Toldos - Israel's Power of Ascendency

you're listening to the weekly partial podcast with Ari goldwag recorded with hm's net running assistance in rap Israel 5784 2023 this week's paraa is para's toos and in our paraa we have the description of how yobu and asov their interactions they jostling for who will be the future of the Jewish people ASA sells his he sells his firstborn writes to Yakov for a bowl of lentils and later Yakov steals the blessings of asov and runs off toan in order to marry ra and Leia which we'll see in next week's par I'd like to share with you a thought from actually from this week's para and also I'm going to segue into something for next week's para because there's an amazing lesson based on moral in mes that has to do with next week's para but first I'd like to share with you something that's in our para and that has to do with what happened yob ainu came in Jacob came and stole the blessings he presented himself as asov and in that way he was able to procure the blessings that y had thought that ASV was a righteous individual in fact ASV was putting on a show he made himself seem righteous but in fact he wasn't yakob came in as the true heir to the Jewish people as the true future progenitor which Rifka knew because she had her special n her prophecy that was given to her when she was pregnant so she instructed her son Yakov to get the blessings and after Yakov leaves having procured the blessings in walks asov and he had spent a lot of time hunting Mish tells us that every time he caught an animal it escaped every time he caught a bird it escaped the the cards were stacked against asab so that he would not make it back in time that yob would be able to walk out with the blessings but when he walks in the Tera tells us y trembled a tremendous trembling when he realizes the blessing that he gave was not to ASA but rather it was to yob because Asa walks in second and what's this trembling says tells us that when as came in y trembled because in with as came a sense of forboding a sense of geham the fires of hell were opened underneath him they were opened underneath they were the the the the heat of G him was led into the room and and Y was overwhelmed by what happened what's the understanding of [Applause] this says that the walls of the house were shaking so so says which means who where who where who who is the one that came in and and who who are you y was confounded remember yok was blind but he says the words me a says the who is the one who's going to bake here who's the one who's going to have to endure the fires of geham who will have to who will pay the price for what's occurred here thought that the mistake that he made was going to be paid either by himself cuz he didn't he had a suspicion that it wasn't but he didn't he didn't go with his Intuition or is it yakob was going to pay because he tricked his father to this like God says you are not the one who's going to be baked you are not the one who's going to pay in the fires of ganam it's the one who is s it's the one who was a Trapper who was the trapper who is the Trapper who is known as a Trapper it was asov himself why as we found earlier asfor him explained asov and as we mentioned before asov was somebody who would come to his father and present himself as said sadic look I want to take off tithes on salt I want to take off tithes on my straw which there's no obligation to take tithes on salt or straw it's only on things that grow but he would show himself to be extra righteous not in order not because he is actually righteous but in order to trick his father the one who tricked his father that's who's going to pay that's who's going to pay with the fires of geham I'm skipping a little bit this is what we mentioned before the meas tells us that the entire day asov was trying to catch deer he was trying to trap deer and they would Escape he would catch them and they would Escape because Mal would come and release them he would catch birds and the angel would come and release them all of this was why in order that yakob should come and catch the blessings that were meant for him ASA spends his whole life all of all of his existence at this point in time if we make a calculation they were 63 years old isav and yov 63 years old if I'm not mistaken and and they spent their whole life trying he's putting on a show ASA is putting on a show yob is sitting in the tent studying the Torah becoming a greater person and ASA is putting on a show and he's putting on a show and the gig is up the gig is up because you can't take the blessings which represent the future of the Jewish people which represent we'll see much more what they represent soon but I want to share with you one more point in this me and ask a question on it but it's yakob who comes and I will will add importantly that it's yakob at the End of Time throughout time asov who is the West the European countries the Russians the Chinese the America the you know all of the Civilized world who is represented to the world what it looks like to serve god with their idolatrous religion called Christianity but they've presented themselves in a certain way but at a certain point the gig is up the atheism which is the inevitable result of a false god it creeps up and just when it seems like the time has come for them to take their to take their blessings to take their place as the ruler of the world there's a fall points out that this verse also teaches us that the righteous individual does not waste does not waste his reward by trying to get reward in this world the blessings of this world are only a means so that the righteous can focus on spiritual matters so he can focus on spiritual accomplishments on his relationship with God on his relationship with his fellow man on his [Music] relationships with all those around him not for his own personal benefit and gain the opposite of an ASA ASA just cares about the blessings because he wants the Physical Realm yakob needs the blessing so that he can have the spiritual realm now the m points out something which is which which is the main thing that I want to focus on and I'm going to bring shortly the Mish next that's connected to next week's para it's actually par but it's on it's on the beginning of next week's para this me says something when he says to ASV who was it that just left I ate from all of that which he gave [Music] me the language that he uses is I ate from all the says something needs explanation says that it it he ate from it all what does it mean it all all that was created from the six days of creation he had a taste of he had a spiritual taste a taste that reached back all the way to that original untainted world that Hashem created in its perfection in all of its Glory he was able to taste that in the food that Yakov brought in order to get his blessings says from all the good that is waiting for the future which by the way are really the same thing because when we're waiting for mssiah we're waiting for the world to be returned to its rectified state to the way that it was originally created before the sin of Adar but what does this mean exactly so the maim explained that it was the the food that yakob brought for y in order to inspire him to calm his neish in order that he be able to give a blessing the food was like the M it had a taste that it could taste like any anything we know about the M that it could taste like anything you wished for the sikim the righteous individual who ate the man the Mana it could taste like anything that you wanted what is the idea and this is referred to as that which was in in the six days of creation or what's going to be in the future time ASA turns to to yob and says okay you say that he fed you everything okay everything is a lot like what what was the main thing that he fed you says I don't know exactly when I ate when I ate what he brought me it had a taste of bread it had a taste of of meat had a taste of fish had a taste of had a taste of all different enjoyable Foods in the world I'm not going to read the rest of the M there's more to this Mish actually no I will said when as heard that it had a taste of meat he started to cry as said what did I eat in order to be willing to give up my firstborn rights to give up my firstborn service of God to give it to Yakov I ate a bowl of lentils right lentils is a crass food it's not a high you know it's not a fancy food it's not something that requires preparation it's not it's gas when ASA heard that get was given meat he knew that Yakov because he gave him meat was able to get those blessings not just the the firstborn rights but the the blessings were able to be taken because of what Yakov did now what is the idea of something that has a taste of all the tastes what is the idea of something that could taste like whatever you want like anything you want what does that mean exactly and why is that so important in this moment that yob is is getting the bras for clel for for the future for us and and and removing it from the nations of the world so that they don't have it because they will abuse it and ruin it what is the understanding of of it in context and what is the contrast between the carass food that as of eats which is the red stuff the lentils and the the bser the meat so I want to share with you you know as As yov Leaves as yov is running away he's he's still in the bras and now ASV is angry at him isv wants to kill him says then you must run away as he's running away at the beginning of next week par the Torah tells us a famous dream that yob has that he sees a ladder he sees the angels that are climbing and coming down now what do these angels represent says the magic an incredible thing this is in pares Amor it's quoted by the moral I'm going to share with you what the moral says as well it's in par chapter 29 and it's in the maral see there chapters 20 and 21 amazing that has to do with our times that's to do with the ultimate War between Paras which is Iran and Edom the West starts off and says don't worry my servant yov he has a dream as he's running away right it's important to know these stories run one and another he's running away why is he running away because he just stole the blessings from ASA who wants to kill him he's running away he's going to start he has the blessings in toe he has a promise in toe he has a dream and he sees the the ladder and he sees the he sees the Angels climbing and and coming down says a very famous idea that the angels that he saw were the Angels which represent the Nations each nation of the the nations of the world showed him the angel which represents Babylonia which was the Exile that the Jewish people would have to go through between the first and second temple and it climbed 70 rungs representing 70 years and then he saw the Angel going up 52 rungs and coming back down and the Greek the the angel which represents the Greeks went up 180 rungs cuz it would rule over the Jewish people for 180 years Adam went up and it went up at least 1,953 rungs cuz we're still waiting for it to fall and measure says it wasn't clear how many it seemed like it would never come down [Music] saw the angel of as climbing he said maybe it will never come down there's going to be a final gulus a final Exile of the Jewish people Rome the West destroyed the B the temple Rome the West prevents us from rebuilding our Temple read maybe it will never come down maybe it will never end God says him don't worry even if he comes all the way up to heaven even if asa's Angel comes all the way up to heaven he thinks that he is so spiritual he shows the world how spiritual he is he believes in God even if he rises all the way up I will throw him down he will never replace you 1 ver4 says if he will rise up like an eagle and if he will be between he'll place his he will place his nest between the Stars it's going to be thrown out listen to this this teaches yob saw each of these angels representing each of these four terrible difficult Exiles going up and down says to Jacob I want you to rise up also come up come up the ladder Jacob was TR he said if I go up the ladder maybe I will also come down like the other like these angels God says to him no you need not worry this verse that we quoted at the beginning from Jeremiah 46:27 do not be afraid my servant Jacob do not be afraid you will never fall when you rise up finally you will never fall when you rise up finally you will never [Music] fall he didn't believe him he didn't have the full amuna and so he didn't go [Music] up and that's why hm says to him look if you had come up and you had believed me and you had trusted me even though it seemed impossible because you saw every single one of them came up and went down if you would have come up you wouldn't have fallen but now that you did not believe me and you didn't rise up you didn't climb the ladder the future is that before you'll be able to finally rise your children and grandchildren great-grandchildren will have to be they have to be subservient to these four powers B mod Y gree Ed the west but in the end at that time Jacob was fearful is it going to be forever don't be afraid I'm going to save you from [Music] afar ultimately we come back we come back from Babylonia we come back from M we escape the Greek Exile and we will escape and it brings and we will escape from the Edom Exile it's going to be a long one they they will they will be destroyed but you the Jewish people will never be destroyed so the morale explains what is the idea here what is the concept he says an amazing thing he says there are four gulus says there are four Exiles and they are represented by the four different directions that you can go north south east west okay now those are the four different powers but you you have to understand something there's only really one place you can go in many different directions but there's only really one place and it's only the center because wherever you are is here right this is a deep idea hear this well wherever we are is here and this is something that we see also with the lulov when we shake the lul we we shake it in all of the different directions actually we also go up and down and we always bring it back to the center and when we say hashem's name we keep it in the center and the Jewish people says the maral represent the center represent the space that doesn't doesn't change doesn't move and you know because each of these different powers whether it's Paras whether it's modai whether it's whether it's Edam whether all of these different ones because they have a different direction so they go out but they always come back in they they go up so to speak but they always come back because the definition of their movement is in a certain direction but what goes up must come down the Jewish people are different and and in a moment we're going to come back to understanding what is the idea of the food that has every taste the Jewish people are in the center because the center has every direction just like the man the man had every taste and the food that yobu fed to his father Y which earned him the blessings had every taste the Jewish people are in the center and they have every direction what is this mean it means that when they move the movement of the Jewish people our movement doesn't move away from the center our movement up the ladder intensifies the place where we are it intensifies Hashem in the world y he is Hashem is we are his representatives in the world so when Hashem commands Yakov climb the ladder it's a statement of intensify the center that you are where you are climbing the ladder doesn't mean that you're moving out of your place you continue to stay in your place only the nations of the world when they move they move far away and but they end up coming back because you you can't you can't really go too far there's not really space it's an illusion the Physical Realm is an illusion like we saw in the first theim don't waste their time on this world on the the four directions of this world on the Physical Realm because the only thing that really matters is movement in the spiritual realm and what is that what happens as a result of that is that when a person strengthens his spiritual connection when he strengthens his relationship with Hashem when he climbs the ladder of Rus he gets every direction he gets every success he has military success he has spiritual success he has he has monetary success all of the blessings come all of the promises are fulfilled all of the things that Ace of wants he can't have them because all he is is a bowl of lentils he just has the carass the Gus the the mundane aspect of reality but as the farther out he goes he always has to come back he still wants the blessings he knows what he what's really about but he's always going out and when he goes out he keeps getting stuck he keeps hunting and the deer keeps escaping at a certain point you always end up back in the center you always have to come back to the center and if you've gone too far out you're destroyed that's what happens to ASA in the end that's what happens to each of these Gul the Exiles that we have to go through and we the Jewish people keep our Center we keep our relationship we keep climbing on this ladder because climbing on the ladder doesn't mean that we move out of our place it means that we intensify who we are the spiritual aspect of who we are and when we do that the taste of our food the taste of food can taste like anything the B the spiritual blessings that we acquire give us every physical blessing automatically a good example of this is when I'm focused on trying and trying and we've spoken about this a lot podcast I'm so involved in trying so hard all of the different things that have worked for other people but I'm I'm getting farther and farther and farther and farther away I'm like as of getting farther and farther away from the center which is a who is the source of all success I don't need to work I don't need to try so hard I need to the only thing I need to try so hard on is my relationship with Hashem the blessings will come automatically they will come automatically and wherever I go just like yaku as he runs away he's acquired the blessings how because he became somebody he climbed the ladder he became somebody was a he was spiritually connected and he continued that as he ran away so to speak he was running towards his future he was climbing the ladder it may take time it may take a few thousand years for the Jewish people to reach that place but it's going to happen cuz we're always climbing and all the blessings ultimately will come upon us and all of those who sought the blessings far away in some other place that's not connected to that's not connected to is it's not connected to the land where we belong ultimately all of those false Idols false gods will come crashing down and the truth will be revealed I want to bless you and ask you to bless me hasm should help us that we should be able to take this lesson to heart to realize that we have it inside of us we are the children of ab and yov we have access to these blessings should help us to recognize it should help us to reinforce it should help us to climb that ladder and hasem should help us to taste the taste of all of the amazing tastes of the six days of creation and of the future time may it come soon thank you so much for listening have a wonderful shabas this podcast was made possible through the gracious donations of listeners like you for more podcast guest like this please visit www.wag.com or search on iTunes Ari goldwag