Thursday 5, 2023 Verse Bereshit (Genesis) 49:19-26
To stay or to Go?
In his blessing to his son Naphtali, Jacob said that his portion of the Promised Land would be swift to ripen its fruits, comparing this swiftness to that of a deer.
From the Rebbe Daily Wisdom
Jacob blesses his sons as a nation as a whole, and as an individual tribe. This means that each has its own specific blessing, but also that each tribe is a part of the nation as a whole and thus shares in the blessing of the others.
In his blessings, Jacob compares some of the tribes to wild beast and others to domestic animals. The tribes compared to wild animals are characterized by a passionate love for G-d and a yearning to escape material existende to cleave to Him. The tribes compared to domestic animals - whose nature is to dutifully accept the work given to them - are characterized by submission to the task revealing G-dliness within material existence.
Therefore, all the Jewish people embody these two ways of relating to the world, both yearning to transcend it and working to refine it.
Transcending and refining
Blessed to be in the Holy Land for almost two weeks, back with feet on home soil. The above words of the Rebbe touched me.
Because in Israel you feel the presence of HaShem so much more, the closeness and holiness. The last afternoon I sat on a high dune, taking in the surroundings from above, talking with HaShem and feeling the unity that you would most like to feel all the time.
And then comes the moment when the plane takes to the air, and you see the land disappear behind you, feeling that you are leaving a piece of your soul behind, but also knowing that HaShem goes with you. Going along to be of help in the place where work needs to be done to make the world a dwelling place for Him.
May we all know what our task is, and with His help perform it to the best of our ability.
Sources: Daily Wisdom, inspiring insights on the Torah portion from the Lubavtischer Rebbe
Angelique Sijbolts is one of the main writers for the NoahideAcademy.org website. She contributes for the admin of the website in English and Dutch. She teaches Hebrew to beginners and intermediate students at the Academy.
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