Dvar Torah for Parshat Toldot

"[Yitzchak's] eyesight was fading...." (Genesis 27:1)

One who is blind is considered as dead. (Nedarim 64b)

You may remember from your early childhood, or from the early childhood of some little person in your vicinity, that closing your eyes was a strategy often employed to ward off the threat of seeming doom. It may not have always worked, but then again you might not have known how to do it properly. To fill that lacuna, if it still remains, here are some enhancements.

The Rebbe once told me, 'And if things get very bad, make yourself into nothingness.Ó

I asked him, 'How does one make himself into nothingness?Ó

He replied, 'Close the mouth and eyes–nothingness!Ó

This is good advice for someone who feels overwhelmed by Evil. One may find his mind overrun by wrong or chaotic thoughts, finding it almost impossible to overcome them.

One must then make himself into absolute nothingness. Every person can, at least once in awhile, make himself into absolute nothingness. One can shut his mouth and eyes and totally banish his consciousness, as if he had no mind or thought. One simply has to nullify himself completely before God.

Any person can shut his eyes tight and totally nullify himself to the Infinite Light for a short period of time. This negates all his suffering and problems.
(Likutey Halakhot, Netilat Yadayim Shacharit 4:3)

Specifically at a time when the darkness and difficulties are overwhelming, God forbid, whether in the spiritual or material realm, the best thing to do is to close your eyes and negate yourself to the Ultimate Destiny, when everything will be unified and good. That will negate all the suffering. (Likutey Halakhot, Kriat Shema 1)

The holy Zohar (1:182b) explains that when difficulties are overwhelming, God forbid, one has to hide himself, in keeping with the prophet's warning, 'Go, My people, get to your rooms...until the anger passesÓ (Isaiah 26:20).

When things get overwhelming one has to totally negate himself to God by closing his to this world. This eases all difficulties. This is why one has to hide inside the house–to keep himself from feasting his eyes on this world. The walls of the house serve as blinders, allowing one to focus on the Ultimate Destiny and to negate himself to the Infinite Light.

This is the greatness of hitbodedut (private prayer, in one's own words). One secludes himself at home and binds himself to God with prayer and entreaties so that he can shut his eyes from this world and not be distracted–'Go, My people, get to your rooms...until the anger passes.Ó (Likutey Halakhot, Arvit 4:17)

Why did Yitzchak Avinu (Isaac our patriarch) go blind? Rashi (on Genesis 27:1) offers three reasons: [1] His daughters-in-law, Esav's wives, would burn incense offerings to idols; [2] when Yitzchak Avinu was bound on the altar and about to be slaughtered, the angels wept and their tears fell into his eyes; [3] in order that Yaakov Avinu (Jacob) would receive the blessings.

Rebbe Nachman teaches us that as long as idolatry–lack of faith–is extant, Hashem's kindness is reduced, i.e., the darkness grows (Likutey Moharan I, 13:1; see Sanhedrin 113a). The darkness that Yitzchak Avinu's daughters-in-law sowed–by contradicting Yitzchak Avinu's teachings, by breeding dissension in the family, etc.–forced him into the blindness of self-nullification so that he would be able to maintain his focus on the Ultimate Destiny.

As Yitzchak Avinu lay on the altar (Genesis 22), the promise of his future about to end at the edge of a knife, he nullified himself: Hashem's command for him to be sacrificed overrode his own feelings and arguments for being the progenitor of the Godly nation promised to Avraham Avinu. He was rewarded with angel tears, namely he was given the gift of their eyesight, to see with Heavenly eyes.

Why had Yitzchak Avinu wanted to give Esav the blessings? He thought that Esav, too, was interested in dedicating his life to the Ultimate Destiny (Likutey Halakhot, Toan v'Nitan 5:9). In fact, however, it was Yaakov Avinu who was the personification of one focused on the Ultimate Destiny. (The name 'YaakovÓ derives from eikev, heel, "the end." See ibid., Shavuot 2:32.) Since Yitzchak Avinu's focus failed him, he was forced into nullifying himself–his sight was taken away.

agutn Shabbos!
Shabbat Shalom!