At The Surface, It’s Bizarre
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On Wednesday morning, I texted one of my favorite teachers, Rabbi Shais Taub:
Me: I’m having a really hard time with this week's Parsha: brother is thrown into a pit. Oooh, Let’s eat! ----Is just one example.
Me: Why does Hashem allow for so many misunderstandings based on the p'shat (face value readings) of the stories... is there merit to this? Seeing the brothers as horrible siblings--- What’s the purpose/ deeper messaging? Could you do a class on this?
Rabbi: you mean, why is the bible so weird?
Me: Um, yes!!
Rabbi: I know you’re in the Bible Belt, but you can’t open the Bible and read it; you gotta first learn the Chassidic interpretation and then go back and read the story and try to make sense of it.
Rabbi: These stories are not meant to be understood on their own. They are bizarre. I take this as a signal not to attempt to read stories at face value.
Me: I always used to start with Chassidus, but this year (Covid), I decided to do Chitas (reading the literal story with Rashi only), and now I’m just so messed up!
Me, also: The message I’m getting is that my life shouldn’t either be taken at face value... need to dig inside myself too—- true?
Rabbi: Yes
Chassidus is the essence of the Torah, in that oil is the essence of the olive.
When you press an olive hard, the oil comes out.
But do you poke an olive and ask---is this where the oil is? Or is it here? Or what about here?
It's not in any of those places that you poke--- it's in all of those places that you poke.
That's what essence is. It is in all parts, but all parts are not it.
In Torah, each letter written, word spoken, sentence describing, and every letter unwritten, word unspoken, and sentence not described---- there is an inky liquid begging to be leaked out, to share its secrets---
Reading the Torah without knowing that there is an essential truth inside the contours of the stories; is like noticing olives hanging in a lush olive tree and admiring the oblong green ornamental beauties with sufficient appreciation for their color and shape--- and then moving right along.
The oil inside of the olive yells out,
"Hold on there, do not move along; you know nothing of what I am, of my true value!"
If you are reading the 'Bible,' you experience the outer crust (I agree, sometimes the crust is yummy)---Yet beyond the outer layer, the thick golden liquid inside awaits distillation.
We, humans, are like that oblong green ornamental beauty that hangs on the tree sufficiently appreciated and admired---
She is so smart! He is such a shrewd businessman! She is so kind! He is the nicest! She is going places! He’s such a gentleman! She's got the best taste!
And then our essence, our soul, screams out---
"Hold on there, do not just move right along; you know nothing of who I really am, of my true value!"
Our soul is our essence --- a part of the infinity, a part of God, literally.
The Miracle of the olive oil came about when the Maccabees dug deep within themselves, when they did not accept the crust, the outer layer of what appeared to be life’s circumstances.
God showed them what can happen when you don’t accept ‘face value’. Miracles can happen.
So, in honor of this first day of Chanukah, spark the flame of your existence, use that light to find your essence, and press hard. Watch as the most beautiful and pure olive oil bursts forth onto your shining face--- go ahead, express your Jewish soul.
Let it shine, baby. Let it shine.
(The lesson on Essence was taught to me by Rabbi Taub, it is from the Rebbe’s teachings)