Ari Goldwag - Veyetze - Spiritual Transitions

you're listening to the weekly partial podcast recorded with a shams never-ending assistance in ramat beit shemesh israel 5770 6 2015 this week's parsha is partially I'd say the Torah tells us that as Yaakov aveeno as Jacob was leaving his home as he was going off at the command of his parents to find a wife in the house rift cos family of Abraham's family back in Quran so he lies down to sleeping he has a vision the famous vision of Jacob's Ladder of the ladder with the malacca milan VAR Danne boy the angels rising and descending chapter 28 verse 12 it says valhalla me he had a dream viene su limits of art saw there was a ladder which was standing on the ground of Russia magesh shamima the top of which was reaching to the heavens we named Al Queda came a Lemurian boy as we said the angels of God we're going up and going down in a sham needs of all of the next verse says that God was hovering there above via amara nice adanya Charlotte Avraham Aviva I'm ashamed the God of Abraham your father ok it's called god of Isaac arthashastra hella hot in our lives are aha the Lana you're sleeping on is a land i'm going to give to you and to your progeny now looking around at the Midrash trim and a different portion on this opium I came across a few different things which at first are of course perplexing as we start to look to see it from a broader perspective we start to see that there's a theme that's running through the statements of orcas Oliver sages in regards to this salaam regards to this ladder what it represents so it has also a few different ideas that seem to be disparate ideas that don't really work together one shot in the Sula month on this ladder is that it's a representation somehow of the bay some English to the temple that point of connection between God and man the place where man brings carbone's the sacrifices connect /em receives nevarez use prophecy some of the sulam represents that place another explanation of our cazale is that it represents heart scene I place where the Jewish people receive the Torah the place where the Jewish people receive that revelation to the entire Jewish nation of God that God revealed himself and commanded them to keep the missus the commitments that we have another representation is that has i'll put it is that it corresponds to the goalies to the for exiles through which the Jewish people would have to pass throughout their history including till today so the first question that I want to really ask is are these indeed disparate ideas that they completely different shot him or are they part of a greater whole which if we look at it from above we can see indeed that there's a concept or a thread that binds all these ideas so we'll get back to this question but another question at the point that's important to understand is that there's a message that says that vinay Malcolm allocate malajila Kim oil in the arden boy that the pasta the verse reference is the fact that there were angels that were going up and down what were these angels that were going up and down there's from shot and different understandings but one of them which I found to be most interesting to me is that these angels who were the angels so the manager says that these angels were actually angels that we've met before there were angels that had come to Abraham in order to be macera to give him the news that he was going to have a child and then as we've spoken about they went on to Saddam to destroy sue dome now there was something that happened there in sue diamond with these angels that they said something which actually caused them to get stuck in limbo and they were unable to return up to heaven the measure says that the language they used there was something wrong with what they said is that hidden umashree sim they told load as they were trying to get him out of there they said we are destroying this location we're destroying these cities and therefore you need to come out of you need to run away and because they said we are destroying so there was something there was a tie non them there was a problem with what they said and they were stuck in limbo they were unable to go back up now there's two different shot into different understandings as to what the problem was one understanding is that they revealed a secret they weren't supposed to say that they were supposed to bring him out and he was perhaps supposed to figure out on his own that this was something that God was doing they were revealing something which was more information that he was meant to know but the other shot the other understanding is that in fact by saying we are destroying they were taking some credit for something which God Himself was doing they were expressing some kind of egging kite some separateness from God the malakins angels of God are not supposed to express anything like they're doing anything they're not supposed to make it look like they're involved they are just messengers doing the will of Hashem doing the bidding of God and therefore they're supposed to just say here we are we're doing God's will this is a God is doing they're not supposed to say anything that makes it sound like they were doing it now the result of this was that since they expressed some kind of selfishness or some kind of self they had that they they spoke about themselves as being ones destroying as a result of that so they were in limo for 138 years from that time until through the time that you talk was born which was a year later 60 years later was Jacob was born and then 77 years later this story occurs where Yaakov is running off to Coron to go and meet his wives leia and rockville now so for 138 years they were not able to ascend back up to heaven at this very point when the verse says he named Alec Alec came oil and yarden boy they were able to indeed ascend then then they were sent right back down on a new mission which was to accompany yakko of intercompany Jacob as he would go off to her on and as he would begin building the Jewish people now as I was reading this measures the thing that bothered me the thing I needed to understand was that how could it be that they would say something how could my Lachlan angels they don't have any bahira they don't have free choice so how could it be that they said something that expressed some kind of separation from a scheme' there they're doing their own thing not in conjunction with God or not directly that that God is the one who's doing it what's the meaning of that what's the idea of an angel which does something like that how does that occur also an important point is that if we look at what they said to Adam of you know to Abraham when they came to announce the fact that he's going to have a child so they also said something which makes it sound like they were doing it this said Valmer this is actually back in chapter 18 verse 10 Valmer and he said notice it's singular should eschew bailiff of case hyah I will return to you at this time in a vain misarista you're going to have a so he made it Santa the angel made it sound like he was the one doing it what's the difference as regards to that we don't see that has all said they were punished that they had to be in limbo 438 years in regards to statement with lote we see that indeed they were in limbo 438 years also what needs explanation is so if they were indeed in limbo because of something that they said to load why over here what what freed them what allowed them to be able to indeed ascend and in to descend once again and be able to accompany yaakov of you know to accompany Jacob one more question on this point of the measures why indeed is it that these malakim the malacca me who had gone to destroy sudan they were the ones who would return here in order to accompany Yaakov as he went out to Horan what's the significance of that idea so there's one more point in this opium which I believe is a key or the foundation for for us to be able to understand the questions we've already asked and that's in the second verse which we ready national needs of all of the verse says that God was hovering over it or hovering over him by a mì-runach annika album of euclid and then he said i'ma shine the God of Abraham your father and Isaac etc so the question is what does it mean a Shem was hovering over it or over him so in the magistrate says the two different possibilities as to what Hashem as it were was hovering over either a sham was hovering over the Salam over at the top of this ladder or another possible shot is that a sham was hovering over Jacob now one of the explanations which I saw be I believe in the ribbon of a high is that Hashem was showing him something Shem wanted him to understand that although there are mala him although there are angels were rising and ascending who are going to accompany him sham wanted him to understand that these angels are not don't be mistaken don't believe that the angels are the ones who are helping him understand that on top of everything the root the source of everything shem is at the top of the ladder as it were Hashem is the one who is the root source the one instructing all of malakan really it's a sham who is watching over him directly so that also could be the understanding of the second understanding where a Shem was hovering over Jacob it seems really both are true it seems like a shame is at the top the latter far away directing things from far away but the truth is that a Shem is on the bottom where Yaakov is where Jacob is instructing and directing everything from right there from Yaakov directly connected to Yaakov now let's look back for a moment at one of the questions that we ask we said that why was it that these angels had been punished 138 years why was what did they say wrong with load and I was thinking you know what they said wrong they spoke about themselves in the plural we are destroying we are destroying that's the difference between how they spoke with load and with with Abraham we are destroying this place of Saddam so there was a plurality in their statement as opposed to with Abraham they spoke in the singular they said I am going to return and the singular always is much more representative clearly about College Park lavash am himself a shamans the one the only one who is behind everything I am a noisy schirmer first masalas i am now why indeed did they speak differently and what does it mean that as a result of that 138 years they were in Lambo and I think that the understanding is that when they were with Avraham Avram was a human being who had developed the awareness of the unity of a Shem and everything that he did he was just trying to manifest a Shem in the world Manifesta Shems will in the world while it's true that load had learned a lot from being with Avraham aveeno with being a bday brahim all the time nevertheless there was still a duality there was still a selfishness even when he did this kindness and this is my own idea but perhaps part of that was he was just doing it to feel good about himself this is what's done this is the right thing we spoke about last week this is what i learned from Abraham but it wasn't pure wasn't for the sake of the myth so he wasn't doing the fest the kindness for the sake of the kindness you see that there was something wrong clearly with lote and his approach in the fact that he was ready to test raw his daughters to the wind so to speak in order to be able to continue doing his hotness us or him what he perceived as the midst of the kindness that he was involved in he was ready to throw out throw away his daughters let those men all take it take them and ravage them in order to ulta to hold on to his Mitzvah that they not do anything to his guests and that shows very true lack of perspective in load now the result is that the way that we behave when we have a lack of humility when we have a lack of understanding with Shems unity we have a lack of the Sh'ma of doing things for the right reasons so that affects the world spiritually that affects the way that the Angels themselves will manifest in the world and so when they speak to load they speak with a duality they speak we are going to be destroying this place they separate themselves from a Shem as a result of that the very spirituality itself as a manifest in the world no longer openly shows that a Shem is there Shem is doing it and I think that that's the shot at the understanding of what it means for 138 years these moluccan we're in limbo that means that for 138 years as a result of loads action as a result of the way that he behaved in the world Shems revelation the world was limited it wasn't openly manifest and these angels couldn't do their job for 138 years now when are they able to return to their job they're able to return to their job with yaakov avena with Jacob as he's going to build the Jewish people as he's going at the behest of his parents of keyboard ova aim following the the will of Hashem is he understood it as he's going out there to go into the Gullah sin to the exile in order to redeem the sparks to be able to begin the Jewish people to have those 11 tribes was 11 sons who would be born outside of Israel the 12th which was Benjamin was born as he came back but as he's going to do that as he's fulfilling the will of Hashem so he is openly making manifest once again in the world that Hashem is one nana shem is the one who is behind all the spiritual forces and that's represented in the Sula that's represented in the ladder and in fact the the the angels are rising and ascending here but a sham is needs of all of Hashem is the one who is on top he's the one who's on top of the ladder but he's also on top of Jacob meaning because of jacob's actions because of jacob's approach to the world because yak of aveeno is manifesting as gems one is in the world so the spiritual realms also one can see through Yaakov as a result of Yaakov spiritual level the spiritual realms themselves also manifest that one is and they also reflect that a Shem is the one that's doing everything that shines behind everything and so the angels that had gone out to saddam to destroy so dome who had been affected by lote as it were they are now coming back and they're able to manifest are able to do their job properly because of a Yaakov oven because a Jacob is doing his job properly so that's the first point that we see in this whole idea that the Madras remar speaking about the first point is that the mala him the spiritual realms themselves all of that is affected by us by how we behave how much we bring a Shem into the world even though I Shem interacts with us which is through his malakan through his angels the the way that he manifests in the world is more unified when we are more lachemann we are doing things for the correct reasons when we are more focused on a shams will and there's one more point that I that I believe that we see here that's powerful which goes back to the original questions that we asked we wanted to understand what does it mean when the measures says that the the sulam the ladder represents the base on Macduff it represents our scene I it represents the all of these different the goalie is the Exiles and also why is it indeed that he's having this vision now of these maulana these angels and i think that what we see here is that there's a this is a transition point Yaakov avene was 77 years old and he's about to go and to build the Jewish people he's about to find his the women Leia and sauron villa and Zilpah were going to mother the the twelve tribes of the Jewish people and this is a great transition when I was thinking about it in terms of like a caterpillar as it's about to go through a metamorphosis and become a butterfly or a frog as it's about to go through its metamorphosis from a tadpole to from being a fish with gills to now become this new entity which is a frog which breathes in the air yeah covino is also going through a metamorphosis and that's this point he's about to enter into the metamorphosis stage whenever we enter into a metamorphosis stage a transition place a transition point whether it's in time or whether it's in space so there's an open revelation of a Shem in that place when Yahoo perceives this dream it's not a coincidence that it's a dream in a dream state that also is like a connection between the physical realm and the spiritual realms huzzah say that sleep is one sixtieth of death when a person passes on so he enters back into the spiritual realms so when a person is sleeping he is in touch in some way it's a transition place yeah covino in that transition way of being in sleep he experiences an EVO a prophecy which lets him access a higher realm and he's able to see the the spiritual beings who represent Hashem who represent who are the messengers of a sham as it were in this world he's able to see them because in that transition moment in that time of metamorphosis is about to go through that transition state so he experiences a revelation of a Shem because that's where it happens think about a woman giving birth bringing a new life into the world it's also that kind of transition and Anna Shem being revealed there's nothing more miraculous in than being witness to a birth that's unbelievable it's an unbelievable experience it's a similar idea a sham reveals himself here the the sulem represents this transition between the heavens and the earth as the verse says is heinous uma moots of arts of racial gasps Jemima it's a transition the latter brings a person from one place to another from from a lower realm to a higher realm it's standing on the earth but the top of it reaches all way to the heavens so Yaakov is transitioning and he's experiencing Hashem and open a manifest way that's the best oh my gosh the base image of the temple is a place of transition between this world and the next that's hard seen I that experience of claw at Mount Sinai was one of transition also it was a moment of birth of metamorphosis of the slave nation into into a nation which would represent a sham in the world the gully is the exiles are also represented by the sulam because they are also a transition the Jewish people go through their exiles and that transforms them that gives them a chance to somehow bring God more into the world yeah covino is also bringing God more into the world and if we look back at the the Saddam the story of Saddam that was a moment in time of transition these Malakal appeared then because Hashem was manifest in the world through the transition and they again appear here because a Shem is manifest in the world at the moment at the point of transition now to tie the two points together we have the idea that at a moment of transition a Shem is manifest in the world we also have the idea that the degree that a shame is manifest the degree that the spiritual realms reveal that there's a unity of a Shem that's behind everything is according to the way that we behave is according to how we are manifesting or trying to bring a Shems will into the world the power of a yaku of you know of an avril lavigne oh is that they are able to do it in a way which hashem is completely revealed and indeed what's the continuation of the verses the continuation of the verses is a sham promises and that he's going to have a Land of Israel the Land of Israel is that transition that in space between the upper world and the lower world rights as well as we spoken about the Land of Israel is the colonel is the at the aspect that includes the entire world and so I Shem is promising that the blessings are going to come through Yaakov are going to come through Jacob the blessings are going to come into the world through him and he's going to have a land of it Israel which is that point of connection the blessings are also the idea of connection between what God wants to bring the bounty God wants to bring into the world but it happens because of the commitment of a yaku aveeno of a commitment of the Jewish people to doing a Shems will of being of manifesting the unity of a Shem in the world through their humility through their willingness to do God's will come what may whether it's in an exile whether it's in the darkest places or whether it's in back in a Chiefs trail back in the land where our Shem is openly manifest I want to bless you and please bless me back a Shem should help us to be able to learn this idea to be able to to express this idea in our lives of serving a Shem of trying to recognize that everything ultimately comes from Hashem anything that were able to accomplish in the world should help us to see that it's ultimately it is him and to the degree that we're able to see that that's how much I xem will be revealed in our lives and through us thank you so much for listening have a wonderful shabbos this podcast was made possible through the gracious donations of listeners like you for more 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