Yaakov awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely Ad-nai is present in this place, and I did not know it!”
There are different ways of knowing.
There is the knowing that is just in the mind, and there is the knowing that changes the way you look to the world.
That is why, says the Piazeczna rebbe, Rashi says Yaakov would not have gone to sleep. Because there is knowledege that is merely a brain function, and it does not change your life. And there is knowledge that comes from deep inside. Knowledge that is merely a brain function is as if you were asleep it is merely lulling you from this activity to the next in your life. You might think you are awake, but you are really asleep. That knowledge that you are amassing does not transform or change you.
To illustrate this, let me tell you the story of my relationship with the Fibonacci sequence. When I first learned it, I learned a dry mathematics function, which the teacher told us could be found in nature. But in that context, it was merely another piece of math knowledge I stored in order to pass through the tests that would grant me a place at the University.
But later, as I was studying Chemistry, I encountered Fibonacci again, in the form of a workshop that actually showed pictures of things in nature and made Fibonacci make sense in a way I could see it. I came out of that workshop with a whole new way of looking at ferns, shells and flowers. And that also impacted how I understood God's presence in the world. And I understood deeply the words of Maimonides, when he says that God can be found in Nature and in Math. He also adds history, but that is a story for another day.
The second time I met the Fibonacci sequence - that was the kind of "knowing Anochi" that the rebbe understands that Yaakov speaks about.
The knowing here is a knowing that is supposed to engage your entire being - it is knowing "Anochi"
Because if you really know the presence of God, this is the knowledge that changes your outlook in life and everything. The rebbe wants you to re-read the text as follows:
(16) Yaakov awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely Ad-nai is present in this place, and "Anochi" - I did not know!”
How can the Piazeczna rebbe can say that?
He bases himself on a teaching on the first commandment of the Aseret Hadibrot or Aseret Hadevarim, aka Ten Commandments:
(1) God spoke all these words, saying: (2) I am Ad-nai your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage:
Or say "God spoke ... to say", and behold through Torah a person comes through "devekut" [clinging to God's presence] - and this is "all these words [are] to say: Anochi" - this is devekut and faith.
The Noam Elimelech is saying that ALL of Torah, every single mitzvah and commandment have one direction: to speak "Anochi." It is not merely to open your mouth and let words tumble out. The fact that we are humans, who speak, and speaking is a main function of being human, is an old idea, brought to you by Onkelos, a translation attributed to Akila of Sinope, written around 110 CE.
Being able to form words in your mouth is something that everyone does. But being aware of what you say, and using your ability to say figuratively Anochi - that is the challenge and the task of every Jewish person. Not just to use your words wisely - but to see them as conduits for God's presence in this world. That is what Noam Elimelech wants you to understand: just doing the mitzvot is not enough. Because you need to be awake and aware of your great power of bringing God's presence into this world with your words and your actions.
When the Piazeczna rebbe sees Yaakov, he sees someone who has just become aware of the lack of actually knowing "Anochi", knowing God. That knowledge transforms you and makes you walk more awake through life, being able at least to know what kind of knowledge you are putting inside your mind and soul.
May we walk a little more awake, a little more aware and a lot more transformed in the world this week.