ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע כו' (בראשית כח, י), עד סוף הפרשה. ויבואר בזה מה שאנו קורין לנס דחנוכה בשמן לשון חנוכה. כי חנוכה הוא מלשון חינוך. ותוכן הדברים, דמצינו בתורה גבי חינוך הבגדים של כהנים שנאמר (שמות כט, לג) למלא את ידם לכהן כו', דהנה כל דבר אשר נעשה מקום להשראת הקדושה עליונה צריכה מקודם לעשות כלי והכנה ובית קיבול שיהיה מקום להקדושה הבאה אחר כך לשרות בדבר ההוא וזה נקרא חינוך כמו שמחנכין הנער במצות שיהא כלי מזומנת לקבל השראת הקדושה שחל עליו בעת גדולתו. והנה יעקב אבינו הסתכל ביחוד עליון מראשית המחשבה וראה שיסוד כל העולמות הוא כנסת ישראל כמאמר חכמינו ז"ל (בראשית רבה א) ישראל עלה במחשבה בראשית ברא וכו', בשביל ישראל שנקראים ראשית, והם נקראים אבן הראשה שממנו הושתת עולם, כי הם יסוד כל העולמות עליונים ותחתונים ובמחשבה שם נקרא אבן הנ"ל בלשון יחיד, כי שם נתאחד כללות ישראל באחדות האמיתי במזל עליון. והנה יעקב אבינו נתן שכלו ומחשבתו והניח מוחו על זה הענין שהשתוקק יעקב אבינו להוציא הדבר מכח אל הפועל משורש אשר משם רועה אבן ישראל (בראשית מט, כד) אל התפשטות לנטוע כנסת ישראל בנין שלם בכל ענינם בשנים עשר שבטי י"ה המכוונין נגד י"ב גבולי אלכסון ולהיות המרכבה שלימה מששים רבוא ישראל כמאמר חכמינו ז"ל אין השכינה שורה פחות מששים רבוא ישראל, ולהיות קומה שלימה מאברים ופרקים ולהיות הכל מכוון כנגד העולמות ואורות העליונים ולהוציא זה האבן מן הכלל אל הפרט על זה הניח יעקב אבינו מוחו וראשו. וזהו שהכתוב מכנה שיעקב הניח ראשו על האבן, זה כינוי שהניח מחשבתו ושכלו על אבן הראשה הנ"ל. אך שאין מקרא יוצא מידי פשוטו, שבוודאי שכב על האבן ויצק עליו שמן כמו שמבואר בכתוב, רק שרמז יעקב במחשבתו וכוון על דבר אחר על אבן הרוחני היא ראשית המחשבה הוא פינת יסוד העולם להיות מקושר אל המעשה בכל ענפיו ופרטיו להיות בנין מפואר מחדרים ומפלטרין שממנו כמה וכמה צדיקים ולומדי תורה זה היה עבודת יעקב והסתכל באחדות של כנסת ישראל עד סוף כל הדורות ואחר כך ראה יעקב ברוח קדשו הירוס של כנסת ישראל וחורבן בית המקדש וגודל החרון אף והדינים שעברו על ישראל:
Genesis 28,10. “Yaakov left Beer Sheva, etc.;” [I presume the connection to Chanukah the author makes here is based on his having composed this commentary for a Shabbat Chanukah sermon. Ed.] The reason why the miracle of Chanukah, actually the miracle of the cruse of oil, is popularly known as the “miracle of Chanukah,” is due to the word חנוכה, being a derivative of חנוך, “consecration.” We find in Exodus 29,33 in connection with the consecration of the priestly garments, that before the priests were allowed to perform their sacred service they had to be provided with suitable vessels to be used, i.e. priestly garments. Wearing these priestly garments was so important that if they performed their duties improperly dressed (even missing one of these garments) this was a cardinal sin. (Maimonides 10,4 hilchot kley hamikdash) The container in which certain offerings were presented, were as integral a part of the ritual as the ritual itself. The garments are the “container” in which the priestly body performs his sacred task. It or they, are viewed like a חנוך, educational tool, consecration, that must precede the actual ritual in order for the priest to be truly a priest. [Possibly, the emphasis on this in connection with the priests especially, is due to the fact that the priest was born to his status, and it would have been most unseemly for him not to undergo preparations before fulfilling his sacred tasks. Rabbis might not need this, as they were not born to the Rabbinate but had to study and pass exams before being granted their titles, ordination. Ed.] Children are trained to perform the commandments before becoming legally of age, i.e. בר מצוה or בת מצוה, as the case may be, before being ushered into adulthood and all that this entails. Our patriarch Yaakov had contemplated the awesome fact of the Unity of G’d from the day he was able to think, and he realized that the foundation of all parts of the universe was the Jewish people, i.e. if there were to be no Jewish people, G’d’s work of creating the universe would have been in vain. Zohar I,24 (and elsewhere) states that ישראל עלה במחשבה בראשית, “the eventual existence of the Jewish people was the first thought that G’d entertained when contemplating the creation of this universe.” Numerous scriptural verses are quoted in support of this statement, one of which that concerns us especially being that Israel was also known as אבן as in “foundation stone,” seeing that the entire universe emerged from that origin. The Jewish people therefore are not only the “root” of mankind, but also in no lesser degree the founders of the celestial regions. While still in the stage of being only a thought in G’d’s mind, they were called אבן, “rock” in the singular mode, as at that point the true unity of the Jewish people and what they represent could be found. Our ancestor Yaakov attempted with all the intellectual and emotional powers at his disposal to unravel the secrets of these concepts in order to convert Israel’s potential into an actual. As per Genesis 49,24 he wanted משם רועה אבן ישראל, “to lay the foundation stone of Israel,” as the shepherd of a nation consisting of 12 tribes that parallel the 12 bisections of the 6 sides of the cube when the universe is portrayed as a cube, dividing it into 12 triangles (compare Sefer Yetzirah, “Book of creation”) by bisecting each side from corner to corner. Each of the tribes of the Jewish people represents one of these “triangles.” In order for the celestial merkavah, Divine chariot, to be complete it must be comprised of 600000 components, the number of Jewish male adults that were redeemed from bondage in Egypt. According to our sages, the Presence of the Shechinah will not manifest itself as resting above the Jewish people when they number less than these 600000. According to our author, when the Torah in Genesis 28,11 describes how Yaakov took “stones” in order to prepare to spend the night, and he put his head on of the stones to serve as his “pillow,” the Torah merely illustrates the kind of thoughts that preoccupied Yaakov at that time, and how during his “dream” of the ladder he experienced Divine insights that had never been revealed to him. Nonetheless, in view of the sages having said that no verse in the Torah must be explained in a way that departs completely from the written text and its plain meaning, we must pay attention to this also. [I believe that in accordance with the above Yaakov/Yisrael’s role as רועה אבן ישראל, “shepherd of the nucleus of the people” of Israel began here. Ed.] According to the plain text there is no question that Yaakov placed his head on real stones, as he had no softer pillow at hand. Nonetheless while lying with these rocks as his pillow, he thought of matters far beyond his immediate and pressing terrestrial concerns. Perhaps this very fact qualified him for experiencing the first of his many Divine visions, although this time he was not certain for 34 years that it had indeed been a divine vision. According to our sages, during this night Yaakov’s mind foresaw the ruins of two Temples and the great anger that the Jewish people, his descendants, would provoke in G’d’s mind on numerous occasions.
ויצא יעקב מבאר שבע כו' (בראשית כח, י), עד סוף הפרשה. ויבואר בזה מה שאנו קורין לנס דחנוכה בשמן לשון חנוכה. כי חנוכה הוא מלשון חינוך. ותוכן הדברים, דמצינו בתורה גבי חינוך הבגדים של כהנים שנאמר (שמות כט, לג) למלא את ידם לכהן כו', דהנה כל דבר אשר נעשה מקום להשראת הקדושה עליונה צריכה מקודם לעשות כלי והכנה ובית קיבול שיהיה מקום להקדושה הבאה אחר כך לשרות בדבר ההוא וזה נקרא חינוך כמו שמחנכין הנער במצות שיהא כלי מזומנת לקבל השראת הקדושה שחל עליו בעת גדולתו. והנה יעקב אבינו הסתכל ביחוד עליון מראשית המחשבה וראה שיסוד כל העולמות הוא כנסת ישראל כמאמר חכמינו ז"ל (בראשית רבה א) ישראל עלה במחשבה בראשית ברא וכו', בשביל ישראל שנקראים ראשית, והם נקראים אבן הראשה שממנו הושתת עולם, כי הם יסוד כל העולמות עליונים ותחתונים ובמחשבה שם נקרא אבן הנ"ל בלשון יחיד, כי שם נתאחד כללות ישראל באחדות האמיתי במזל עליון. והנה יעקב אבינו נתן שכלו ומחשבתו והניח מוחו על זה הענין שהשתוקק יעקב אבינו להוציא הדבר מכח אל הפועל משורש אשר משם רועה אבן ישראל (בראשית מט, כד) אל התפשטות לנטוע כנסת ישראל בנין שלם בכל ענינם בשנים עשר שבטי י"ה המכוונין נגד י"ב גבולי אלכסון ולהיות המרכבה שלימה מששים רבוא ישראל כמאמר חכמינו ז"ל אין השכינה שורה פחות מששים רבוא ישראל, ולהיות קומה שלימה מאברים ופרקים ולהיות הכל מכוון כנגד העולמות ואורות העליונים ולהוציא זה האבן מן הכלל אל הפרט על זה הניח יעקב אבינו מוחו וראשו. וזהו שהכתוב מכנה שיעקב הניח ראשו על האבן, זה כינוי שהניח מחשבתו ושכלו על אבן הראשה הנ"ל. אך שאין מקרא יוצא מידי פשוטו, שבוודאי שכב על האבן ויצק עליו שמן כמו שמבואר בכתוב, רק שרמז יעקב במחשבתו וכוון על דבר אחר על אבן הרוחני היא ראשית המחשבה הוא פינת יסוד העולם להיות מקושר אל המעשה בכל ענפיו ופרטיו להיות בנין מפואר מחדרים ומפלטרין שממנו כמה וכמה צדיקים ולומדי תורה זה היה עבודת יעקב והסתכל באחדות של כנסת ישראל עד סוף כל הדורות ואחר כך ראה יעקב ברוח קדשו הירוס של כנסת ישראל וחורבן בית המקדש וגודל החרון אף והדינים שעברו על ישראל:
Genesis 28,10. “Yaakov left Beer Sheva, etc.;” [I presume the connection to Chanukah the author makes here is based on his having composed this commentary for a Shabbat Chanukah sermon. Ed.]
The reason why the miracle of Chanukah, actually the miracle of the cruse of oil, is popularly known as the “miracle of Chanukah,” is due to the word חנוכה, being a derivative of חנוך, “consecration.” We find in Exodus 29,33 in connection with the consecration of the priestly garments, that before the priests were allowed to perform their sacred service they had to be provided with suitable vessels to be used, i.e. priestly garments. Wearing these priestly garments was so important that if they performed their duties improperly dressed (even missing one of these garments) this was a cardinal sin. (Maimonides 10,4 hilchot kley hamikdash) The container in which certain offerings were presented, were as integral a part of the ritual as the ritual itself. The garments are the “container” in which the priestly body performs his sacred task. It or they, are viewed like a חנוך, educational tool, consecration, that must precede the actual ritual in order for the priest to be truly a priest.
[Possibly, the emphasis on this in connection with the priests especially, is due to the fact that the priest was born to his status, and it would have been most unseemly for him not to undergo preparations before fulfilling his sacred tasks. Rabbis might not need this, as they were not born to the Rabbinate but had to study and pass exams before being granted their titles, ordination. Ed.]
Children are trained to perform the commandments before becoming legally of age, i.e. בר מצוה or בת מצוה, as the case may be, before being ushered into adulthood and all that this entails.
Our patriarch Yaakov had contemplated the awesome fact of the Unity of G’d from the day he was able to think, and he realized that the foundation of all parts of the universe was the Jewish people, i.e. if there were to be no Jewish people, G’d’s work of creating the universe would have been in vain.
Zohar I,24 (and elsewhere) states that ישראל עלה במחשבה בראשית, “the eventual existence of the Jewish people was the first thought that G’d entertained when contemplating the creation of this universe.” Numerous scriptural verses are quoted in support of this statement, one of which that concerns us especially being that Israel was also known as אבן as in “foundation stone,” seeing that the entire universe emerged from that origin. The Jewish people therefore are not only the “root” of mankind, but also in no lesser degree the founders of the celestial regions. While still in the stage of being only a thought in G’d’s mind, they were called אבן, “rock” in the singular mode, as at that point the true unity of the Jewish people and what they represent could be found.
Our ancestor Yaakov attempted with all the intellectual and emotional powers at his disposal to unravel the secrets of these concepts in order to convert Israel’s potential into an actual. As per Genesis 49,24 he wanted משם רועה אבן ישראל, “to lay the foundation stone of Israel,” as the shepherd of a nation consisting of 12 tribes that parallel the 12 bisections of the 6 sides of the cube when the universe is portrayed as a cube, dividing it into 12 triangles (compare Sefer Yetzirah, “Book of creation”) by bisecting each side from corner to corner. Each of the tribes of the Jewish people represents one of these “triangles.” In order for the celestial merkavah, Divine chariot, to be complete it must be comprised of 600000 components, the number of Jewish male adults that were redeemed from bondage in Egypt. According to our sages, the Presence of the Shechinah will not manifest itself as resting above the Jewish people when they number less than these 600000. According to our author, when the Torah in Genesis 28,11 describes how Yaakov took “stones” in order to prepare to spend the night, and he put his head on of the stones to serve as his “pillow,” the Torah merely illustrates the kind of thoughts that preoccupied Yaakov at that time, and how during his “dream” of the ladder he experienced Divine insights that had never been revealed to him.
Nonetheless, in view of the sages having said that no verse in the Torah must be explained in a way that departs completely from the written text and its plain meaning, we must pay attention to this also. [I believe that in accordance with the above Yaakov/Yisrael’s role as רועה אבן ישראל, “shepherd of the nucleus of the people” of Israel began here. Ed.]
According to the plain text there is no question that Yaakov placed his head on real stones, as he had no softer pillow at hand. Nonetheless while lying with these rocks as his pillow, he thought of matters far beyond his immediate and pressing terrestrial concerns. Perhaps this very fact qualified him for experiencing the first of his many Divine visions, although this time he was not certain for 34 years that it had indeed been a divine vision. According to our sages, during this night Yaakov’s mind foresaw the ruins of two Temples and the great anger that the Jewish people, his descendants, would provoke in G’d’s mind on numerous occasions.