vessel

The Quest for Brotherhood

by Yedidah on January 7, 2021

Joseph being sold to Egypt. The loss of brotherhood.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 19:20 — 17.8MB)

The story of Joseph and his brothers is a story filled with passion, anger and reconciliation. Most of all, it is a story that describes the search for and the development of the quality of brotherhood.

Interestingly, although other brothers have been described in the Torah, the quality of brotherhood has not, until now, been one sought for. Ever since Cain and Abel, the most that any pair of brothers has looked for is for the different brothers, Isaac and Ishmael, or Jacob and Esau, to part and go their independent ways in peace.

In contrast, all twelve sons of Jacob are called the 12 tribes of Yah. They all follow the path taught by Abraham, developed by Isaac, and brought to fruition by Jacob. Yet, they are twelve distinct individuals who each have their own way of serving God. We can see that from the blessings that Jacob gave each one of them before he died. It seems that it was these differences that were the main cause of contention between them. Joseph’s way of working for God was most suited for the end of the Tikkun, the time of redemption. Indeed his pathway is that of redeemer, as he redeems the land of Egypt and Canaan from the terrible scourge of famine. Judah, in contrast , believes that faith and prayer is the right way to serve God. They could not agree.

In the search for brotherhood, the brothers first have to develop the vessel for the light of brotherhood, that is, they have to develop the lack and the need in their awareness for brotherhood. This certainly occurred as a consequence of selling Joseph as a slave in Egypt. The Zohar tells us that fascinatingly enough the holy Shechinah, the Divine presence, agreed with this act!? Maybe it was because, as Rabbi Yehudah Leib Ashlag teaches, no light may be attained unless there is the appropriate vessel for it. So in order for the light of brotherhood to be attained, first the vessel needs to be created.

Ultimately, all Israel needed to develop the quality of brotherhood between, not only all the members of one family, but between all the members of one nation, until we could all come to stand at Mount Sinai, to receive the Torah ” as one man with one heart.”

Rabbi Ashlag, in his great work, Matan Torah, teaches that the complete fulfillment of the Torah both then and now, is the same requirement. Of coming together as “one man with one heart.”

This podcast is dedicated in loving memory and for the ilui nishmat of Feigi Bat Rivka z”l and Aharon Kotler z”l and Sara Kotler z”l, May their memories be a blessing for us.

Yedidah Cohen is now teaching a new course on the Introduction to the Zohar, by Rabbi Ashlag. The group has already begun, but it is not too late to join. If you are interested, please contact Yedidah through www.nehorapress.com

{ 0 comments }

Acting out of the Box

by Yedidah on March 6, 2014

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 15:12 — 14.1MB)

“It is a natural law for every created being, that whatever is to be found outside the framework of his own body, seems to him to be empty and completely unreal.”

Surely not! But remember that the word “body”, as used in the Kabbalah, is synonymous with the word “ego” or our desire for self-benefit. Then this sentence by Rabbi Ashlag, taken from his work Matan Torah, is not so far-fetched. To understand why this is so, we need to examine what is the paradigm of our usual thought. What is the web of concepts and thoughts that form the threads that make up the texture of our lives?

In his commentary on the Etz Chayim of the Ari, Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag writes:

“You should know, that the aspect of the will to receive, that forms the created being, is its vessel. This vessel is all the material that stems from its created aspect; such that the rest of the entity, other than its created aspect, relates to the Creator.”

But it transpires, that since all our senses and our imagination are aspects of our created nature, we cannot actually know in a direct way the rest of ourselves, our essence. This why, all that is outside of ourselves seems empty to us. It explains why acting as a giver inside of a receiver is very hard for us to do.

But the words of the Ari offer us hope. Our created nature is not all of us. There is another paradigm through which we may act, the paradigm of light. It is there waiting for us. Even if we cannot sense it directly.

Podcast based on writings of Rabbi Yehudah Lev Ashlag, from the Histaclut Pnimit, Part One; Matan Torah and the Introduction to the Zohar.

{ 2 comments }

What is the Light, a Vessel, and a Sephirah?

by Yedidah January 24, 2014

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:12 — 15.9MB)

In the Kabbalah terms like ” the light”, “the vessel”, “the Sephirot” are common. But these are often depicted in misleading ways such as in diagrams. Their real meaning is much richer and multi- dimensional as the Ari himself taught. and Rabbi Ashlag enlarged on.

Read the full article →