Beauty Over Substance? Two Versions of Pharaoh's Dreams
The Timeless Tension Between Two Phases in Joseph’s Life, Between the Greeks and the Jews
- December 19, 2013
- |
- 16 Tevet 5774
Rabbi YY Jacobson
2871 views- 5Comment
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Dedicated by David & Eda Schottenstein in memory of Alta Shula Swerdlov And the merit of Yetta Alta Shula, Aliya, Schottenstein And by David Farkash in the merit of Shmueli Farkash for his birthday
Class Summary:
Beauty Over Substance?- What is superior—essence or projection? A subtle change of order in Pharaoh’s dreams teaches us about the timeless tension between two phases in Joseph’s life, and between the Greeks and the Jews
Rabbi YY Jacobson
- December 19, 2013
- |
- 16 Tevet 5774
- |
- 2871 views
Dedicated by David & Eda Schottenstein in memory of Alta Shula Swerdlov And the merit of Yetta Alta Shula, Aliya, Schottenstein And by David Farkash in the merit of Shmueli Farkash for his birthday
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Anonymous -7 months ago
Shame on you Jews of Chabad
who gave all credit
and not mension the the soldiers
that died and wounded
this is because you sit in America
and so disconnected
we in israel save you also
you forgot already
but don't worry it comes to america
shame onnyou
i can't listen to you anymore
הכל קישקוש
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shlomo tawil -11 years ago
comentarios
me gusta mas iosef que josé, en general los nombres propios mejor ponerlos en su origen, no en au traduccion, salvo la primera vez.
masejet Horaiot, no horahot
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Kayo, Tokyo -13 years ago
Thank you for sharing your Chasidus
Baruch HaShem
When I come to your class, I see brilliantly shining Torah.
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chaim argentina -14 years ago
question
I have a question.
Many times i heard that the Avot performed all the 613 mitzves. I heard from the R' Amnon Itzhak that an architect can build an edifice using a "plan", and he also can draw a plan seeing the edifice. So the Avot could discover the "plan"(Torah and it's mitzvos) observing the world. But I never knew if they physically performed the mitzves as we know them today, or maybe the sages are just trying to convey a spiritual message. So they performed the mitzvos in a ruchanius level only.
As far as Yoma 28b and Kidushin 82b, I don't know if they were aggados or it is literal.
All the best. an a git gebencht chanike! Chaim.
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Anonymous -12 years ago
Re: question
Many of the mitzvos were performed on a spiritual level, meaning they tapped into the spiritual energy of the mitzvah and they observed it. For example, they did not have tefilin like we have them, because the portions in the tefilin were not written yet. And the Exodus of Egypt, which is transcribed in the tefilin portions, did not happeb yet. Yet the Zohar says, that Yaakov observed tefilin with the "sticks" that he set up at the canals of waters in Parshas Vayeitzei. The same hold true for many of the other mitzvos. The Avos grasped the energy behind each mitzvah, its inner soul, purpose and meaning and that is what they performed.
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Meira Lerman -14 years ago
My Answer to the Questions
Questions and Exercises
1. Do you attribute more value to substance or to beauty?
Beauty or substance? Mine! How difficult it is to make a choice, when we love both!
Each substance has indefeasible attribute of beauty of its own. (Just look at the dance of subatomic particles inside of it.) But in modern age with its artificial flavors and substances abuse…, dissonance, disproportion, dysfunctions we are witnessing major divorce between substance and beauty. We are like children of divorced parents and we are pushed to make a choice whom we prefer to live with? Ultimately we gravitate to more secure one. But here is a new problem: they may masquerade each other to win our love, “AFIELD is like AFIELD”… If only we could excrete substance from those husks and peels every time we need to make a choise!
2. How about the culture you live in?
They say its taste is still on the level of husks and peels…
3. What was the difference between the Mitzvos performed before Sinai and after Sinai?
Before Sinai there was only Divine transmission of Aroma of what is good, appealing to sensitive sensors of lofty souls. After Sinai we got clear instructions “WHERE IS SUBSTANCE”, Oil of Mitzvos we have to follow without any excuses of troubles in our sensors.
4. What caused the change in the life and perspective of Joseph?
At the beginning he might be a follower of Pure Aesthetic concept and gravitated to values of Pointless Beauty. Jacob’s education embedded in him from his childhood was dormant until he met Potiphar’s wife… Only when his belief was tested with fetish he realized wisdom he inherited from his father. He discovered eternal value of beauty that derives from ethic.
5. Why the change of order between Pharaoh’s actual dream and his repetition of it?
Joseph’s ambiance, his presence, his new approach for life curves influenced Pharaoh’s comprehension of patterns in his dreams. Can we say that Divine Aroma channeled through Joseph’s mind descended to Pharaoh?
6. Why did the Greeks want the Jew to write on the horn of the ox that they have no part in the G‐d if Israel?
They scared to death of the threatening Judaism brought to their ideology. They hated Jewish awareness of vanity of their fetish.
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