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Orchard of Delights
land of Egypt, whose Hebrew root means a narrow place, a place of
confinement and limits. For a pristine, Godly soul, dwelling within
a physical body can at times be the most anguishing and limiting
experience.
Yet Jacob, like the soul in the physical body, “lives” in Egypt,
and in so doing teaches us a crucial lesson. He learns to navigate the
narrow straits of existential reality. And his descendants enslaved in
Egypt further teach this message and simultaneously symbolize the
manner in which the spiritual soul is enslaved within the physical
body, pulled endlessly after the temptations and the desires of the
animal soul that clings to the body. Ultimately though the children
of Israel are redeemed and taken out of Egypt in order to receive
the Torah and serve God. This too represents the soul’s promised
redemption from its own private slavery.
Freedom in Judaism is defined by the ability of the soul to
rule over the body, the capacity of the mind to channel the
emotions of the heart. Not that the body and the heart are to be
denigrated or ignored, rather they must be trained and channeled
in the proper direction. Paradoxically, outsiders might feel that
observing the Torah’s precepts is the epitome of slavery because the
individual must bend his or her will to follow an organized body of
commandments that effect virtually every area of life. Yet insiders
quickly realize that by following the Torah, people free themselves
from the tyrannical grasps of their lower instincts and baser desires,
thus allowing themselves to develop their true essence and potential.
From a Torah perspective, no amount of talent, power, and wealth
can free a person, if he or she is still driven by baser desires. Torah
is the instruction manual or road map leading us from slavery to
ultimate freedom.
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6 Vayigash
sorts of desires and passions, some of which are not the most positive.
In general, though, the yearning contributes to positive progress and
growth as verified by the incredible success Jews have enjoyed in
scores of countries throughout the long exile. Jacob and his family’s
success in Goshen, where they prospered and multiplied beyond all
expectations, is the archetypal example that paved the way for the
Jewish people’s ability to survive and prosper in the Diaspora.
The Ba’al Shem Tov taught that when the Jews return to Israel
again, the secret of the final redemption would depend on their
maintaining the same degree of longing for the Land that they had
when in exile. A failure to continue to yearn for the Land could,
God forbid, lead to future exiles, as nothing elicits the complacency
and lack of commitment that could lead to losing the Land more
than a loss of passion. Once we take the Promised Land for granted
and it loses its “magic” appeal, the threat of future exiles is not far
behind.
This idea is connected to a profound concept taught by Rabbi
Shlomo Carlebach who explained that when people have cravings for
something physical and they fulfill these desires, then they will feel
fulfilled, at least temporarily. However, when people desire holiness
the more they experience it, the more they will want, the more the
longing will grow for a true connection to Godliness. This was precisely
the Ba’al Shem Tov’s message about the Land of Israel. The more
the Land reveals its inherent holiness, the more Jews should long to
experience it. The more the Jews’ passion grows, the nearer we will
come to redemption. This is the secret of the redemption whose seeds
were planted long ago in a place called Goshen.
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