Revelation and Reality

This intriguing discourse was taught by the Rebbe on Shabbat of Vayetze in 1987. It presents a mystical interpretation of the Biblical figure Laban, Jacob’s uncle. Although the straightforward reading of the Torah presents him as a devious and difficult person, in a kabbalistic interpretation his name Laban (white) denotes spiritual intensity. This intensity is potentially revealed to each individual in the morning prayer, but then in order for one to continue one’s daily activities, the intensity must be hidden. Thus one is balancing revelation on the one hand and reality on the other.