Parashat Vayechi: Seeing The Souls Sides

“Each of the twelve tribes is like one part of the external body, linked by the joints” (Zohar Vayechi 241a). This is one of the Zohar’s insights on this week’s parashat, where Jacob gives blessings to his sons (and two of his grandsons) whose descendants will become “the tribes of Israel.” And a little later, the Zohar makes a statement about the human soul: “It drops pearls which are linked together like the joints of the body” (245b). The word kedusha, holiness, means holiness, which is a certain kind of separation of things connected to the divine. For our own creative processes, kedusha might mean naturally directing one’s mental separation or focus.

One Shabbat morning at kiddush, by happenstance, I was speaking with two women who both work for their husbands and it seems that their businesses and marriages are thriving. I asked them questions about how this works, and they told me that among the keys to working together with a spouse are 1) each one recognizing where the other excels and each letting the other do that without interfering; and 2) keeping work life separate from personal life. Both of these pearls of wisdom connect to something deeper: a particular type of awareness of one’s connections and separations.

Last week, for Parashat Vayigash, I wasn’t sure what to write about for a d’var Torah. I struggled with it for days, and then I finally rationalized to myself: I hadn’t planned on writing so many divrei Torah anyway (as I had ended up doing every week for the last seven weeks), outside of my other writing, and so just doing as many as I did was already an achievement for me. More importantly, if I want to write something spiritual, I need to be spiritual and cannot force something out of myself that doesn’t come naturally. 

Within minutes of resigning myself to taking a week off of my d’var Torah run, I came across a particular comment on that parashat, and my heart suddenly felt fully inspired to write. I have had countless similar experiences with my creativity. The blessing Jacob gives to Joseph’s two sons in this week’s parashat has been the inspiration for thousands of years for how parents bless their sons on Shabbat, as Jacob stated it would be. Rabbi Kenneth Brander, president of Ohr Torah Stone, suggests that Ephraim’s and Manasseh’s names (which are used in that blessing)  represent thriving and surviving. I also suggest that they can represent two different mental states in the creative process: convergent and divergent thinking

I often find that the more I detach from the focus of creating and instead “take care of myself” (giving myself what I need and recentering my mind towards my heart), the faster the new ideas/solutions come. This is because thriving and surviving are not two totally separate modes; they are interconnected. What we create can also have an impact on others. It is when I am truly doing things for myself that I have ideas for helping those who are close to me and the greater world. We are like separate limbs that are connected by joints. When we face all our feelings and do what the heart feels is health our minds naturally connect to the outside world to maintain balance.

In Genesis 48:17-20, when Jacob (who kabbalistically also teaches us about the divine attribute of creative balance) blessed his grandsons, Ephraim (thriving) and Manasseh (surviving), he crossed his arms. The peshat of this is that he gives the firstborn’s blessing to the younger one (a theme of the Book of B’reishit). Looking beyond that though, perhaps this symbolizes that surviving and thriving are equally needed and interconnected. Here, I see surviving and thriving as being like a natural kavvanah (intention) of either “resting” or “creating.”

It has been pointed out that Ephraim and Manasseh are the first brothers in this book who actually get along. Maybe this idea of interdependency is part of the secret of how these brothers got along so well; they both felt equally needed. They set an example for the other future tribes, and so their names are the ones we use to bless everyone, regardless of tribe. In Kabbalah, too, there is balance. For example, between Gevurah (literally, strength) and Chesed (literally, loving-kindness) , we always tend to lean towards Chesed. As the psalm says, “The world is built by Chesed” (89:3), or as the Zohar puts it, the world endures from Chesed (230b). So, for example, if you are “surviving” and not sure what to do, always lean towards love and giving. 

In the kabbalistic chart of the sefirot the right hand column represents divergent thinking, where the mind wants to wander and dream (Chokmah), share with others (Chesed), and strive (Netzach). The left column represents convergent thinking, being realistic with dreams (Binah), analyzing one’s ideas (Gevurah), and resting and appreciating where one is (Hod). This would place Manasseh/thriving on the left and Ephraim/striving on the right, exactly where Jacob’s hands end up. 

You may also notice that the left and right columns also correspond to the left and right sides of the brain. Recent studies show that there really isn’t such a thing as a “left-brained person” and a “right-brained person” because they are so interconnected through billions of neurons. In fact, kabbalistically, all ten of the sefirot are found within each sefirah (recursively), demonstrating total interconnectedness. In terms of our conscious mind, we must be in one mode or the other: either analyzing and appreciating (the left side of the brain) or creativiting and persisting (the right side). You are the best judge of where to put your focus at any given moment to maintain mental balance.

Kabbalah teaches that we have multiple souls, including the “neshamah”, associated with the sefirah of Binah (understanding), from the right-hand column. Neshamah represents the intellectual and spiritual aspects of the soul. It is connected to wisdom, and the ability to understand and contemplate divine truths. We also have the “Chayah,” which is associated with the sefirah of Chochmah (Wisdom), from the left-hand column. Chayah represents the soul’s connection to divine life force and the essence of being. It is the aspect of the soul that transcends individual consciousness and connects to the collective divine energy. 

What helped me finally get the idea I was seeking? I simply recognized what side I needed to be on and changed my focus to the other mental side. To create balance between the left and right so that the central sefirotic column could shine: balance, beauty, sustainability and service to others.

So the next time you bless your children, you can be thinking of how you are also giving them the blessing of balance.

For other insights and meditations on Kabbalistic themes, check my book:

Better Than You Wished For