Dvar Torah for Parshat VaYigash

Based on Likutey Halakhot, Hilkhot Yayin Nesekh 4

".Parshathe number of individuals of Yaakov's family who came to Egypt was 70."

Genesis 46:27

Every Jew is rooted in one of the seventy souls that came to Egypt with our forefather Yaakov. There are some other seventies to which this one relates.

First there are the 70 "faces" of the Torah. These "faces" are the broad, wide-ranging, legitimate perspectives in which the Torah may be viewed. These faces were also represented by the 70 Sages of the Sanhedrin. Seventy is also the gematriya (numerical value) of yayin, the Hebrew word for wine. Wine is often used as a metaphor for the secrets of Torah.

Opposing these "seventies" are the 70 nations of the world. The main opposition that they provide is not physical, but spiritual. The influence that non-Jewish society can have upon us can affect every trait that we have. How careful do we have to be to protect ourselves from those effects? We can learn the answer from the kosher laws of wine.

We are all familiar with the basics of keeping kosher: only certain species of animal and fish are permitted, all meats have to be properly slaughtered and salted, milk and meat may not be cooked or eaten together and that all prepared foods have to have proper rabbinic supervision to ensure that no non-kosher ingredients were added to them. Wine is unique. Even if it is 100% kosher if it is touched by a non-Jew it becomes unkosher!

Wine, in small measure (see below*), has a positive function, if it is used at a mitzvah celebration (e.g., Shabbat meal or the meal celebrating the performance of brit milah). It can help one raise his spirits (no pun intended) so that he can more strongly recall the lessons of holiness the particular occasion has to offer. With that he draws more strongly from the holy soul of the seventy that is his root.

But if his "wine," his character traits, are "touched," even subtly influenced by negative desires, then it will lead him to become excited for more of the same. And just as one who is drunk can neither perceive clearly nor decide rationally, so too, one whose Torah is influenced by desire for gain or pleasure will fail to correctly understand his situation and will be unable to make the right choices that will allow him to gain greater closeness to God.

A stronger and more secure way by which you can attach yourself to those holy souls is by saying the Shema Yisrael. This is because the opening two lines of the Shema consist of twelve words and 49 letters. These are the number of sons that Yaakov had and the number of letters in their names, respectively. Thus, by saying the Shema you pledge your allegiance to God by affirming that your soul is rooted in the souls of Yaakov's family.

*Rebbe Nachman spoke a number of times about the ill effects of imbibing and so Breslover chassidim are careful to abstain from intoxicating beverages. This is emphasized by the following story: Rebbe Nachman once gave two of his disciples, Reb Noson and Reb Naftali, a shot glass half-full of schnapps and told them to share it!

(For those who live outside of Israel where the general populace celebrates a number of their holidays by over-indulging in liquor, please take extra care to ensure that your soul is firmly rooted here it belongs!)

Agutn Shabbos!
Shabbat Shalom!