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Noam Elimelech · Parshas Vayeishev · Maamar ה From the Torah ofRebbe Elimelech of Lizhenskרבי אלימלך מליז'נסקProfile ›

Yosef and Musaf: Rising Beyond Shabbos Rest

Yosef brought his brothers’ evil report to their father. Why would the Torah tell of a tzaddik carrying such a report, and what could it have to do with the manna’s “six days you shall gather it,” the Shabbos boundary, and the Musaf offering?

Name a tzaddik: tap for who he wasTitle a sefer

Bereishis 37:2
אֵלֶּה תֹּלְדוֹת יַעֲקֹב יוֹסֵף בֶּן־שְׁבַע־עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה הָיָה רֹעֶה אֶת־אֶחָיו בַּצֹּאן וְהוּא נַעַר אֶת־בְּנֵי בִלְהָה וְאֶת־בְּנֵי זִלְפָּה נְשֵׁי אָבִיו וַיָּבֵא יוֹסֵף אֶת־דִּבָּתָם רָעָה אֶל־אֲבִיהֶם
These are the generations of Yaakov: Yosef, being seventeen years old, was tending the flock with his brothers, and he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives; and Yosef brought their evil report to their father.
31Or we may read “And Yosef brought their evil report …” as speaking of the tzaddik who rises to the level of Musaf, the “additional” offering and prayer of Shabbos. We begin with the verse “Six days you shall gather it, and on the seventh day, Shabbos, there will be none.”1 It seems to me that all six weekdays a person must serve the Creator, blessed be He, with fear and with love: he must see his own lowliness and the greatness of God. Through this he raises the holy sparks, the fragments of holiness that fell to the outside forces. That is the hint in “Six days you shall gather it”: gather the holy sparks all six weekdays. Then “on the seventh day, Shabbos, there will be none.” When Shabbos comes, all the kelipos, the husks that hide holiness, fall of themselves to nukva diTehoma Rabba, the depths of the great abyss, and have no hold at all on holiness. This is what the verse says a few lines later: “Sit each man tachtav,” in his place, words that also mean “beneath him.”2 On Shabbos the outside forces have fallen down and lie beneath a person. You must sit on them and subdue them, and from now on not let them raise their head at all for the coming week.
אוֹ יֹאמַר "וַיָּבֵא יוֹסֵף אֶת דִּבָּתָם כּוּ'", דְּהִנֵּה כְּתִיב "שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תִּלְקְטוּהוּ וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁבָּת לֹא יִהְיֶה בּוֹ", נ"ל דְּהִנֵּה צָרִיךְ הָאָדָם לַעֲבוֹד הַבּוֹרֵא ב"ה בְּיִרְאָה וּבְאַהֲבָה כָּל שֵׁשֶׁת יְמֵי הַחוֹל, דְּהַיְינוּ שֶׁיִּרְאֶה אֶת שִׁפְלוּת עַצְמוֹ וְרוֹמְמוּת אֵל יִתְבָּרֵךְ, ועי"ז הוּא מַעֲלֶה נִיצוֹצוֹת הַקְּדוֹשׁוֹת שֶׁנָּפְלוּ לַחִיצוֹנִים, וְזֶהוּ "שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תִּלְקְטוּהוּ" רֶמֶז לְלַקֵּט הנ"ק כָּל שֵׁשֶׁת יְמֵי הַחוֹל, וְאָז "בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁבָּת לֹא יִהְיֶה בּוֹ", ר"ל מִמֵּילָא כְּשֶׁיַּגִּיעַ יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת נוֹפְלִים כָּל הַקְּלִיפּוֹת הַחִיצוֹנִים לְנוּקְבָּא דִּתְהוֹמָא רַבָּא וְלֹא יִהְיֶה לָהֶם שׁוּם אֲחִיזָה בְּהַקְּדוּשָּׁה. וְזֶה שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב "שְׁבוּ אִישׁ תַּחְתָּיו כּוּ'", דְּהַיְינוּ בְּיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת שֶׁהַחִיצוֹנִים נָפְלוּ לְמַטָּה וְהֵם מִתַּחַת לָאָדָם, צְרִיכִים אַתֶּם לֵישֵׁב עֲלֵיהֶם לִכְבּוֹשׁ אוֹתָם שֶׁלֹּא לִיתֵּן לָהֶם לְהָרִים רֹאשׁ כְּלָל מֵעַתָּה עַל הַשָּׁבוּעַ הַבָּא.
  1. Shemos 16:26. ↩
  2. Shemos 16:29. ↩

Sources here

In shortGathering the holy sparks through fear and love all week makes the husks fall away on Shabbos; then a person must “sit” on them so they cannot rise in the coming week.
32Yet the verse tells us that even with all this a person has not done his duty. He must rise to a still higher level: “Let no man go out of his place.” From these words Chazal learned the techum, the Shabbos boundary of two thousand amos.3 The Shechinah is called Makom, “Place.” This is the meaning of “Whoever fixes a place for his prayer”:4 with his prayer he raises the lower Shechinah and fixes her to the upper Shechinah. When the tzaddik then rises to the upper place, the upper Makom, the angels ask, “What has God wrought?”5 This is their question in the Kedushah, asked of the upper place the tzaddik has reached: “Where is the place (makom) of His glory?”6 That is why the verse commands, “Let no man go out of his place.” All the weekdays the worlds are mati velo mati, “reaching and not reaching.” So the tzaddik too must spend all the days of the week reaching and not reaching: he must go out from the level of love to fear, and from fear to love. But on holy Shabbos the worlds rise as they were before the sin, for Shabbos is the world of tikkun, of things set right. Then the tzaddik too must stand on this level and not go out of his upper place. This is “the olah of Shabbos on its Shabbos, besides the continual olah.”7 The olah, the burnt offering, is named for going up. The weekday olah goes by reaching and not reaching, up and then down. But “the olah of Shabbos” stays beshabbato, at rest above, with no reaching down at all.
וְאָמַר הַכָּתוּב בְּכָל זֹאת אֵינוֹ יוֹצֵא יְדֵי חוֹבָתוֹ, רַק צָרִיךְ הָאָדָם לַעֲלוֹת לְמַדְרֵיגָה יְתֵירָה מִזּוֹ, דְּהַיְינוּ "אַל יֵצֵא אִישׁ מִמְּקוֹמוֹ", וְלָמְדוּ חז"ל "מִכָּאן לִתְחוּם שַׁבָּת אַלְפַּיִם אַמָּה", דְּהִנֵּה הַשְּׁכִינָה נִקְרֵאת "מָקוֹם", וְזֶהוּ "כָּל הַקּוֹבֵעַ מָקוֹם לִתְפִילָּתוֹ", ר"ל עִם תְּפִילָּתוֹ הוּא מַעֲלֶה אֶת הַשְּׁכִינָה תַּתָּאָה לְקוֹבְעָהּ לַשְּׁכִינְתָּא עִילָּאָה, וְאָז כְּשֶׁהַצַּדִּיק עוֹלֶה לַמָּקוֹם הָעֶלְיוֹן אֲזַי הַמַּלְאָכִים שׁוֹאֲלִים "מַה פָּעַל אֵל", וְזֶהוּ "אַיֵּה מְקוֹם כְּבוֹדוֹ", וְלָזֶה צִיוָּה הַכָּתוּב "אַל יֵצֵא אִישׁ מִמְּקוֹמוֹ", דְּהִנֵּה כָּל יְמֵי הַחוֹל, הָעוֹלָמוֹת הֵם מָטֵי וְלָא מָטֵי, וּכְמוֹ כֵּן הַצַּדִּיק מוּכְרָח לִהְיוֹת כָּל יְמֵי הַשָּׁבוּעַ בְּסוֹד מָטֵי וְלָא מָטֵי, שֶׁצָּרִיךְ לָצֵאת מִמַּדְרֵיגַת אַהֲבָה לְיִרְאָה וּמִיִּרְאָה לְאַהֲבָה, אֲבָל בְּיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת קוֹדֶשׁ שֶׁהָעוֹלָמוֹת יֵשׁ לָהֶם עֲלִיָּה כְּמוֹ קוֹדֶם הַחֵטְא שֶׁהוּא עוֹלָם הַתִּיקּוּן, וְצָרִיךְ הַצַּדִּיק ג"כ לִהְיוֹת בְּמַדְרֵיגָה זֹאת שֶׁלֹּא יֵצֵא מִמְּקוֹמוֹ הָעֶלְיוֹן. וְזֶהוּ "עוֹלַת שַׁבַּת בְּשַׁבַּתּוֹ עַל עוֹלַת הַתָּמִיד", שֶׁהָעוֹלָה שֶׁל חוֹל הִיא בְּסוֹד מָטֵי וְלָא מָטֵי כנ"ל, דְּהַיְינוּ עוֹלֶה וְיוֹרֵד, אֲבָל "עוֹלַת שַׁבָּת" הוּא "בְּשַׁבַּתּוֹ" לְמַעְלָה וְלָא מָטֵי כְּלָל.
  1. Eruvin 51a; Rashi on Shemos 16:29. ↩
  2. Berachos 6b. ↩
  3. Bamidbar 23:23. Rashi there: in time to come the place of the righteous will be within that of the ministering angels, and the angels will ask them, “What has God wrought?” ↩
  4. From the Kedushah of Musaf. ↩
  5. Bamidbar 28:10. ↩
In shortAll week the tzaddik moves between love and fear, reaching and withdrawing; on Shabbos, when the worlds rise to their tikkun, he must stay in his upper place and not go out.
33aChazal derived two thousand amos from “Let no man go out …” as a hint to two alafim, two thousands: a thousand (elef) of Chochmah, wisdom, and a thousand of Binah, understanding. Chochmah is called Ayin, “nothing,” and this is the meaning of Hillel's words, “If I am not for myself …”8 Im ein ani, “if I am not,” is read here as “if ani is in ayin.” When the tzaddik rises to the level of Chochmah, he is called Ani, “I.” That is, he no longer needs to go down and make himself humbled and lowly, like one who is ayin, nothing [in the plain sense]. He is called Ani like a man who says “I am,” in the manner of “I am, and there is none besides me.”9 And ani (אני) has the letters of ayin (אין): the letters of the one are the letters of the other. So “if ani is in ayin” means: if my “I” stands at the level of Chochmah, the Ayin. Then mi li, “who is for me,” becomes “Mi is mine”: I have fully perfected the world called Mi, “Who.” That is the world of Binah, where all the harsh judgments are sweetened at their root, so that no judgment rules in the world.
זֶה שֶׁרָמְזוּ חז"ל שֶׁלָּמְדוּ מִפָּסוּק אַל יֵצֵא כּוּ' ב' אֲלָפִים אַמָּה, רֶמֶז לֵב' אֲלָפִים, דְּהַיְינוּ אֶלֶף חָכְמָה אֶלֶף בִּינָה, דְּחָכְמָה נִקְרָא "אַיִן", וְזֶהוּ "אִם אֵין אֲנִי כּוּ'", ר"ל כְּשֶׁהַצַּדִּיק עוֹלֶה לְמַדְרֵיגַת חָכְמָה נִקְרָא "אֲנִי", פֵּירוּשׁ אָז אֵין צָרִיךְ לֵירֵד לִהְיוֹת מוּכְנָע וְשָׁפָל כְּ"אַיִן", וְנִקְרָא "אֲנִי" כְּאָדָם הָאוֹמֵר אֲנִי הוּא ע"ד אֲנִי וְאַפְסִי כּוּ', וְ"אֲנִי" הֵם אוֹתִיּוֹת "אַיִן", אַתְוָוין דְּדִין כְּאַתְוָוין דְּדִין, וְאָמַר "אִם אֵין אֲנִי", שֶׁ"אֲנִי" הוּא בְּ"אַיִן", דְּהַיְינוּ בְּמַדְרֵיגַת חָכְמָה, "מִי לִי", פֵּירוּשׁ אָז תִּיקַּנְתִּי כָּל צוֹרְכֵי אֶת הָעוֹלָם הַנִּקְרָא "מִי", שֶׁהוּא מֵעוֹלַם בִּינָה שֶׁשָּׁם נִמְתָּקִים כָּל הַדִּינִים בְּשׁוֹרְשָׁם וְלֹא יִשְׁלוֹט שׁוּם דִּין בָּעוֹלָם,
  1. Avos 1:14. In the language of Kabbalah, Chochmah is called Ayin, “nothing,” after Iyov 28:12, “And wisdom, from nothing (me'ayin) shall it be found.” ↩
  2. Yeshayahu 47:8; Tzefaniah 2:15. ↩
In shortThe two thousand amos hint at Chochmah and Binah: the tzaddik who rises to Chochmah, Ayin, becomes Ani, and perfects Binah, Mi, where every judgment is sweetened at its root.
33bThis is Hillel's “If I am here, everything is here.”10 If I am on the level of Ani, then “everything is here”: the level called Kol, “everything,” is set right. Kol is the sefirah of Yesod, “foundation,” which is called “the tzaddik, the foundation of the world,”11 and then the judgments have no power to rule in this world. This is “I have set Hashem before me always.”12 Because I have set right the Name Havayah, the four-letter Name, blessed be He, above, I have brought it about that in this world too there will always be complete compassion. “Before me” (lenegdi) hints at this world, which is in front of me. And the meaning of “a thousand of Chochmah and a thousand of Binah” is now clear of itself. When the tzaddik is in his upper place, having risen to the level of Chochmah, “the thousand of Binah” is perfected in full, and there is no harm at all.
וְזֶהוּ "אִם אֲנִי כָּאן הַכֹּל כָּאן", ר"ל אִם אֲנִי בְּמַדְרֵגַת "אֲנִי", "הַכֹּל כָּאן", ר"ל אֲזַי מְתוּקָּן מַדְרֵיגַת הַ"כֹּל" שֶׁהוּא צַדִּיק יְסוֹד עוֹלָם, וְאֵין כֹּחַ לְהַדִּינִים לִשְׁלוֹט בְּזֶה הָעוֹלָם. וְזֶהוּ "שִׁוִּיתִי ה' לְנֶגְדִּי תָמִיד", פֵּירוּשׁ מַה שֶׁתִּיקַּנְתִּי אֶת הַשֵּׁם הֲוָיָה ב"ה לְמַעְלָה, עי"ז גָּרַמְתִּי שֶׁגַּם בְּזֶה הָעוֹלָם יִהְיֶה תָּמִיד רַחֲמִים גְּמוּרִים, וְזֶהוּ "לְנֶגְדִּי," רֶמֶז לָזֶה הָעוֹלָם שֶׁהוּא לְפָנַי, לְנֶגְדִּי. וְזֶהוּ "אֶלֶף חָכְמָה אֶלֶף בִּינָה", פֵּירוּשׁוֹ מוּבָן מִמֵּילָא, כְּשֶׁהַצַּדִּיק הוּא בִּמְקוֹמוֹ הָעֶלְיוֹן כנ"ל שֶׁעָלָה לְמַעְלָה לְמַדְרֵיגַת חָכְמָה, אֲזַי מְתוּקָּן הַ"אֶלֶף בִּינָה" כָּל צוֹרְכּוֹ וְאֵין שׁוּם פֶּגַע.
  1. Sukkah 53a, said by Hillel at the rejoicing of the water-drawing. ↩
  2. Mishlei 10:25. In the language of Kabbalah, Yesod is called both “tzaddik” and Kol, “all,” after Divrei HaYamim I 29:11, “for all (kol) that is in heaven and on earth.” ↩
  3. Tehillim 16:8. ↩
In shortWhen the tzaddik stands at Ani, Kol, Yesod, the foundation of the world, is set right and Hashem's Name is perfected above, so this world has complete compassion and no judgment rules it.
33cThis is what Chazal said: one who goes out beyond the techum has four amos in every ruach, every direction.13 Here going out beyond the techum is rising still higher than the level of Chochmah, which is the inner meaning of Musaf. The tzaddik who rises that high has the “four amos of halachah”14 in every ruach. Even the north side of the world, which is left without a wall for the reason the Sages give,15 falls within them. There too he brings about what the verse says: “And the northern one I will remove far from you.”16 Then “the ruach of impurity,” the spirit of impurity, will pass from the land,17 and the north side will no longer need to stand open without a wall.
וְזֶהוּ שֶׁאָמְרוּ חז"ל "הַיּוֹצֵא חוּץ לַתְּחוּם יֵשׁ לוֹ ד' אַמּוֹת לְכָל רוּחַ", ר"ל אִם עוֹלֶה בְּמַדְרֵיגָתוֹ עוֹד לְמַעְלָה מִמַּדְרֵיגַת חָכְמָה שֶׁהִיא סוֹד מוּסָף, יֵשׁ לוֹ ד' אַמּוֹת שֶׁל הֲלָכָה לְכָל רוּחַ, פֵּירוּשׁ שֶׁגַּם הָרוּחַ צָפוֹן שֶׁהוּא בְּלִי מְחִיצָּה כִּדְאִיתָא הַטַּעַם, הוּא פּוֹעֵל ג"כ מַה שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב וְאֶת הַצְּפוֹנִי אַרְחִיק מִכֶּם, שֶׁאָז יַעֲבוֹר רוּחַ הַטּוּמְאָה מִן הָאָרֶץ, וְאֵין צוֹרֶךְ לְרוּחַ צָפוֹן שֶׁיְּהֵא פָּרוּץ בְּלִי מְחִיצָּה.
  1. Eruvin 51a; Rashi on Shemos 16:29: from here the Sages based the four amos for one who goes out beyond the techum. ↩
  2. Berachos 8a: since the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed, the Holy One, blessed be He, has in His world only the four amos of halachah. ↩
  3. Bava Basra 25b: the north side of the world is not enclosed. The reason is in Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer 3: Hashem made the northern corner and left it unfinished, so that whoever claims to be a god may come and finish it; and from there evil goes out to the world. ↩
  4. Yoel 2:20. ↩
  5. Zechariah 13:2. ↩
In shortThe tzaddik who rises beyond Chochmah holds the “four amos of halachah” in every direction, even the open north, so the spirit of impurity passes from the land.
34This is “And Yosef brought their evil report to their father.” This tzaddik is called Yosef (יוסף), a hint that he stands on the great level we have described, the level of Musaf (מוסף). Dibasam, “their report,” means the brothers' evil report, but here it is read as all the spoiled deeds. Yosef brings them to their Father in heaven, where everything is null and void and has no substance. “And Yisrael loved Yosef”:18 “Yisrael” here is the Holy One, blessed be He, Who is also called by that name, as we said in an earlier teaching on this verse, of Yosef who raises the Shechinah up to Chochmah. His chief love is for the tzaddik who rises to the level of Musaf. This is what Rachel said: “God has gathered away my disgrace … and she called his name Yosef.”19 At first glance she should have called him Asaf, “gathered,” since she said “God has asaf.” But the hint is to what we have said: God gathered away all the disgraces and the lowliness, and everything was annulled. “And she called his name Yosef”: through the root of the name, the root of Musaf, she hinted at the level of Musaf.
וְזֶהוּ "וַיָּבֵא יוֹסֵף אֶת דִּבָּתָם רָעָה אֶל אֲבִיהֶם", פֵּירוּשׁ הַצַּדִּיק הַזֶּה הַנִּקְרָא יוֹסֵף, רֶמֶז שֶׁהוּא בְּמַדְרֵיגָה גְּדוֹלָה הנ"ל, אֲזַי מֵבִיא כָּל הַמַּעֲשִׂים הַמְקוּלְקָלִים אֶל אֲבִיהֶם שֶׁבַּשָּׁמַיִם, שֶׁשָּׁם הַכֹּל בָּטֵל וּמְבוּטָּל וְאֵין מַמָּשׁ, "וְיִשְׂרָאֵל אָהַב אֶת יוֹסֵף כּוּ'", הקב"ה נִקְרָא "יִשְׂרָאֵל" כְּמוֹ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר לְעֵיל, עִיקַּר אַהֲבָתוֹ הוּא לְהַצַּדִּיק שֶׁעוֹלֶה לְמַדְרֵיגַת מוּסָף. וְזֶה שֶׁאָמְרָה רָחֵל "אָסַף אֱלֹהִים אֶת חֶרְפָּתִי וַתִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ יוֹסֵף", וְלִכְאוֹרָה הָיָה לָהּ לִקְרוֹתוֹ "אָסַף" כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרָה אָסַף אֱלֹקִים, אַךְ הָרֶמֶז הוּא להנ"ל, דְּהַיְינוּ אָסַף אֱלֹקִים אֶת כָּל הַחֲרָפוֹת וְהַשִּׁפְלוּת וְנִתְבַּטֵּל הַכֹּל, "וַתִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ יוֹסֵף", רֶמֶז ע"י הַשּׁוֹרֶשׁ הַמַּדְרֵיגָה שֶׁהִיא מַדְרֵיגַת מוּסָף כנ"ל.
  1. Bereishis 37:3. ↩
  2. Bereishis 30:23–24. ↩
In shortYosef, the tzaddik at the level of Musaf, brings every spoiled deed before the Father in heaven, where it is annulled; so Hashem loves him above all, and Rachel named him for that level.
35This is what meant: “Yaakov wished to dwell in tranquility.”20 Yaakov was on this level, where he had forced all the judgments down beneath him, and so he wished to dwell in tranquility. “The trouble of Yosef sprang upon him”: this follows the way we explain “And Yosef dreamed a dream and told it to his brothers, and they hated him yet more.”21 We may say that the brothers of Yosef, tzaddikim that they were, meant it for Yosef's good. They heard him say, “I dreamed a dream,”22 and the letters of chalam (חלם), “dreamed,” are those of machal (מחל), “forgave.” So they understood that he would rise to greatness, as it is taught: “A person does not rise to greatness unless all his sins are forgiven him.”23 That is why “they hated him yet more”: so that through this he would be strengthened still more to rise to a great level. The same holds for “the trouble of Yosef sprang upon him”: it came so that he would rise to a great level, the level of Musaf. And this too is “And Yisrael loved Yosef.”
וְזֶה שֶׁפֵּירֵשׁ רש"י ז"ל "בִּיקֵּשׁ יַעֲקֹב לֵישֵׁב בְּשַׁלְוָה", דְּהַיְינוּ שֶׁהָיָה בְּמַדְרֵיגָה זוֹ שֶׁכָּפָה כָּל הַדִּינִים תַּחְתָּיו וְרָצָה לֵישֵׁב בְּשַׁלְוָה, "קָפַץ עָלָיו רוֹגְזוֹ שֶׁל יוֹסֵף", פֵּירוּשׁ ע"ד שֶׁאָמַרְנוּ הַפֵּירוּשׁ "וַיַּחֲלוֹם יוֹסֵף חֲלוֹם וַיַּגֵּד לְאֶחָיו וַיּוֹסִיפוּ עוֹד שְׂנוֹא אוֹתוֹ", י"ל שֶׁכַּוָּונַת אֲחֵי יוֹסֵף הַצַּדִּיקִים הָיָה לְטוֹבַת יוֹסֵף, כְּשֶׁשָּׁמְעוּ שֶׁאָמַר חֲלוֹם חָלַמְתִּי, וְאוֹתִיּוֹת "חָלַם" הוּא אוֹתִיּוֹת "מָחַל", וְהֵבִינוּ שֶׁיַּעֲלֶה לִגְדוּלָּה כִּדְאִיתָא "אֵין אָדָם עוֹלֶה לִגְדוּלָּה אֶלָּא א"כ מוֹחֲלִין לוֹ כָּל עֲוֹנוֹתָיו", וְלָכֵן "וַיּוֹסִיפוּ עוֹד שְׂנוֹא אוֹתוֹ", לְמַעַן עי"ז יִתְחַזֵּק יוֹתֵר לַעֲלוֹת לְמַדְרֵיגָה גְּדוֹלָה, וְזֶהוּ ג"כ "קָפַץ עָלָיו רוֹגְזוֹ שֶׁל יוֹסֵף", ר"ל בִּכְדֵי שֶׁיַּעֲלֶה לְמַדְרֵיגָה גְּדוֹלָה שֶׁהוּא מַדְרֵגַת מוּסָף, וְזֶהוּ "וְיִשְׂרָאֵל אָהַב אֶת יוֹסֵף", עַיֵּין לְעֵיל.
  1. Rashi on Bereishis 37:2, which goes on, “the trouble of Yosef sprang upon him.” ↩
  2. Bereishis 37:5. ↩
  3. Yosef's words are “Hear, please, this dream that I have dreamed” (Bereishis 37:6) and “Behold, I have dreamed another dream” (Bereishis 37:9). ↩
  4. Rashi on Bereishis 36:3, from the Midrash on Shmuel: three have their sins forgiven, among them “one who rises to greatness.” Yerushalmi Bikkurim 3:3: “Greatness atones”; a sage who is appointed is forgiven all his sins. ↩
In shortThe brothers' hatred and Yaakov's trouble were both for the good: chalam, dreamed, spells machal, forgave, and the pressure was meant to lift the tzaddik to the level of Musaf.
36This is “Who builds His aliyos, His upper chambers, in the heavens.”24 It hints at the tzaddikim called bnei aliyah, people of ascent: by their deeds they build new heavens. They bring about “and His band (agudaso) upon the earth,” all the bands of people that are upon the earth. “He founded it”: He founds them in compassion, without harm, and everything is complete compassion. Understand this.
וְזֶהוּ "בּוֹנֶה בַשָּׁמַיִם עֲלִיּוֹתָיו", רֶמֶז לַצַּדִּיקִים בְּנֵי עֲלִיָּה שע"י מַעֲשֵׂיהֶם הֵם בּוֹנִים שָׁמַיִם חֲדָשִׁים, פּוֹעֲלִים "וַאֲגוּדָּתוֹ עַל אֶרֶץ", ר"ל כָּל הָאֲגוּדּוֹת שֶׁהֵם עַל הָאָרֶץ, "יְסָדָהּ", ר"ל הוּא מְיַסֵּד אוֹתָם בְּרַחֲמִים מֵאֵין פֶּגַע, וְהַכֹּל רַחֲמִים גְּמוּרִים. וְהָבֵן.
  1. Amos 9:6. The verse reads ma'alosav, “His upper chambers.” ↩
In shortTzaddikim of ascent build new heavens with their deeds, and every gathering on earth is then founded in complete compassion, free of harm.
The maamar as a whole

R’ Elimelech begins with the manna. All week a person gathers the holy sparks through fear and love, and on Shabbos the husks fall away and must be held down beneath him. Yet more is asked: on Shabbos, when the worlds rise to their tikkun, the tzaddik who moved between love and fear all week must not go out of his upper place, as the Shabbos olah stays above. The two thousand amos are Chochmah and Binah: when his “I” stands in Chochmah, the Ayin, Binah is perfected and every judgment is sweetened. Going beyond the techum is rising higher still, to Musaf, the level of Yosef, who brings every spoiled deed before the Father in heaven to be annulled. Even the brothers’ hatred and Yaakov’s trouble came to lift him there.

Takeaway

All week we gather the sparks with fear and love, rising and falling; on Shabbos we can hold our place above and keep the husks beneath us. And the trouble that breaks our rest may be what lifts us to the level of Musaf, where every spoiled deed is brought before our Father in heaven and annulled.

Related learning

Sources he cites

Bereishis 30:23–24 · Bereishis 37:2–3 · Bereishis 37:5–6 · · Shemos 16:26 · · Bamidbar 23:23 · Bamidbar 28:10 · Yeshayahu 47:8 · Yoel 2:20 · undefined 9:6 · Tzefaniah 2:15 · Zechariah 13:2 · · · Rashi on Bereishis 36:3 · · Rashi on Shemos 16:29 · Rashi on Bamidbar 23:23 · · · Eruvin 51a · · · · Pirkei Avot 1 · Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 3

Tzaddikim he names

Yosef HaTzaddik · Yaakov Avinu · Rachel Imeinu · Rashi

Translated with AI assistance. Sources and summaries were checked by a separate AI review; not yet reviewed by a human editor.

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