Rabbi Shaul Leiter "What Does G-D Want?" [Vayechi 5783]

 Rabbi Shaul Leiter "What Does G-D Want?" [Vayechi 5783]

ASCENT OF SAFED, P. O. BOX 296, SAFED 13102, email: director@ascentofsafed.com The week of VAYECHI 5783 This Torah teaching is dedicated in loving memory and for the merit of MORDECHAI DAVID ben ZALMAN YEHUDA ז"ל May his soul have a great elevation and continue to be a faithful advocate for ELLIS GREEN and family שי' In this week’s Torah portion, Vayechi, we read, “You thought evil of me, G-d thought good" (Bereishit 50:20}. The Midrash Rabbah at the beginning of Parshat Shemini (12:1) tells about a man who really liked to drink wine. When his money ran out, he began to sell his possessions; anything so he could continue to supply himself with wine. His sons decided to put an end to this addiction - at once. One day, as the man was reeling drunk in the street, they took him and put him inside a cave in the cemetery. Some wine merchants were passing by, on their way to the city. Suddenly, they heard a commotion that sounded like a war. They were very frightened, and decided to hide their wine barrels, and run away. They searched for a safe hiding place, and finally found a cave in the cemetery where they stored the barrels. Meanwhile, the drunk woke up, and what does he see? Barrels of fine wine! What a life! Gevaldig! No need to go to any bother! No need to pay money! He can drink and drink non-stop! Three days later, his sons came to see what was happening to him. Is he alive or dead? What do they see? Their father is lying on the floor of the cave, his mouth near the tap of a barrel, and he is sipping abundant wine for his pleasure... The sons decided that there was nothing to do but take him back home, and agreed between themselves that everyone would bring him wine to his home in shifts, so that he wouldn’t have to go to any taverns and be found drunk in the streets. What a story! If a person is supposed to have wine, the Almighty will bring it to him, even in a cemetery, with a tap direct to his mouth! So we see, that instead of serving G-d by asking Him what he wants from you at that specific time, we serve ourselves, when we should be concerned how to fulfil our spiritual potential. Rabbi Avraham HaMalach (the Angel) said that there are those tzadikim (holy souls) who choose the second path. There is a possibility that they will find themselves in Gehenom (purgatory), in order to be purified from their transgressions. That doesn’t trouble them. They have a goal! They are totally focused on what G-d wants of them at that moment. That is why Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai wept lest he be led to hell, because Indeed, he chose the second path, the path of truth! We also found this idea concerning Yosef. According to his dream, he will reign over his brothers, and they will come to bow down to him. His brothers did all they could to thwart this outcome, and decided to sell him to a slave and so finally to prevent him from ever becoming a powerful leader. What happened? It was this sale that led to Yosef’s appointment as second in command to Pharaoh. When the Holy One, Blessed be He, decrees something – nothing will prevent the outcome. The Talmud tells the well-known story of Yosef Mokir Shabbat (Yosef who cherished Shabbat) which teaches us the same principle. [Shabbat 119:1]. A very rich non-Jew lived in Yosef’s neighborhood. Astrologers told him that Yosef Who Cherishes Shabbat will acquire all his wealth. The non-Jew sold all his property and bought a pearl. He placed it in his hat so Yosef would not get it. When he was crossing a river in a ferry, the wind blew his hat into the water, and a fish swallowed it. The fish was caught and brought to shore on the eve of Shabbat. The fishermen asked, “Who buys fish at a time like this?” The townspeople told them, “Go bring it to Yosef, as he regularly purchases delicacies in honor of Shabbat”. When he cut open the fish, he found the precious pearl inside. From this story we learn two things. That those who honor Shabbat, Shabbat repays them. And the lesson above, that whatever G-d plans, will happen, even against all odds. Talmud [Shabbat 119a] [The base-level explanation of this story is that the more one invests in Shabbat, the more we derive from Shabbat. We Jews do not merely observe Shabbat. We have a relationship with Shabbat. As in any other connection, the more one invests, the more one benefits from the bond. The beautiful zemirot of Shabbat magnificently reflect this idea (e.g., Ki Eshmera Shabbat, Kel Yishmereni). The Lecha Dodi poem powerfully expresses this idea, as does the Sephardic and chasidic practice of reading Shir HaShirim just before the onset of Shabbat.] In his youth, Rebbe Menachem Mendel of Riminov was a student of Reb Shmelke of Nickelsberg. Once a Catholic priest accosted him with a question. “The verse in the Torah says, ‘The scepter [kingship] will not leave Yehudah [Israel] until [ad] Shiloh comes’ [a hint to Mashiach]. Where is this promise now that the Jewish people are in exile, and you have no king or leader Rebbe Menachem Mendel answered, “The word ad has two meanings. It can mean ‘until’, or it can mean, forever'., ‘ “This is what the verse really means, the scepter will not leave Yehudah, forever! Meaning to say, even if the kingship will be taken from the tribe of Yehudah [as now], it is only  temporary setback. In the end it will be established anew, with the coming of the Mashiach, who will rule for eternity [Sichat HaShavuah] Shabbat Shalom, Shaul “THE MEANING OF מנצפך” Rabbi Shaul Leiter’s class on the teachings of the Ba’al Shem Tov from Keter Shem Tov Monday, January 9, 2023 Israel 8PM/ UK 6PM/ NY 1PM/ LA 10AM Please use the following link: https://ascent-co-il.zoom.us/j/81906073996?pwd=ZUk4SlR6N1kvUldIUUh0WTB1VVNUQT09 Meeting ID: 819 0607 3996 Passcode: 068582 Find your local number:  https://ascent-co-il.zoom.us/u/kd1BQirK3D