Vessels of Light2 min read

In his sefer Hachsharas HaAvreichim, the Piacezner Rebbe Hy”d teaches that one of the primary revelations of the Baal Shem Tov and his students was the idea that while the reality in which we live contains both lifeless physical vessels and the spiritual light which grants life and vitality, this is only one level of truth. On a deeper level, the vessels not only contain spiritual light, they themselves are made up of spiritual light as well. This elevated awareness of “Ein od milvado”, there is quite literally nothing else but God’s Infinite Light, served as the foundation for the Chassidic masters’ stress on the ability to elevate physicality and use the natural world for spiritual means, their teaching that even the most mundane areas of life offer opportunities to serve God, and their focus on the presence of Hashem that can be found in all things.

Virtually all of the Chassidic masters write that Yaakov Avinu personified this outlook and the lifestyle it engendered. Going out to work in the fields of Lavan, he reached a level where he could serve Hashem even with the most mundane and physical acts. The Kabbalists revealed that the episode of Yaakov’s breeding the cattle to produce streaked, speckled, and spotted animals hints at the some of the loftiest levels in the system of Hashem’s creation of our realm of existence. This is Yaakov Avinu, the tzaddik able to perceive the deepest spiritual insight within the darkest depths of physicality.

In this week’s parsha, the Torah tells us that Yaakov loved Yosef, “Ki ben zekunim hu” – For he was born in Yaakov’s old age. Targum Onkelos translates this verse as, “Arei bar chakim hu” – for he was a wise son. The Degel Machaneh Ephraim sees a deep message hidden in these words.

The Zohar teaches that Yaakov and Yosef share the same spiritual aspect. Like his father, Yosef HaTzaddik had the ability to discern Hashem’s presence from behind the mask of physicality. Chazal tell us that when Yosef was confronted with the seductions of Eishes Potiphar, the likeness of Yaakov Avinu appeared to him in the window. The tzaddikim teach that seeing Yaakov’s image in that moment reminded Yosef of his father’s mission: the importance of sensing Hashem’s presence in even the most physical challenge, looking past the lowly temptation to find the spiritual significance shining from deep within. Indeed, the method Yosef used to escape (breaking away from the grasp of Eishes Potiphar by casting off his outer garment) hints to the spiritual process taking place – the casting aside of the coarse, external temptation to find and heed Hashem’s bidding in this difficult challenge.

Although the word “bar” is Aramaic for “son”, it can also mean “outside”. (As in the phrase “Tocho k’baro”) The Degel says that this ability of Yosef was the reason why Yaakov loved him so intensely: “Bar” – even in the most physical arenas, outside the tangible realms of holiness, “Chakim hu” – he was able to find divine Wisdom and spirituality.