20 Dec Vayeishev- A WOOL GARMENT; THE OUTSIDE EFFECTS THE INSIDE
Inspired by the Teachings of Harav Yitzchak Ginsburgh and Rabbi Moshe Genuth
The following primarily discusses the wool of Josephs’ garment.
Genesis 37:1-4
Now Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age; and he had made him an ornamented tunic. (4) And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of his brothers, they hated him so that they could not speak a friendly word to him.
We can interpret that Jacob recognized that Joseph was born at a time when Jacob was old we can alternately say that Jacob recognized that the intellect of mind of Joseph was equal to his father (Jacob).
A person with a gift of intellect of mind (chochma) and a delayed development of intellect of heart (binah) faces many challenged especially with social interaction and his ability to express oneself as was the case with Joseph and his brothers.
It wasn’t that Joseph was a tale-bearer; rather in these years he lacked the maturity yet of mind and heart ie the delayed wisdom of knowledge- DAAT and wisdom to manage his interactions in a harmonious way.
Jacob gave Joseph a garment to be worn on outside to help integrate wisdom of mind so Joseph’s wisdom of mind with the traits of wisdom of the heart to aquire the balance of mind – chochma and heart-binah needed for DAAT, knowledge and leadership
Rabbi Elazar took an “inside” approach. He felt that community immersion would align each student, so each person’s inside would be (or become) like the outside
Rava said that likewise, anyone whose “inside is not like his outside …cannot be considered a Torah scholar” (Yoma 72b)
Why a garment of wool?
Jacob had known that Joseph from a young age possessed the gifts of leadership that would be necessary for the building and success of the Jewish Nation.
Jacob gave Joseph a garment (cloak, tunic) of wool as a way to help Joseph reach his potential given Josephs disharmony due to his great intellect of mind and a delayed intellect of heart.
The wool cloak was a symbolic representation of the offering of Abel of purity and transformation (of the inferior offering of Cain).
Abel [then] attempted to rectify Cain’s error, and brought an offering of wool. The [mystical] explanation of this is as follo It follows that [Abel] offered wool in order to restore the influx of supernal daat, so that it also reach Zeir Anpin, enabling it in turn to restore this strength that Cain removed from [Nukva], i.e. the spirit referred to above
This is the mystical essence of sheep, because the word for “sheep” [in Hebrew, “keves”] permutes to spell the word for “lie down” [“shachav”], indicating that it alludes to the supernal lying down. This is the mystical meaning of the verse, “…fill the world and subdue it [in Hebrew, “kivshua”]” (Gen. 1:28), To lie down (as sheep) This suggests the process of nullification necessary to elevate intellect of mind-Chochma, and intellect of heart-Binah in balance and harmony to DAAT-KNOWLEDGE.
Jacob had a vision that the influence of the outer wool garment would help bring about a Tikun-rectification in Joseph to help him achieve his potential of balance and harmony to acquire DAAT – knowledge and connect him to his mission which going forward included a vision of the Pascal lamb (ergo wool) and Exodus of the Jewish Nation to Exodus from and the beginning of the timeline of coming of Mashiach ben Yoseph and The Final Redemption and Mashiach.
We live in a world where we are bombarded with harmful external influences. We can harness the ability of critical thinking and balance and harmony through the study Torah and a G-d consciousness when doing Mitzvoth.
The world has become oriented to recognizing empirical intellectual achievement of the mind over all else. To achieve balance an harmony and DAAT-knowledge we must live, learn and teach the interinclusion of the mind -external and inner-spiritual dimensions of Torah.
Leib Getzel (Lawrence) Lax
Addictions and Counseling
www.lawrencelax.com
lawrenceJlax@gmail.com