(29) Joseph hitched his chariot and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel; he presented himself to him and, embracing him around the neck, he wept on his neck a good while. (30) Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now I can die, having seen for myself that you are still alive.”
(7) Joseph then brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob greeted Pharaoh. (8) Pharaoh asked Jacob, “How many are the years of your life?” (9) And Jacob answered Pharaoh, “The years of my sojourn [on earth] are one hundred and thirty. Few and hard have been the years of my life, nor do they come up to the life spans of my ancestors during their sojourns.” (10) Then Jacob bade Pharaoh farewell, and left Pharaoh’s presence.
(28) Jacob lived seventeen years in the land of Egypt, the days of Jacob, the years of his life: one hundred and forty-seven years. (29) And when the time approached for Israel to die, he summoned his son Joseph and said to him, “Do me this favor, place your hand under my thigh as a pledge of your steadfast loyalty: please do not bury me in Egypt. (30) When I lie down with my ancestors, take me up from Egypt and bury me in their burial-place.” He replied, “I will do as you have spoken.” (31) And he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. Then Israel bowed at the head of the bed.
(1) Some time afterward, Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. (2) When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to see you,” Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. (3) And Jacob said to Joseph, “El Shaddai, who appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, blessed me— (4) and said to me, ‘I will make you fertile and numerous, making of you a community of peoples; and I will assign this land to your offspring to come for an everlasting possession.’ (5) Now, your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, shall be mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine no less than Reuben and Simeon. (6) But progeny born to you after them shall be yours; they shall be recorded under the name of their brothers in their inheritance. (7) I [do this because], when I was returning from Paddan, Rachel died, to my sorrow, while I was journeying in the land of Canaan, when still some distance short of Efrat; and I buried her there on the road to Efrat”—now Bethlehem.
~ What do you think of these snapshots of Yaakov/Yisrael, in Egypt?
~ How do you understand what Yaakov says to Pharaoh?
~ How do you understand what he says to Yosef, when the grandsons come?
~ What do you make of the change in the name of this character in these scenes?
MISHNA: One who prays and erred in the prayer, it is a bad omen for him. And if the one who erred is the communal prayer leader, it is a bad omen for those who sent him, because a person’s agent has legal status equivalent to his own. They said about Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa that he would pray on behalf of the sick and he would say: This one shall recover from his illness and live and this one shall die. When they said to him: From where do you know? He said to them: If my prayer is fluent in my mouth, I know that my prayer is accepted. And if not, I know that my prayer is rejected. GEMARA: We learned in the mishna that if one errs in his prayer it is a bad omen. The Gemara asks: In which blessing is an error a bad omen? Rabbi Ḥiyya said that Rav Safra said in the name of one of the Sages of the school of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: An error is a bad omen in the first blessing of the Amida prayer, the blessing of Patriarchs.” Some teach that this statement was made on a baraita: One who prays must focus his heart in all of the blessings. And if he is unable to focus his heart in all of them, he should focus his heart at least in one. Regarding this baraita, Rabbi Ḥiyya said that Rav Safra said in the name of one of the Sages of the school of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: In one refers to the blessing of Patriarchs. We learned in the mishna: They said about Rabbi Ḥanina ben Dosa etc. The Gemara asks: From where are these matters derived? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: As the verse stated: “The Lord that creates the expression of the lips says, Peace, peace, to him that is far off and to him that is near; and I will heal him” (Isaiah 57:19).
~ What is this piece of the Talmud suggesting?
~ How do you understand what Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa is saying?
~ How does the verse presented at the end supports what he says?
~ What do focus and concentration have to do with prayer, in your opinion?
ויחי יעקב בארץ מצרים. נ"ל ע"פ דאיתא בגמרא "אמרו עליו על רבי חנינא בן דוסא כשהיה מתפלל על החולה היה אומר זה חי כו', אמרו לו מנין אתה יודע, אמר אם תפלתי שגורה בפי היא מקובלת". לכאורה מלת "שגורה בפי" אינו מובן, היה לו לומר "אם תפילתי יוצא מפי בלי גמגום בידוע שהיא מקובלת". אך הענין הוא, דהנה לכאורה יש להבין הסיבה הזאת שהצדיק מתפלל על החולה והוא מתרפא, ונראה הדבר כמו השתנות חלילה אצל הבורא האחד הפשוט האמיתי וחלילה לחשוב ולומר כך. אך הענין דהנה כל העולמות וכל הנבראים היו מתחילה קודם בריאת העולם בכח א"ס ב"ה, ואח"כ כשעלה ברצונו הפשוט לבוראם הוציאם מכח אל הפועל, וכל מה שיהיה הוא שהיה בכח הא"ס ב"ה וב"ש, ונמצא אין כאן שום השתנות, כי כל זאת היה בכח הא"ס שזה יהיה חולה והצדיק יתפלל עליו ויעתר בתפילתו, והוא שהקב"ה מתאוה לתפילתן של צדיקים, שע"י התפילה הצדיק מתדבק בהבורא יתעלה, וזה תענוגו של מקום שהצדיק עולה ומתדבק בו. ואיתא בספרים הטעם שאנו רואים שלפעמים באים שני בני אדם ואוהבים זה את זה מאוד גם שלא היו מכירים זה את זה מקודם כי אם עתה מקרוב באו ונתוועדו יחד ושניהם דבקו יחדיו באהבה רבה, והטעם מחמת שהיו שכנים זה אצל זה בישיבתם בגן עדן יחד ועתה בבואם להדדי נתעורר בהם אהבה הישנה שהיתה בהם בגן עדן. וזהו שאמר רבי חנינא בן דוסא "אם תפלתי שגורה", ר"ל התפילה הזאת שאני מתפלל עתה היא שגורה בפי, כמו דבר הרגיל שהורגל בה כבר, ומה הוא ההרגל? היינו מה שהזכרנו לעיל שהיה הדבר הזה והתפילה הזאת והצדיק היו כולם בכח הא"ס, על דרך שני צדיקים שאוהבים זא"ז מחמת שהיו ביחד, "בידוע שהיא מקובלת", מחמת שכבר היה בכח הא"ס ב"ה ואין השתנות לפניו חלילה, "ואם אין תפילתי שגורה בפי", נמצא לא היתה התפילה הזאת בכח הא"ס רק האדם מעצמו הוא מתפלל, "בידוע שהוא מטורף".
And Yaakov lived in Egypt (Gen. 47:28) ~ it seems to me [that this can be explained] according to what is found in the Gemara: "they said about rabbi Hanina ben Dosa that when he prayed for a sick person he'd say this lives etc, They said to him 'how do you know?' He said 'if my prayer is fluent in my mouth it is accepted" (Berachot 34b). And on a first glance the expression fluent in my mouth is not clear, he should have said "if my prayer comes out from my mouth without hesitation it is known that it is accepted". Now the issue is this - at the outset one needs to understand the reason why the tzadik prays for a sick person and that person heals. And this thing may look like the Creator has a change, God forbid, a change on the Unique True Simplicity, and God forbid one should think and say such a thing. And this is the issue: all the worlds and all the creatures were at the beginning, before the creation of the universe in the potential of the Ein Sof, Blessed, and after, once the simple will arose to create them, God took them from the potential to the actual, and all that will be already was in the potential of the Ein Sof, Blessed, and Blessed be God's name, and so one sees that there is no change whatsoever, since all was in potential. The same happens to the sick and the tzadik who prays for the sick, and is devoted in prayer, and the Holy One of Blessing desires the prayers of the tzadikim, since through prayer the tzadik clings to the Exalted Creator, and this is the pleasure of the Place, that the tzadik rises and clings. And in the books there is the reason why we see that sometimes two people come, and they deeply love one another, even if they had not met each other from before, and only encountered each other now, and yet they get together, and the two of them cling to each other in a great love. And the reason is that they were connected in Gan Eden, neighbors, and now that they came [here], the old love they had for each other in Gan Eden was rekindled. And this is what Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa means with "my prayer is fluent" - as if it were a regular thing, that he was accustomed to, and what is to be regular? This is what we mentioned above, that the this thing and this prayer and this tzadik were already in the potential of the Ein Sof, just like two tzadikim love each other because they were together, "it is known that it is accepted", due to the fact that it was already in potential of the Ein Sof, Blessed, and there is no change, God forbid. "And if my prayer is not fluent" - we find that this prayer was not in the potential of the Ein Sof, just the person is requesting something, then "it is known that it is ripped".
~ How does the Noam understand what Rabbi Hanina ben Dosa says?
~ What is the power of the tzadik's prayer? Why is it effective?
~ What does it mean to love someone you just met, according to the Noam? Have you ever had that experience?
~ Does the Noam understand the question of change in God?
והנה עיקר החיות של הצדיק היא ע"י התפילה שעל ידה הוא מתדבק בהבורא יתעלה כנ"ל, וידוע שע"י שם הקדוש היוצא מפסוק 'את 'השמים 'ואת 'הארץ נברא העולם, והוא גימטריה טו"ב, ועיקר תפילת הצדיק היא על השכינה הקדושה, וזהו "ויחי יעקב בארץ מצרים", 'מצרים' לשון מיצר ים, דהיינו ע"י שהיה מצער עצמו על גלות השכינה הנקראת 'ים', עי"ז היה לו חיות שהיה מתדבק בהבורא ב"ה, "שבע עשרה שנה", פירוש שכל זאת היה בכח הא"ס בתחילת הבריאה כשברא כל הנבראים וכל עולמות ע"י שם הקדוש שהוא גימטריה י"ז כנ"ל שבו נברא העולם.
And this is the essence of the aliveness of the tzadik: through the prayer through which the tzadik clings to the Exalted Creator, as explained. And it is known that through the Holy Name that comes from the verse "the heaven and the earth" [alef-hey-vav-hey] the world was created, and this is the gematria of tov, good, and the essence of the prayer of the tzadik is the holy Shechinah. And this is "and Yaakov lived in the land of Egypt" (Genesis 47:28). "Egypt" [mitzrayim] is the expression for strait [metzar yam] meaning, through the pain [metza'ar] he felt over the exile of the Shechinah, which is called Sea [yam], through this he received aliveness, that he clung to the Blessed Creator "seventeen years". Meaning, all this was in the potential of the Ein Sof at the beginning of creation, when all worlds and creatures were created through the holy name that has the gematria 17, as we explained above, and with it all was created.
~ What is prayer? How does prayer bring life to the tzadik? Is this a prayer you experienced?
~ How does the Noam understand the years of Yaakov in Egypt? What is the main feeling Yaakov had, and why?
וזהו "ברוך ה' אשר לא הסיר תפילתי" שאני מתפלל, לא הסיר אותה ממני מחמת שהיה אז בכח הא"ס ב"ה וממילא היא מקובלת, "וחסדו מאתי", פירוש ועל כל זאת אודה יה, מאחר שהיה התפילה הזאת בכח הא"ס, נמצא שאין זה מחמתי מצד פעולתי שיהיה ראוי להנתן לי שכר על זה, ואעפ"כ נותן לי השי"ת שכר כאילו היתה הפעולה ממני, "וזהו וחסדו מאתי", שאודה לו ית"ש על חסדו הגדול שמעלה עלי כאילו היה מאתי. והבן.
And this is "Blessed E-lohim that did not turn away my prayer" (Ps. 66:20) that I pray, it was not turned away from me because it was in potential of the Ein Sof, Blessed, and automatically it is accepted, "and God's loving kindness from me", meaning, that I thank Yah for all this, that this prayer was in the potential of the Ein Sof, and it is found that this is not due to me, from the side of my action, from which it would be appropriate for me to receive a reward for it, and despite this the Holy Blessed Name gave me a reward as if it were an action coming from me. And this is "God's lovingkindness from me" - that I will thank the Blessed Name for God's great lovingkindness that I receive from God as if it were from me. And sit with this to understand.
~ What happens when the tzadik receives thanks for the efficacious prayer?
~ Is the prayer actually efficacious? Is the tzadik making a miracle?
או יאמר "ויחי כו'" ע"פ הפסוק "זמרו כבוד שמו שימו כבוד תהלתו", נראה פירושו היות התחלות אדם בעבדות הבורא ב"ה בוודאי אינו יכול תיכף בהתחלתו [ל]עלות במדרגת עליונים, כי עדיין סבבוהו זרים במחשבתו הדבוקה בעוה"ז השפל ובהבליו, אבל צריך אדם מקודם לפנות מחשבתו ולזמר עריצים, המה הקליפות המבלבלים אותו מעבודתו, ולזה צריך עבודה רבה, ואח"כ יפנה עצמו לעלות במחשבת קדושים ביחודים וכוונות עליונים, ואז נחשב לו אותה העבודה שעבד בתחילתו והיא לזמר עריצים כאותה העבודה החשובה העיקרית שעולה בה לתכליתו, כיון שכוונתו הכל לשם שמים והכל אחד, וזהו "זמרו כבוד וכו'", פירושו כנ"ל שהעבודה של זמיר עריצים הוא חשוב כמו "שימו כבוד תהלתו", ש'תהלה' נקרא המדריגה הגדולה של הצדיק שמאיר לעולמות עליונים, ותהלה הוא לשון אור, כמו עטישותיו תהל אור.
Or it could be said: "and he lived etc" (Gen. 47:28) can be explained through the verse "Sing the glory of His name, give honor to His praise" (Ps. 66:2). It seems that the explanation is that the beginning of a person's serving the Blessed Creator one cannot immediately rise to the higher levels, since one is still surrounded by external things in one's thoughts, that are still clinging to this low world and its impermanences. Yet a person needs [to prepare] beforehand, emptying their thoughts and nipping the violent ones, which are the husks that confuse a person's service, and for this a great exertion is needed. And after that one should empty oneself to rise towards holy thoughts, in unifications and higher intentions, and then that first service one, nipping the violent [thoughts], will be seen as this important and central service that goes to its objective, since the intention of it all is for the sake of heaven, and all is one. And this is "Sing the glory of His name", as explained above: that the service of nipping the violent [thoughts] in the bud is as important as "give honor to His praise" that "praise" תהלה is called the great level of the tzadik, that enlightens the upper worlds, and "praise" תהלה in an expression of light, as "His sneezings flash תהל lightening" (Job 41:10)
~ Why is nipping violent thoughts in the bud a prerequisite for prayer?
~ What is prayer, again?
וזהו ג"כ הפירוש כאן, "ויחי יעקב בארץ מצרים", ששם היה עבודתו במדריגת קטנות, וזה רמז "שבע עשרה שנה" גימטריה טו"ב, שהוא השם הקדוש במספר קטן, מחמת שהיה בארץ מצרים מקום הקליפות והיה עיקר העבדות לזמר עריצים, אעפ"כ היה נחשב לו זה כשאר שנותיו שהיה עובד בהם במדריגת גדלות, וזהו "ויהי ימי יעקב שני חייו", פירוש שזה היה נחשב לו במנין שאר שנותיו בשוה כנ"ל.
And this is also the explanation here, for "and Yaakov lived in Egypt" (Gen. 47:28) that there his service was in level of ktanut (constriction). This is the hint contained in "seventeen years" which is the gematria of tov, good, which is the Holy Name in small counting (י-ה-ו-ה 1+5+6+5), given that the land of Egypt was a place of husks, and the essence of his service was to nip the violent ones, even though that was counted for him as the rest of his years, when he was serving in the level of gadlut (expansion). And this is the explanation for "and the days of the years of the life of Yaakov" (Genesis 47:28): this [service] was counted to him in the number of the years of all of his service, as equal, as explained.
~ The tension between mochin degadlut and mochin dekatnut is always present in a person. Can you give examples?
~ Is it possible to serve God within constriction? Why or why not? If yes, how?
Or one could say - "the days of Yaakov, the years of his life etc" (Genesis 47:28) can be explained according to the idea that the essence of the aliveness of the tzadik is those days to which the tzadik adds the light of service, and they are called 'days', through what is said "E-lohim called the light day" (Genesis 1:5). And this is "and the days of Yaakov were" meaning, the days to which he added light, they were the essence of "years of his life". And this is easy to understand.
~ What can the tzadik do to their days? How does that work, in your opinion? How does prayer help?