

The great gift we can receive this Shabbat is to begin the process of really hearing. I know my process in life is a very important one, and because of that the Creator will give me messages. But the messages will not be obvious.

We can hear and be able to do what we are meant to do.

If I want to go in the right way, I have to constantly ask, “Why am I hearing this? Why is this happening in my life?” If we make these connections to these angels, to the message that comes from the Creator, we will hear and be able to do what we are meant to do.

There is a story about one of the great kabbalists, Rabbi Shalom Sharabi, in the time when the Rashash was living in Jerusalem. There was a person in town who had a very difficult life. His wife said there is a great kabbalist, you should go see him. Why should you have a difficult life? The man went to the Rashash’s house. The servant answered the door and said, “The Rashash is busy right now. If you sit down, he will see you in a few minutes.”

The man had all kinds of difficulties in his life. He sat down and fell asleep. He had a dream.

In his dream, he was walking in unfamiliar surroundings and saw chariots driving past him He started seeing that it said things on the chariots. One passed him that said give to charity. Inside the chariot he saw white beings. Then another chariot passed and he saw the word anger. Inside it had dark angels.

It was a highway with chariots on his right and left side. He said, let me see what’s happening. He followed the chariots and came to a great square. In the square there was a huge scale. He saw all the white angels, from the chariots that said sharing, helping the poor, he saw them going on one side of the scale. Then he saw the dark angels, anger, selfishness, on the other side of the scale.

He realized these were his angels. He was nervous and realized some sort of judgment was about to take place. After the white and black angels stopped getting on the scale, he saw that the dark side was heavier.

Then he saw more chariots coming and angels in different colors. The colored chariots said money problems, health issues. Everyone of the colored angels went to the dark side and each one removed one of the dark angels. All these chariots were coming and he saw the scale was getting close to balanced. Then the colored angels’ chariots stopped.

In his dream, he screamed, “Give me a little bit more pain, a little more uncomfortable!” At that moment, the Rashash said, “Can I help you?” The man said “No, I got what I came here to receive.”

We create the energies and they remain with us.

The lesson is that every one of us, throughout our lives, is creating angels. To have this consciousness can and should change the way we view our lives, change the way we allow ourself to act. We create the energies, and they remain with us.

In the biblical story of Jacob — after a life of hardship, running away from his brother, then running away from his father-in-law — Jacob is back home, or at least he thinks he is, and he wants to settle down. The Torah shows us that’s when things really start to happen.

Joseph’s brothers thought they were doing the right thing.

The most important idea in this Parashah is the story of the actions of the brothers of Joseph, the children of Jacob. And the amazing thing is they thought they were doing the right thing. They thought Joseph was spiritually a problem, and that he was stopping the revelation of the Light for the other tribes. They thought they had to get rid of him.

First they said, “Let’s kill him.” Then Yehuda said, “Let’s sell him as a slave.” We know Yehuda had the energy of leadership. Kings later came from the line of Yehuda. The brothers agreed with his idea and sold Joseph as a slave.

Yehuda lost his position of leadership.

After all that happened, Yehuda became demoted. After the brothers realized the pain that their father, Jacob, was going through, they realized they had made a mistake with what they had done with Joseph. They said to Yehuda, “Because you told us to sell him, that’s why we will no longer accept you as our leader.”

Rashi, the great commentator, says when the brothers saw the pain they caused Jacob, they said to Yehuda, “You told us to sell him. If you had told us to bring him back and not do anything, we would have listened to you.” Because of this, Yehuda lost his level, his spiritual connection. They were right.

The obvious idea was that the brothers wanted to kill Joseph and Yehuda said let’s sell him as a slave. When they realized their thoughts were wrong, they came back to Yehuda. He should have said, “You wanted to kill him! Why are you are upset at me because I told you to sell him? What about you? You wanted to kill him.”

When a person begins an action that will reveal Light, it is very dangerous not to finish it.

It’s a very important idea for everyone of us at this time, as we begin the revelation of the Light of Chanukah, the Light of miracles in our life. When a person begins an action, it is very dangerous not to finish it.

The Ramban, known as Nachmanides, says that when a person begins by asking for a favor and you say you are going to help, at that moment the beginning of the creation of an angel occurs. So if I follow through with what I said I would help with, the angel grows and becomes strong. The angel becomes a powerful Light and protector that surrounds me.

Everything we do in this world creates an angel.

But what happens if I begin the process but don’t finish it? What I’ve done is to begin the formation of the angel, and now I almost kill him in the beginning of the angel’s life. Every action we do, everything we say — and the Ari speaks about this at length — everything we do in this world creates an angel: our words, our actions, our promises. Once we begin the process of creating an angel, when we stop in the middle, when we don’t complete the action, not only have we not manifested great Light, we’ve created a black hole.

Imagine all the energy that came together to create the angel! But when we stop in the middle, the angel is cut off from his source of Light. We need to have this understanding that everything we do, everything we say, every action we begin, is the process of creating an angel. The greater the promise, the greater the potential of the angel, the greater the darkness created if we stop in the middle of the process.

The brothers said, “We were all bad, we did not begin to create angels. You, Yehuda, you are worse than us. You began the process of creating a powerful angel that would save Joseph, but you stopped in the middle. Instead of taking him to Jacob, you took the easier route. We don’t know what we might have done. Maybe we would have sold you with Yosef. But you began the process and stopped in the middle. You created a tremendous black hole. We who did not start anything good, there was no dark hole to create in the middle. You began the process of saving Yosef and stopped in the middle. You created such a darkness you can no longer retain your level. Therefore you have to go down. You created darkness.

If we stop in the middle we have killed that angel and created darkness.

For every single one of us, we must have this understanding that every action we begin, every promise we make, everything we say we are going to do, begins the creation of an angel. If it’s brought to its completion, it will be there to surround us, to protect us, to help us. But if we stop in the middle, we have killed that angel and we have created darkness.

If we begin an action of revelation of Light and we stop in the middle, then we have created darkness. And that’s why it’s so important to be aware of this. Sometimes it’s better not to start if we are not going to finish. We have to be more careful in what we do. What we begin, we need to be sure we create the angels.

I live in this world, and I don’t see the beginning of the formation of an angel. I don’t see the beginning of the creation. But it’s an idea that we have to begin to view our lives in this way. When we become aware that every action we take, and every word we say begins the creation of an angel, it can change the way we view our lives. It can change what we allow ourselves to say and do. We are not just living in the physical world. We are that direct connection between worlds. Everything we do begins the process of creating an angel. We have to really ingrain in our consciousness that everything we do, every action, every word, creates an angel.