LOVE* RT @PresenteOrg: .@JoseisWriting dropped off this gift of Presente founder @favianna's art for the @NYTimes: http://t.co/2rJ0UlKGrR
— Jose Antonio Vargas (@joseiswriting) April 23, 2013
Mrs. Shira Smiles: The clothing enables us to get to the core of who and what we are. When K’lal Yisra’el is living in Eretz Yisra’el, there’s less of a need for these clothes.
Mrs. Shira Smiles: The coat was intended to deflect the jealousy of the brothers, but they saw through the subterfuge. He wanted to provoke the brothers to jealousy, in order for them to reach Greater Heights, too. The intention of the coat was to create a reality, an environment conducive for the brothers to be a vessel of learning. Our real job is to fit in, like a mosaic, to the Klal. When I realize what my place is in the wider spectrum, in the larger picture, there isn’t so much jealousy. Why? Because I see that I have purpose. I have meaning.Every shevet had a gate that was specific for them and yet Yerushalayim was the City that joined everybody together. You need to have diversity, in order to be able to compliment each other. Every shevet has a different window in which their teffilos go up to shamayim. The Shevatim are different and that difference is its beauty. K’lal Yisra’el needs that. There’s something very special about differences. Each son reflects a different aspect of Ya’akov’s personality. Ya’akov Avinu gives each a blessing unique for that child. Later on, they’re able to understand oneness, their uniqueness, our role, but at this time, they didn’t yet understand ET. They were still young and didn’t know who they were as of yet. We know that timing is every thing. Ya’akov Avinu was right in treating every child differently. The problem was they hadn’t yet understood the formation of K’lal Yisra’el.
There’s a Jealousy that leads to Hatred, Harm, Discord among the brothers. That you’re not allowed to have. There’s a jealousy which leads to Greater Learning and this is a jealousy that leads to love to be like the other person.
Mrs. Shira Smiles: Yosef’s role was to provide the other tribes with the means to develop their individual roles. Yosef is singled out because Ya’akov Avinu recognizes his role in enabling the other brothers to be successful in their role. His love for Yosef emanated from his love for all sons. He viewed Yosef as the one that represented them all and to prepare them for the future task. He calls them Yisro’el: the personal father to 12 individual sons. He made Yosef a coat of many colors representing his multi-faceted role of being able to help each and every one of the sons to develop themselves to the fullest. Yosef was the link to actualize the potential of the brothers.
Mrs. Shira Smiles: We need to understand that Torah Learning is important, but you have to have this foundation of living a life of kedushah. It’s One Thing to walk up the mountain. It’s an other thing to be able to stand up there. That’s the quality of Yosef Ha’Tzadik. That’s why he wanted the brothers to learn from him: he was able to stand firm and remain true to his identity. By giving him this coat, he was hoping to inspire the brothers to integrate this into their lives as well.
Mrs. Shira Smiles: Ya’akov makes him a coat to show what’s going to happen in the future. We have to understand that when we invest in something physical that investment is absorbed by the individual. Ya’akov gave over this coat to Yosef, in order for him to survive in Galus. He taught him the secrets of Torah to be able to to live in Galus. He foresaw that, out of all of his sons, it was going to be Yosef Ha’Tzadik who was going to have to be in Galus to prepare the Way for the other brothers. Therefore, he needed this Torah Coat more than the other brothers. In order for him to live as a Galus Jew, he needed to know the Torah of Galus: how to live among the Nations. Giving him this coat was to continue the Path of Ya’akov Avinu: to rectify the Sin of the Snake, Adam and Chava; to fix the World to completion. It was the coat of Adam before he sinned. The tunic was a mark of leadership. It’s not just a physical coat; it’s a spiritual coat. Ya’akov instructed Yosef to wear the long colorful coat as a mark of distinction, just as the sons of Aaron were given priestly garments to set them apart from the populace. This coat, instead of concealing, reveals.
Mrs. Shira Smiles: He gives Adam and Chava the coat in order for them to survive in Galus.
Mrs. Shira Smiles: The Children that are born to Tzadikim, at the time when they’re older, are on a higher level because the Tzadikim have all ready reached Greater Heights. There’s something to be said about being born at the old age of a Tzadik: they’re a different type of person than when they were younger.
Darren Everett Criss
Mrs. Shira Smiles: The truth is everything that is physical is cloaked with a spiritual reality. Recognize that there’s Godliness in everything in this World. The Job of the Kohanim was to be able to elevate the physical to the spiritual.
