102. And You Shall Take You the Fruit of a Citrus Tree
I heard on Ushpizin de Yosef [Sukkot]
In the verse, “And you shall take you… the fruit of a citrus tree,” meaning a righteous, called a “fruit bearing tree,” this is the whole difference between Kedusha [holiness] and the Sitra Achra [other side], that “another god is sterile and does not bear fruit.” Conversely, a righteous is called Hadar [citrus/adornment] because he bears fruit; he Dar [lives] in his tree from year to year. This is why it is written about Joseph, “he was the one who Mashbir [sold] to all the people of the land,” for he Shover [breaks/feeds] them with the fruits that he had, while they had no fruits. By this, each one felt his state, whether he was from the good side or to the contrary.
This is the meaning of “Joseph sustained… with bread, according to the infants.” The “infants” are considered GAR, as in “and they shall be for frontlets between your eyes,” which is the head Tefillin. For this reason, Joseph is called “the youngest son, a wise son.” This is the meaning of “sent me before you to preserve life,” which is the “light of Haya,” considered GAR.
This is the meaning of the verse, “I gave you one portion more than to your brothers, which I took from the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.” (His sons took two parts. And according to RASHI, “portion” means part.) That is, through his sons, as sons are called “fruits,” and he gave this to Joseph.
This is the meaning of what is written about Saul, “from his shoulders up he was higher than any of the people.” And this is the meaning of “You have a mantle, be you our ruler.” This is also the meaning of “Infants, why do they come? To give reward to those who bring them.” He asked, “Why do they need wisdom if the important thing is not the learning but the act?” He replied, “to give reward to those who bring them,” since wisdom yields action.
Concerning the dispute between Saul and David, there was no flaw in Saul. This is why he was one year old when he reigned, and he did not need to prolong the kingship, since he completed everything in a short time. David, however, needed to rule forty years. David was the son of Judah, the son of Leah, the hidden world, while Saul was from Benjamin, the son of Rachel, the revealed world, and hence opposite from David. This is why David said, “I am peace,” meaning I attain everyone and I love everyone, “But when I speak, they are for war.”
Likewise, Avishalom was the opposite of David. This is the meaning of the sin of Jeroboam, son of Navat: The Creator held him by his garment and said to him, “You and I and the son of Yishai [Jesse] will walk in the garden of Eden.” He asked, “Who is leading?” And the Creator told him, “The son of Yishai is leading.” Then he replied, “Don’t want.”
The thing is that the order of degrees is that the hidden world comes first, and then the revealed world. This is the meaning of “I have enough,” “I have everything.” “Enough” is GAR, and “everything” is VAK. This is also the meaning of “how shall Jacob stand, for he is small?” This is the meaning of Jacob taking the seniority from him. Afterward, he was given everything, since he had GAR, too, which came to him through Joseph, by way of “And Joseph sustained.”
This is the meaning of “Leah was hated,” from whom all hatreds and disputes among wise disciples extend. This is also the meaning of the dispute between Shammai and Hillel. In the future, when the two camps unite—the camp of Joseph and the camp of Judah—this is the meaning of what Judah said to Joseph: “Oh my lord,” as then was the unification of Judah and Joseph. But Judah must be in the lead.
This explains the ARI being Messiah Son of Joseph, which is why he could reveal such wisdom, since he had permission from the revealed world. This dispute extends from “And the children struggled within her,” that Esau had the good clothes that were with Rebecca.