Torah Portions
Vayeshev
"And Jacob dwelled in the land of his father's sojourning, in the land of Canaan." Genesis 37:1
וַיֵּשֶׁב - Vayeshev
"And Jacob Dwelled", meaning to sit and settle.
So, where did he try to settle - in the land where his father was a stranger. He tried to create and gain citizenship in the realm where his Fathers - Abraham and Isaac - felt as new immigrants. W
hy did he need to settle, because with all his sons in the land of Israel, Jacob thought he could bring the end of reformation. Everything in his mind was completed. When he tried to settle, the rasp of Joseph jumped on him. Something started happening to unsettling him. Joseph's dreams began to unsettle him, making a rift between Joseph and the brothers - with 2 very different preceptive. The perception and view of Joseph and that of Judah.
When he tried to settle, what appeared to him there is still something to fulfill...they need to go to exile. The first move to Joseph, is how the family of Jacob will go to Egypt. Under what condition? If under Joseph - it will be an exile deluxe, 5 starts...received well there. But, it will take less than one generation for the new Farrow to forget. The Rift begins with the dreams and the selling of Joseph. When the spirit tries to settle itself in our work, in our Ego, in our existence - the battle starts. Not that the body wants to vanish the spirit, but rather dominate the spirit. Now, the battle is who will dominate spirituality?
The will to receive for oneself, or service of bestowal
Vayeshev and Hannukah
As we light the first candle of Hanukkah, we connect the study of Vayeshev - to dwell or to settle - portion of the Torah. We need to see what has been settled. There is an agreement of a settlement and what it means. We need to understand the calling and beckoning - the way Hanukkah is beckoning us to settle the disagreement the opposition of the spirit and all of its spirit with the body. We can see that the agreement that 'Jacob settled in which his father lived, in the land of knaan' has to do with a double surrender. To be able to remember where he came from, from the spirit perspective, and settle the body and spirit. The moment there is an agreement of settlement, which is the mission - which is not easy, but a difficult decision for the spirit to settle to something opposing its nature.
The moment we speak about the land of Knaanan is to do with the will , in the deepest fallen form of itself is knaanan. In its highest form it will be called Israel. This branch of corporal status, which the spirit is settled to perform its mission, we can see the opposing nature rising up. When Jacob decided to settle, himself to the reality of the corporal life, the pain of adjustment - of this battle (Joseph - base - Yesod), will come into the disagreement. The first thing we see is this commitment of Jacob into Joseph. For Joseph the completion of the mission is mixing with an outside vessel, on their terms - in their land. Meaning to gain power through all sorts of existence - cultural, financial...etc.
Therefore, inside this portion there are two powers debating - the power of Judah and Joseph/ The power that is in doubt, Joseph in doubt with the power of dream - direct inheritance from Jacob. We still don't have direct revelation, but rather through sleep - not in full awareness.
The state of Joseph is to do with - something is pushing, not a self concious decision. Maybe the self conscious decision is that I see that Israel needs to fulfill its mission. But, its happening on him - Joseph. But, in Judah - its a conscious decision all the time. What is being offered here, being a riotous person, there is no return from the fall.
But, Judah is proposing that you can consciously make a mistake, and there is always a way to return. Returning to the source of yourself is the most wondrous miracle of the relationship between the Creator and createe. There is always a possibility of coming back into the mission. It needs to be opened up.
Settling - to settle in - is to do with Hanukkah, and the fact that its a memory that needs to be reclaimed today. in our journey. above and beyond any reasonable any political of our existence.
