Thought of the Week - Vayeshev

B”H

Thought of the Week



As most of us know that the Hebrew month of Kislev is known as the miraculous month as well as the Chassidic month.

In the month of Kislev there are several Hasidic holidays such as:
The 10th of Kislev:
Birthday and the passing of Reb Dovber 2nd Lubavitcher Rabbi. It is said about Reb Dovber that if you were to cut him, instead of blood - Chassidut would flow out of him.
The 14th Kislev:
Anniversary of the Rebbe Menachem M. Schneerson the 7th Lubavitcher Rebbe, married to Rebbetzin Chaya Mushka, daughter of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson 6th Lubavitcher Rebbe.
The 19th Kislev:
Passing of the holy Maggid of Mezrich, pupil and successor to the renowned Baal Shem Tov. The Maggid was R. Shneur Zelman of Liadi’s teacher, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, and is also known as the Alter (Yiddish for old) Rebbe, the first Lubavitcher Rebbe, founder of the Chabad Hasidic movement. On the day of the Maggid’s passing he called the Alter Rebbe and told him, “let this day be a joyous holiday for generations to come.”This would later be understood on 19-20 Kislev, when the Alter Rebbe miraculously was freed from prison. He was imprisoned under false charges that he was aiding Turkey to overthrow Russia. The Russian Government forged papers to prove this, but later found out that the Alter Rebbe was innocent from the death charges put on him.
One time during the Alter Rebbe’s stay in prison, the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid revealed themselves to him. The Alter Rebbe asked them what he should do now as the government had sentenced him to death? Will he be freed, and if he should continue spreading Hassidut?
The Baal Shem Tov and Maggid both told him, that in a few more days he’d be freed of all false charges. Not only will he remain alive but he should spread Chassidut even more than before. True to their word on the 52nd day of his imprisonment the Alter Rebbe was freed whilst saying the words in psalms 55:19 “He redeemed my soul in peace from battles against me, because of many who were with me.”
Despite the fact that many of the Alter Rebbe’s colleges were against him he nonetheless succeeded.

We see something very similar in this weeks Torah portion with Josef and his brothers.
Josef ‘s brothers hated him for his greatness. It is written how he would go to his father and tell him all the bad things his older brothers were doing. Things like embarrassing ones friend in public. (Leah’s sons would treat Bilah and Zilpas’s children as slave sons, even though Jacob freed the two women from their duties before marrying them.) He accused them of eating flesh from a living creature. (The brothers would slaughter the animal according to the proper law, cut off the limbs and eat it. However the animals would still be moving due to its nerves. Even though this is permissible according to Torah law (not today though as today’s Rabbi’s have prohibited it due to Maris Ayin (a deceiving eye)) i.e. incase someone should think as Yosef did, that they are eating from the limb whilst it is still alive. It is only permissible to a Jew and not a gentile. (This is because with the gentile’s way of slaughter, the animal is not fully killed, and one has to wait until it will die. The Jewish ritual cuts immediately the nerve that keeps the animal alive, thus killing it before it even has a change to feel any pain.) At that time Jacob and his sons were considered, or had laws like a gentile for the Jews only received their laws on Mount Sinai. Josef also accused his brothers for flirting with girls. (Most of their business was with woman and according to law an unmarried man shouldn’t do much business with women.) Even though Josef was right, the brothers hated him for going and telling their father, for according to law a snitch must be hated. However nonetheless Josef still showed love to his brothers by telling them his dreams.
Normally a person should never tell someone who hates him anything personal, especially a dream. The Talmud in Tranctate Brachot teaches us that the way you translate a dream is how it will occur. If the person who hears your dream doesn’t like you, he may translate the dream in a negative form, and it may cause huge damage. That is why whenever you hear a dream you must try to always translate it in a good way even if it doesn’t seem to have any good in it.
Josef dreamt that his brothers, father and stepmothers would bow down to him. Due to these great dreams it caused that his brothers throw him into a pit, and later he was sold several times until he ended up in Egypt. This was to fulfill G-d’s promise to Abraham that his descendants were to be foreigners in a land not their own, and thus fulfilling Josef’s dream.

All this is connected to this week, (and next weeks) special date. The alter Rebbe once said that we must “Live with the time.” This was later explained to mean that all that occurs in the week is connected to the weekly torah portion

Physics teaches that all that goes up must come down; it is also known in physics that the further you pull elastic the father it’ll go. Same true to archery, the farther back the arrow goes the farther and harder it will hit its target.

We also know that there are certain times in life that are really hard. However it is through these hard times that the better times come.

This is what we learn from Josef he needed to be put into the pit in order to get to Egypt, he needed to be a slave in order to be a servant in Potifars estate, and he needed to be thrown in the dungeons in order to make it to be leader of Egypt. Hassidut teaches that every success comes first with a downfall one must lose in order to win.

It is true with the Alter Rebbe who started Chassidut in a very hard time spiritually and physically. Spiritually, for the mentality at the time was to ignore and not deal with the ignorant or the non-observant Jews. Now comes this Rabbi to teach the vast the hidden aspects of the Torah, when they hardly know or care about the simple torah? This caused a great war between the Alter Rebbe and his colleges known today as Misnagdim (lit. opposers.) The Alter Rebbe also faced a physical war with the government, for then it was against the law to spread Judaism. However with all this today the Alter Rebbe’s movement is stronger than ever before, today Chabad is found everywhere in the world, “Chabad saves lives.” (As president George W. Bush puts it) “Chabad is like Star-bucks, its everywhere and makes you feel at home.” (As a businessman said to the emissary in Hong Kong China.) Chabad is here to help and to show that even the ignorant, even the non-observant is as special as a great Rabbi for he too is a Jew. Chabad helps none Jews as well for they too are G-d’s children.


After the Alter Rebbe’s huge downfall (going to jail) and the rise from it only then do we come to light, as is the message of Chanukah. The Greeks didn’t let the Jews observe any commandments however through the victory of the Maccabies came their light
May we all merit for the messiah (the upward part of the huge downfall we are in now) speedily in our times.
Amen

©Yermi Kurkus. Thought of the Week

Derived – Me’am Loez, Talmud, Code of Jewish Law, www.shmais.com, and the Teachings of the Rebbe Menachem M. Schneerson.