Fish on Dry Land
There are hidden realms of our personality that we may never discover that they exist. While Freud spoke of how the subconscious affects our conscious minds, there are hidden parts of our psyche and soul that will forever defy exposure. The greatest blessing we can give someone is that they realize their full potential of the revealed talents and virtues as well as the hidden.
“In the Midst of the Earth”
Before Jacob’s passing, this week’s parsha relates, he summoned his son Joseph and his two sons, Menasheh and Ephraim, to confer his final blessings upon them. These blessings have been preserved in our tradition as part of the blessings many fathers give their children. They are also recited after the conclusion of the Shabbos when we invoke Divine blessings for the forthcoming week. This poignant blessing reads:
“May the angel who has delivered me from all evil bless the lads, and may my name and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac be called upon them, and may they increase abundantly like fish in the midst of the earth.”
Commentators focus their attention on the concluding words: “And may they increase abundantly like fish in the midst of the earth.” Commentators ask: While we can understand what the comparison of one’s children to fish is all about—they should proliferate as fish—what do the words “in the midst of the earth” add? Even if these words were deleted, would we not have known that Jacob was wishing his descendants that they multiply on dry land? Would it have occurred to anyone that he wanted them to dwell in water?
Concealed and Revealed Good
Water is a symbol for those aspects of life that are concealed. While the seas teem with living creatures, they are hidden from our view.
Land, by contrast, represents things that are on the surface, for everyone to see.
All of life should be viewed to exist on two planes. There are aspects of our lives that are obvious and there are those that are concealed.
When one does something nice for another, or speaks favorably about another, these are the revealed aspects of goodness that generate positive energy, regardless of one’s true feelings. There are personalities who are open books. Everything about them is on the table, so to speak, for everyone to see. There are also dimensions of an experience that can be seen by all. When these events occur, we don’t have to probe too deeply to appreciate what had occurred.
These modes of behavior, personalities or experiences, can all be said to inhabit the “earth,” or “dry land.” In the terminology of Kabbalah this overt dimension is known as “alma d’isgalya-The Revealed World.”
There is, however, a separate world that exists simultaneously with the revealed and obvious dimension of existence. It is known in Kabbalah as “alma d’iiskasya-the “hidden world.” This hidden world is often represented by the metaphor of fish that exist in the waters that conceal their existence.
When dealing with a person’s secret thoughts, one’s hidden personality or the underlying causes or dynamics of an experience, we are dealing with a world that is usually hidden from our view.
The Conscious and Sub-Conscious
On a deeper plane, even the thoughts and hidden personality traits are still within reach, and are, for really revealed if only to ourselves. And most frequently, a person’s thoughts and aspirations can be determined by virtue of the way they behave.
There is, however, a deeper world that is even concealed from our own conscious minds. There are hidden realms of our personality that we may never discover that they exist. And while Freud spoke of how the subconscious affects our conscious minds, there are hidden parts of our psyche and soul that will forever defy exposure.
The greatest blessing we can give someone is that they realize their full potential of the revealed talents and virtues as well as the hidden.
Thus, when Jacob blessed his grandchildren, he was actually bestowing upon them the energy to realize their potential. But Jacob was not content to wish them success in their positive endeavors. Jacob wanted his progeny to access even the hidden dimension of their personalities that are utterly elusive.
Jacob therefore blessed them with the ability to access the hidden spiritual energy, represented by the fish that are submerged and hidden in the seas. Jacob wanted that this hidden energy should have an effect on their conscious and revealed faculties.
Proliferating Blessing
However, Jacob was not content with simply blessing them with this concealed energy. True, frequently, one can draw inspiration from one’s “unconscious” dimension of spirituality, but this amounts to no more than a limited, fleeting and superficial inspiration. Jacob wanted that their hidden energy should “proliferate” and be fully revealed “in the midst of the earth.” This means that Jacob blessed them with the ability to unleash the concealed energy in full force and allow it to manifest itself overtly.
Discovering Hidden Aspects of Our Souls Today
Jacob’s blessing, however, will not be fully realized until the Messianic Age. The obstructive and obscuring conditions of exile do not allow us to be “in touch” with our true personalities.
As we prepare for the imminent arrival of Moshiach, we frequently discover hidden aspects of our psyche. This is a result of our close proximity to the Era of Redemption when our hidden nature will also be redeemed and revealed. As is true with respect to all other matters of Redemption, our Sags inform us that we are given a “taste” of what is to come as a way of preparing for the complete feast. In this spirit, there are times when we discover new layers of our own personalities that enable us to live our lives—as we wait for Moshiach—in a Moshiach oriented way—tapping even the hidden resources we possess.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Vayechi by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
