Excerpts from a lesson given by HaRav Eliezer Berland, shlit"a, Parshas Vayeshev.

      In the story of "The King and the Emperor," the King builds a castle on the sea. This refers to the Sea of Wisdom. The King gives the Princess eleven daughters of his ministers to serve her. This is the aspect of the eleven sefiros from Keter to Malchus. Yosef's eleven brothers were also the aspect of the eleven sefiros. They were the eleven sefiros from the name of Hashem, Ben. Yosef was from the name Ma. The Shattering of the Vessels was from the name Ben, and their fixing was from the name Ma. The brothers were certain that Yosef was pasul, unfit. If they were already the 11 sefiros, then it had to be that Yosef was superfluous. Just as Avraham had an Yishmael, and Yitzchak  an Esav, so too, they imagined, did their father Yaakov have a Yosef. What they did not know was that Yaakov had purified himself so completely during his stay by Lavan, that all his children would be born completely pure.
      The seven kings mentioned at the end of the previous parsha, parshas Vayishlach, included within them all the neshamos, the souls, of Israel. The first king was Bela son of Beor.  The name "Bela" implies balua, swallowed up. He was the aspect of the first four sefiros: Keter, Chochma, Binah and Daas. Therefore, all the souls that were connected to these four sefiros were thus inside him. The second king was Yovav ben Zerach.  The name "Zerach" comes from the word zoreach, meaning to shine. As it says Malachi 3:20, shemesh tzedaka umarpeh: the sun of righteousness shall heal.  Righteousness is the aspect of chessed, and he was therefore the aspect of the sefira of chessed. 
    The chessed from the side of evil is always a sin. For instance, the chessed that helped so many of the Nazi leaders escape to South America, with their stolen money, after the war was the chessed of the side of evil. The Nazis were given false passports and all the assistance they needed to escape their punishment.  However, at the Bermuda Conference, which took place close to the beginning of the war, nothing could be found to remedy the "problem" of the Nazis plan to annihilate the entire Jewish people. 
    The third king was Chusham from the land of the Temani. The letters of his name can also spell the number five. There are five gevurot. The king of Chusham was therefore the aspect of the sefira of Gevura. The fourth king was Hadad, who was the aspect of the sefira of Tiferet. The fifth was Samlah, who was the aspect of the two sefiros, Netzach and Hod, which are the two sides of the body, and therefore considered as one. The sixth was Shaul, who was the sefira of Yesod.  The roshe taivot--initial letters--of  "Shaul from Rechovot by the River" has the same letters as the name "Moshe." Moshe is the Yesod of the names of Hashem, Abba and Ima. The seventh King was Baal Chanan, the sefira of Malchus. "Chanan" is the word chanina, requesting,  because Malchus on its own has nothing; it needs that the other sefiros will bestow upon it.  Inside these seven kings of Edom were swallowed up all the souls of Israel, and from them Yaakov had to release all the seventy souls that went down with him to Egypt. 
    The Zohar (Trumah 128:9) writes that as much as possible one should work to bring people closer to Hashem. One should run after them the same as one runs after life itself. In the future, Hashem will send an angel to protect him, so that no demon can damage him. Hashem likes to have pictures of all the tzaddikim, but someone who involves himself in bringing people back in repentance, Hashem wants the person himself close to Him.
    At the start of this weeks parsha, Rashi refers to the list of the kings and all the descendants of Esav which appeared at the end of last weeks parsha. He refers to this listing as being similar to a jewel that has fallen into sand: one has to sift through all the sand in order to find the jewel. So are all the descendants of Esav considered to be as nothing more than sand. Rashi also gives a second example: all the generals of Esav are similar to a huge pile of cotton that could burn up in one second from just a spark of fire. 
    The Midrash Tanchuma, on the parsha, brings a story about Rabbi Chia, a student of Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi, and Rabbi Shimon, the son of Rebbe, who were out walking one day when they saw a group of Roman soldiers. Rabbi Shimon said to Rabbi Chia, "look at the size of those calves of Esav."  Rabbi Chia showed him, by way of an answer, the fruit flies buzzing around a stall of grapes in the marketplace, and said "all those calves of Esav are worth about as much as these flies." When Rabbi Shimon related this answer to his father, Rebbe Yehuda HaNasi, he said,  "I am surprised at Rabbi Chia that he gave them so much importance. They are not worth even that!"
     There is a story in the Zohar about a person traveling in the wilderness who gets accosted by bandits. He persuades them not to harm him by tricking them into thinking that he has a lethal snake in his bag. They bring him to the head of the thieves, who wants to apologize to him for troubling him, but when he comes before him he gets so confused that, in his fear, he bows to him. When the head of the thieves sees this, he realizes that there is really no snake, and pulls out a sword and kills him. Similarly by Yaakov, Esav was completely terrified of him. It was very well known that anyone who fell into the clutches of Lavan could never escape alive. Lavan could do damage simply by speaking. This is why Hashem had said to him "do not even speak to Yaakov, neither good nor bad."  Lavan would actually kill people, especially eldest children, whose heads he kept to use for his magic spells. This is the reason why Esav had not chased after Yaakov when he ran away to the house of Lavan. He was himself too scared of Lavan to come near him. Thus, when he heard that Yaakov had escaped from him, with his wives and children and property, he became frightened of Yaakov too. However, when Yaakov bowed down to him, he lost all his fear. 
    A Jew doesn't know his own strength. If he would only strengthen himself in trusting in Hashem, he could stand alone against the whole world. King David said (in Hallel):  "All the nations encircle me and surround me, but in the name of Hashem I cut them down."
      Yaakov told Lavan that he was willing to work for seven years for Rachel. The Yalchut Ruveini explains that Lavan thought he was crazy. What person in their right mind would offer to work for seven years in order to earn a wife?  If he had offered to work for seven months for Rachel, he would have given her to him. 
    Yaakov's intention, however, was to rectify all the souls of Israel that were swallowed up inside the seven kings, one year for each king, through all the suffering that he underwent "the drought by day, and the frost by night."  During the "cold by night" there is an argument as to whether he said the whole of the book of Tehillim, or just the 15 Shir Hama'alot. A person who recites the whole of the book of Tehillim after midnight, can reach the level of Yaakov. The souls connected to the first four sefiros, swallowed up by the first king, Bela ben Beor, Yaakov removed during the first year, for they were the highest souls, and therefore the easiest to remove. 
    Beor was the father of Bilaam. There are three opinions regarding who Bilaam was: Lavan himself, Lavan's son, or his grandson. The name Lavan is made up of the letters, lamed, beis, nun. The gematria of lamed beis is 32 and refers to the 32 paths of chochma, wisdom.  The gematria of nun is 50 and refers to the 50 gates of Bina, wisdom. This power was all only in potential. If Lavan had only been canceled to Yaakov then all the bad in him would have been canceled and the lamed beis (32) paths of chochma and nun (50) gates of Bina would have been revealed to him. 
    Similarly, by the generation of the flood, if only the generation had been canceled to Chanoch and Metushelach and the other tzaddikim, the bad in them would have been canceled and there would have been no need for the flood. In every generation, the tzaddikim weaken the evil inclination more and more, until today, it is nothing like it used to be.  However, the intelligence of people today is also much weaker, so that there are people who are almost completely stupid, from not having any brain. 
       The brothers thought that Yosef had the status of a rodef, ( a pursuer, who, according to halacha, is allowed to be killed) because, they imagined, he was trying to have them killed. For a Ben Noach can be killed according to one witness and one judge, and they feared that he would be the witness that they had eaten ever min hachai--the limb torn from a live animal. Yosef could then bring a judge to convict them, and soldiers to kill them. This is why they wanted to kill him first. 
    One argument that Yoseph had with his brothers was whether or not, for Bnei Noach, there is a commandment forbidding the eating of ever min hachai of a chicken, which is an argument between the Rambam and the Raavad, (Mishne Torah, Shoftim, Hilchos Melachim, 9:11.) The Rambam holds that there is no such prohibition, and the Raavad holds that there is. Yosef was holding by the Raavad, and the brothers by the Rambam. 
    A second argument between them, was one between the Rambam and the Geonim. The Rambam holds that a female slave is not released from her slavery when she marries her owner, and the Geonim holding that she is. The brothers wanted to say that the law is like the Rambam, which would mean that the children of Zilpah and Bilhah were also slaves, and would be obligated to serve the other brothers. Yoseph held like the Geonim. The brothers went to Dotan, which is the aspect of din, strict judgment. Yosef wanted to bring them back to Schem, which is the aspect of chassadim.  The word, beschem  (Bereishis, 37:13) is five times the name of Hashem Av, which itself is the gematria of the word chessed. 
    The brothers could think of no reason why Yosef should chase after them all the way to Dotan, other than in pursuit of them to have them killed. In truth, Yaakov had sent Yosef only as far as Schem, in order to teach them the yichud of the initial letters of the word beschem, which is Baruch Shem Kavod Malchuto [See Tiferet Shlomo and Hechal HaBracha on the verse.]
        The light of Chanuka is mentioned in the Mishna (Baba Kama 62b) which speaks about "the spark that set fire to the pishtan--linen."  Rav Yehuda says that if the spark comes from a Chanuka candle the shopkeeper is not obliged to pay for the damage (for through the merit of lighting the Chanuka lights, all the pishtan, which refers to Esav, see the Rashi mentioned earlier, is canceled.)  The pishtan is the aspect of gevurot, which is the aspect of the Chalal haPanui [the empty space which Hashem brought into being, in which to create the world.] 
    There is an argument in the Gemara between Beis Shammai and Beis Hillel. Beis Shammai say that immediately at the start of Chanuka one must light 8 candles and reduce them by one, each day. Beis Hillel say the opposite, that the light should be slowly increased, first one candle, and then adding another one each day. The argument between them  refers to the offering to Hashem brought by Cain, which was pishtan, for in truth, why did Cain bring an offering of pishtan?  Such a meager gift to Hashem, surely Cain owned half the world! The answer is that the offering of pishtan is hinting at the secret of the Chalal haPanui, for Cain wanted to light up the Chalal haPanui immediately, going according to Beis Shammai, which was a Ribui Or, an over abundance of light, and therefore it is through this that Cain fell. Hevel also was guilty of Ribui Or, as the Arizal explains, that Hevel was punished for looking, on a spiritual plane, at a level higher than he was worthy of achieving. This is why he was punished by falling into the hands of Cain. There is also an argument in the Gemara as to whether this took place at Chanuka or Shavuos. According to Rav Eliezer it was at Chanuka. Thus Hevel was looking at the lights of Chanuka. According to Rav Yehoshua it was on Shavuos. 
      The light of Chanuka can only be received through songs and dancing. The song "Maoz Tzur" relates that, "men of understanding established eight days for song and jubilation."   "Mattisiahu Banav" has the same gematria as "Mordechai VeEsther." All the miracles of Chanuka were through Mordechai and Esther, who were inside Mattisiahu and his sons. In fact, all the miracles of all the generations are done through Mordechai and Esther. The Gemara explains that only the two festivals of Chanuka and Purim will not be canceled at the time of Moshiach. Both of them are called Shoshanim, roses. By Chanuka, nasa nes leshoshanim, a miracle was done for the roses. By Purim, shoshanat Yaakov, the rose of Yaakov. The Haftorah read on Shabbos Tshuva (between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) also hints at Chanuka. The final letters of the words (Hoshea 14:6) yifrach cashoshana vayach shorashav calevanon, he shall flower like the lily, and cast forth his roots like the Levanon, spell out the name Chanuka. It is known that "Zos Chanuka," the last day of Chanuka, is the final sealing of the judgment that began on Rosh Hashanah. We read from that particular Haftorah as a hint that the start of the judgment is a preparation for Chanuka. 
    In the same way that Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are a preparation for Chanuka, they are also a preparation for Sukkos. The Gemara explains that the Cohen Gadol entered the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, and brought out from under the wings of the kruvim, the light of the sukka. In the laws concerning the permitted height for a sukka, we learn, in Masechet Sukka, that it is ten handbreadths, which is the height of the wings of the kruvim from the Aron. The lights of Chanuka can even be lower that ten handbreadths.
         One of the secrets of Chanuka is the name of Hashem, ekie times ekie, 21 times 21. The name ekie, as Rabbi Nachman brings in Likutei Moharan I:6, means, "I want to become something."  If people are disgracing me, then I want them to disgrace me even more, meaning that I have no existence for myself, only for what I will be. This is what Michal said to King David (Shemuel II 6:19-22): "Why do you dance in such a way?  It is not fitting for the King to dance with his clothes flying about." King David answered, "I am ready to be disgraced even more." A man is constructed of 248 limbs, and a woman, 252, which added together equals 500, which is twice the gematria of the word ner, candle, which is the aspect of the two candles that we light on the first night of Chanuka: the first candle and the shamash. 
         The Yerushalmi, Masechet Taanis states that Moshe "fought" against Hashem for the luchos, the two tablets. Moshe was holding onto two handbreadths of the luchos, there were two in the middle, and two handbreadths were "grasped" by Hashem. This is hinting that the Torah is divided into three parts, the two handbreadths by Moshe is the written Torah, the middle two are the secrets of the Torah, and the two of Hashem are the Torah of Attika Stima, which will only be revealed in the future. These are the secrets of the taamim, the accents which punctuate the text and control the musical interpretation. From this we can learn that songs and dancing are on the highest level of all. It says that the left hand of Moshe "overcame" the right hand of Hashem. The reason is that the left hand of Moshe is the Gevura of Attik, one of the names of Hashem, whereas the right hand of Hashem is the aspect of the name Zer Anpin, which is on a lower level.

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