Parshas Vayechi
1. The blessing with which our forefather Yaakov blessed his son Asher is: "מאשר שמנה לחמו" ("From Asher — his bread shall be rich"). Rashi comments on this that it means he will have a great deal of oil, and Rashi adds that this was also Moshe Rabbeinu's blessing to Asher — "וטובל בשמן רגלו" ("and he dips his foot in oil")1.
It has already been discussed many times that all matters which exist in the physical realm also exist in the spiritual realm. Moreover, it is from the matters in the spiritual realm that the very same matters descend below into physicality.
If this is so regarding worldly matters, then all the more so, by an a fortiori argument, the matters stated in the Torah exist in the spiritual realm. For every matter in Torah contains within it not only the plain meaning (pshat), but also the allusion (remez), the homiletic interpretation (drush) and the mystical meaning (sod). So too the blessing "From Asher — his bread shall be rich" and "he dips his foot in oil": although "אין מקרא יוצא מידי פשוטו" ("a verse does not depart from its plain meaning")2, and there really was — plainly, physically — an abundance of olives (olive trees) in the portion of Asher, as Rashi brings on this the story that is told in the Gemara3, nevertheless this does not exhaust the full content of the verse, and the matter certainly exists in spirituality as well.
2. The meaning of "he dips his foot in oil" in spirituality is as follows:
Oil is an allusion to Chochmah (wisdom)4, and Chochmah is the highest part of a person. The foot is the lowest part of a person. "He dips his foot in oil" means that the foot makes use of oil; that is, although outwardly the foot is the lowest level, nevertheless there is within it a very great virtue — so much so that even Chochmah, oil, does not reach that virtue. That is why the foot makes use of oil.
So too we find regarding the era of Moshiach: "ועמדו רגליו ביום ההוא על הר הזיתים" ("And His feet shall stand on that day upon the Mount of Olives")5. Oil is Chochmah, olives are the source of oil, and the Mount of Olives is higher still than olives, for it is the place from which the olives come forth. It is thus understood that the Mount of Olives is an exceedingly lofty level — and nevertheless it is said, "His feet shall stand on that day upon the Mount of Olives," meaning that the feet stand even higher than the Mount of Olives.
The concept of oil and the foot in Divine service is this: Oil (Chochmah) means that a person studies Torah and fulfills mitzvos because he has understanding of them and finds pleasure in them. The foot, however, means that his service stems from kabbalas ol (acceptance of the yoke of Heaven). Although on the face of it this is a low level — for he has no pleasure and no vitality in it, nothing more than kabbalas ol alone — nevertheless, service out of kabbalas ol has an advantage over service out of reason and understanding, as will be explained further on.
That is why in physicality as well (for matters in physicality derive from spirituality, as mentioned above) the foot has an advantage over the head, in that it is specifically the foot that completes the head, as explained in Likkutei Torah, Parshas Nitzavim6.
3. In order to understand the advantage of the foot over the head, and also to understand the connection between the virtue of the foot and the tribe of Asher, we must first explain the concept of the camp of Dan, since the tribe of Asher belonged to its camp.
The camp of Dan was "מאסף לכל המחנות" ("the gatherer of all the camps")7. They traveled at the end of all the camps, and thereby had the opportunity to find all the things that the preceding camps had lost, and to return them to their owners.
That is to say: notwithstanding that the camp of Dan traveled at the end — which shows that they were lower than the other camps, the level of the foot — nevertheless, and on the contrary, precisely because of this, they returned the lost objects to the other camps.
4. As stated earlier, all matters in physicality derive from, and allude to, their counterpart in spirituality. The concept of a lost object is as our Sages say8: "איזהו שוטה זה המאבד כל מה שנותנים לו" ("Who is a fool? One who loses whatever is given to him"). Chassidus9 explains this to mean that from Above every Jew is given the mah ("what")*9 — that is, the power of bittul (self-nullification) to G‑dliness. But because of the yetzer hara, which is called "מלך זקן וכסיל" ("an old and foolish king")10 — a fool — one can, Heaven forbid, lose the mah. And the lost object is found and returned through the camp of Dan, the gatherer of all the camps.
The camps that traveled earlier and were close to the Mishkan — even the tribe of Levi, and even the sons of Kehas — could possibly lose the mah and the bittul to G‑dliness. Only with the camp of Dan — specifically the level of the foot — is it not only that the mah in their own soul is whole; more than that, they also return the mah and the bittul to all Jews.
This is as was said earlier, that it is specifically the foot that completes the head.
5. This is also what is stated (in this week's Parsha): "דן ידין גו'" ("Dan shall judge…"). The Gemara11 says: "ההוא דאמר דונו דיני אמרי שמע מינה מדן קאתי דכתיב דן ידין גו'" ("A certain person used to say, 'Judge my case.' They said: Learn from this that he descends from Dan, as it is written, 'Dan shall judge…'").
The conduct of "Judge my case" means that regarding everything, even the smallest trifle, he looks into what the law is in the Shulchan Aruch. He knows that the world is not ownerless, and that even regarding the smallest thing there is a directive in the Torah.
This conduct stems specifically from kabbalas ol. When one's service in Torah and mitzvos stems from reason and understanding — from comprehension — then according to the logic of Torah as well there is a difference between a major matter and a minor one. The proof is that the Torah calls one thing "the lightest of the light" and another "the most stringent of the stringent." But from the standpoint of kabbalas ol, the lightest of the light and the most stringent of the stringent are equal12, because both alike are decrees of the Almighty.
And this is the service of the camp of Dan — kabbalas ol. That is why, overtly — outwardly — it is a low level, for he has no understanding and no pleasure in it. But in truth, and inwardly, kabbalas ol is higher than comprehension, and this is in two respects:
a) Comprehension — understanding — is limited, and consequently with comprehension one cannot grasp G‑dliness, because G‑dliness is without limit — unbounded. When a person serves the Almighty out of intellect, he grasps Him in a limited manner, to the extent that his intellect can comprehend. Kabbalas ol, by contrast, is devotion to the Almighty as He is — without limit, unbounded.
b) Besides this advantage of kabbalas ol over comprehension — that kabbalas ol reaches higher than comprehension — there is also the advantage that kabbalas ol is the foundation of all Divine service, including the service that is based on reason and understanding. For one may not build on intellect alone; and in order for the intellect to be as it should be, this comes first through kabbalas ol specifically. As stated in Tanya13 in the name of the Zohar: "ואי האי לא אשתכח גביה לא שריא ביה קדושה" ("If this is not found in him, holiness does not rest upon him")14.
6. In light of this we will understand why the camp of Dan traveled at the end, as the gatherer of all the camps. There are three reasons for this:
a) Because their service was with kabbalas ol, which overtly — outwardly — is a low level, the level of the foot. And since their spiritual level was (overtly) at the end, their place in the physical realm was likewise at the end.
b) Because of the bittul of kabbalas ol, they devoted themselves with self-sacrifice to be the gatherers of all the camps, even of the stragglers among the Jewish people, although through this they had to [OCR unclear — the rest of this point is cut off in the source].
c) The camp of Dan, kabbalas ol, gives endurance and is the foundation of the entire service, including comprehension — just like the foot and the foundation, upon which the whole building stands, and which hold up the head.
7. The directive from this in Divine service is:
Even one who studies Torah and fulfills mitzvos in the loftiest manner, to the point that he stands close to the Mishkan and the Ark — nevertheless, if he thinks only about his own good (even when it concerns his spiritual good) and he lacks the devotion to do a kindness for another Jew, then, since he lacks the quality of "ואהבת לרעך כמוך" ("Love your fellow as yourself")15, the foundation of the entire Torah, he can lose the mah of his soul16.
Specifically one who gives himself over with self-sacrifice for Ahavas Yisrael (love of a fellow Jew) — he specifically is assured regarding himself that he will be whole, and he also returns the spiritual lost objects (the spiritual losses) to another Jew.
8. The level attained through the service of kabbalas ol and self-sacrifice for Ahavas Yisrael is stated in Parshas V'zos HaBerachah, in the blessing of the tribe of Naftali, which was at the very end of the camp of Dan itself: "ים ודרום ירשה" ("Possess the west and the south")17.
The words "Possess the west and the south" are three levels, in ascending order, from below to above.
"West" (literally, "sea"): The Gemara18 states, "שכינה במערב" ("The Shechinah is in the west"). That is, although the west is one of the four directions, and it too is bounded by the limits of space like the other directions, nevertheless on the western side there is a greater revelation of the Shechinah than in the other directions.
"And the south": Likkutei Torah19 states that in the south the heat of the sun is strongest. Of the sun it is written20: "שמש ומגן הוי' אלקים" ("The L‑rd G‑d is a sun and a shield") — the sun is Havayeh, the shield is Elokim — for this is higher than "west"21. "West" is the G‑dly power as it dwells within, and is defined by, the limits of time and space (hence the expression "the Shechinah [the 'dwelling' Presence] is in the west"22). But in "south" there is the revelation of the "sun" of Havayeh, "היה הוה ויהיה כאחד" ("was, is and will be, as one")23, which is above time and space.
"Possess" (literally, "inherit"): The difference between inheritance on the one hand and a sale or a gift on the other is as follows:
In a sale the buyer must pay money; consequently, the greatness and the value of the item the seller gives him correspond to the value of the money the buyer pays.
Also regarding a gift, which the giver gives the recipient for free, we say24: "אי לאו דעביד ליה נייחא לנפשיה לא הוה יהיב ליה מתנתא" ("Had he not given him satisfaction, he would not have given him a gift"). Consequently it is understood that the gift he receives also varies (although it is not precisely measured) according to the magnitude of the gratification that the recipient caused the giver.
But with inheritance, the state of the heir and his service have no bearing at all. Inheritance comes automatically, even to the smallest minor.
The same is true in spirituality25: Sale and gift refer to the revelation of G‑dly light that is measured according to a person's service, so that a change in a person's service changes the manner of the revelation. But inheritance is present in all Jews (for "בנים אתם לה' אלקיכם" ("You are children of the L‑rd your G‑d")26), and consequently every Jew is an heir; it is above the vessel of the recipient and has no limitations.
9. Through what does one come to "inherit"? Through the service of kabbalas ol and self-sacrifice for Ahavas Yisrael. As said earlier, through service based on reason and understanding one can grasp G‑dliness only in a limited manner, according to the greatness of one's intellect, to the extent that one can comprehend. But kabbalas ol is devotion to the Almighty as He is — without limit.
And although, as said earlier, inheritance is present in all Jews, nevertheless it can also be in a state of concealment — hidden — (as mentioned above regarding "Who is a fool? One who loses the mah that is given to him"), and through kabbalas ol it becomes revealed — manifest.
10. Within the camp of Dan itself, the tribe of Asher was the middle tribe — not the extremes, but "אמצעי משובח" ("the middle is the choicest")27 — the inner dimension of the foot.
Just as the camp of Dan in general had an effect on all Jews as well, as mentioned above, so too the tribe of Asher in particular exerted an influence on all Jews. As it is written regarding Asher (in Parshas V'zos HaBerachah)28, "יהי רצוי אחיו" ("He shall be pleasing to his brothers"), and our Sages29 say that he provided food to the rest of the Jews in the Shemittah year.
11. We must, however, understand the connection of the tribe of Asher's provision specifically to Shemittah.
We must also understand: regarding Shemittah the Torah states, "וכי תאמרו מה נאכל גו' וצויתי את ברכתי גו'" ("And if you shall say, 'What shall we eat…' I will command My blessing…")30. The blessing, then, should have been with all the tribes — so why did they need to depend specifically on the tribe of Asher?
12. The concept of Shemittah (this year is, after all, a Shemittah year) is explained in the verse: there must be a resting of the land from the labors of plowing, etc. — "בחריש ובקציר תשבות" ("In plowing and in harvest you shall rest")31. The labors that are connected with human food must be halted. On this the verse says, "And if you shall say, 'What shall we eat,'" and answers, "I will command My blessing…".
On the face of it this is not understood: why is the superfluous wording "And if you shall say…" needed? More than that — why does the Torah need to raise a question? But since it is a question within the Torah, we must say that the question too has a place in holiness.
This means that the accomplishment of Shemittah is not that no question arises in the first place. Rather, the concept of Shemittah is that a question does indeed arise — and a strong question — and nevertheless he stops working, as the Almighty commanded.
The mitzvah of Shemittah is bound up with such a design and with such matters that there is room for a question, and nevertheless it does not affect the conduct of Jews — and that is why "I will command My blessing."
Furthermore, "I will command My blessing" is not in a manner that one will not need to depend on the produce of the land, as it was with Moshe, who "לחם לא אכל ומים לא שתה" ("ate no bread and drank no water")32. Nor is it in a manner that there will be a power in the eating of the sixth year, so that with the power of eating in the sixth year one will be satiated in the seventh year as well — as was the case with Eliyahu the Prophet, who sustained himself for forty days with the power of a single meal33. Rather, it will be "I will command My blessing," so that there will be bread and food in the seventh year itself.
And not like the manna, in which one tasted all flavors34 and which had no waste35 — but simple, physical bread, with the deficiencies and the waste of physicality.
And this will be not at Mount Sinai, nor in the desert, but in the fields and vineyards of Eretz Yisrael.
And notwithstanding that it is so bound up with physicality, and even with coarse materiality — to the point that the question arises, "And if you shall say, 'What shall we eat'" — nevertheless he performs the mitzvah with kabbalas ol, and through this there is "I will command My blessing" in the physical food, down to the very lowest level.
With this it will also be understood why, although regarding Shemittah it is written, "ושבתה הארץ שבת לה'" ("The land shall rest a Sabbath unto the L‑rd")36, just as is said regarding Shabbos37, nevertheless these are ordinary weekdays — not like Shabbos, on which labor is forbidden, and not even like Yom Tov, on which only labor for the preparation of food is permitted while other labors are forbidden. Rather, during Shemittah all labors are permitted; these are regular weekdays. And in what does one make the "Sabbath unto the L‑rd"? In the simple matters of the land — earthly things — "שהכל דורסין עליה" ("which everyone tramples upon"); there there must be a "Sabbath unto the L‑rd."
13. With this we will understand why "I will command My blessing" — the blessing and the drawing down of the inner dimension in a revealed manner — was primarily in the portion of Asher.
In order to carry out the service of "a Sabbath unto the L‑rd" in physical matters, and in a place of concealment and hiddenness, even in a place of questions, this is accomplished specifically through kabbalas ol; with the power of kabbalas ol one can go even38 into a place of darkness.
And in order to reveal within it [the light] from the inner root and source — this is particularly and specifically through Asher, who is the inner dimension of the foot.
And being a gatherer of all the camps, the tribe of Asher drew this down to all Jews, as our Sages say, "שהיה מזין את כל ישראל בתבואות" ("he would feed all of Israel with produce").
14. In light of what has been explained about the tribe of Asher, we will also understand the meaning of "From Asher — his bread shall be rich" and "he dips his foot in oil."
In Asher there shone the virtue of kabbalas ol from its root and inner dimension, akin to the Future to Come, when "action will be great"39.
And through the service of Shemittah — kabbalas ol — we will merit the revelation of the Future to Come, "תרצה הארץ את שבתותיה" ("the land shall be appeased for its Sabbaths")40, which brings about "רצית ה' ארצך שבת שבות יעקב" ("L‑rd, You have favored Your land; You have returned the captivity of Yaakov")41.
(From a compilation of the sichos of Simchas Beis HaSho'eivah and Shabbos Parshas Bereishis, 5719)
15. Regarding the reward one receives through the service of Asher, the Midrash42 on this week's Parsha says: "מאשר שמנה לחמו — שהוא מעמיד בגדי שמונה" ("'From Asher — his bread shall be rich [shmeinah]' — for he produces [wearers of] the eight [shmoneh] garments"). Rashi too (in his second interpretation) explains the verse "He shall be pleasing to his brothers" in this way: "שהיו בנותיו נאות כו' נשואות לכהנים גדולים" ("for his daughters were beautiful… married to Kohanim Gedolim") — his daughters were beautiful and married to High Priests (who wear eight garments).
What connection do beautiful daughters have with High Priests? We must say that the beauty spoken of here means a spiritual beauty, which is connected to the High Priesthood.
The role of a wife is, after all, "אעשה לו עזר כנגדו" ("I will make him a helper corresponding to him")43 — a help to the husband in his service. We find this particularly regarding the service of the Kohen Gadol: during his service on Yom Kippur in the Holy of Holies, "וכפר בעדו ובעד ביתו" ("and he shall atone for himself and for his household")44 — "his household" being his wife — was essential, and without it he could not perform his service45.
The true beauty of the Jewish woman, "כל כבודה בת מלך פנימה" ("All the glory of the king's daughter is within")46, which refers to tznius (modesty) — this is what brings and helps the High Priesthood47.
And through what does one merit this? Through the service of "Judge my case." When one's conduct is with kabbalas ol, according to the Shulchan Aruch — and included in this is tznius — one merits to raise an upright generation, with children and grandchildren engaged in Torah and mitzvos, up to Kohanim Gedolim; that is, children who enter the Holy of Holies, where there is only the Ark with the Tablets, upon which the Ten Commandments were engraved — not written with ink, which is something added to the parchment, but engraved into the Tablets — so that he and the Torah are one48.
16. In light of this we will also understand what the verse says earlier: "ברוך מבנים אשר" ("Blessed with children is Asher"). Rashi brings in the name of the Sifri, "אין לך בכל השבטים שנתברך בבנים כאשר" ("There is none among all the tribes that was as blessed with children as Asher"), and Rashi says on this, "ואיני יודע כיצד" ("but I do not know how").
Rashi says "I do not know how" because in the census of the Jewish people we do not see that the tribe of Asher had a larger number than the other tribes.
We must explain the words of the Sifri according to the saying of our Sages, "שקול זה כנגד כו'" ("This one is equivalent to…")49 — that it outweighs all the other tribes because of the special qualities it possesses; and in our context this means the great nachas from children. Through conduct with kabbalas ol in chinuch (education) in such a manner, one merits children who walk in the ways of Torah and mitzvos, etc., and one has much nachas from them — more and more than from many children.
With this we understand what is written: "וארבה את זרעו ואתן לו את יצחק" ("I multiplied his seed and gave him Yitzchak")50. The Rebbe (Rashab), of blessed memory, asks: it says "I multiplied his seed," and it concludes with an only son, Yitzchak? But the point is, as explained, that one can have more nachas from one child than from many — to the point that there can be one who is equivalent to six hundred thousand, like Moshe Rabbeinu, "שהיה שקול כנגד כל ישראל" ("who was equivalent to all of Israel")51, and "ואין דור שאין בו כמשה" ("there is no generation that does not have one like Moshe")52. And such a child one merits specifically through the service of kabbalas ol.
17. The connection between meriting good children and the service of kabbalas ol will be understood from what is stated in the Midrash53: before the Giving of the Torah, the Almighty demanded of the Jews that they provide guarantors. The Jews proposed various guarantors, but the Almighty did not accept them until the Jews said, "בנינו ערבים בעדנו" ("Our children are guarantors for us").
The explanation of this is: over the years of a person's life there are various levels — "בן חמש למקרא וכו'" ("At five years, for Scripture, etc."), as the Mishnah in Avos, chapter 5, enumerates all the levels in detail, until one arrives at full maturity of the intellect, which one attains at twenty. Well known54 are the distinctions between a six-year-old, a thirteen-year-old and a twenty-year-old, and even after twenty there are many levels. And schoolchildren (tinokos shel beis rabban) are at the level of the foot.
And since all Jews constitute "one complete stature"55, consequently, just as in each individual the foot supports the head (physically), and in spirituality too kabbalas ol upholds comprehension, so too in the Jewish people as a whole, the feet accomplish also in the head.
And as explained above, the camp of Dan, the level of the foot, gave completeness to the other camps as well.
And just as in all matters one needed to depend on the feet, so too at the Giving of the Torah. Therefore the Giving of the Torah to all of Israel came about specifically through the guarantee of the schoolchildren, because schoolchildren, the level of the foot, are the foundation of the entire Jewish people. And as the Midrash concludes there, "מפי עוללים ויונקים יסדת עוז" ("Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings You have established strength").
Accordingly, we can explain the connection of good children to kabbalas ol: since both are at the level of the foot, as mentioned above, therefore through conduct with kabbalas ol one merits children and grandchildren engaged in Torah and mitzvos.
(From the sicha of Simchas Torah, [OCR unclear — the year is printed as תש"ס])
Notes
1) Devarim 33:24.
2) Shabbos 63a.
3) Menachos 85b.
4) See there.
5) Zechariah 14:4. See also the Hosafos to Sefer HaChakirah (by the Tzemach Tzedek), the discourse beginning "BeMoreh Nevuchim etc. VeAmdu Raglav."
6) See also Likkutei Sichos, vol. 2, p. 398 ff.
7) In Rashi on the Torah, citing the Yerushalmi, Bamidbar 10:25.
8) Chagigah 4a.
9) Likkutei Torah, Bamidbar 91c; ibid., Devarim 33a.
*9) As in the expression "ונחנו מה" ("and what [mah] are we").
10) Koheles 7:13, and Rashi there.
11) Pesachim 4a.
12) See Yalkut Shimoni, Yisro, remez 298; Yerushalmi, Pe'ah 1:1; Devarim Rabbah, beginning of ch. 6; and elsewhere.
13) [The text of this note is missing from the source scan.]
14) [The text of this note is missing from the source scan.]
15) Vayikra 19:18.
16) See Tanya, ch. 32; Shabbos 31a.
17) Devarim 33:23.
18) Bava Basra 25a.
19) See Likkutei Torah, beginning of Parshas Tazria.
20) Tehillim 84:12.
21) See Daas Zekeinim of the Baalei HaTosafos, Devarim 33:23: "West — this is this world; south — the World to Come."
22) See Tanya, ch. 42.
23) Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah (Tanya), ch. 7.
24) Megillah 26b; Gittin 50b; Bava Basra 157a (with a variation in wording).
25) See the discourse beginning "Torah Tziva," 5702 (Kuntres 115).
26) Devarim 14:1.
27) Megillah 21b.
28) Devarim 33:24.
29) Targum Yonasan and Yerushalmi on this verse; Sifri there.
30) Vayikra 25:20–21.
31) Shemos 34:21.
32) Ibid., 34:28.
33) I Melachim 19:8.
34) Yoma 75a.
35) Ibid., 75b.
36) Vayikra 25:2.
37) See Toras Kohanim on that verse.
38) See Likkutei Sichos, vol. 2, p. 419 ff.
39) The discourse beginning "VeAvdi Dovid," 5708.
40) Vayikra 26:34.
41) Tehillim 85:2, and in the Midrash there.
42) Bereishis Rabbah 98:16; ibid. 71:10.
43) Bereishis 2:18.
44) Vayikra 16:6.
45) He was required to be married; see Yoma 2a.
46) Tehillim 45:14.
47) Yoma 47a; Bamidbar Rabbah 1:3. And see [OCR unclear] vol. 2, p. 520.
48) [The text of this note is missing from the source scan.]
49) Berachos 6b.
50) Yehoshua 24:3.
51) See Rashi, Shemos 18:1.
52) Bereishis Rabbah 56:7.
53) Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1:4:1.
54) Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat, sec. 235; Peirush HaMilos by the Mitteler Rebbe, sections 2–4.
55) Likkutei Torah, Devarim 44a; Sefer HaMitzvos of the Tzemach Tzedek, the mitzvah of Ahavas Yisrael.
Key Lesson
Serving G‑d with kabbalas ol — the "foot" — is not a lower path but the foundation that completes even the loftiest understanding, reaching the infinite "inheritance" that intellect alone cannot grasp. One who joins that devotion with self-sacrificing Ahavas Yisrael, like the camp of Dan and the tribe of Asher, not only keeps his own soul whole but restores what others have lost. Such conduct, carried into the simplest earthly matters, also brings true nachas from children and grandchildren who walk in the ways of Torah.