Vayeishev-Bridge to the World to Come

Torah's sobriquets of greatness and commoners are criticized and we learn lessons. Avraham shouldn't have exited Eretz Yisrael during the famine. (Ramban, B'reishis 12:10) Yaakov shouldn't have engaged Esav upon his return(B'reshis Rabbah 75:2) or played favorites among his children. (Shabbos 10b) The brothers shouldn't have contrived to rid themselves of their brother Yosef. (Yom Kippur Machzor, Mussaf) 

Aren't such mundane improprieties common to all people? Fratricide, sibling rivalry, favoring one's children, spousal strife, familial discord, and miscalculated enemy engagement, are the building blocks of historical progression and intriguing novels. How could such tales constitute a spiritual engagement which propels us to the World to Come?

Maharal(Tiferes Yisrael, 11) answers that the difference between Hashem and the rest of Creation is that He is perfect and they are not. Therefore, any secular wisdom such as math, science, or psychology is study of imperfection. Engagement in such study can only yield achievement commensurate with its own identity which, ultimately, is imperfection. In contrast Torah study is Hashem's decrees upon Creation. By definition, since Hashem is perfect, His interface with Creation is the essential expression of that perfection. Therefore, when one studies a topic of insignificance and triviality in the Torah it is transformed into the most lofty of insights elucidating Hashem's perfection. 

Torah study is really a discernment of Hashem's thoughts. Insight into Hashem's thoughts forges a connection with Him. Connection to Hashem hoists one beyond the temporal Universe of their sojourning. Thus, the Torah is the only device by which to achieve Olam Habah. It is our pathway beyond our own corporeal existence. 

In With All My Heart, With All My Soul by B.D. Da'Ehu the author writes that the Greeks worshiped humans. This worship promulgated them to oppose davening because it necessitated dependence on others. Dependence engenders weakness. This, he explains, is a fallacious argument because davening allows one to connect with something beyond oneself which makes one greater. 

With this insight we may understand Nedarim (39b) and Shabbos (88b) that the Torah's creation preceded the Universe's. The difficulty of this proclamation is striking. How can the Torah which contains stories of people's decisions that were commenced in the future exist before creation? Doesn't the Torah's existence at that point in time presuppose determinism and retard the free will of those individuals recounted in its record. Isn't that the question that the Ramban( Hilchos Teshuva 5:5) poses? Knowledges of the future is determinism of that future? 

According to Maharal this query isn't an issue. The Torah existed before the Universe in the form of Hashem's perfection but not necessarily in its current expression. At Har Sinai Hashem choose to form the Torah's lessons and teachings with the past experiences of those that lived following the Universe's creation. 

Vayeitzei-Purpose of Beauty

We are inundated with beauty, grandeur, and majesty. Social media facilitates access to breathtaking landscapes, grand vistas, majestic visions, and gorgeous people. Our eyes feast upon exquisitely appealing veneers seemingly as deep as the blue ocean. When the sun shines on these displays of pulchritude they seem to sparkle with an alluring message that says, "this is what matters".

But we know better. We saw The Beauty and Beast and read The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Idioms like 'beauty is in the eyes of the beholder' and 'don't judge a book by its cover' are intertwined in the lexicon of Western Culture. We studied the Ethics Of Our Fathers(4:27) statement, "don't look at the flask but what is in it". Also, Rabbi Yehoshua said that ugliness is the best container for wisdom. (Taanis 7a) Proverbs(31) states, "Beauty is vanity. A woman who fears heaven is praiseworthy". 

But is that really true? Don't the words of Billy Crystal, 'it's not how you feel but how you look', ring genuine in our ears? Doesn't it feel good to receive the ultimate compliment from Zsa Zsa Gabor, 'darling, you look marvelous'?

In fact the Torah places beauty on a pedestal. "And Yosef was of handsome form and handsome appearance". (Genesis 39:6) The Egyptian girls would scale the walls to look at him. (Rashi, Ibid, 49:22) Avsholom had Godly hair and Shaul a Godly neck. (Sotah 10a). All the ladies were jealous of Miriam's beauty. (ibid 12a) Rabbi Yochanan's handsomeness shone like a light (Brachos 5b) which left his student, Reish Lakish, stunned. (Bava Metzia 84a) The wicked ruler's daughter wanted to flay Rabbi Yishmael's facial skin and stuff it so that she can gaze upon his beauty at her leisure. (Yom Kippur Machzor, Mussaf) His son's and daughter's beauty were unparalleled on the entire planet. (Gitten 58a) Avraham said to Sarah, "you are a woman of beauty". (Genesis 12:11) Regarding Rivka the Torah states, "the maiden was very fair to look upon."(Ibid 24:16) Ten measures of beauty trickled down into the world with nine going to Jerusalem. (Kiddushin 49b)

This week's portion is no exception. "The eyes of Leah were soft(pretty-Targum). Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance."(Ibid 29:17) To ratchet up the accolades and veneration the Talmud( Megilla 15a) makes a list of the most beautiful women in history. Bava Basra(58a) compares the looks of Adam and Chava to a host of people. 

Preoccupation with beauty seems incongruous with the lofty spirituality promoted in the religious ideals of Judaism? How do we resolve this oddity?  

The answer is as follows. Divine commands are to provide people with a medium to propel themselves beyond the natural world; to achieve a supernatural state which is consistent with the essence of their souls. (Tiferes Yisrael, chapter 6) To that end the world which we find ourselves in is designed to be used to achieve this goal. 

All of its components are intermediaries to be used to perform God's commandments. (Path Of The Just, chapter 1) Therefore, all of the rewards, gifts, and blessings mentioned in the Torah are opportunities to achieve purpose. (Mishnah Torah, Laws of Teshuva, chapter 9)

The attribute of beauty is also a tool in our hands to be used to achieve purpose. When it is used in this fashion it is praiseworthy. One example is Jerusalem's beauty. Since it the spiritual center of the planet it needs to be an aesthetically pleasant place so that it's visitors should be able to focus and not be distracted by other elements. (Bear Mechokek, Chaya Sarah)

Leviticus-A Theme of Repentance

The purport of the present aeon YA(Young Adult) genre of literature is a struggle with self-definition. 

In Hogwarts Harry Potter's House was Gryffindor but he exuded Slytherin traits. Tris Prior belonged to the Abnegation Faction but joined Dauntless being divergent. Mia Hall struggled continuing to live in If I Stay clouded about her identity without family. The children in A Series of Unfortunate Events discovered that their unique proclivities were tools with which to navigate their lives. Artemis Fowl resolved that you don't have to be evil. Clary Fray in the Mortal Instruments Series realized that she wasn't who she thought she was. Katniss Everdeen was from District 12 in Panem in the Hunger Games. But she sparked a revolution not only in deed but in blurring of lines demarcating district members. #4 and his companions grow with disparate powers etching their identities in the Lorien Legacies Series. Jonas struggles in a futuristic society that has forged sameness in The Giver. 

These stories may be contra-distinct but they share a common theme; struggle for self-definition. This struggle is appropriate for young adults. Their physical maturation is concomitantly accompanied with spiritual, emotional, and intellectual blossoming.  

As adults we should be beyond that life-stage. We should be aware of our identities, strengths and weaknesses. However, that is not always the case. Rabbi Chaim Voloziner, Nefesh HaChaim(1:6), writes that since the first infraction was committed our malevolent inclination is internalized no longer a distinct entity exterior to our being. Rather, it's interwoven with our essence manifesting geminated qualities of our own ourselves . Therefore, occasionally we identify with our lusts, desires, selfish thoughts, hatreds, and beliefs. We declare ubiquitously, "This is who I am and can't change". 

Repentance, the process of return to G-d, is meant to extricate us from these fallacious thoughts. One pervading theme in Leviticus is repentance. The animal offerings are supposed kindle feelings of self-sacrifice as explained by the Nachmanides(Commentary Ibid 1:9). The day of inauguration of the Tabernacle was designed to procure atonement for the sin of the Golden Calf(Rashi ibid 9:2). The leprosy-like spiritual decease called Tzaras is meant to encourage us to to repent as codified by Maimonides( Mishnah Torah, Hilchos Tumas Tzaras 16:10). The Yom Kippur Temple Service coupled with repentance is meant to achieve atonement as well(Talmud,Tractate Yoma 86a).

One of the ways to embark upon the path of repentance is to study. Because when we study classic works of Jewish ethics such as The Path of the Just, The Way of God, The Gates of Repentance, The Duties of the Heart, and The Ethics of Our Fathers, we are engendered toward introspection and self analysis. This gives the opportunity to weed out the imperfections in our psyches that don't define who we are. 

This sort of change can only be accomplished with our own personal efforts. The Talmud, Tractate Avoda Zara (16a), tells us a story of a Elazar Ben Durdia who was deeply stooped in the netherworld of licentious behavior. He was inspired by a carelessly vicious comment by a harlot, no less, to repent. At first his quest to find his way was recruitment of others to help him. In the end he concluded that, "the matter depends only on me". 

Perhaps this is what Robert Frost meant in Stopping By The Woods On a Snowy Evening, "And miles to go before I sleep". Before his life concludes he has to traverse miles of self introspection and repentance to sprout his identity to fruition.