Parsha in 2

It is specifically through Zebulon, the businessman that Yakov‘s home, a home of Torah is established.Hashem desires to have a dwelling place in the lowest of worlds where G-dliness is concealed. By observing Torah and mitzvos in this world- regardless of the many obstacles which present themselves, this, in fact, is what testifies that Torah is eternal. Similarly the eternity of Torah is expressed when someone who is a businessperson is preoccupied with worldly matters and yet still finds time to learn Torah.

לקו״ש ל

Although hard work often breeds success, true success comes only from Hashem Himself. Torah teaches us that Hashem brought Joseph success. The same happened with Eleazer, Avrohom’s trusted servant. The fact that he was submissive to Avraham brought him tremendous success in his mission to acquire a wife for Yitzchok. We derive from this that through praying to Hashem for success and submitting to Him as well as to the leaders of the generation, we will be granted the true success we seek.

לקו״ש כה-ב

There is a difference between a covenant made between two people and one made with G-d. One made between humans is limited and has the ability to change, however, a convenant with G-d, Who is unlimited, remains forever. That is why Hashem commanded of Avrohom to have a Bris Milah for himself and his children, so that they could be entered in a covenant that would last forever. Additionally, that’s why a child receives his bris at only 8 days old - when there is no human involvement but a covenant only from G-d. לקו״ש כה-ג

Hashem gives the land of Eretz Yisrael to Avraham Avenu for him and his children, as a gift and inheritance forever; thus the Jews make the land Eretz Hakodesh, a holy land. This happened twice before. Once when the Jews entered the land, the first time- by conquering it . The second time by repossessing the land. This represents two ways of serving Hashem. The first is compared to the service of a Tzadik-overwhelming the darkness- but then there is no guarantee that the holiness will be permanent. The second way is like a Bal Tshuvah, working with the darkness, elevating it and returning it to Hashem. With that type of service the holiness will remain.

לקו״ש ט״ו-ה

Noach didn’t pray for salvation for his generation because he felt that he didn’t have the merit of our forefathers to depend on. It is significant to derive a lesson from this, to pray for our fellow Jews, regardless of the circumstances. Even if sometimes you may attempt to reach out to uplift them, and inspire them, yet they are just not connecting, we shouldn’t give up; but rather pray to Hashem to remove the obstacles that are preventing them from becoming uplifted and inspired. לקו״ש כה -א

Israel belongs to the Jews. G-d created the world, and he gave it (Israel) to the Jewish people. In our personal lives, there are two ways to serve Hashem. The more elevated way is through learning Torah and doing Mitzvahs. The second is by utilizing the mundane parts of our life- such as eating, sleeping and working - to serve Hashem - thus transforming the material world into a spiritual one. Although the first level might be considered a higher one, however, as far as accomplishing the purpose of creation-that Hashem has a dwelling place- not in the spiritual realm but-rather in the most mundane physical worlds, that is better accomplished with the second approach.

לקו״ש כ-א

We connect to Hashem through Torah and Mitzvos, creating an energy flow between our Neshama and Hashem. With each individual Mitzvah, a different connection is established. When one of those connections is damaged, we must do Teshuva - reaching a deeper part of our Neshama that’s beyond damage to correct the areas that have been affected. When that is complete, we then reach an even deeper level of Teshuva that is not about correcting that which was wrong, but access a deeper part of our Neshama, thus creating a deeper connection to Hashem. It is said that during the 10 days of Teshuva. Hashem is very near to us, and therefore, we are able to access the higher level of Teshuva, even without the lower level, thus creating an instant deep connection to Hashem.

לקו״ש יד

Hashem values the contribution and hard work of man, to make the world a better place. Every year on Rosh Hashanah, when we blow the shofar, we draw down all the energies and revelations that we need for that year. However, this year the first day is going to be Shabbos and we don’t blow the shofar, however, the holiness of Shabbos accomplishes everything that needs to be accomplished. Then, on the second day we go ahead and blow the shofar. This demonstrates that although shabbos accomplished everything the first day from above, the person, the human contribution is what is still needed on the second day.

לקו״ש יד