Parshas Vayechi: STOP SITTING ON THE LAP OF SANTA CLAUS

Unlock the secrets of ancient wisdom as we unravel the intriguing final years of Yaakov's life in Parshas Vayichi. What do cryptic and contradictory blessings have to teach us about personal and collective success? Join us as we explore Yaakov's enigmatic efforts to reveal the end of days, dissect the true essence behind the blessings for his sons, and compare his grand farewell to modern-day funeral processions. With insights from esteemed sources like the Or HaChaim and Slabodka, we delve into the profound meanings of these blessings while humorously drawing parallels to the commercialized cultural phenomenon of Santa Claus.

In this rich tapestry of biblical narratives, we highlight the importance of individual roles and talents—drawing from the Vilna Gaon and Or Chaim's teachings to emphasize how personal missions contribute to the greater good. Discover the powerful lessons from biblical figures like Yehuda and Zavulin, and learn the dangers of imitation while seeking authentic paths guided by wise leaders. As we prepare for Parshas Shamos, we encourage a focus on fulfilling personal missions, underscoring the belief that true success is achieved by embracing and developing one's unique gifts. Join us for a thoughtful exploration of personal dedication and collective blessings.

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Chapters

• 0:00 The Valedictorian's Valedictory
• 20:15 Individual Blessings and Collective Success
• 27:11 Fulfilling Your Mission for Blessings

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

It is not insignificant that our parasha begins with the words and Yaakov lived for those last 17 years of his life If you compare them to the rest of his 147 years on planet Earth that God allotted him. Years on planet earth that God allotted him. He truly did find life in its full definition, in its full flavor and vibrance during those last 17 years. Hence Vayikhi Yaakov. And as you continue to flip the pages on our Parsha, you will find that Yaakov Avinu sought to do something incredible that would have saved so much pain and worry if he were allowed to do it. But when Yaakov Avinu thought to reveal the end of days to his sons, to tell them how we would go through Babylonia, babylon, to Rome, greece and Spain, wander aimlessly through Europe, asia, parts of North Africa, eventually making it to Lakewood, and there's going to be some tremendous suffering along the way. No-transcript. And so we continue to live, just hoping and waiting. Yaakov, in this great valedictory given by the valedictorian, lying on his deathbed, gives cryptic blessings to his sons Very head-scratching, eyebrow-raising types of blessings. Hard to really decipher the code of what Yaakov is actually saying, and then an even harder challenge to figure out why they are indeed blessings, some of them sound like curses, unlike curses. The Parsha finishes off with one of the most grand and prestigious funeral processions known to mankind, One that makes the current procession for the late president Jimmy Carter look like child's play, before we are told that Yosef's bones were laid to rest in a casket in Egypt, and that's safer. But this week, with all the depth in every single blessing that was given and a lot to unpack, really different worlds, different unique perspectives given by the valedictorian during his valedictory, pull out an incredible or hachayim hakadosh. It is two separate points, prefaced by a small little kind of rant, and hopefully we'll conclude, with God's help, with two incredibly practical points that were preached in Slabodka. And if one fails to live by this orachayim's idea, these yesodos, well it can lead to some, shall we say, fungus growing on your life's aspirations and goals. Shall we say fungus growing on your life's aspirations and goals. We begin Parshas Vayichi, 4928. Remember those numbers? 4928. Memtes, chafches. It's the very end of Yaakov's blessings, the very end of his valedictory.

Speaker 1: 4:43

Kol Ela Shivte, yisrael, shneim Asar. These are the twelve tribes. Count them, read them and weep. Not thirteen, not eleven, but twelve, each one propping up the world. This, what you have just read is what Yaakov told them, avihim, their father, vayivorech osam, and he blessed them Ish asher, kibir chaso beirach osam. Let us reiterate for emphatic delivery Ish asher, kibir chaso, beirach osam. Translate those words if you will man, ish asher that kebir chasoh, like his blessing Beirach Osam, did Yaakov bless them. What does God mean to convey here that Israel, that their father addressed each one of them according to his blessing?

Speaker 1: 5:49

What type of synopsis and idea is being delivered here? And well, to preface the Arachaiim with a quick little rant, we see here at full full studio camera, far wide lens type of overview, panoramic picture here, the idea of going to get a blessing from a great person receiving a blessing. There's a lot of lumped, there's a lot of depth to it. You'll have, when somebody's going through something or wants something to happen, you'll travel to the gadol's office, ask him maybe to put his hands on your head, ask him to say buah. Ask him to say please, rebbe, make it rain cash, please, rebbe, can you help me out to find some peace in life, maybe find a marriage partner or have a child?

Speaker 1: 7:05

People globetrot trying to get a bracha, the give and take, the masa ummaton between somebody walking into his Rebbe's office searching for a bracha should really go, because I bet you are not aware that there is this crazy practice in the Gentile world and you'll stop me if it sounds familiar where there's this character that is named Santa Claus, a legendary figure originating in Western Gentile culture who is said to be bringing gifts to children late in the evening. According to some of my encyclopedia searching and referencing, on the overnight hours of some holiday there's some sort of story that goes on with elves and make the gifts in a workshop. A lot of it sounds like that of some sort of child's pop culture magazine, and this Santa whatever that word is is depicted as some sort of jolly white bearded man, often with spectacles, wearing a red coat with white fur collar and cuffs, white fur-cuffed red trousers, a red hat trimmed with white fur, a black leather belt and some boots, carrying a bag full of gifts and yelling Ho, ho, ho. You've probably seen this figure on the front of your Coca-Cola cans and bottles. You've probably seen this figure on the front of your Coca-Cola cans and bottles Coca-Cola leveraging some sort of madness and nonsense to maximize profit margins and bottom lines to make them green as opposed to red. Wherever this nonsense that probably maybe you are familiar with, began In 1890, it became popular to have some sort of meet and greet with this fat Caucasian fellow, although my research showed me that there are some cultures that have an African-American Santa.

Speaker 1: 9:20

To not discriminate Santa. To not discriminate Black Santa. And in 1890 in Brockton, massachusetts, it became a custom in the Gentile world to have him sit in department stores and have kids run up and sit on this creepy, awkward, obese, overweight, struggling, failing actor it was his lap Sit on his lap and tell him what you want for the holiday. Malls would open early to allow access for the autistic children. I found A nice gesture. Some schools, specific colleges, are there offering instruction on how to be the perfect Santa. You can get a degree in Santa Claus, ed, and even there are certain laws about how to be proper Santa presentation and to do it in the state of Ohio. And.

Speaker 1: 10:25

But apparently the way that this sitting on Santa's lap custom goes is that the kid goes on this creepy guy's lap and tells him I want this for my holiday and I want this to work out in my life and I also want a pony, and I also want checkers, and I also want a pony and I also want checkers and I also want a Game Boy. And depending on how you did in the past year is whether or not the creepy, fat, obese, struggling actor Black Santa will pull out those gifts from his sleigh and give them to you. Slay, and give them to you. Ladies and gentlemen, that's how the nonsense story goes. That's how the madness of you telling I meant to go on that rant just to be able to show that when you're looking for something in some other culture, you tell the guru what it is that you want and you hope him to give it to you. I want this and yeah, hopefully he'll say you've been good this year. Now take it and be happy.

Speaker 1: 11:45

But that's not how it should be. And that's not how you should go to a gadol for a bracha. But that's not how it should be. And that's not how you should go to a gadol for a bracha. You should not walk in, as sadly many gadol-traveling, globe-trotting, kevurah-kever-seeking tourists do, where they walk into the gadol's office and say I want more peace, bless me for that. I want more Torah, bless me for that. I want more Torah. Bless me for that. I have my finances in check.

Speaker 1: 12:19

Can you help me in this area to, so to speak, sit on the Godel's lap and tell him what you want. So he then speaks to you what it is and how that should come into existence, by pulling it out of his big old bag of toys and handing it to you and exclaiming ho, ho, ho, god forbid. The comparison should make you mad, but the way that a bracha is actually supposed to go is that the guru, the patriarch, he looks into your eyes and, before you even say a bloody word, he tells you I see, this is where you need help, I see that this is your gift and this is where you should be blessed. You do not tell the Goddol, but let the Goddol tell you and bless you. So, besides, for the whole Avodah Zarah and the whole Santa Claus, being that it stems from maybe St Nicholas or some other madness of some Ace of like religions Madness of some Ace of like religions, that's not the reason that it's madness, and not because Santa Claus really is just made by Coca-Cola or maximizing profit margins and good capitalists taking advantage of this thing to sell more bottles of Coke. That's not why it's all madness. But don't tell the elder what you want. Let him see it and give it to you and decide what. That is how Yaakov Avinu, on his deathbed, went about giving his parting words and his final testament and blessings to his children.

Speaker 1: 14:16

Let us see what we find, the very conclusion of it. We have this post-it that says that he blessed them, each one according to his blessing Zokta Arachayim. Listen here to this duplex of dominant chidushim from the Arachim, the terrific tandem from the great Reb Chaim Ibn Attar, the great sage that lived in the 1700s, one of the most prominent and incredible rabbinic figures to ever. Stem from Morocco. He is one of the most studied Sfarim in the Hasidic circles and some even are mocked to learn his Sfarim for 40 days straight, because that brings to some spectacular salvation. But here we're just going to learn one paragraph, every letter and word gold Pirish.

Speaker 1: 15:18

What does it mean? That he blessed them according to their talents, according to their blessings Haroilo kefi bechinas, nishmaso kefi ma'asov. He blessed them according to each one's unique soul and according to their actions. Thou shalt know Each soul, each unique and singular soul, has a specific reason that it is exalted. Some souls, some individuals, have the great talent, the great honorific of being priestly. Some have kingship, some have the crown of Torah. V'yesh gevura. Some have strength. They're proud warriors, ferocious warriors that make even the Roman's sword look like a Fisher-Price children's playset. V'yesh osher. V'yesh hatzlacha. Some have wealth, mass wealth. Some are just frankly good at everything they do.

Speaker 1: 16:39

Yaakov tapped into each one's blessing. He blessed each one according to his blessing. The Yaakov came and endeavored to match his blessing, his bracha, putting his hands on their head, telling them and giving them a blessing as to what he perceived to be the nature of each one's son's unique attributes and talents. He blessed that talent. Develop that kowach. Read the passage again Ish asher, kebir choso. Each one, like his blessing, like your special attribute, beirach osam. Did he bless them? Yakko's final message, literally the last verse here, is be an individual, develop what you're good at. The lesson that we try to preach at nauseam, because it's what we're here to do, is to do some deep meditation about why I am here, and that starts normally by checking as to what your unique personality and gifts provide you with. Yaakov blessed that one.

Speaker 1: 18:02

Yaakov blessed Yehudah for his malchus. He didn't choose to bless where they were weak, as if, santa, I have enough money, but now I want to learn, so give me that. But no, I have enough money. So Yaakov said we're going to need you, zvulan, keep making money and be better at business. Because we need you, because otherwise there will be no one to support the Torah scholars, we'll have no calendar, we'll have no kolel, we'll have no synagogue and we will have no knowledge of how to serve Hashem as he so wants.

Speaker 1: 18:41

It's sad how rampant asman hazeh is, the sickness of keeping up with the Joneses, making success based on what others deem to be successful in their lives. It's sad, truly frightening, that I ask somebody about their gifts, ask them even about their tastes in life and they have no idea. They do what everyone else does. Ask somebody, do it the next time you're out what's your favorite type of music? I bet you they'll say I don't know. Shweky, baruch Levine, whatever. Everyone's listening to the top stuff, what's trending, the good stuff, top 100, the hits, but they don't even know what type of music they actually enjoy. They don't know if they like blues, jazz. I remember I had a Rebbi once who loved Pia Menta, an older fellow with an incredible skill on the guitar. He was a yeshiva sherebi, big old white van, but he knew himself and he knew what he liked and he didn't just listen to what everyone said is good. He knew himself and could develop himself.

Speaker 1: 20:15

The Vilna Gonan's commentary on Mishle in 16.4 tells us in the olden days you would just go to the prophet and say to him you go, talk to them. The prophet would tell you you really should spend your days on this path Because he could see your soul and, according to your mitos and your habits and the way that your body is wired, you should spend your days trying to really perfect that, honoring your parents. One Make sure to really spread the word about only kosher phones and technology. Whatever the mitzvah was, shatness, tzitzis. We had that clarity. You figured out what that tikkun was for your soul. But now that we don't have the gift of prophets, it doesn't mean that our jobs in life of blessing our blessings and our ultimate job is not still to to clarify and verify what we're supposed to be doing in life and based on what talents we have.

Speaker 1: 21:41

Now I'd like to turn to the second part of this duet duplex Of the terrific tandem from the Ar Chaim. The Ar Chaim continues, second paragraph on this piece. Look them up inside. They're fun to read and they're phenomenal, continues the Arachim, it says he blessed them. Osam Lashon Rabim that's weird.

Speaker 1: 22:18

Earlier, it said he blessed each individual one. So why does the Torah change to Beirach Osam Kibarchas ha-letzad Liyos Kibarchas kol echad ve-echad To'il la'atzmo? Because each blessing it does land upon each individual. But your blessing, when Yehuda was blessed, that your hand will be at the enemy's throat, that's going to save everyone. Everyone will win because of Yehuda's gallantry. When you increase that one milila, one increases his attribute and your madrega, your level to everyone. They also get the hashba of your goal-seeking and enhanced attribute. That's why it says Ish ashe kibir chasso. Each one, you should be blessed. You should develop that unique attribute because, beirach osam, everyone gets blessed when you do you. When you do you and you do your job. Everybody wins.

Speaker 1: 24:00

Because it's a big old ecosystem down here. We need chazonim, we need electricians, we need rich and we need poor. Everybody needs each other in order to fulfill their job in life. So when you maximize your skills at plumbing we now have better plumbing in the base how Magnus can now do their service. They can go to the bathroom. There's no backup. We also need you to be able to make money so that you can give Meister. That money goes back and forth. The honey needs it, the honey takes it. He goes and goes to a different town to collect and he gives it to. He needs a drink, so he gives it to the person who knows how to create a certain business model where he has a soda machines, and then he takes that money and he's skilled. All the money continues to go and all the jobs. When everyone comes together doing their job, everybody wins. Doing their job, everybody wins.

Speaker 1: 24:55

But just imagine if you try to look over your shoulder and try to do someone else's job. What if Zavulin decided you know, I don't want to make the money because everyone's learning, I want to be in Kolal. It would be a disaster. All the Kolals would have to close. He didn't do his job. What if Yehuda would be humble and modest and not want to lead the charge in battle, but instead he wanted to follow, with not exposing himself like the Yosef, not wanting any eye in horror. Doing another attribute Just imagine if Naftali wouldn't use his swiftness to fetch documents when there was the standoff by Maris Amach Pela and he didn't channel that obstinacy to reach success. You have to do you and that's how everybody wins. We need plumbing in the Beis Hamikdash. We need lighting in the shoals, we need a rabbi and we need congregants. But success can only happen.

Speaker 1: 26:19

The birch has osam, the plural everyone succeeding coming together. Success can only happen if everyone does their job. Our takeaways I have a sore throat, that's why I bet I'm not raising my voice too much or getting too passionate or trying to really rant about how badly we can all fall laps into the concept of mimicking and not trying to do what we're in the world to do and staying focused with those blinders on. But our takeaways are three. One, that when you go to a godel and you want a blessing, don't tell him what you want. Let the godel speak. Don't be like the kid sitting on Santa's lap.

Speaker 1: 27:11

Remember every single day yourself 49, 28, 49, 28 by ivarich osam. He blessed them ish ashek herk bir chaso berach osam. Develop your myla. Do in life what your mission is. Your success should be dependent upon how far you have climbed with your abilities towards your mission, developing your distinct, peerless, distinguished gifts. And then do your job, no matter how small, how puny, even if you're a zookeeper like noach, because that's what the world needs at that time. Do your job Because Beirach Osam. Everybody wins and everyone gets blessed when everyone does their job. Chazak chazak v'nis chazek. We'll see you again next week for Parshas Shamos, and never forget 4828. Ayivarich osam isha. She'kibir chas oberach osam. He blessed each one of them according to their blessings.