The Depth of the Secret: The Connection Between the Sale of Joseph, Keeping Shabbos, and the Breaking of the Chariot
Lesson No. 23 | Sunday, Parashas Pinchas, 11 Tammuz - Lesson in the Yeshiva.
The holy Zohar reveals that the sale of Joseph caused the breaking of the Supernal Chariot, and keeping Shabbos is meant to serve as an atonement and tikkun (rectification) for this blemish. Through the secret of the Camp of Judah and rising at midnight, we awaken the supernal lion to roar, rectifying the worlds and casting fear upon the forces of evil.
At the revelation at Mount Sinai, it was said in a single utterance:
"Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it... I am Hashem your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."
What is this "house of bondage"? The Zohar Chadash explains that the entire essence of Shabbos was given to us because Joseph the tzaddik was sold as a slave. We are required to rest one day a week, without traveling and without phones, and there are some who literally go crazy from this. Everything stems from the sale of Joseph, who was put in shackles, bound, and placed in prison for twelve years.
Not everyone merits "mochin d'gadlus" (expanded consciousness) on Shabbos. For someone who lacks mochin d'gadlus, Shabbos is akin to torture, especially during the long summer days. We must know that all of this comes as an atonement for the sale of Joseph. Joseph was imprisoned for twelve years in Potiphar's dungeon, and therefore we are commanded to remember and keep the Shabbos, to remember that everything revolves around the tikkun (rectification) of the sale of Joseph.
The Breaking of the Supernal Chariot
The holy Zohar (page 162a) reveals a tremendous secret: Before the sale of Joseph, in the days of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the Shechinah (Divine Presence) sat upon two cherubim in perfect wholeness, in the secret of "He who sits upon the cherubim." The Supernal Chariot was composed of the two angels, Metatron and Sandalphon.
But the moment the terrible tragedy of the sale of Joseph occurred and he was separated from his brothers, the entire Supernal Chariot was severed. Until that moment, the Shechinah (Divine Presence) was in the secret of the cherubim and the Chariot was whole. At the moment of the sale - the Chariot was broken.
The root of the dispute between the brothers and Joseph stemmed from the fact that the angel Metatron was impregnated (ibur) within Joseph, while the angel Sandalphon was impregnated within Benjamin. When they were separated, it was as if the cherubim were separated. From that moment on, our mission is to reconnect everything anew. This was the central purpose of establishing the Mishkan (Tabernacle) - to reconnect the Supernal Chariot that had been severed.
The Lion's Roar of the Camp of Judah
To rectify the face of the lion in the Chariot, the Camp of Judah was established in the desert (together with Issachar and Zebulun). Judah merited to be the aspect of the lion in the Chariot. When the lion extends its right hand, it gathers three hundred and seventy (370) lions, and corresponding to this, he merited 370 supernal lights (nehorin).
When the supernal lion roars, the verse is fulfilled:
"A lion has roared, who will not fear?"
With this roar, all the firmaments, all the hosts, and all the camps tremble. The River of Fire (Nehar Di-Nur) shakes itself and descends five hundred levels down into Gehennom, and all the wicked there tremble and blaze in the fire.
Those who rise for Chatzos, awaken the supernal lion to roar. When the lion roars, a tremendous fear falls upon the entire world and upon all the wicked. With the second roar, the lion extends its left hand, and three hundred and seventy thousand lions roar together. The wicked collapse and a terrible fear falls upon them, until they are unable to decree any evil decree against the people of Israel. Therefore, Judah was blessed: "Your hand shall be on the nape of your enemies."
Every lion in the Chariot has four wings of blazing white fire, and four faces that shine with the whiteness of the sun. The faces turned toward the east are faces that shine with tremendous joy - faces of being constantly in joy.
Part 1 of 4 — Lesson No. 23