From the Teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Zt”l
With this week's Torah reading, Vayechi, we conclude the Book of Genesis. Before our Patriarch Jacob passed away he called all his children over to his deathbed. The Torah portion of Vayechi relates the blessings Jacob gave to each of the Twelve Tribes. The blessing Jacob bestowed upon Asher was as follows: "Out of Asher his bread shall be fat [full of oil]." Moses, too, gave Asher a similar blessing: "And he shall dip his foot in oil." The literal meaning is that Asher would be blessed with so much oil that he would be able to immerse his foot in it.
An Object’s Physical Existence is Derived from its Spiritual Reality
It has been explained many times that everything that exists in the physical world has a spiritual counterpart. In truth, an object's physical existence is derived from its spiritual reality, and not the other way around. What does "And he shall dip his foot in oil" mean in the spiritual sense? The Talmud explains that oil is an allusion to chochma (wisdom), the highest function of the human being. The foot, by contrast, is symbolic of man's lowest level, and alludes to kabalat ol, the acceptance of the yoke of heaven. This contains a lesson for us to apply in our Divine service:
Oil, chochma, is symbolic of the study of Torah, which involves a person's intellect and understanding. The foot is symbolic of our service of G-d with kabalat ol, i.e., obeying the Torah's commandments simply because G-d wants us to. Moreover, the foot is the foundation and support of the entire structure. Here we see an astounding thing: Serving G-d with acceptance of the yoke of heaven has a very distinct advantage over serving Him with our intellectual capacities, for the mind is by nature a limited creation. When a Jew serves G-d out of a sense of subservience he can attain far higher levels than when he serves Him utilizing his powers of comprehension.
Furthermore, it is precisely the service of accepting the yoke of heaven that constitutes our preparation for the Final Redemption. For when Moshiach comes, the advantage of this type of service will be revealed in its totality. May it be G-d's will that by serving G-d with true kabalat ol we will merit the coming of our Righteous Moshiach, speedily in our day.
Reprinted from the Parshat Vayechi 5761/2000 edition of L’Chaim. Adapted from Volume 1 of Likutei Sichot.
