On the opening verse of this week’s Torah reading, Vayeshev, “And Jacob dwelled in the land of his father’s sojourning,” our Sages comment: Jacob desired to dwell in prosperity. G‑d saw this and exclaimed, “is not what is prepared for the righteous in the World to Come enough?” Immediately, thereafter Jacob was confronted with the ordeal of Joseph.
The passage is difficult to understand. We all want to live in prosperity. Why should that be denied to the righteous? Why should receiving a portion of the World to Come prevent them from living a comfortable existence in this world?
A Life of Integrity
The resolution to these questions depends on an understanding of the process of the interrelation of material and spiritual existence. Every material entity has a spiritual life-force that maintains its existence. Without that spiritual energy, it could not be.
Nevertheless, there is a chasm separating the material from the spiritual. Although we can intellectually understand that spiritual life force exists, we cannot see, hear, or feel that life force with our physical senses.
A righteous man like Jacob wants to live a life of integrity, to see the spiritual mirrored in the physical. He does not desire mere physical prosperity. Instead, he wants to have his bond with Him expressed in all dimensions of his life, extending into the material realm. He seeks that the spiritual and the physical function in harmony like the body and the soul.
Conscious of G-d
After his struggles and confrontations with Laban and Esau, Jacob thought he had reached a level of awareness where such a connection was possible. His trust and faith in G‑d had been tested through various tribulations and he had learned to see G‑d’s hand in all the different experiences he had undergone.
Unfortunately, however, much of his life had been filled with hardship. Now when one is undergoing difficulty, it is easier to understand that all of one’s trials come from G‑d. Because, when life is challenging, one is forced to step back and contemplate. And when a righteous man like Jacob contemplates, he will become conscious of G‑d’s hand.
When, by contrast, things are going well, there is a natural tendency to enjoy them for what they are without thinking of anything more. It is harder to sense the spiritual when one is not compelled to look for it.
Spiritual Harmony
Jacob thought he had gotten past that level. He felt that he was ready to be able to appreciate the spiritual even when he was enjoying success and well-being. G‑d thought otherwise. Therefore He sent him another trial, perhaps the most serious he had faced, for his love for Joseph was great and through him, he remembered Joseph’s mother, Rachel, who had passed away.
What was the purpose of this anguish? To bring him to the prosperity that he desired. As we see, ultimately, when Joseph was established as the viceroy of Egypt, Pharaoh sent for Jacob and he lived 17 years in luxury, teaching Torah to his sons and grandsons. But for Jacob to reach this harmony between the physical and the spiritual, he needed this one last lesson.
Based on the teachings of the Rebbe, from Keeping in Touch, reprinted with perm. from Sichos in English
