English translation — ויחי ב

1.

On the verse¹

"And his sons carried him" — that the sons of Jacob carried Jacob's ark "to the land of Canaan" — Rashi explains²

the order of how they carried the ark: "He assigned them a place: three to the east, and likewise to the four directions, and according to the order of the journey of the camp of the banners they were positioned here,"

and afterwards Rashi continues,

that Jacob commanded: "Levi shall not carry, for he is destined to carry the ark,

and Joseph shall not carry, for he is a king,

Menashe and Ephraim shall be in their stead"³.

One must understand: how does this that "Joseph shall not carry" accord with what is stated explicitly in the verse⁴,

that Jacob adjured Joseph "and you shall carry me out of Egypt" — that the obligation of carrying Jacob's ark is

(mainly)

upon Joseph,

then seemingly it is certain that he must do in this as much as possible — including "and you shall carry me" literally⁵?

Also regarding Levi, explanation is required: the carrying of the Ark of the Testimony by Levi is indeed a matter that in the future

distant

(after the period of "and they will enslave them and oppress them"

etc.),

and moreover, there it does not speak about Levi himself but about his descendants

a generation before and the fourth generation

who will carry the Ark.

Why should one take away from him for that the carrying of his father's coffin

(which carrying the coffin of the deceased in general is a commandment

and in particular — his father's coffin)?

2.

Is the explanation in this:

Rashi himself warns it,

adding that "Menasseh and Ephraim shall be <b>instead of them</b>"¹².

With this Rashi means

(not only that Menasseh and Ephraim occupy the place next to the Ark of Levi and Joseph or — for example

Being the number 12 of the bearers of the ark&lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;,

but)

that they are "under them" — in their place,

their &lt;b&gt;agents&lt;/b&gt;&lt;sup&gt;14&lt;/sup&gt;.

That is,

that what Levi and Joseph did not carry the ark of Jacob,

it is only regarding their bodies — with their hands literally; they did, however, fulfill the commandment of carrying the ark of Jacob

(through their &lt;b&gt;agents &lt;/b&gt;like themselves exactly)&lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;.

Based on this, another matter will be sweetened: Rashi begins his commentary with the words "And his sons carried him,

and not his sons' sons" — and continues that Menashe and Ephraim carried the ark of Jacob?

(and Menashe and Ephraim are the sons of Osnas),

nevertheless Yaakov also stated the positive aspect,

as Rashi elaborates "but you"&lt;sup&gt;16&lt;/sup&gt;].

Since, however, that which Menashe and Ephraim carried the ark of Yaakov was "in their stead",

only as agents of Levi and Yosef,

thereby was fulfilled "and his &lt;b&gt;sons&lt;/b&gt; carried him",

"you",

i.

e.

the carrying is attributed to the senders,

Levi and Yosef.

And as the principle

(which Rashi also brings in his commentary on the Torah&lt;sup&gt;17&lt;/sup&gt;)

"a person's agent is like himself"&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;.

3.

One must, however, understand

(in the inwardness of the matters)

: Granted, Menashe and Ephraim were under Yosef,

because sons are in place of their father — but what is the connection of Menashe and Ephraim to the <b>Levi'im</b> that they should be under him?

This will be understood by prefacing the question of the commentators¹⁹

on Rashi's words "Levi shall not carry, for he is destined to carry the Ark" — it is written that Moshe carried Yosef's coffin,

as is explicit in the verse²⁰

"And Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him, etc.,"

and Moshe was indeed from the tribe of Levi²¹,

and moreover from the children of Kehat who were the bearers of the Ark²².

4.

is the explanation in all this:

It is known,

that the beginning of the bondage in Egypt began after the passing of Jacob,

as Rashi says at the beginning of the portion: "For when Jacob our father died, the eyes and heart of Israel were sealed from the distress of the bondage²³

that they began to enslave them."

That is: Yaakov's being in Egypt prevented the "anguish of the bondage",

it did not allow the matter of the exile in Egypt,

it was only the descent

(exile)

from Canaan.

As long as Yaakov lived,

the Jews lacked nothing in Egypt.

And on the contrary: And I give you the &lt;b&gt;good &lt;/b&gt;of the land of Egypt etc. the fat of the land&lt;sup&gt;24&lt;/sup&gt;.

From this it is understood,

that the taking out of Yaakov from Egypt

(to bring him for burial in Eretz Yisrael),

was²⁵

another stage,

caused that there should be able to be the exile and servitude of Egypt.

According to this it is understood why Levi and Yosef had

(in practice)

not participated in the carrying of the coffin of Yaakov from Egypt:

A common point is found by Levi and Yosef — that both were above the matter of enslavement in Egypt,

and both did not allow that there should be enslavement of Egypt.

Regarding Yosef it says in Midrash²⁶

: "All the time that Yosef was alive they did not have the burden of Egypt,

Yosef died, [they] placed upon them the burden²⁷,

therefore it is written²⁸

those who came as if that day they entered Egypt";

And regarding Levi, Rashi says

"Why were the years of Levi counted? Rather, to inform how many years of bondage, for as long as one of the tribes was alive, there was no bondage

as it is said

Joseph died, and all his brothers, and afterward a new king arose

And Levi lived longest of all"

And beyond this, even regarding the tribe of Levi we find,

that even after the bondage and the harshness of the bondage began for all Jews,

"the labor of the bondage of Egypt was not upon the tribe of Levi"

5.

Based on this, it is understood that which "Levi shall not carry" and "Joseph shall not carry" the coffin of

Jacob: because the carrying of Jacob's coffin from Egypt is connected and causes the matter of the enslavement,

it does not belong to Levi and Joseph,

who do not tolerate the enslavement of Egypt.

And this is hinted in the aforementioned reasons — "Levi would not carry because he is destined to carry the ark,

and Joseph would not carry because he is a king":

Commentators say³⁵,

that the fact that the labor of bondage was not upon the tribe of Levi is because of the fact that they are destined to carry the ark

("The tribe of Levi were wise and did not want to do work because they knew that they were destined to carry the ark, and thereby they were free men"³⁶),

"Carrying the ark" did not permit the matter of bondage³⁷

And since Yosef "is king",

Egypt has no dominion over him,

and on the contrary — he rules over Egypt,

and it is simple that there cannot be any &lt;b&gt;slavery &lt;/b&gt;of Egypt.

But regarding "And Moshe took the bones of Yosef with him" — this was &lt;b&gt;the opposite &lt;/b&gt;— a condition and matter of redemption,

"For he had adjured, adjured etc. God will surely remember you and you shall bring up my bones from here with you"&lt;sup&gt;38&lt;/sup&gt;,

and consequently this pertains &lt;b&gt;specifically &lt;/b&gt;to the tribe of Levi,

and on the contrary,

to the head of the tribe of Levi,

Moshe Rabbeinu,

and the redeemer of Israel.

6.

According to this, one must understand conversely: Since Levi and Yosef were not carriers of the ark of Yaakov from Egypt,

because this is the opposite of their essence,

why did they need substitutes — “Menashe and Efrayim shall be in their place”?

And how can they have substitutes like them?

This will be understood with the introduction of the question: Since there was a decree in the Covenant Between the Parts, “Your seed shall be a stranger in a land not theirs, and they shall enslave them and oppress them four hundred years”³⁹

— how is it that there was a tribe upon which the work of enslavement was entirely not [imposed]?⁴⁰

Moreover: in this enslavement was indeed dependent the promise "and afterwards they will go out with great wealth"

(as Rashi brings⁴¹

"so that that righteous one Abraham should not say 'and they will enslave them and afflict them' He fulfilled in them, 'and afterwards they will go out with great wealth' He did not fulfill in them")⁴².

7.

And one can explain the explanation in this:

That which the tribe of Levi did not have upon themselves the labor of bondage,

is this not because they had no connection to the exile of Egypt,

but this itself is a detail in the manner of the bondage of Jews:

The intention of the bondage of Egypt is not, heaven forbid, to torment Jews,

but because of the "and I will bring you up"⁴³,

the <b>elevation </b>that comes out from it

like a crucible literally,

which effected a refinement in Jews].

From the difficulty of the enslavement however,

it could have been that not only would Jews not reach

(through the enslavement)

the elevation,

but on the contrary — they could even become sunk, heaven forbid, in Egypt the nakedness of the land⁴⁵

Therefore there had to be a type of Jews that would remain above the enslavement,

and they should <b>influence</b> all Jews that they should carry out the intention of the descent to Egypt,

And they will enslave them — I will bring them up,

they will go out with great wealth.

And this was the task of the tribe of Levi,

as the Ramban explains⁴⁶,

that "it is customary among every nation to have wise men, teachers of their Torah, and therefore Pharaoh left them the tribe of Levi, who were their wise men and elders, and everything was <b>a cause from God</b>".

It follows accordingly,

that it is not the simple meaning that not all Jews took a <b>part</b> in the slavery of Egypt⁴⁷

— Jews came to Egypt as one nation⁴⁸,

one entity

: "all <b>the soul</b>

(singular)..

that came to Egypt

(seventy)

But along with this there was a kind of "partnership" regarding going through the subjugation

; and moreover — like the limbs of the soul and body that the fulfillment of the function of each limb <b>by itself</b> — is for the entire soul and by its agency.

By some Jews there was the labor of subjugation <b>in actuality</b> that was required in order to achieve the elevation; and the tribe of Levi participated in this,

by giving the <b>power</b>,

being "<b>teachers</b>

(to all children of Israel)

of Torah"⁵⁰

so as not to become sunk, heaven forbid, in the difficulty of the subjugation,

and on the contrary — to achieve this elevation

(through the subjugation).

And this was also after the giving of the Torah,

in the desert,

and afterwards upon their entry into the land:

The tribe of Levi had no portion or inheritance in the Land of Israel⁵¹,

but "was set apart to serve God, to minister to Him

&lt;b&gt;And to teach &lt;/b&gt;His straight ways and His righteous judgments &lt;b&gt;to the many&lt;/b&gt;"&lt;sup&gt;52&lt;/sup&gt;

— "Hashem is his inheritance"&lt;sup&gt;53&lt;/sup&gt;.

Which was expressed literally in their service and labor in the Mishkan,

including the carrying of the Ark,

Which came from this "&lt;b&gt;that all were in need &lt;/b&gt;of the needs of the Temple except that the Levites came &lt;b&gt;in their place in their mission&lt;/b&gt;"&lt;sup&gt;54&lt;/sup&gt;

; and the service of making the world a dwelling for Him, blessed be He, &lt;b&gt;while being in the world&lt;/b&gt;,

was accomplished through the rest of the tribes of Israel.

And for this reason also the tribe of Levi had all these elevations,

elevations that the "And they will afflict them and oppress them" brought.

ח.

Based on this one will also understand why Yosef and Levi needed that "Menashe and Efrayim will be &lt;b&gt;in their place&lt;/b&gt;" in the carrying of the coffin of Yaakov:

Although they themselves do not carry the coffin of Yaakov from Egypt,

as above — they however needed to <b>invest</b> the power

(of his being above the bondage of Egypt)

into the remaining tribes.

And this is through that their <b>emissaries</b> participate in the carrying of the coffin of Yaakov.

And therefore Yaakov chose Menashe and Efrayim to be "in their stead" — because they are the "continuation" of Yosef and Levi,

the power <b>of</b> Yosef and Levi

(who are above the bondage of Egypt)

comes down into the service <b>in</b> exile,

that Menashe and Ephraim were born in the land

of Egypt and before Jacob arrived there⁵⁵].

And while Yosef and Levi are two separate aspects in the absence of connection to the enslavement of Egypt

(as follows)

— therefore there were also separate "emissaries" — Menashe and Ephraim.

T.

The explanation in this:

It stands "These are the generations of Jacob Joseph"⁵⁶.

It is explained⁵⁷

that the matters of Jacob are drawn down below through Joseph.

By Joseph,

also like descending to Egypt⁵⁸,

when he comes down into Egypt,

the level of Jacob is illuminated in revelation; and since in his service there is openly the influence of Jacob which is higher than Egypt,

from Joseph's side there is no place for the concealment and hiding of Egypt.

He rules over Egypt and <b>does not allow </b>

(the concealment and hiding of)

<b>the exile </b>of Egypt,

as above.

But not so

(the tribe)

Levi,

were not ruling in Egypt,

were in the time of the exile of Egypt until the time of the hardship of the bondage,

and nevertheless they did not become "drowned" in it,

and on the contrary,

from the tribe of Levi Jews received the power to endure the hardship of the bondage as above,

until there should come the advantage of light from the darkness⁵⁹,

until that through Moses and Aaron

(from the tribe of Levi)

was the redemption of all Israel — Levi gives the power to <b>transform </b>the exile.

And from the two matters come out

(in and through their emissaries)

— the two modes of service of Menashe and Ephraim,

as hinted in their names

(as discussed once at length⁶⁰)

Menashsheh,

who is called thus — "for God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house"⁶¹,

a name that reminds that he finds himself in a place that makes one forget "all my father's house" and therefore he needs to "jump away"⁶²

from it; this expresses his longing and resolve <b>not</b> to forget,

but to be bound to my father's house.

That this is the manner of service that he toils at not to be influenced by the environment,

by remaining bound to my father's house.

A Jew being in exile constantly reminds himself that he finds himself in a situation that wants to make forget "my father's house",

and this itself causes that he should &lt;b&gt;not &lt;/b&gt;forget.

He hears that this is not his place,

his place is in the house of my father the king.

Corresponding to the service of Joseph,

who being in Egypt there was with him,

and was heard,

the influence of Jacob

("my father's house"),

which is higher than exile and concealment and hiding of Egypt.

"Not so, my father, for this one

(<b>Menasseh</b>)

is the firstborn; place your right hand upon his head,"

from the

service of Joseph is the <b>primary</b> service,

the service of Menasseh&lt;sup&gt;64&lt;/sup&gt;].

But not so Ephraim is called thus — "for God has made me fruitful &lt;b&gt;in the land &lt;/b&gt;of my affliction"&lt;sup&gt;65&lt;/sup&gt;

— the elevation and advantage that is brought about specifically &lt;b&gt;in &lt;/b&gt;the darkness of exile,

until in a manner of "He has made me fruitful"; and &lt;b&gt;the &lt;/b&gt;service comes and is derived from the service of the tribe of Levi,

by whose power and agency the Jews &lt;b&gt;overcame &lt;/b&gt;the darkness of exile&lt;sup&gt;66&lt;/sup&gt;,

"&lt;b&gt;And as they afflicted &lt;/b&gt;him &lt;b&gt;so did he multiply and so did he spread out&lt;/b&gt;"&lt;sup&gt;67&lt;/sup&gt;.

Yud.

It states&lt;sup&gt;68&lt;/sup&gt;

"He leads like the flock of Joseph" — Jews are called by the name Joseph&lt;sup&gt;69&lt;/sup&gt;.

And regarding this concerning Levi the Rambam writes&lt;sup&gt;70&lt;/sup&gt;,

that like the tribe of Levi is "every man and man ..

whose spirit was willing ..

he is sanctified ..

and may God be his portion and inheritance etc."

Because every Jew has the power

(from Yosef and Levi)

to stand above the exile.

Not only that the exile has no control over a Jew,

but on the contrary — a Jew becomes a master over exile.

And in this there are two levels:

First comes the manner of "Yosef who is king" in the present: one removes oneself above exile,

and one becomes entirely not affected by the trials etc. of exile.

And afterwards "future" — one comes to the higher manner — "Levi who is destined to carry the ark": through that which one has the matter of the Torah

("Tablets"),

Torah light,

one transforms the darkness of exile into light: the advantage of light from darkness⁷¹,

and — "my darkness"⁷²

Which this will be in revelation at the coming of Mashiach our righteousness,

when there will be fulfilled the destiny "and night like day will shine"⁷³,

speedily in our days, literally.

(From the talk of Shabbos Parshas Va'eira 5740)