Joseph's Flame

6 Kislev 5782

“It came to pass, when Rachel had given birth to Joseph, that Jacob said to Laban: ‘Send me away, that I may go to my own place, and to my country’” (Bereishis 30:25)

“As soon as Esau’s nemesis was born, Jacob no longer feared to return to the Holy Land. As it is written (Obadiah 1:18): ‘The House of Jacob shall be fire, the House of Joseph shall be flame, and the House of Esau — straw’” (Rashi). With the flame of Joseph, Jacob now felt himself well equipped to face the threat of Esau, of raw physicality disconnected from holiness.

“One must extensively study all 613 mitzvot … in order to purify whatever needs purification there.” (Tanya, Kuntres Acharon, middle of Essay 4)

Similarly, Hashem did not send us into this world without the means to fight the darkness inherent within it. We have been given over a unique gift. We have 613 channels to connect to Hashem with and draw down holiness into our lives from. One essential mitzvah of these 613 is “Knowing G-d.” We achieve this by intellectual study of the hidden dimensions of the Torah, brought down to us through the teachings of Chassidus. Unlike the study and performance of the other mitzvahs, we divest this study of any physicality, breaking free from the limitations of the physical world.

“The wicked man borrows and does not repay; but the righteous man is gracious and gives.” (Tehillim 37:21)

When we break free from the illusionary limitations of this world, we can truly give. Just as Rashi states on the above verse, “Fire without a flame does not burn anything a distance away.” With the flame of Joseph we can reach to the furthest extents. Through drawing sustenance from the concealed parts of the Torah, we can connect with every other created being, at times above human comprehension, giving them exactly what they need at that moment.