There is a Possuk in this week’s Parsha that states: יְהוּדָה אַתָה יוֹדוּךָ אַחֶיךָ וְגוֹ׳ “Yehudah, as for you, your brothers shall acknowledge you etc”. The Alter Rebbe explains in ‘Torah Ohr’ at the beginning of this week’s Parsha that Yehudah is so named because הַפַעַם אוֹדֶה אֶת הֲוַיָ׳ “This time let me gratefully praise HaShem”, this name refers to the general state of admission and ‘Bittul’ (self-nullification and self-abnegation) to HaShem of all ‘Neshomos’, and in order for this ‘Bittul’ to come out in a revealed way, it needs to be channelled through אַחֶיךָ ‘your brothers’, through ‘Reuven’ ‘Shimon’ and ‘Levi’ [Yehudah’s older brothers who were born before him].
This explains the words of the Possuk; יוֹדוּךָ אַחֶיךָ meaning “your brothers shall acknowledge you”, that your brothers [‘Reuven’ Shimon’ and ‘Levi’] are the cause who bring about the state of the ‘Bittul’ of Yehudah, (that it should manifest itself in a revealed way).
And it is explained there, that ‘Reuven’ and ‘Shimon’ correspond to the first two sections of the ‘Shema’ prayer, and ‘Levi’ corresponds to ‘Emes Veyatziv’ (the prayer which comes immediately after the morning Shema), and as a result of this, one comes thereafter to the ‘Shemoneh Esrei’ (Amidah), which is a prayer that is recited in admission, self-abnegation and self-denial, which is the state of ‘Yehudah’.
Beis
In ‘Torah Ohr’ it quotes the Possuk and highlights the element of ‘vision’ as the reason why רְאוּבֵן is called Reuven, because כִּי רָאָה ג וֹ׳ “He has seen”, and similarly with שִׁמְעוֹן, the reason why he is called Shimon has to do with ‘Hearing’, because ׳ וֹכִּי שָמַע ג “He has heard”. These are expressed in every single Jew’s ‘Avodas HaShem’. The state of ‘Reuven’ is that his Avodah is not just about understanding and comprehending, but actually visualising in the mind’s eye, insomuch that the truth about G-dliness is so certain in his mind, it is like he can actually see it; and when someone sees something, he knows it exists, as it removes all doubts, being that he himself has seen it.
This is how it is in man’s ‘Avodas HaShem’; that his contemplation and meditation [specifically concerning the concept of ‘Hashgocha Protis’] be in a manner (via observation) where it is ‘truth’ for him, as if he actually sees it, in a tangible concrete way. From this visualisation, he comes to a state of ‘love of HaShem’ as the Possuk states: (in regards to the naming of Reuven) כִׁי רָאָה גוֹ׳ כִׁי עַתָה יֶאֱהָבַנִׁי “Because He has seen ...and now He will love me”. This corresponds with the first portion of the ‘Shema’ וְאָהַבְתָ אֵת הַ' אֱלֹקֶיךָ גוֹ׳ “You shall love HaShem your G-d ...”
And the state of Shimon (on account of “He has heard”) is that his Avodah is only in a state of ‘hearing’ and ‘attaining’, but not in a state of seeing. And since it is still in a state of distance [like a person who only hears about something that he is being told about, but cannot see it himself], therefore this Avodah, is within the channel of ‘fear’. And this is the concept behind the second portion of the ‘Shema’ וְהָיָה אִׁם שָמֹעַ תִׁשְמְעוּ גוֹ׳ הִׁשָמְרוּ לָכֶם פֶן יִׁפְתֶה גוֹ׳ “And it shall come to pass, that if you resolutely heed...’Beware’ lest your heart be tempted “etc. Thus, since the matter of G-dliness to him is only through ‘hearing’ (אִׁם שָמֹעַ תִּשְׁמְׁעוּ if you resolutely heed), therefore the Avodah needed in this situation is one of ‘Fear of HaShem’ (הִׁשָמְרוּ לָכֶם גוֹ׳ Beware).
Concerning the name of Levi named so on account of יִׁלָוֶה אִׁישִׁי אֵלַי “my husband will (accompany me) be attached to me”, this refers to that which is said after the Shema recitation אֱמֶת וְיַצִׁיב וְגוֹ׳ הַדָבָר הַזֶה עָלֵינוּ “True, and certain, established ... is this (Torah) to us, for all eternity” because the result of the Torah is: “my husband (HaShem) will be attached to me” (as will be explained shortly).
Gimel
The three above-mentioned states of affairs (‘Reuven’ ‘Shimon’ and ‘Levi’) correspond to the three pillars upon which the world rests, they are: ‘Torah’, ‘Avodah’ and ‘Gemilas Chassodim’ (acts of kindness). [And this also refers to the ‘small world’ which is the ‘Odom’ which in this case refers to the B’nei Yisroel as the Talmud tells us: ‘You’ B’nei Yisroel are called Odom]. Reuven (through love) symbolizes the vector of acts of kindness - ‘Gemilas Chassodim’. This is so because when one has ‘love for HaShem’ he also has Ahavas Yisroel, ‘love for his fellow Jew’ [being that love for HaShem and love for one’s fellow Jew is one and the same thing], and therefore his Avodah is in the mode of ‘Gemilas Chassodim’, since love is the motive for kindness and from an inner dimension is a Hamshocha from above to below.
Shimon (through fear), symbolizes the vector of Avodah of the concept of prayer, the left vector [and in prayer itself, it is the second portion of the Shema recitation as previously mentioned] this being an elevation from below to above.
Levi, on account of יִׁלָוֶה אִׁישִׁי אֵלַי “my husband will (Accompany me) be attached to me,” is the vector of Torah, for through the Torah, Yisroel and HaShem become one. And this is the concept of יִׁלָוֶה אִׁישִׁי אֵלַי “my husband will (Accompany me) be attached to me”, that through the Torah a connection is formed with my husband, who is HaShem, to the extent that Yisroel becomes one with HaShem. This is why the strand of ‘Levi’ is the prayer of אֱמֶת וְיַצִׁיב כוּ׳ הַדָבָר הַזֶה “True, and certain, established ... is this” which as mentioned earlier refers to the Torah.
Daled
יְהוּדָה אַתָה יוֹדוּךָ אַחֶיךָ וְגוֹ׳ “Yehudah, as for you, your brothers shall acknowledge you etc”, that the Avodah of the state of ‘your brothers’ ‘Reuven’ ‘Shimon’ and ‘Levi’, the two portions of the Shema, and ‘Emes VeYatziv’ are the preface and introduction to the state of Yehudah, the Avodah of the Shmoneh Esrei which is submission and self-abnegation, like a slave before his master. And thus, the self-abnegation of the standing prayer of Shemoneh Esrei is an absolute ‘Bittul’, a complete and utter self-denial, even greater than the ‘Bittul’ of the Shema recital, as can be understood from the differences in the Halachic laws regarding interruptions in the Shema versus interruptions in the standing prayer.
This matter [that through the Avodah of the state of ‘Reuven’ ‘Shimon’ and ‘Levi’ one eventually arrives at ‘Yehudah’ (the fourth son)] is like that which is known about the matter of the three crowns, [the crown called ‘Kesser Torah’, the priestly crown called ‘Kesser Ke’hunah’ and the kingdom crown called ‘Kesser Malchus’ which are parallel to the three pillars of: ‘Torah’, ‘Avodah’ (worship) and ‘Gemilas Chassodim’ (acts of kindness)] and ‘Kesser Shem Tov’ which is the crown of a ‘good name’ is elevated and exceeds them all, so, in order to attain the state of ‘Kesser Shem Tov’ it must be through these first three above-mentioned crowns that the crown of a ‘good name’ be elevated above the others.
Hey
The reason why the state of Yehudah needs to be prefaced by the Avodah in the manner of Reuven, Shimon and Levi, is all so that the submission and self-abnegation, shall be in a revealed open way. But even without them the ‘Bittul’ is constant in the state of Yehudah, only that it is internal and in a concealed manner. As is explained in ‘Torah Ohr’ that the first letter ‘י ’ of Yehudah’s name, expresses a continuous-present, just like the Possuk states: אִׁיּוֹב כָל הַיָּמִׁים כָכָה יַעֲשֶה “So Iyov used to do all the days”, meaning, that the submission and self-abnegation, that every member of Yisroel has for HaShem is a constant.
And that which the Possuk says: הַפַעַם אוֹדֶה אֶת הֲוַיָ׳ “This time let me praise HaShem” with gratitude (alluding to the fact that, not all times are equal) is only in as far as the revelation is concerned, from the concealed and obscured perspective of the physical body and animalistic soul (specifically within this concealing and obscuring exile), but, the divine soul of each and every Jew [which is his genuine being] is constantly and faithfully with HaShem, and the אוֹדֶה אֶת הֲוַיָ׳ is a constant by him, and it is not even possible that there should be any change whatsoever G-d forbid. And the preface of the Avodah of the state of Reuven Shimon and Levi, is in order to arouse the self-abnegation from the inwardness of the heart, to bring it out into the open revealed realm; to bring it from potential into actual reality, in thought, speech and in action.
Vov
The Possuk (49:8) יְהוּדָה אַתָה יוֹדוּךָ אַחֶיךָ “Yehudah, as for you, your brothers shall acknowledge you etc”, continues: יָדְךָ בְעֹרֶף אֹיְבֶיךָ “Your hand will be at the nape of your enemies”; that through revealing and divulging the ‘Bittul’ of the state of Yehudah, it brings about “Your hand will be at the nape of your enemies” in a spiritual way, (as is explained in ‘Torah Ohr’), as well as in a physical way too, for a biblical text cannot be separated from its most basic meaning.
