ספר בראשית

...Baruch HaShem

The word Vayeshev is the the idea of Shabbos. For until now Yaakov was involved with the difficult task of combating the 'klipa' the spiritual husk covering the holiness, of Eisav , Lavan and Shechem. Now Yaakov settled down and connected to his source, which is the idea of Shabbos, which is the idea of completely nullifying oneself to the source. This is what is meant by the Medrash that Yaakov gathering in of himself and his children saved him. Just as it says by Shabbos that it becomes one with the secret of Oneness. And through this connection with the oneness all the negativity falls away. And similarly when Yaakov ran away from Eisav. The Medrash says לֹא שָׁלַוְתִּי וְלֹא שָׁקַטְתִּי, לֹא שָׁלַוְתִּי מֵעֵשָׂו, וְלֹא שָׁקַטְתִּי מִלָּבָן, וְלֹא נָחְתִּי מִדִּינָה, וַיָּבֹא רֹגֶז, בָּא עָלַי רָגְזוֹ שֶׁל יוֹסֵף. Yaakov did not have any rest From Eisav, Lavan Dina and Yosef. When tzadikim want to also have calmness in this world Because the will of the tzadik is to add more glory to HaShem in this world where his glory is covered and hidden. (Through revealing HaShem in everything). This is the idea of Yosef, which is connected to the concept of adding onto Shabbos before and after Shabbos. For through all the work of the 6 days, one yearns to receive the Shabbos with love. And through this one is able to even add Shabbos to the days of the week. [This idea is like the idea that water reflects whatever it sees, so too one's heart is reflected in another person. Just as a bridegroom goes to his bride, she comes out to greet him]. And this is indeed a great task to bring the holiness of Shabbos literally into the days of the week. (Certain laws of Shabbos apply during that time) This therefore is the meaning of the Medrash: The tzadikim wish to be at ease in this world. For they are bringing the idea of The world to come, a world which is always Shabbos, into this world. However they also want to be at ease in this world, and having this come easy in this world is not possible and therefore there is much hiddenness. (Bringing the concept of the world to come into this world, cannot be the same way as it is in the world to come. It is restricted, and covered by the husk of these worldly matters. This is what is meant by the adversity of Yosef. As Rashi explains Yosef was the Flame whereas Yaakov was the fire. And a fire without a flame cannot reach far. Yosef’s mission was to bring the flame of the fire to far places (even into this world, and therefore he was able to be Eisav’s adversary). This is what is mentioned in the Medrash that He saw a group of dogs and he sat between them. Yaakov also wanted to purify and extract the holiness even from the ‘dogs’, from the lowliness of this world. Similarly after the end of last week's parsha which goes through all the kings of Eisav, Yaakov goes and sits between them and through his flame is able to burn down all their ‘husks’

The Midrash (Bereishit Rabba 85:2) explains that the juxtaposition of Yosef being sent to Mitzrayim and Yehuda leaving his brothers is because the brothers felt the guilt of selling Yosef would persist if they stayed together. Therefore, they decided to split up.The Chidushei Harim teaches that Yosef's mission was to be entirely holy and devoted to Hashem, as he is called a ‘crown of his brothers.’ In contrast, Yehuda's mission was to bring holiness into the mundane world, as indicated in Devarim 33:7, ‘bring him to his people.’There was a debate among early chasidic leaders: some wanted a few very holy chasidim, while others preferred many chasidim, even if on a lower level. Yosef preferred to stay in one place of holiness and let it spread, while Yehuda believed in spreading out to bring holiness everywhere. Thus, the Midrash suggests that Yehuda's idea of spreading out was to disseminate Hashem's holiness throughout the world.

In Yosef's dream, he saw himself and his brothers gathering bundles of sheaves. Onkelus translates this as binding sheaves. The field, where they were binding the sheaves, symbolizes an open area accessible to all, much like how Eisav was described as a man of the field, representing a place of doing as one pleases.The mission of the 12 tribes was to connect everything to its life force source in Hashem, ensuring that everything remains attached and connected to its origin, even the seemingly mundane and separate matters of this world. This concept aligns with the idea of sefirat haomer.The Midrash explains that when Yosef's sheaf stood up, it was due to the silence of his mother Rachel, who remained silent when Leah was married in her place. This silence signifies the understanding that one cannot act solely based on their intellect and desires but should be nullified to divine guidance. Rachel's silence, despite knowing Leah was taking her place, demonstrated her recognition of Hashem's will.

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