Receiving Prophecy in a Dream

 

by Rabbi David Hanania Pinto

"He encountered the place and spent the night there because the sun had sent" [Vayeitze 28:11]

The Midrash says that the words "because the sun had set", teach us that Hashem made the sun set before its time, so as to speak with Ya'akov privately. 

The Midrash explains this using the mashal of the king's beloved friend who came to visit him on occasion. When he arrived, the king said, "Turn off the lights, extinguish the lamps, for I wish to speak with my beloved friend privately". So too, Hashem made the sun set before its time so as to speak to Ya'akov intimately. 

Rabbi Shmuel Florentin of Salonica, in his sefer 'Minchat Shmuel', points out the following difficulty. On the verse, "And G-d came to Avimelech in a dream by night", the Midrash says that Hashem especially reveals Himself to the nations by night, as it says, "G-d came to Bilaam at night". We also find with Lavan that Hashem came to him in a dream at night, but Hashem reveals Himself to the Jewish prophets by day, as it says, "Hashem appeared to him in the plains of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day", as well as other examples. So why does the above Midrash say that Hashem made the sun set to speak to Ya'akov intimately, implying at night? 

He answers according to the Moharash Yaffe, who says that prophecy by day comes only to a prophet who is accustomed to Hashem speaking to him, while to a prophet who is unaccustomed to prophecy, Hashem only reveals Himself at night. This explanation fits in with the precise wording of the Midrash, "it can be compared to the king's beloved friend who comes to visit him on occasion".

Esav: The Fourth Av

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Connecting to the Source

Art ''Holy Land'' Michoel Muchnik

by Rabbi David Pinto Shlita

It is written: “Sarah died in Kiryat-Arba, which is Hebron” [Chayei Sarah 23:2]

Rabbeinu Bechaye explained why the text mentions two names for the same place [Kiryat-Arba and Hebron].

Kiryat-Arba is called Hebron because the soul of anyone buried there unites [mithaberet] on high in the city of G-d with the four [arba] camps of the Shechinah.

This is why the Patriarchs sought to be buried in this place, namely that from there, souls merit to be reunited [leit’haber] with their source, which is the Throne of Glory.

Hence the meaning of “Kiryat-Arba, which is Hebron.”

Guests of Honour

"They (pretended) to eat"  [Vayeira 18:8]

The Torah states that the angels ate the food which Avraham served them, on which Rashi comments: "they pretended to eat".

It appears, therefore, that Avraham did not perform a mitzvah by feeding his guests, for ultimately they were angels who did not need to eat.  Thus: a) Avraham interrupted his audience with the Divine Presence unnecessarily, and b) How can we learn the principle that "welcoming guests is greater than welcoming the Divine Presence" [Shabbos 127a] from an incident where there were no real guests present?

Generally speaking, with acts of kindness, the primary focus is on the results of the mitzvah, i.e. the benefits given to the guests - food and drink etc.

The unique quality of the mitzvah of welcoming guests is that the primary focus is not on the benefits received by the guests, but rather on the good will demonstrated by the host.  In this light, it turns out that Avraham did fulfill the mitzvah of welcoming guests, in the most exemplary manner.

Based on Likutei Sichos of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Gutnick Chumash

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The Descent of a Lofty Soul: Moshiach

Art by Andreas

And they gave their father wine to drink on that night, and the elder came and lay with her father, and he did not know of her lying down or of her rising up -  וּבְקוּמָֽהּ

According to the Zohar, the dot in the הּ in the word וּבְקוּמָֽהּ [Vayera 19:33] alludes to the fact that G-d was secretly assisting this event, because Moshiach was to materialize from it [since Ruth, King David's great grand-mother, was a convert from the Moabites].  The latter event, between Lot and his younger daughter [19:35] is written without the letter vav - וּבְקֻמָֽהּ - to indicate that the union did not produce such great offspring.   Rabbi Shimon said "When the verse states that Lot ''wasn't aware'', it means he wasn't aware that Moshiach was destined to come from this union" [Zohar I 110b]

Why should the beginnings of Moshiach occur in such an undignified manner?  Ramak explains that when a very lofty soul is about to descend into the world, the forces of kelipah [“peel” or “shell”—words used by Kabbalah to describe layers of impurity] oppose the soul's descent vehemently. Sometimes, however, kelipah will consent to the soul's descent if it occurs amidst a particularly sinful act.  Thus, we find that from this undesirable act, the ancestor of Moshiach was born.

Source: Lubavitcher Rebbe

Calling for Help

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