Vayigash: Love as the Messianic Consciousness

Love overcomes and transforms negative expressions in human consciousness. This sounds axiomatic considering that love is its own cause and effect, which implies that love's ways and attributes are the means to reveal love when and where it is concealed.

This echoes the principle that love is present in the entire Creation as the material manifestation of God's love. Hence, love is the primordial principle that directs all aspects of life, by which we express our true identity.

We suppose to be, have and do what defines our essence and identity, that which gives meaning and transcendence to our existence. Anything different than love's ways and attributes denies who we really are. In this context we understand Joseph's prevalence among his brothers, as his dreams predicted.

We must emphasize once again that ethics, righteousness, justice and fairness are inherent to love's ways and attributes. These principles are the means through which love rectifies, transforms and straighten out the outcome of negative beliefs, ideas, thoughts, feelings and emotions.

In this sense, love is not a passive, permissive, condoning, forgiving and forgetting negative and demeaning approaches to life. Love is active, correcting, rectifying, awakening and guiding towards positive, enhancing and dignifying ways to honor life.

True love implies and demands purity, integrity and truth as the means to manifest what is right, fair, just and consequently good in order to make love's ways and attributes prevail in all dimensions of consciousness. As we said, love is to be met through what is inherent to it. See in this blog our commentary on Vayigash: “Living in God's Will” of December 25, 2011.

This is also Joseph's approach prior to finally “reveal” himself to his brothers. He must make sure that all negative traits and tendencies in consciousness are completely rectified before manifesting all the goodness that love is, as the commanding principle in God's creation.

We execute this principle when our free will is consonant with our discernment. This means that once we free our discernment from negative references, our judgment acts according to righteousness, fairness and justice as love's ways to rectify and transform anything that antagonizes them.

This directing and guiding judgment is also represented by Judah, and this fundamental quality enables him to become the redeeming principle manifest as the Messianic consciousness. This the main reason why Judah is the inheritor of Israel's royalty, not Joseph.

We have said that Joseph represents love as the material manifestation of God's love in His creation, and also the ruling principle that characterizes Israel's identity and mission to be the light for the nations. This is why Israel is the chosen one to reveal the divine presence that is God's love in the material world.

In this context, Joseph is Israel as the psalmist reminds us.

“Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock; You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth. (…) With Your mighty arm You redeemed Your people, the descendants of Jacob and Joseph. Forever.” (Psalms 80:2, 77:16)

Hence, Joseph as the inheritor of Jacob's birthright also symbolizes Israel as the chosen to reveal God's love in the world. Joseph as love doesn't need to prove anything, except being who he is and what he represents as Israel's identity.

We Jews are Israel as the extension of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph as ruling and guiding principles; and Judah is the executor of those principles as love's ways and attributes.

Judah represents our discernment and judgment cleared from anything that denies or opposes love's principles as the sovereign and regent in all aspects of life. Through our good judgment we clear and transform that which separates us from love as the goodness that redeems and sustains life in our transit on Earth.

This ability to discern and rectify directs us towards our individual and collective redemption.

Judah rectified when Tamar was summoned to explain her pregnancy, and he also rectified when he confronted Joseph over his intentions regarding Benjamin. These conviction and determination made Judah chosen to reign among the tribes of Israel, and also empowered him to bear the Messianic consciousness.

Thus we as Jews are destined to manifest our individual and collective redemption by rectifying and transforming the negative aspects of consciousness through the redeeming power of love's ways and attributes.

Thus we understand that Joseph represents love, and Judah our ability to remove ego's negative desires, fantasies and illusions in order to embrace love as our common bond with God's love.

Through Judah we enthrone love as the destined king and regent over all aspects of life. This means that we integrate the Messianic consciousness in our life through our discernment and judgment free from ego's false beliefs and feelings of lack.

The separation of Joseph's brothers from him was the result of their envy, jealousy and hatred under the belief and feeling that they lacked Joseph's qualities that made him more loved by their father.

The questions to be asked then were, what makes us apparently less loved by our father? What is that which makes Joseph allegedly better than us? What makes us believe that we are going to lose something because of someone else?

The answer then and now is that, as long as love's ways and attributes remain in every level of my consciousness, as I am aware that God's love is with me constantly, nothing and nobody could be against. In this permanent awareness, I am love as the material manifestation of God's love, from where I come. And nothing else. As long as I abide by God's will, I remain who I am truly.

The prophet also reminds us that in Israel's unity depends our redemption.

“Say to them, 'So says the Lord God: “Behold I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel his companions, and I will place them with him with the stick of Judah, and I will make them into one stick, and they shall become one in My hand”'.” (Ezekiel 37:21)

“And they shall no longer defile themselves with their idols [ego's fantasies and illusions], with their detestable things [negative thoughts, emotions, feelings, passions and instincts], or with all their transgressions, and I will save them from all their habitations [negative beliefs and ideas] in which they have sinned, and I will purify them, and they shall be to Me as a people, and I will be to them as a God.” (37:23)

Vayigash: Living in God's Will

Regardless what we may believe or be certain about as part of God's Creation, our lives belong to His will. There's an endless debate around this Fundamental Principle of Judaism in regards to free will. If we ultimately fulfill God's will regardless the choices we make, do we really have free will? The answer is yes because our choices, either be “right” or “wrong”, ultimately lead us to the Truth of who we really are and our mission in this world. In other words, making positive or negative choices makes us aware of them by their results, from which we learn to make the next choice. This means that ultimately sooner o later we will end up doing the right thing. Then it is up to us to either learn through positive or negative experiences. We have said before that Judaism considers evil as a negative reference to be avoided, and in the worst case scenario to learn form; and not to live for because we are not born to be masochists. Regrettably, most of us in this world may not have it clear enough, and to prove it we just need to take a look around.

We must reflect thoroughly about God's Creation and realize that it is far bigger than ego's pretension to make us believe that we are gods in our material fantasies, desires and illusions. Once we get humble enough it may be possible to accept God's will and not ours. It took King David's whole life and the 150 chapters of his Psalms to realize this, and is one of the main lessons we learn from the story of Joseph and his brothers: “But now do not be sad, and let it not trouble you that you sold me here, for it was to preserve life that God sent me before you.” (Genesis 45:5) and His will is indeed His Love for His Creation to sustain it every moment for the sake of the goodness that life is: “(…) And God sent me before you to make for you a remnant in the land, and to live for a great deliverance.” (45:7).

In our awareness of God's Love there is always a land to sustain life, as our means to pursue our deliverance when the material reality does not provide for our essential needs. We face famine not only when the land does not provide for our sustenance, but also when the material world (also a “land”) does not offer us true spiritual fulfillment in the illusions we create from our “individual” reality.

Here we understand that ego (Pharaoh) must be directed by the discernment and wisdom with which Love (Joseph) approaches God's Creation as an emanation of His Love: “And now, you did not send me here but God and He made me a father to Pharaoh, a lord over his entire household, and a ruler over the entire land of Egypt.” (45:8)

We have learned from these passages of the Torah that Joseph is the epitome of Love ever since he was chosen by Israel to be his firstborn, and Love's attributes led him to ascend as the destined guide of all levels and dimensions of consciousness, ego included. Love's greatest and most formidable challenge is to direct our awareness amid the hardships of the material world. These difficulties range from the adversity of natural phenomena to the negative aspects of thought, emotions, feelings, passions and instincts.

Our Sages tell us that hatred against Hebrews, hostility, aggressiveness, depravity and immorality were the main traits of the ancient Egyptians, and coming down to them was a threat for people with opposite qualities. Israel and his children knew this in spite of Joseph ascent to power. In such predicament Israel prays to the Creator, and His Love answers: “I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up, and Joseph will place his hand on your eyes.” (46:4).

This verse reminds us to be mindful about His will. Our Sages teach that living in the darkness of a negative consciousness (Egypt) is the premise to recognize the Light of Redemption. In this sense, as we mentioned above, our negative choices sooner or later lead us to discern positive from negative, right from wrong, useful from useless. In this process we have to know who we are, from where we come, and the destiny that we are commanded to fulfill: “And Pharaoh said to his brothers, 'What is your occupation?' And they said to Pharaoh, 'Your servants are shepherds, both we and our forefathers'.” (47:3).

The children of Israel are descendants of people who were commanded by their God to lead as “the Light for the nations” those in need of positive guidance. This Commandment is an abomination among peoples whose traits are far from positive. Let's bear in mind that anti-Semitism and Judeophobia are as ancient as Judaism, and the defamers of Jews are those who opposed the ethical principles that sustain and promote moral freedom in all levels of consciousness. In its quest and history, Judaism's existence reflects our Patriarch Israel's life: “The days of the years of my life have been few and miserable [lit. evil], and they have not reached the days of the years of the lives of my forefathers in the days of their sojourning.” (47:9).

Only in our relentlessness will we be able to fulfill our destiny, no matter how negative and adverse may be the illusions of the material world: “And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they acquired property in it, and they were prolific and multiplied greatly.” (47:27). We did it in Egypt and we have done throughout history with God's Presence among us. Even if most of our days and years have been amid evil, God's Love never abandons us. With our Love we will also reach out to our Final Redemption, which is also everyone's Redemption.

Then we will reach the days of the years of our forefathers: “And I will form a Covenant of Peace for them [Israel], an everlasting Covenant shall be with them; and I will establish them and I will multiply them, and I will place My Sanctuary in their midst forever. And My dwelling place shall be over them, and I will be to them for a God, and they shall be to Me as a people.” (Ezekiel 37:26-27) and for us this prophecy is fulfilled when we as Israel meet His will, which is the ways and attributes of God's Love.

Parshat Vayigash: Being Aware of Love as the Ruler

The traits of consciousness (represented by Judah and his brothers) recognize the power of Love (represented by Joseph as the highest human awareness of God's Love) as these recognize the power of ego (represented by Pharaoh), and appeal to Love to bestow its kindness and blessings: “And Judah approached (vayigash) him [Joseph] and said, 'Please my lord, let now your servant speak something to my lord's ears, and let not your wrath be kindled against your servant, because you are like Pharaoh.” (Genesis 44:18).

They know quite well that wrath and other negative qualities are the result of Love's absence in our lives. God's Love is the only Truth, and it is through truth that we cleave to Him. In this episode of the Torah's narrative it is essential to make the truth prevail in order to clear negative thoughts, emotions, feelings, passions and instincts.

Joseph, as the epitome of Love's ways and attributes, can't allow his brothers to continue bearing cruelty, jealousy and envy in their hearts. He has to make sure that they are totally cleared from the dominion of ego's negative illusions. Then it is Judah who proves to Joseph that he is willing to give his own life for the sake of his youngest brother, as well as for his other brothers for the sake of the unity of Israel:

“And now, when I come to your servant, my father, and the boy (Benjamin) is not with us [because] his soul (my father's) is attached to his (Benjamin's) soul (…)”, “Because, how will I go up to my father if the boy is not with me? Let me not see the misery that will befall my father (Israel)!” (43:30, 34).

This ultimate proof of love among their brothers is indeed the unity that the children of Israel need to forge permanently in order to be able to embrace God's Love. The louder voice of this bond can be heard as the ruler of all, including ego's domains: “And he [Joseph] wept out loud, so the Egyptians heard, and the house of Pharaoh heard.” (45:2).

“But now do not be sad, and let it not trouble you that you sold me here, for it was to preserve life that God sent me before you.”, “And God sent me before you to make for you a remnant in the land, and to preserve life for you for a great deliverance.” (45:5, 7). Joseph's love is already free from negative traits because God's Love, the Spirit of God, is with him. This is Love that creates, sustains and preserves life, that also delivers us from ego's materialistic desires when we cry out loud to the Creator.

This is the great deliverance, the Exodus from Egypt foreseen by Joseph and told to his brothers. Again, Love reaffirms its prevalence over all aspects and dimensions of consciousness, including ego: “And now, you did not send me here, but God; and He made me a father to Pharaoh, a lord over all his household, and a ruler over all the land of Egypt.” (45:8).

Though we believe in our Creator and His Love as our sustenance and Redemption, we fear the gross materialism of darkness and the mirages, fantasies and illusions in which we are trapped when Love is absent in our consciousness. Consequently, we have to trust God's Love in addition to being faithful to Him. It is indeed easier to have faith in the Creator than to trust Him.

We believe that He is our sole Provider, and even though we are fully aware of His constant sustenance for us, we still trust more the power of money than Divine Providence. Our fear of lacking the material resources to ease our basic needs is more powerful than our trust in His deliverance:

“And He said, 'I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid of going down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again, and Joseph will place his hand on your eyes'.” (46:3-4) because Love opens our eyes to God's ways and attributes.

“And Jacob said to Pharaoh: 'The days of the years of my sojourning are one hundred thirty years. The days of the years of my life have been few and miserable, and they have not reached the days of the years of the lives of my forefathers in the days of their sojourning.” (47:9).

This is the predicament of Israel's spiritual mission in terms of his relation to the material world: a life of struggle with the limitations of physicality, the rigors and perils of nature, and the material difficulties that we face and must overcome in order to secure our survival and well being as individuals and as a Nation.

This predicament is the limiting “few” in our lifespan, while the “miserable” (lit. “evil”) refers to the negative traits and aspects of human consciousness that we have to confront and battle every moment. These are ego's fantasies, negative illusions and lower desires that challenge our free will in every decision we make.

Although there is a feeling of sadness and pessimism in Jacob's answer to Pharaoh, it is so when we have to confront ego's illusions for the sake of revealing the Truth, the Light, God's Love concealed in the darkness of those illusions.

“And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt in the land of Goshen, and they acquired property in it, and they were prolific and multiplied greatly.” (47:27). The Divine prophecy is fulfilled and Israel develops and expands the horizon of his consciousness taking advantage of the positive potential that ego can reach amid the perils and dangers of losing his true identity as the Chosen People.

In parshat Mikeitz we learned that ego has two sides and two faces as part of the duality we face in the material world in order to exercise our free will. Also, as we have mentioned before, all in Creation is filled with God's Love, which is also concealed in what we perceive as dark or negative. Ultimately God's Love will be fully revealed and it's up to us to fulfill this ultimate reality.

We can do it if we choose to see the Light that is concealed in darkness by having a positive attitude toward life, and embracing Love as the Truth that can ease the negative thoughts, emotions, feelings and passions in which we seem to be trapped. Pain, suffering, anger, sadness, depression and the lower expressions of consciousness can only be redeemed by allowing Love to lead every aspect of our life.