Parshas Vayeitzei
A second telling of why Yaakov was made to sleep on Har HaMoriah, the only night in forty years he wasn't awake learning or working, and what a body lying flat teaches about bittul before Hashem.
Part of Bereishit
Traces the question of why this particular place and moment called for sleep, answered through the image of a person lying down, head and feet level, with no part higher than another, as a physical expression of tachlis habitul. Reads Yaakov's 'v'anochi lo yadati' as describing a level above daas, given to him specifically as preparation for the twenty years in Lavan's house that followed.
Audio Transcript
A vort from the Rebbe on this week's parsha, Parshas Vayeitzei. The beginning of the parsha, the parsha says that 讬注拽讘 laid down to sleep, 讜讬驻讙注 讘诪拽讜诐, he met the place, he came to the place, he davened there, and he laid down to sleep, but he had a dream with a ladder, so he realized it's a holy place. So it says, 讜讬拽抓 讬注拽讘 诪砖谞转讜, 讬注拽讘 woke up from his sleep, 讜讬讗诪专, and he said, 讗讻谉 讬砖 讛壮 讘诪拽讜诐 讛讝讛 讜讗谞讻讬 诇讗 讬讚注转讬. I see that there is Hashem in this place, and I didn't know. And Rashi explains, what did he mean and I didn't know? 砖讗诐 讬讚注转讬, if I would have known, 诇讗 讬砖谞转讬 讘诪拽讜诐 拽讚讜砖 讻讝讛, I wouldn't sleep in such a holy place. And the Rebbe asks the shaila: why taake did the Eibershter make that Yaakov Avinu should sleep in such a holy place? Especially that the way Chazal say that before and after he didn't sleep. Before he got to this place, for fourteen years he was in the yeshiva of Shem v'Ever, and there he didn't lay down to sleep because he learned. Afterwards, when he came to Lavan for twenty years, he didn't go to sleep regularly because he was busy with watching his sheep. So Hashem had to make that davka in this place, which is a holy place, he should sleep?
So the Rebbe explains it like this: the difference between a person laying down and a person standing or sitting. When a person stands and sits, the higher parts of the body, his brain, his heart, higher parts of the body are higher than the feet. Here you could see the maalah, the specialty of the higher upper part of the person's body over the lower part, which represents the idea that you could see the maalah of 注谞讬谞讬诐 注诇讬讜谞讬诐 砖讘讗讚诐, higher parts of the person, over the 注谞讬谞讬诐 转讞转讜谞讬诐, the lower parts of the person. On the other hand, when you lay down to sleep, so there the person is flat, so his higher part and lower part are the same height, and you cannot see the specialty of the head over the feet. This situation represents the fact that when it's compared to Hashem, in relationship to Hashem, there is no difference in higher or lower, they're all the same. Like we say in 诪讞讝讜专, 讛砖讜讛 诪砖讜讛 拽讟谉 讜讙讚讜诇, big and small, it's all the same 诇讙讘讬 the Eibershter, because there's no 注专讱, no comparison to the Eibershter. So on that level, when you feel that, then there's the 转讻诇讬转 讛讘讬讟讜诇. When you have your head higher than your feet, for instance, it shows you're not completely batel, you're still a 诪爪讬讗讜转. So this 诪爪讬讗讜转, the 诪爪讬讗讜转 of the intellect is greater than the 诪爪讬讗讜转 of the feet, which represent a lower 诪讚专讙讛. But if you feel the real bittul to Hashem, then there is no difference, every part of the body is the same, because compared to Hashem, everything is the same. So davka in this holy place, where the kedushah of Hashem is there, davka there Hashem wanted him to lay down to teach him this inyan, the 转讻诇讬转 讛讘讬讟讜诇 that 诇讙讘讬 讛壮, whatever Hashem wants, higher or lower, there's no such thing as higher or lower, everything is the same.
And the Rebbe teitches, it's interesting, that when he said, had I known I wouldn't have slept here, like the pasuk says, 讗讻谉 讬砖 讛壮 讘诪拽讜诐 讛讝讛 讜讗谞讻讬 诇讗 讬讚注转讬, Hashem is here and I didn't know, so the Rebbe teitches, I didn't know means that I didn't realize that here it's higher than daat. Daat, 讬讚讬注讛, knowledge, knowing is a madreigah, that's something special. But he realized that this is a place, 诇讗 讬讚注转讬, 讬讚讬注讛 doesn't mean anything. There's only one thing, the Eibershter, and you got to be batel to the Eibershter, and your 讬讚讬注讛, your knowledge, this at this level doesn't mean anything. And this is why the Eibershter made him sleep and lay down and sleep at this point, because this was an introduction to going to Lavan. And Hashem was trying to show him that now that you're going to Lavan, you're going to Charan, you're going to a terrible galut, you're going to go through a lot of hardships, so the way to overcome it all is when you have the level of bitul. So first He made him lay down here, which represents the inyan of bitul, that you're completely batel to Hashem, there's no specialty in anything, it's all the same 诇讙讘讬 讛壮. When you have that bitul, the Eibershter showed him, then you'll be able to overcome all your problems by Lavan. And that's actually what happened, that for the twenty years of Lavan, not only didn't he get affected, but he became even higher and higher to the highest madreigah, and that's where he built the whole Klal Yisrael.