Vayechi: Chapter 15

"And Jacob lived," part two

Synopsis

Rabbi Chiya opens the discussion by saying that God called the children of Yisrael "righteous" and that they will be happy in the World to Come because they cleaved to His body (the Central Column). Rabbi Yitzchak then explains that the land they shall inherit will be supernal, meaning the Malchut. Then, we learn, they will surely inherit the Shechinah, the land of the living. The secret of the Malchut is that the land is one of planting, referring in scripture to God planting when He created the universe. The children of Yisrael will thus inherit the land forever. Rabbi Ya'akov and Rabbi Yehuda next explain why there is no space in the Torah between the portion of Vayigash and the beginning of the portion of Vayechi. Rabbi Shimon tells us that there are no spaces between the two verses separating "And Jacob lived" to indicate that Yisrael and his children lived in luxury like kings. Rabbi Shimon goes on to explain the importance of seventeen years, because Jacob was sorrowful all his life, but the beauty of Joseph upon first seeing him, reminded Jacob of his wife Rachel, and all his sorrow fell away. But when Joseph, being seventeen, was separated from Jacob, we learn, his sorrow returned. Therefore, Jacob lived in Egypt "for seventeen years." Rabbi Elazar next tells us why the word "play" is mentioned three times in the verse; it refers to the three Columns. Rabbi Aba explains the three Columns as south, north, and east. From them come the three worlds, The Right Column is called "south," the Left Column "north," the Central Column "east." Rabbi Shimon concludes by pointing out that "Your fathers" refers to three, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Relevance

The power of the three Column System lies at the heart of this passage. The three Columns refer to the following behavioral traits, Right Column signifies a man's desire to share, the God - like nature of his soul. Left Column refers to the covetous desire of receiving for the self alone, the insatiable impulses of the ego. The crucial Central Column correlates to a man's free will to resist his selfish desires and instead, choose the truthful longings lingering in his soul, which include unconditional sharing. When a man integrates these three Columns into his life in a spiritually balanced way, he creates a circuit of energy igniting profound Light in his life. The patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, were the Vessels and template that established these three Columns in our physical world by virtue of their deeds throughout their lifetimes. Upon their merit and through the mention of their names in this passage, we can draw upon their respective strength and wisdom to manage these three traits in a fashion that will bring forth spiritual luxuries into our own lives.