In this weeks sedra, on the posuk “and Rivka lifted her eyes and she saw Yitchok” there is a saying of tsadikim that here we see Kedushas Yosef.

A lot has been said to explain this word, and let me add my thoughts.

Last week, by the akeida, it says that Abraham “stretched his hand” to take the knife. Our sages explain that Abraham’s body was Torah itself and as Hashems will was that he should NOT slaughter Yitschok his hand would not take the knife until Abraham forced it.
The same goes for the next paragraph, “and Abraham lifted his eyes” as his eyes where always down he had to LIFT them to see what’s around him.

So here when the Torah writes the same thing on Rivka we see SHmiras aynayim and with it comes Kedushas Yosef.

In this weeks sedra (Vayeitsei) when Lovon catches up with Jacob he complaints why he sneaked away from him and had he told him he is going Lovon would have sent him off with music. The question is what was bothering Lovon so much about Jacob's going without the music? And the answer is Lovon wanted to play his type of music so that Jacob's mind and those of his children will be infested with it, and once one has Goishe music in his head no Torah can come in.

On the opposite side I heard once that the Skulene rebbe shlit"a recommends to people who suffer from depression to listen to his father's songs.

I had a surge of lust lately, after I past the 90 days, and I was wandering why, then I realized that I listened that day to Yanni, one of my favorite musicians, and there where female voices in the background.

I ONCE WENT TO THE REBBE SHLITAA (BTW IS THE FIERCEST OPPONENT OF THE INTERNET)

I WAS MAZKIR A BOCHUR WHO WAS SUFFERRING FROM HIRHURIM

THE REBBE TOLD ME "ZEH ER ZULL KIMMEN TZI MEIN TISH FIN SHULIM ALIECHEM BIZ NUCH KIDDUSH"

(HAVE HIM COME TO MY TISH FROM SHOLIM ALIECHEM  TILL AFTER KIDDUSH)

This week, Vayishlach, we see an interesting story.

Jaacov is asked by the angel of Eisov for his name and he duly replies, then when Jaacov asks the angel his name he says "why should you ask for my name?" Now that's not fair! I answered you why can't you answer me?

There is a vort from the 1st belze rov Z"l that the Gemoro tells us that R' Meir learned the character from a person by his name, so Jaacov asked the Angel what is your name i.e. what is your power as the soton? and the angel answered my secret is don't ask questions, don't think into it who is the one urging you to do this or that, if you will then you may realize that it is YH's work and of course you wouldn't listen!

With that I thought we could explain what Rash”I said on the answer from the angel "why should you ask for my name?" that their names change according to what they do and they have no fixed names. But with the above we could say that the nature of the YH changes all the time because every generation he tries to trick us with new problems and new nisyonos (fashions, internet, mobile phones etc.) and our way to win is by thinking into things before we do them.

This weeks parsha, Vayechi.

In the blessing for Yosef, in one way in Rashi, Yaakov blessed him because he extended his height so that Eisav should not look on his mother. The question is, what was Yosef scared of? If Rochel thought before that due to her being barren Yaakov will divorce her and Eisov may marry her, but now when she had Yosef and was expecting Binjomin what was she worried for?

The answer is that it is bad for a person to be the reason for someone else’s stumble even if they did not participate. For Eisav it is a sin to gaze at Rochel regardless how much evil he has done already and Rochel will be the cause to it, so Yosef shielded her from Eisav eyes in order to protect her.

This is one of the big explanations of modesty, as the gemoro tells a story of an amoire who saw his neighbor digging a hole in the wall separating their gardens, on his question the neighbor answered “ if I can’t marry your beautiful daughter let me at least look at her through the wall” Upon hearing this the amoira turned to his daughter and said “ people are sinning because of you? Go back to your earth!” and she died. 

The question is what reward was it for Yosef that the girls in Egypt climbed on the walls to see his beauty?

The answer could be as we see in the gemoro that R’ Yochanan sat himself on the path used by the woman returning from Mikva, and he explained that when they look at him the will get children like him. From that Gemoro we see that looking at a tsadik brings upon a person the merit of having children like the tsadik and one is allowed to do this.

Just like we said above that it’s bad for a person to be the cause of an aveire, the same thing it is good for person to be the reason for a mitsve done, so this was Yosef’s reward, Mida Keneged Midah, that the Egyptian woman who looked at him had better children.

Maybe this explains the existence of  g-d fearing Egyptians who kept their cattle in doors when Moshe warned them about the plague “dever”.

Parshas Shmois.

I noted an interesting point while learning the sedra.

Hashem showed Moshe Rabeinu the bush burning, nothing more, and Moshe could have easily shrugged his shoulders and continue. Only after Moshe went off his path to investigate did Hashem speak to him.

Hashem sends us hidden messages sometimes, only if we bother to investigate more can we take advantage of those revelations.

All of us who by some way or other stumbled upon GYE and investigated further are bound to see  clear guidance from heaven. May it just be easy