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The Jewish Home | MAY 26, 2022
Self-Mastery Self-Mastery Academy Academy
Hearing Hearing Within Within the the Darkness Darkness by rabbi Shmuel reichman by rabbi Shmuel reichman
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OctOber OctOber 29, 29, 2015 2015 | the | the Jewish Jewish Home Home
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hen Yaakov Avinu is finally rehen Yaakov finally reunited withAvinu Yosef is after twenunited with Yosef after twenty-two years of separation, in ty-two years of as separation, in what can only be imagined an intensely what can only be imagined as an intensely emotional scene, Yaakov embraces Yosef, emotionalonscene, Yaakov embraces46:29). Yosef, sobbing his neck (Bereishis sobbingquoting on his neck (Bereishisexplains 46:29). Rashi, the Midrash, Rashi, the Midrash, that as quoting Yaakov embraced Yosefexplains for the that time as Yaakov embraced Yosef for saythe first in twenty-two years, he was first time in twenty-two he was saying k’rias Shema. What years, is the meaning of ing k’rias What the meaning of this? WhyShema. not wait untilisafter this joyful this?emotional Why not wait untilwith after joyful and reunion histhis long-lost and to emotional son pray? reunion with his long-lost sonThe to pray? answer often given is that Yaakov answer often given is that Yaakov wasThe overcome by intense emotion and was overcome by intense emotion and wanted to channel this emotion toward wanted tothrough channelreciting this emotion toward Hashem k’rias Shema. Hashem through reciting Shema. However, there may be a k’rias deeper layer However, there may be a deeper layer here as well. hereThis as well. practice of reciting Shema at This practice of reciting Shema at seemingly puzzling moments occurs seemingly once again puzzling in Parshasmoments Vayechi. occurs Before once again in Parshas Vayechi. Before Yaakov’s death, he gathers his children Yaakov’s death,and he attempts gathers his children to his bedside to tell them to his and bedside attempts tell them when how and Moshiach willtoeventually when and how Moshiach will eventually come (Bereishis 49:1). However, as the come (Bereishis However, as the Gemara explains,49:1). at that very moment, Gemaralost explains, at his thatnevuah very moment, Yaakov access to (prophYaakov toto his nevuah ecy) andlost wasaccess unable reveal this(prophsecret.
When this happened, he was gripped by When this happened, he was gripped by fear, worried that perhaps his inability to fear, that perhaps his inability to shareworried his prophetic knowledge was due share his prophetic knowledge due to a spiritual deficiency in one of was his chilto a spiritual one of his dren; perhapsdeficiency one of hisin children waschilnot dren; perhaps one ofthis his children was not worthy of receiving information. worthy of receiving information. Immediately, in this order to relieve this Immediately, in order to relieve this concern, the Shevatim (tribes) declared concern, the“Shema ShevatimYisrael, (tribes) Hashem declared in unison, in unison,Hashem “ShemaEchad!” Yisrael,Only Hashem Elokeinu, after Elokeinu, Hashem Only after this declaration did Echad!” Yaakov understand this his declaration Yaakov understand that inability did to see the keitz ha’yamthat(the his days inability to see thewas keitz ha’yamim of Moshiach) not due to imlack (theindays Moshiach) was not due to a his of children but rather because a lack in did his children ratherthese because Hashem not want but to reveal seHashem did not want to reveal thesethen secrets at this point in time. Yaakov crets at thisout point time. Yaakov then proclaimed loud,in“Baruch shem kevod proclaimedle’olam out loud, “Baruch shem kevod malchuso va’ed.” (Pesachim 56a) malchuso va’ed.”of(Pesachim 56a) What isle’olam the meaning this exchange? What thebrothers meaningassuage of this exchange? How did is the Yaakov’s How did by thereciting brothers assuage concerns Shema? HowYaakov’s did this concerns reciting didchilthis prove thatbythere wasShema? no lackHow in his prove In that there was no lack his children? order to address theseinquestions, dren? In order tothe address theseconcepts questions, let us delve into spiritual of let us delve into the spiritual concepts of seeing and hearing. seeing and hearing.
Seeing and Hearing Seeing and Hearing The spiritual concept of seeing is the
spiritual concept of seeing is i.e., the ideaThe of observing something as it is,
in a completely static state, lacking any in a completely static lacking any movement. When you state, see a picture, you movement. Whenimage you see a picture, you grasp the entire instantaneously. grasp thenoentire image There’s process of instantaneously. constructing or There’s no ofyour constructing or building theprocess picture in mind; everybuilding the picture inonce, your mind; everything is just there, at without any thing is just there, at once, without any effort. effort. The spiritual concept of hearing, in The spiritual concept of hearing, in comparison, reflects a process; a movecomparison, process; a movement throughreflects time; ana evolutionary proment through an evolutionary progression; one time; of effort, concentration, gression; one ofofeffort, and organization parts. concentration, When you hear and organization of parts. When you hear someone else speaking, you must collect someone else of speaking, you must collect all the pieces sound together and then all the piecesthem of sound and then reconstruct intotogether a connected picreconstruct into aso connected ture within them your mind that you piccan ture within your mind so that can grasp their meaning. (When youyou read a grasp their youyou read a sentence ormeaning. witness a(When process, are sentence or witness a process, you are experiencing the spiritual concept of experiencing the spiritual concept of “hearing,” despite the fact that you are “hearing,” using your despite “eyes.”) the fact that you are using your “eyes.”) Hearing is a process of creating oneHearing is a processparts. of creating ness out of fragmented Whenoneyou ness out of fragmented parts. When you listen to someone talk, one word by itself listen to someone talk, word byIfitself lacks meaning and is one forgotten. you lacks another meaningfew andwords, is forgotten. If you hear it still means hear another few to words, it still nothing and fades memory. Themeans words nothing The words from theand pastfades exist to in memory. a pool of knowledge frommemory the pastin exist inmind. a poolYou of knowledge and your wait until
the end of the sentence to give shape and the end oftothe give that shape and meaning thesentence pool of to words creatmeaning to the pool of words that created that sentence. When you finally finish ed that sentence. When you finally listening to the sentence, you mustfinish then listening tointo the your sentence, youand must then reach back memory look at reach back into memory and look the sentence as ayour whole; only then doesat it the a whole; only then does it gainsentence meaningasand clarity. gainSpeech meaning andonly clarity. exists within time, where Speech exists only within time, where there’s a sequence of one word after anthere’s If a sequence one word after another. someone of spoke all the words other. someone spoke the words at once,If you wouldn’t hearallanything; it at once,just youbewouldn’t hear anything; it would noise. [At Matan Torah, would just be noise. [Atall Matan Torah, Hashem originally spoke ten dibros at Hashem originally spoke all ten dibros at once. This is because Hashem does not once.within This istime, because does not exist so inHashem that case, speech exist within time, so in that case, as well did not exist within time.]speech Thus, as well did not exist within time.] Thus, listening entails gathering disparate pieclistening entails This gathering es into oneness. is whydisparate the wordpiecShees into oneness. This is why also the word Shema, which means “listen,” means to ma, whichasmeans also means to “gather,” we see“listen,” when the pasuk says “gather,” as we see when the pasuk saysI “Va’yeshama Shaul es ha’am” (Shmuel “Va’yeshama Shaul esthat ha’am” (Shmuel 15:4). This can’t mean Shaul “heard”I 15:4). Thisbefore can’t mean Shaul “heard” the nation war; itthat means that Shaul the nation before war; itbefore meanswar thattoShaul “gathered” the nation pre“gathered” the nation before war to prepare for battle. pare for battle.
Clarity and Confusion Clarity and Confusion In addition to “static versus process” addition to “static versus process” andIn “clarity versus creating clarity,” there
