אות - רס

"And Yaakov dwelt in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Yaakov: Yosef" (Bereishis 37:1–2). It is written (Psalms 26:12): "My foot stands on even ground; in assemblies I will bless Hashem." The foot is the aspect of faith,[445] upon which stand all the character traits and all the Torah entirely. "My foot stands on even ground" — that is, through faith — which is the aspect of "my foot" — one stands on even ground, meaning in a place of level equilibrium and steadiness. For faith is the aspect of the moon, in the aspect of (Psalms 89:38): "and as a faithful witness in the sky" — this is the moon, as our Sages o.b.m. explained. For the moon has no light of its own, only the light it receives from the sun. So too faith — its light comes from the sun, which is the wisdom of the Torah, as is written (Proverbs 6:23): "For the commandment is a lamp and the Torah is light." "In assemblies I will bless Hashem" — for the assembly is related to the moon, as the word "kahal" [assembly] is cognate with "kahal" meaning congregation gathered as one, which is the aspect of the Full Moon [milu'as halvana] — for then the moon is in its fullness and completeness. And this is the aspect of Shabbos. For Shabbos is also the aspect of faith, as it is written (Shemos 31:17): "It is a sign between Me and the Children of Israel forever" — and faith is called a sign, as it is written (Hoshea 2:22): "And I will betroth you to Me in faith"[446] — and a betrothal is through a sign. And Shabbos is also the aspect of the moon — as it says in the Zohar[447] — for the Holy Shabbos is the aspect of the moon. And this is "my foot stands on even ground" — through faith which is Shabbos, through the aspect of "my foot" — one stands on even ground. For through faith and Shabbos, which is the aspect of the moon, one merits to stand on even ground — that is, on a level ground of equilibrium, without confusions of faith, Heaven forbid. And the aspect of the moon is the aspect of the Oral Torah, as is explained in the Zohar. And the moon has no light of its own — as mentioned above — only from the sun. Similarly, the Oral Torah has no light of its own except through the Written Torah, which is the aspect of the sun. And Shabbos is also the aspect of the Oral Torah — as is known. For on Shabbos one studies Oral Torah, and this is the aspect of "he expounded [darash] a matter" — as they say[448] — that it is on Shabbos that one expounds. And "expounding" is specifically Oral Torah. And this is: "These are the generations of Yaakov: Yosef" — for "Yosef" is related to the term "addition" [hosafah] — for through Shabbos one adds holiness, in the aspect of the additional soul [neshamah yeteirah],[449] in the aspect of "and G-d rested on the seventh day and was refreshed"[450] — "vayinafash" is related to "nefesh" [soul] — and one adds [mosifin] from the profane onto the holy. And "Yosef" is also the aspect of the Yosef of the tribes — for Yosef is the Tzadik, the foundation of the world, who guards the Bris. And in the aspect of "these are the generations of Yaakov: Yosef" — that through Shabbos, which is the aspect of faith and the aspect of Oral Torah, one draws to oneself the aspect of Yosef — the Tzadik the foundation of the world. For through Shabbos and faith, which is the aspect of the moon, one is guarded in the Bris. And Shabbos is the aspect of Moshe[451] — as is known. And the aspect of Moshe is the aspect of faith, in the aspect of (Shemos 14:31): "And they believed in Hashem and in Moshe His servant." "And Yaakov dwelt in the land of his father's sojournings" — for Yaakov is the aspect of the body of the Torah [guf haTorah], and "the land of his father's sojournings" is the aspect of the oral and written law — for the Written Torah [sojournings of the fathers] is the Written Torah of the forefathers from ancient times, which we received from our forebears. And the oral law is the aspect of "the land of Canaan" — for Canaan is the aspect of the trader [kena'ani] — and the oral Torah is the aspect of trade, that through it one trades and earns. And through this, "these are the generations of Yaakov: Yosef" — through Yaakov dwelling in the land of his father's sojournings — through guarding the Torah and keeping the Shabbos and maintaining faith — one merits to "Yosef" — the aspect of the Tzadik the foundation of the world — to be guarded in the Bris. And this is also the aspect of dreams. For Yosef dreamed dreams — and the aspect of dreams is the aspect of the moon, as is known. For the moon illuminates by night — and night is the aspect of sleep and dreaming. And through faith — which is the aspect of the moon — one merits to true dreams. And this is the aspect of the coat of many colors [kesones pasim] — for "pas" [coat] is the aspect of faith — in the aspect of (Psalms 18:31): "His word is refined" [tzerufah] — and the colors are the many aspects and dimensions of faith, for faith has many aspects. And Yosef said to his brothers (Bereishis 37:7): "Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright." For the aspect of standing upright is faith — as mentioned — "my foot stands on even ground." And through faith one stands upright on level ground. And this is why Yaakov loved Yosef — for Yaakov is the aspect of the body of Torah and Yosef is the aspect of the Tzadik the foundation of the world who guards the Bris — and the Torah loves the one who guards the Bris. And this is: "Israel loved Yosef more than all his sons" — "Israel" specifically — for "Israel" is the head letters of: "There are six hundred thousand letters in the Torah" — that is, Israel contains within itself all the letters of the Torah. And through faith and Shabbos and guarding the Bris — all the letters of the Torah are sanctified and elevated. This is a summary of the beginning of this great and long Torah teaching. The full Torah discourse is very lengthy, with many dimensions and depths. It was said on Shabbos in the portion of Vayeshev.[444] 444. RAK: See above, note on section 260. 445. RAK: See Likutay Moharan Tinyana 80. 446. RAK: Faith is the aspect of "morning" — see Lamentations 3:23. And see above section 106: faith is the aspect of light. 447. RAK: Tikkunei Zohar, section 70; Likutay Moharan Tinyana 67. 448. RAK: Sifri on Devarim 13; Sanhedrin 111b; Likutay Moharan 18. 449. RAK: Likutay Moharan 1. 450. RAK: Berachos 57b; Bava Basra 25b; Likutay Moharan 177.