Our Father is Always with us
A lesson from the Tiferes Shlomo Parshas Bechukosai
וזכרתי את בריתי יעקוב ואף את בריתי יצחק ואף את בריתי אברהם אזכור
And I will remember My covenant with Yaakov and also My covenant with Yitzchak and also My covenant with Avraham I shall remember.
And I will remember My covenant with Yaakov and also My covenant with Yitzchak and also My covenant with Avraham I shall remember.
In this verse Hashem assures Bnei Yisrael that even when they are in exile because of their sins, Hashem will remember them because of His covenant with the Avos. The commentators ask why the Avos are not listed in order and why Yaakov is recorded first.
In Eicha we read השליך משמים ארץ תפארת ישראל, “He casts the glory of Israel from the Heaven to the earth.” The Midrash explains that this refers to the image of Yaakov (who is called Yisrael) that is engraved on the Divine Throne. When we are in Exile, Hashem casts this image down to be with us.
When we are suffering in Galus, we are not alone. The merit of our father Yaakov stands with us, giving us the spiritual strength to remain strong.
וזכרתי, “and I will remember”, derives from the root זכר, which in addition to “remember”, also means “male”. In Kabbalistic thought, the masculine represents a source of Hashpaah (Divine flow). The verse is teaching that when we are in exile, Hashem grants us Hashpaah from our Avos, primarily from Yaakov.
Yosef was the first Jew in exile, sold by his brothers to Egypt. When he was tempted to sin by the wife of his master Potiphar, the Midrash teaches that seeing the image of his father Yaakov, gave him strength to overcome this challenge.
The same is true for every Jew in Exile. Our Avos stand by us, giving us the strength to overcome our spiritual struggles and challenges.
In Eicha we read השליך משמים ארץ תפארת ישראל, “He casts the glory of Israel from the Heaven to the earth.” The Midrash explains that this refers to the image of Yaakov (who is called Yisrael) that is engraved on the Divine Throne. When we are in Exile, Hashem casts this image down to be with us.
When we are suffering in Galus, we are not alone. The merit of our father Yaakov stands with us, giving us the spiritual strength to remain strong.
וזכרתי, “and I will remember”, derives from the root זכר, which in addition to “remember”, also means “male”. In Kabbalistic thought, the masculine represents a source of Hashpaah (Divine flow). The verse is teaching that when we are in exile, Hashem grants us Hashpaah from our Avos, primarily from Yaakov.
Yosef was the first Jew in exile, sold by his brothers to Egypt. When he was tempted to sin by the wife of his master Potiphar, the Midrash teaches that seeing the image of his father Yaakov, gave him strength to overcome this challenge.
The same is true for every Jew in Exile. Our Avos stand by us, giving us the strength to overcome our spiritual struggles and challenges.