ב"ה
Article Summaries of Editors' Picks
![]() Advanced
The Holy Ari
Jacob is referred to as "the choicest of the forefathers", indicating that his way of serving G-d was somehow superior to that of Abraham and Isaac. Only Jacob's sons were all righteous; only mercy, which tempers love and fear, is relatively immune to improper application.
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![]() Beginner
Mystical Classics
Spiritual highs are attainable only when one
frees oneself of such human concerns as pain, anguish, anger, etc. The kind of
sanctity Jacob strove for needed to be based on the attainment of a degree of
serenity in his earthly life, something that we nowadays experience only on the
Shabbat, a day that G-d has imbued with the quality of rest.
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![]() Beginner
Chasidic Masters
Sometimes, a Jew's transgressions make it impossible for him to reach his Creator. The distance can be bridged only by every Jew joining together, hand in hand, until this Jewish chain reaches all the way to the Throne of Glory.
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![]() Contemporary Kabbalists
Jacob blessed each son individually and, in addition, included all of them together in the others' blessings. Although each one had a main property in its makeup, each must contain all properties of created matter so that they could develop and refine all created matter and humanity.
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![]() Beginner
Ascent Lights
The traits of Joseph's sons, Manasseh and Ephraim are inherent within us. We feel the desire and thirst for redemption, and simultaneously we do not allow the darkness of the exile to influence us. Rather we can transform the spiritual dark into light, thus conquering this exile and meriting the true and complete redemption with Mashiach.
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