"The Middle Sons" 08-04-12

Study Notes from BIll:

Ohad Ezrahi sang “Modeh Ani”- Morning blessings.  “Thanks for the soul that has been restored to me.  He also sang “Rab Emmuntech bi,” “Great is your trust in me”

He also said, “When I wake, I say ‘So, G*d you have decided to be me for another day.  I’ll give you a good ride.”   (Zalman quote?)

At the end of his musical set, we were tempted to hold up lit lighters in classic concert tribute fashion, but we resisted, since it would be sacrilegious to light a fire on Sabbath.

Vayechi (Genesis 49:13 -21) learning

Jacob is delivering his deathbed blessings. Michael Chusid described his father’s deathbed proclamation, “All is bullshit!” His father was commenting on some writing that Michael had done, but Michael took it as a more generalized angry comment on everything.

Zebulon became a tribe of merchant marines.  Supporters of Torah study are called Zebulon.

Issachar is compared to a donkey.  He is strong and plows the productive fields.  He is compared to the Torah scholar (who receives money from Zebulon).

Asher is the happy fat baker.  He will export luxury goods, “royal dainties,” and live with the smell of fresh baked bread.

Dan is the “judge.”  ‘Judge’ means, in this context to “avenge.”  The “judges’ may have been really warlords.  Even Devorah led warriors into battle. Two aspects of ancient rulers were to fight and to pass judgment in court.

Dan is to govern the northern exposed land to defend as well as the western coast. Dan is compared to "the snake that bites the heel of the horse, who then bucks its rider."  Jacob is big on “heels.”  Snake is a reference to a viper, i.e. Dan is dangerous, especially in guerilla warfare.  It is also a reference to “healing/heeling” property of snakes (medical symbol of healing; Caduceus).

Jacob exclaimed: "For Your salvation, God do I hope!" (Genesis 49:18)  Dan is vulnerable, so Jacob prays for him.

Gad will be attacked, but he will attack his attackers and catch them by the “heel.”  Again, Jacob has a thing for heels.

Naftali had an exceptionally poetic verse, “letting loose (giving birth?) to lovely fawns” and this was compared to “goodly words.”  The word for “letting loose/yield/giving birth” is from the root “lashefir,” which means to improve.  It is related to the root word for amniotic fluid. Eloquence and use of words is associated with the primal energy of creation.

Jacob's Tellings

Jacob’s Tellings

07-07-12

This week’s Parashat of Balak gave us the perfect entry into the study of the “blessings” Jacob gives his 12 sons.  Responding to the request of the king of Moav, Balak, the Canaanite prophet Balaam seeks to curse the Israelites. But the words from his mouth can only bless them.  Looking out over their encampment from the top of a hill in Moav, he says the words that have become part of the Hebrew liturgy every morning and Erev Shabbat: “Ma tovu ohalecha Yaakov, mishk’notecha Yisrael”  (How goodly are your tents, Jacob, your sacred dwellings, Israel).   Taking from this core Hebrew understanding that both the earthly and spiritual are in constant coexistence in everything, we began our study of the spiritual vision our patriarch, Jacob, told to each of his sons, the spiritual legacy of the 12 Tribes.  We begin with the blessings to Ephraim and Menashe, the sons of Joseph, as their blessing comes before the actual sons of Jacob.  

Genesis 48:14:  “Israel extended his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head.”

The text reads like a ritual being played out, like a formal induction ceremony.  “Who are these boys?” – surely Jacob knows his 2 grandsons, Menashe the first born of Joseph, and his younger brother Ephraim.  It is as if he is formally requesting their presentation, which Joseph then does.  Or an alternate teaching: the boys appeared to their grandfather in this scene dressed in their clothing of Egyptian princes, while he knew them to be Hebrews who had studied with him as they grew.  The conflict between the Egyptian and the Hebrew in them plays out in the subsequent order of their blessing.  Joseph presents them with the first-born Menashe positioned to receive the blessing of the first-born from his father’s right hand.  This reflects the tradition in Egypt, and other cultures of the area, that the first-born gets the goodies.  This was generally true in Hebrew culture as well.  But Jacob shows that there is more to it than that within the Hebrews, who will place God’s will and prophetic recognition of the inherent spiritual mission a person carries over and above birth order when it comes to handing down the blessings from father, or in this case grandfather, to son.  Thus, in direct contradiction to Joseph’s intent, Jacob crosses his arms to place his right hand on the younger brother Ephraim’s head, thus bestowing him with the greater blessing.  Ephraim thereby joins other younger brothers who were given the task of carrying the Hebrew spiritual traditions forward in place of their older, first born brothers.  This list includes Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph himself, the father of this boy Ephraim.  So, it is as if Jacob has to reteach this tradition to his son Joseph, who in his years of assimilation into Egyptian culture, seems to have forgotten his roots.  Finally, in crossing his arms to bless the boys, Jacob makes the sign of Raphael, the angel of healing, perhaps finally healing the rift that was caused by the heinous treatment of Joseph by his brothers, and elevating both Ephraim and Menashe to an equal share of blessing as their eleven uncles.

Genesis 49:1:  “Assemble yourselves and I will tell you what will befall you in the End of Days.”

These are generally referred to as Jacob’s blessings, but as we will next see, some read more like curses.  It is telling that the Hebrew word Jacob himself uses is not “blessing” (Ah’varech – I will bless), but “telling” (Ah’gidah – I will tell).  Thus what follows is not so much a blessing, but a prophetic telling, a transfer from Jacob of what he sees in store for the generations that will flow from each son.  This is perhaps comparable to the concept of a darshon in the Hindu tradition, in which the holy teacher transmits prophetic knowledge to the disciple.  These “tellings” from Jacob, born from his deep understanding of the character of each of his sons, will thus resonate for generations as qualities of the tribe that will flow from each son.

Genesis 49:4: “Reuven . . . impetuous, like water, you cannot be foremost . . . “

Reuven, as the first born, was in line to receive the major portion of his father’s blessing.  But he messed it up when he displayed a character trait unbecoming of a leader of peoples.  This is identified as his impetuosity, displayed in the episode where he slept with his father’s wife Bilhah (some commentators offer a less than R-rated account of this affair, suggesting only that he otherwise disrespected his father’s marriage to Bilhah, the handmaiden of Rachel, and fourth wife of Jacob).   So despite his strength, vigor, and rank, Reuben is demoted, and we learn that a Hebrew leader must always be balanced and consider the consequences of his/her actions, rather than rush forward like fast-flowing water that causes great destruction in its wake.  Of note, Reuven is also noted in other teachings as demonstrating the ability to show true repentence and integrity, most notably in his attempts to save Joseph from death at the hands of his brothers.  So he maintains a notable place of pride and respect in the tribal lineage, despite having lost the birthright of leadership.

Genesis 49:7 “Shimon & Levi . . . I will separate them within Jacob, disperse them in Israel.”

These 2 brothers are described together as strong, but angry, and capable of doing great wrong and great harm.  This refers to the destruction of Shechem in revenge for their sister Dinah’s rape by the prince of that town.   We can be imagine them as being 2 angry and dangerous brothers, one (Levi) following the other into all kinds of trouble.  For this, they need to be separated, as if being told by their scolding parent to go to their rooms for a time out.

Jacob says "I will separate them ("A'chalkaym") within Jacob, and disperse them (A'phitzaym) within Yisrael. There must be a nuanced difference between the 2 Hebrew verbs used here.  It seems that one refers to Jacob, thus more physical reality, meaning their portion (chalak refers to portioning), their territory will be scattered out amongst the other tribes, that neither tribe will be given intact territory to settle.   We suspect that the other verb, (Patzah) refers to the dispersement of their spiritual missions (Yisrael referring more to the spiritual realm).  Thus, the Levites were dispersed territorially, with cities of refuge within the territories of the other tribes, and their spiritual mission was to serve as the spiritual caretakers of the tabernacle and temple for the sake of all the tribes.  The tribe of Shimon was similarly dispersed within the tribal territory of Judah, without an intact territory of its own, though his spiritual mission and its reason for dispersal seems less clear.  What was Levi’s saving grace, that despite his participation in the slaughter at Shechem, his descendants are given such a critical spiritual role amongst the Nation?

Genesis 49:9: “A lion is Judah . . . the scepter shall not depart . . . he will launder his robe in the blood of grapes . . .  red eyed from wine and white toothed from milk” 

After the first 3 “negative” tellings, the commentators tell us the other brothers were trembling with fear over what Jacob would say of them.  Judah was next, and clearly received blessing.  Judah would be a warrior tribe, a leader of his people.  The tribe would give us kings, and ultimately the Moshiach would come from his tribe.  The qualities of a Hebrew king are noted in metaphor -  drenched in spiritual insight (“red-eyed from wine”) but solid, fully connected, and nourished by the earthly (“white toothed from milk”).  We as a people take our name from him.  In the book of Esther, Mordechai is referred to as a Yehudi (a Judah-ite) though he was of the tribe of Benjamin, and to this day we call ourselves Yehudim (Jews).   There are verses in Jacob’s blessing of Judah that that seem Rumi-like in their imagery, describing the flowing of abundant wine, the spiritual nectar.  We can imagine David twirling at the gates of Jerusalem like a whirling Dervish, drunk on the “wine” of connection to the Divine flow.

Why did Judah warrant such blessing?  It is said that, though imperfect, Judah was a man of great integrity who fully owned his faults and admitted his errors.  This is most clearly demonstrated in the stories describing his interaction with his daughter-in-law Tamar, and his integrity in protecting his father in his dealings with the Viceroy of Egypt, not knowing he was his long-lost brother Joseph.

We will continue next time with the remaining “tellings” related to Jacob’s other sons.

Next Gathering: Saturday, August 4

Location: TBD

2 Daughters, 12 Tribes

2 Daughters, 12 Tribes

06-02-12

We kicked off our yearlong study today, the breeze wafting through the cool meeting room in Encino as we gathered and checked in.  Behold how good and nice to sit together as brothers and sisters to study our ancient roots!  There were 13 of us present as we started – perfect for the study of the 12 Tribes, which will be our topic for the next 9-10 months - as we know that 12 = 13 when it comes to counting tribes (12 sons of Yaakov + 1 daughter = 13;  OR; Tribe of Joseph splits into 2, Ephraim + Menashe, yielding 13 tribes, the 12 who held territory plus the Levites).  

An offered kavannah of our kavannah: that we study the tribes with the mindset that separateness and wholeness are one, that the disparate parts of each of us makes up the whole of us, that this is the way of all things.  This is a concept front and center in Judaism, though not present in some other spiritual traditions. YHWH = Eloheinu IS the tradition’s statement of the unity consisting of both the many pieces and the whole simultaneously.  So we will look at the 12 tribes of Israel as their individual separate parts, but also as a piece of the totality that is all of them together making up the Children of Israel. 

After determining that the study of the tribes must start at the point of the birth of their namesakes, the sons of Yaakov, and so we began.

Genesis 29:16:  “Laban had 2 daughters . . . Leah’s eyes were tender .  . . while Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance.”

What does it mean “tender eyes”?  That Leah’s eyes were gentle, kind, not demanding?  Or that they held a vulnerability, perhaps even a pain of hurt and suffering for years at the hands of her difficult father, Laban?  Think of the innocent eyes of a beautiful child who holds the secret of past abuses within her.  Leah is described with reference to something intrinsic to her that radiates outward, her eyes, while Rachel is described in terms of how others see her.  We feel a certain sadness for each of these women, given the history they each carry, the conflicts they will soon be facing both between themselves and within themselves, and the circumstances in which they find themselves culturally.  These 2 sisters are the mothers of our people, of the 12 children that would form the basis of the tribes.  The inner struggles of these women, their own intrinsic makeup, the nature of their relationship to Yaakov, to each other, and each to herself, would be passed on, as these things are from mother to child, into the character and energetic makeup of their offspring and beyond into the generations to follow.

Genesis 29:25:  “Why have you deceived me?”

Laban has tricked Yaakov into marrying Leah, in place of his beloved Rachel, and Yaakov is furious. Laban gives him a dressing down: this is how we do it here.  In our place, the firstborn is always married first (never mind that I told you it would be Rachel and that I also gave Zilpah, the younger of the 2 handmaidens, to Leah to make you think she was Rachel).   How could Yaakov have been so naïve, and how could he not have recognized that it was not Rachel in his marriage bed, but her older sister?  We recall that Jacob was a mama’s boy of sorts, growing up protected behind his mother Rivkah, living always in tents and yeshivas, studying.  He really had no understanding of the politics of the world of chieftains, which is rife with manipulation and deception.  But he was no stranger to deception himself, having stolen his brother Esau’s birthright from him only 7 years before these events.  So Laban gives Jacob a hard knock lesson in the ways of the world, and Jacob promises to serve him for another seven years to also gain the hand of his beloved Rachel.  Why does he love Rachel so much?  One teaching: Laban was brother to Jacob’s mother Rivkah, and Rachel’s appearance greatly resembled that of his mother, leading to the love at first sight when Jacob saw her at the well (Gen 29:11).   Finally we realize that our spiritual inheritance from these ancestral tzadikim of ours includes much “deception” energy.  We are blessed that our holy books do not hide the humanity of our ancestors from us, but rather emphasize their foibles and shadows.  Our Torah teaches us the delicacy of the human drama, leading us to a place of compassion for all,  knowing that we too, after all, are only human.

Genesis 29:31: “Leah was hated, so He opened her womb . . . “

Torah minces no words.  But it does use the passive verb form – Leah “was hated”.  By whom?  By Jacob because of Laban’s deception - did he project his anger and frustration onto poor tender-eyed Leah?   By herself?  Was she an abused child, taught to self-hate by her abuser?  Yet she carries so much potential for creativity and new beginnings, the open womb that beyond creating sons for her husband (and for her people as a whole) will be her path to her own growth and birth of Self.

Genesis 32-35: “Leah conceived . . .and she conceived again . . . and again . . .”

Leah gives birth to 4 sons in rapid succession, giving each one a name that on reflection is a “psycho-spiritual Xray” of her sense of self at the time of their birth:

·      Reuven – “see, a son”.  You can almost here her screaming in joy to Yaakov – “see what I have done for you, I have given you a son!  Will you love me now!?”;

·      Shimon – because God “heard” how I am hated, maybe now Jacob will love me?

·      Levi – this time my husband will be “attached” to me

Seeing herself only as an extension of Jacob, desperately seeking his love, Leah runs through each of the senses – “see me, hear me, touch me” (did Peter Townsend write those lyrics, or did he take them from Torah!?).  Finally, with the fourth son, Leah leaves the desperation of her condition, and connects directly to the divine flow:

·      Judah –  this time, I am “grateful” to YHVH.  She grows beyond a point of view of herself in which she can only be substantiated by  her husband, to one that establishes a direct connection with the flowing Presence that is hers to have in her own right.

Genesis 30:5: “Here is my maid Bilhah . . . that I may be built up through her.  . . Bilhah conceived”

Rachel, envious of her sister’s fruitfulness and finding herself still barren, offers her handmaid to Jacob for wife, much as Sarah did with Hagar 2 generations earlier.  This was the custom of the day, that the handmaiden would give birth, “bear upon my knee” as Rachel puts it, to children that would be adopted as the children of their mistress.  Commentary from the Plaut chumash confirms this practice:  "Rachel performs the ancient custom of establishing the child's legitimacy or of adopting him by placing him on her knee.  Henceforth she speaks of Bilhah's children as 'mine.'  This procedure is attested to in Babylonian, Hittite, Hurrian, and Greek laws." Thus, the next 2 sons could be viewed as children of Rachel, albeit indirectly through Bilhah:

·      Dan: “he has judged”

·      Naftali: “my maneuvering” (or struggle, scheming, manipulating) – through her “sacred scheming” Rachel sees herself prevailing in her attempt to equal her sister.  Rachel seems to have a “mean girl” side to her that would make her a star in a tele-novella. 

Genesis 30:10: “Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, bore Jacob a son”.

Not to be outdone by her sister, Leah gives Jacob wife number 4, the younger of the 2 handmaidens, and Zilpah responds by quickly giving birth to 2 sons:

·      Gad: “luck”

·      Asher: “good fortune”

Genesis 30:17:  “God hearkened to Leah and she conceived .  .. “

Wait a minute, Leah’s not done herself yet, coming back for Round 2.  Can you feel Rachel fuming?

·      Issachar: “reward”.  Leah saw Issachar as a reward for having given Zilpah to Jacob.

·      Zevulun: “home/abode”.  Now at last, Leah thought, Jacob must make his permanent home with me, who has given him 6 sons.

·      Dinah.  Torah gives no further description regarding her name, typical when it comes to the women of Torah.  But Dinah comes from the same root as Dan, having to do with judgment and judging.  Perhaps Leah now hopes the final judgment will be in her favor, having given Jacob so many children (up to this point 8 sons and 1 daughter, to Rachel’s 2 adopted sons through Bilhah).  Interestingly, though Dinah is Jacob’s only daughter mentioned in Torah, there is a trippy Midrash that says each of Jacob’s sons was born with a twin sister, and that the twins later each married one another.  Hmmm . . .

Genesis 30:22: “God remembered Rachel . . . she conceived”

Rachel is remembered, as was Sarah in her day, and bore her first biological son. 

·      Yosef: “adding on”.  It is interesting that his name still indicates her competitiveness with Leah, as she either is glad to have added on another son (to the 2 she already indirectly has), or some commentators suggest this name is her prayer to add on yet another.

We finished with some final thoughts about the power and energy of names. The names, coming as intentional prayers from the mouths of our ancestral prophetesses, are a reflection of what they bring to the world.  And what they bring is all possible faces to the intention of the name: thus Dan and Dinah may bring the benefits of justice, as well as the discomfort of being judged; Naphtali may bring both the positive and negative faces of maneuvering and manipulation; Yosef can mean both adding on and subtracting.  It is curious that on balance, the names of the children of Leah, the most outwardly troubled of the 2 sisters, are the most optimistic of the names, while Rachel’s names reflect a subtle degree of dissatisfaction or struggle.  The various “energies” of each of these names are all simultaneously brought into the character of these children, and the future tribes that will result from them, and are carried through the collective unconscious of the Jewish people from generation to generation, even to this day.

  

Next Gathering: Saturday, July 7

Location: Santa Monica or West LA, exact location TBD