Parsha Post: Nesivos Shalom

  Yaakov gathers his sons and tells them that he will tell them what will happen during the end of days. Rashi cites the Medrash that says that Yaakov was going to tell them this through prophecy, but the prophecy was blocked from him and he did not/could not tell them about the end of days. The Nesivos Shalom explains via the Zohar that if the Torah says that Yaakov was going to say something it's in the Torah because he did say at least part of it. The part he didn't say is when Moshiach/End of Days will come. The part he does say can be seen by a different translation of Yaakov's words. It can be read as something other than his telling them that he'll tell them what will happen in the end of days if they gather together around him. Perhaps he's telling them that what they need to do in the end of days is to be united and gathered together as one. The Nesivos Shalom almost always ties in Shabbos to his message. He says here that Shabbos is about Jews' uni...

 Proverbs 4:18 - וְאֹ֣רַח צַ֭דִּיקִים כְּא֣וֹר נֹ֑גַהּ הוֹלֵ֥ךְ וָ֝א֗וֹר עַד־נְכ֥וֹן הַיּֽוֹם׃ The path of the righteous is like radiant sunlight, ever brightening until noon. The NS cites this and the Beis Avraham saying that orach stands for the ohr-light of the 8 that builds up, and that's what this verse refers to here. We build up to the light of the eighth night which brings us light all year till next Chanukah. Chazal set ner Chanukah to bring a Jew light at all times, especially dark times.  The key is the shining of this light beyond Chanukah. The parsha of the Nesi'im read through Chanukah fits with this.  On the eighth day - Zot Chanukah we read zot chanukat hamizbeach... and it repeats it again zot Chanukah... It hints to the holiday of Chanukah and the strong light that continues after Chanukah, which is radiant and ever brightening.  All year we take strength from this light. We're escorted by Chanukah's light throught the year. Ve'Achar kach ba'u ...

Yosef's mater, Potifar saw that G-d was with Yosef. How do you see that G-d is with someone? Rashi says that G-d's name was often on Yodef's tongue, as we see to be true, that he's always thanking G-d, etc. (This could mean that Potifar believed Yosef's saying that G-d was with him, or that what is meant is that he saw that Yosef mentioned G-d a lot. The Nesivos Shalom seems to be holding the latter. The two possibilities are presented in What's Bothering Rashi?) The Ramban says that in Yosisef's merit Potifar saw a vision of G-d over Yosef's shoulder (as it were, my phrasing). Nesivos Shalom develops the idea that things only go wrong if we are disconnected from G-d. If someone were to be connected all the time all would be good all the time. He says that the advice for most people, who can't be connected to G-d all the time, is to connect to the community. In the community someone is connected to G-d and by connecting to someone who's connected...

The Nesivos Shalom writes in connection to Yosef that one of the most important things on life is where we look with our eyes and that that's perhaps the true meaning of "einayim lahem velo yir'u," that if people direct their eyes to themselves they will not see truly, deeply, spiritually.  Related idea, "VeNoach matza chein be'einei Hashem" - Noach found grace by seeing through G-d-like eyes.

Nesivos Shalom speaks of how the four phrases of Geula are four spiritual stages of morphing from being stuck, to unstuck, to uncontrolled, to becoming connected to G-d. He says that the freeing that we experienced from Egypt in mirrored in several ways - by our later ups and downs as a nation and as individuals. He says that every week we go through this process agin, as in the week we experience exile and distance from G-d and on Shabbos we reconnect and experience redemption.e connects this to sur mirah and asei tov, and also to shamor vezachor. And he says that this explains the contradiction of one source saying that is all Jews keep one Shabbos we will bring redemption and another saying that we need to keep two Shabboses to bring redemption. He explains that it's one Shabbos that has two aspects, the moving away from the negative (Shamor/Sur Mira) and the positive (Zachor/Asei Tov). He develops darkness, addresses how darkness can be something other than the absence of light...

Netivos Shalom cites the Gemorah that says that Chazal set for Hallel to be said because the oil burned miraculously and the candles burned again. He questions this, pointing out that the reason why Hallel is set to be said on a holiday is that the Jews were saved from destruction. He explains that the light referred to is a spiritual light that went dark and was reignited. The story of darkness and light is the story of the near death and resurrection of the Jewish People. He says that this fits with the creation story. We're told that always confused and dark, then G-d said there should be light. And it was good. The antidote to darkness and confusion is to see the light of G-d, which can be found in everything in creation. Maybe, as cliched as it sounds, Chanukah simply is the holiday of light. From a spiritual perspective, even if they were keeping Torah and mitzvot superficially, the Jew's eyes had become blinded. Helenism successfully covered them in darkness. They were o...