Yaakov's Da'as: Life in the Darkness

1a“Yaakov lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years” [Bereishis 47:28]. It is known that the Divine portion planted and rooted in the heart of every Jew is called “the portion of Yaakov” [cf. Yirmiyahu 10:16], “the heritage of Yaakov” [Yeshayahu 58:14], an inheritance from our holy forefathers. This is the meaning of “Yaakov lived”: he gave life. Through that Divine spark he gave holy vitality to every single Jew, so that each person can revive himself and restore his soul [cf. Tehillim 19:8]. He gave vitality to the da'as of Israel, their inner understanding. For Yaakov is da'as. As is known, Yaakov Avinu's attribute rose in its root on High to the source of holy, supernal Da'as. The Tikkunei Zohar (Tikkun 13) says that Yaakov Avinu and Moshe Rabbeinu both rose to the source of holy Da'as, but Yaakov is its outer side and Moshe its inner side. It is also known that the Name of Da'as is formed from the first letters of es hashamayim v'es ha'aretz, “the heavens and the earth” [Bereishis 1:1]. Its numerical value equals tov, “good,” and it is the King's signet with which heaven and earth are sealed.

1bWith the light of da'as, one can connect simple people, who are like “earth,” and raise them to the level of “heaven.” For da'as means connection, as in “Adam knew Chavah” [Bereishis 4:1]. Through the light of da'as, even when a person considers how little he is worth and how deeply he has sunk, he still does not tell himself, “It is hopeless” [cf. Yirmiyahu 2:25]. Instead, he “trusts in the Name of Hashem and leans upon his God” [Yeshayahu 50:10], Who “raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the dunghill” (Tehillim 113:7). So too He will lift us from the dunghill of our poverty. As David HaMelech said, “If I make my bed in the grave, You are there” (Tehillim 139:8). Even if I am in the grave, Heaven forbid, You are still there. With one sigh from the depths of the heart, You are there, “for Hashem's kindnesses have not ended” [Eichah 3:22].

2This is the meaning of the verse “Know the God of your father, and serve Him” (Divrei HaYamim I 28:9). Someone whom Hashem has graced with the light of da'as knows and understands well, even when something bad happens to him, Heaven forbid, that everything comes from the Creator for the good. For the way of the Good is only to do good to His creatures, and especially to the children of Israel, His treasured people. The hardship is only the absence that comes before every new existence, as it says, “For a brief moment I forsook you, and with great mercy I will gather you in” (Yeshayahu 54:7). The moment will pass, and there will be only good. If a person thought this through carefully, he would not complain or question his sufferings, and he would not sin. He would know that the moment passes like a fleeting shadow [cf. Tehillim 144:4], and the good will surely follow. For “first comes darkness, then light” (Shabbos 77b), and “prepare yourself in the entrance hall so that you may enter the banquet hall” (Avos 4:16).

3This is what Chazal teach (Bereishis Rabbah 3:4) on “God saw the light, that it was good” [Bereishis 1:4]: “From where was the light created? The Holy One, blessed be He, wrapped Himself in it and made the radiance of His splendor shine from one end of the world to the other.” And He hid it away, and it is kept for the tzaddikim in the time to come [cf. Chagigah 12a]. At first, by that great and wondrous light, man could see what would be “from one end of the world to the other,” that is, what would come after the sufferings. It was like looking through a window and seeing what lies outside. Then Hashem hid it away. The holy Zohar says (II:148b)¹: “R' Yehudah said²: Had it been hidden away completely, the world could not have stood even a moment. Rather, it was hidden and sown like a seed that produces offspring, seeds and fruit, and by it the world is sustained.” It is kept for the tzaddikim, and the tzaddikim bestow an abundant flow from that hidden good, the light of da'as, on every Jewish soul. The Midrash says (Vayikra Rabbah 20:2): “The heel of Adam HaRishon outshone the sun; how much more so his face!” After his sin, his radiance was taken away. Yaakov Avinu repaired the sin of Adam HaRishon, as the holy Zohar says (II:141b), and so he merited the great, good and hidden light. This is the meaning of “Yaakov lived”: he gave life to da'as.

4“The deeds of the fathers are a sign for the children” [cf. Ramban on Bereishis 12:6]. “A light shone in the darkness for the upright” [Tehillim 112:4], and it lit up the hearts of the holy people until the end of days. This is what the Midrash says on our parshah (Bereishis Rabbah 96:5; cf. Tanchuma Vayechi 2): “Rabbeinu HaKadosh³ lived in Tzippori seventeen years, and he applied to himself the verse ‘Yaakov lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years’: and Yehudah lived in Tzippori seventeen years.” All those years Rabbeinu HaKadosh was ill and suffering, Heaven save us [cf. Bava Metzia 85a], and he applied to himself “Yaakov lived seventeen years.” As we said above, the number seventeen alludes to the Name of Da'as, whose value is tov. Yaakov Avinu gave us the light of da'as, so that we can strengthen ourselves in the midst of terrible troubles and darkness. We can stop and take to heart Who it is that “brings on the evenings” [Maariv blessing], and from what source the sufferings come. They come from the source of abundant mercy, from Whom “evil does not go forth” [Eichah 3:38], for the way of the Good is only to do good. A person may also take to heart how low he is and how little he is worth, and see that he does not deserve salvation. Even so, let him know the true knowledge and strengthen himself with the preciousness of his soul, the sweet light hidden within him. With it he can light up all the darkness of his heart and revive his soul, so that its life stays alive in him.

5aThis is what Chazal say (Kesubos 103b): “Rebbi was in Beis She'arim, but when he became ill they brought him to Tzippori, which is high up and has pleasant air.” As is known from Sefer Yetzirah, the three holy forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, correspond in their root to water, fire and air, and Yaakov Avinu is air. That is the meaning of “high air”: with the portion of Yaakov within him, a person can lift himself up and strengthen himself in the midst of the darkness.

5bThis is also hinted in Chazal's saying (Kesubos 109)⁴: “One who has lost the path to his field, let him fly through the air.” As is known, this world is called a “field,” as in “I passed by the field of a lazy man” (Mishlei 24:30) and “a king is subservient to the field” (Koheles 5:8). Picture someone sunk in the empty pleasures of this world. He takes to heart his bitter, lowly state: he has lost his way and has accomplished and repaired nothing at all in this world. He even imagines that his hope is lost and that there is no remedy left for the sickness of his soul [cf. Yechezkel 47:12]. Of him Chazal say: let him “fly through the air.” Let him strengthen and fortify his soul with the portion of Yaakov still within him, which no evil can touch, and which has never been blemished or spoiled, Heaven forbid. This is the meaning of the verse “‘Hashem is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him’” (Eichah 3:24). Since I know that a portion of Hashem is within me, I take comfort and strength from it. There is still hope, and my expectation is not lost. That is “therefore I will hope in Him.”

6aThis is what the Midrash says later on (Bereishis Rabbah 98:14) about “Dan shall be a serpent on the road” [Bereishis 49:17]. Yaakov Avinu saw Shimshon and thought he was the King Moshiach. When he saw him die, he said, “This one too has died. ‘For Your salvation I hope, Hashem’” [Bereishis 49:18]. Yaakov Avinu looked ahead to the End of Days and saw all the sufferings, troubles and upheavals that would pass over his children. When he saw Shimshon, he took comfort, thinking he was the King Moshiach who would redeem his children from their troubles. When he saw him die, he said, “This one too has died. ‘For Your salvation I hope, Hashem.’ I still believe with complete faith that the Creator brings all things into being and is the Cause of all causes, Who ‘seeks the good of His people and speaks peace to all His seed’ [cf. Esther 10:3]. Presumably the appointed time for their redemption has not yet come. I wait, hope and yearn for Hashem's salvation, that very soon Hashem will look down and have mercy on them [cf. Eichah 3:50].”

6bFrom this we can learn a lesson and a path in serving Hashem and in waiting for salvation. Go and learn from Yaakov Avinu. He saw all the upheavals, waves and troubles that would pass over his children, that “each day's curse would be greater than the one before” [Sotah 49a], Heaven forbid. When he saw Shimshon he took comfort, thinking he was the King Moshiach, who had “set an end to darkness” [Iyov 28:3]. Even so, when he saw him die, he said, “For Your salvation I hope, Hashem,” and did not fall back. He strengthened himself with true strength and said, “For Your salvation I hope. Presumably they are not yet worthy of Hashem's salvation.” So too with a person when harsh judgments grow strong against him, Heaven save us, and his troubles mount until he cannot bear any more and stands at the edge of ruin, Heaven forbid. He tells himself that surely this is the time of salvation: “It is a time of trouble for Yaakov, but from it he will be saved” [Yirmiyahu 30:7]. And if, to his sorrow, the sufferings grow even stronger, let him not complain or question. Above all, let him not tell himself, “It is hopeless,” Heaven forbid. Let him hope, and hope again, and strengthen his soul in Hashem, for “Hashem's kindnesses have not ended” [Eichah 3:22], “no one banished will remain banished from Him” [Shmuel II 14:14], and not a single spark of Israel will be lost, Heaven forbid. Presumably he is simply not yet worthy of Hashem's salvation.

7The same holds in the ways of serving Hashem. The verse says, “Dan shall be a serpent on the road (derech), a viper on the path (orach), that bites the horse's heels so that its rider falls backward. For Your salvation I hope, Hashem” [Bereishis 49:17–18]. According to Chazal (cf. Kiddushin 2b), the holy Torah is called a derech, “the road on which they should walk” [Shemos 18:20]. A derech is a public road that many people tread. An orach is a private track that a person paves for himself to walk on. Suppose a person imagined that he attains perceptions of the Creator and walks in high and lofty ways, until he has made himself a straight road “to ascend the mountain of Hashem” [Tehillim 24:3]. He is also a rider who has mounted form upon matter, the spirit directing the body. As is explained on “to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots” [Shir HaShirim 1:9], the physical part ought to follow the Divine part, not the soul follow the body, as with Pharaoh's horses, which were dragged into the sea against their will after the chariots. This is “Dan shall be.” Someone may be on the road of the Torah, and still the serpent comes upon the road, bites him and makes him sin. Or someone may climb on a private track, and the viper comes and bites him, “biting the horse's heels.” Even so, “For Your salvation I hope, Hashem.” Let him not say, “It is hopeless,” for the portion of Yaakov is still within him, and it is never damaged.

8This is what the Midrash says there (Bereishis Rabbah 98:14): “R' Yitzchak said: Everything depends on hope. Sufferings depend on hope. The longing for the World to Come depends on hope. Grace depends on hope.” “Sufferings depend on hope” is what we explained above. A person's heart may be confident that because his sufferings have been so great, Hashem “will send him help from the Sanctuary” [Tehillim 20:3] and his healing is close. And if, to his sorrow, he still does not see relief, let him strengthen his heart and hope to Hashem, as Chazal say, “hope, and hope again” [Berachos 32b]. “The longing for the World to Come”: as is known, Binah, the Divine attribute of understanding, is the source of teshuvah, and Binah is the secret of the World to Come. Even someone in a very low state, poor and empty in understanding, should still yearn and hope for Hashem's salvation, that Hashem will open his eyes and show him the way of teshuvah. “Grace depends on hope”: even someone who knows how low he is, and that on his own account nothing at all is due to him, asks only, “From Your treasury of free gifts, grant me grace, by Hashem's kindnesses that have not ended” [cf. Eichah 3:22]. Let him too yearn and wait for Hashem's salvation, for He has mercy on all His creatures [cf. Tehillim 145:9].

9The holy Torah says (Parshas Beha'aloscha): “The banner of the camp of Dan traveled, gathering up all the camps” [Bamidbar 10:25]. Dan would gather, lift and raise up all the camps that were in a low state. He strengthened them in holy service, so that they would hope for Hashem's salvation and trust in Hashem, for He is the Good who does good to all and has mercy on all souls. He has mercy even on the souls cut off, Heaven forbid, from the source of plain, simple mercy. As the holy Maggid of Kozhnitz writes in Avodas Yisrael, in Parshiyos Mikeitz and Vayigash the Name Havayah, which stands for plain mercy and kindness, is missing, until “For Your salvation I hope, Hashem.” This is what we explained: even these souls should trust in Hashem, for He is the Good who does good to all, as the verse says, “Give thanks to Hashem, for He is good” [Tehillim 136:1]. This is the meaning of the verse “She tastes that her merchandise is good; her lamp does not go out at night” (Mishlei 31:18). A person who merits to taste the pleasantness and sweetness of the light of da'as, whose number is tov, knows and understands that He is the Good who does good to all. “Her lamp does not go out at night”: even in a time of darkness he believes and trusts in the Name of his God, that He will have mercy and light up all his darkness. As it says, “Though I sit in darkness, Hashem is a light for me” (Michah 7:8).