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Chabad Research Unit — Balak 5784

Выпуск: Chabad Research Unit — Balak 5784. Темы: не определены автоматически. CHABAD RESEARCH UNIT ‫ב"ה‬ Summaries of points from the Rebbe’s Chassidic Discourses ‫בלי אחריות כלל וכלל‬ ‫י"ב תמוז תשל"ג יום ה' פ' בלק ד''ה מי מנה עפר יעקב בלתי מוגה‬ Published for Shabbat Sedra Balak 14 Tamuz 5784, 20 July 20241 THE DUST OF JACOB ALAAM DECLARED “WHO CAN COUNT THE DUST OF B JACOB, OR NUMBER THE SEED OF ISRAEL?”2 The term ‘dust’ is particularly applied to Jacob, for the Midrash3 points out that Abraham was blessed that his children would be like the stars4, Isaac was blessed that his children would be like the sand of the sea5 and it was particularly Jacob who was blessed that his children would be like the dust of the earth6. Jacob was the name given to him at birth, before he began his service of the Divine, while the name Israel was given to him by an angel ‘because you have successfully struggled with spiritual forces and with people’7, meaning that this name relates Jacob’s positive achievements in the various struggles of his life. Given that the person makes a blessing before and after eating the food, one cannot actually tell the difference between a person who is eating in an ordinary way, subservient to the physical pleasure entailed in the tasty food, or one whose eating is a spiritual or even sacred act. Another aspect of the name Jacob, is that when Esau realised that Jacob had taken the blessing which their father Isaac had intended for him, Esau, he declared ‘that’s why his name is Jacob, because he has tricked me twice’9. By eating the food, this holiness is absorbed by the person’s body, and when he or she uses that energy to pray, study Torah or carry out Mitzvot, the ‘sparks’ of holiness are re-connected to their supernal source. First we approach on the level of the dust of Jacob, carrying out the Mitzvot with humility and acceptance; then we enter the realm of Torah, with all its breadth of exploration and discussion. And especially when one adds the water of Torah, for the Jewish people connect with the Torah and the Torah connects with the Holy One, and there is a total unity, beyond any kind of limit. According to the Sages, the serpent, which is called ‘cunning’ in the Torah11, used several deceitful ploys in order to get Eve and then Adam to eat from the forbidden Tree of Knowledge. But then comes a higher level of service, expressed in t

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Chabad Research Unit

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19 июля 2024 г.

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4