Transcendence: Only the Heart Knows

Yaakov wanted to tell his sons about the End of Days, but it was hidden from him.

The Zohar quotes Hashem as saying about God's own knowledge as to when Moshiach will arrive, "To my heart I have revealed it, but not to my limbs."

The coming of Moshiach represents a transcendent, trans-formative experience. Such experiences have nothing to do with the external, with limbs, they are purely internal, in the heart. Those who think that they can transform themselves or the world with a focus on external behaviors are misguided. Transcendence is an internal process which is totally foreign to the external, superficial, life experience.

It is known to God's heart, and to those who are in touch with their own hearts, not to those who are focused on the external.

For this reason Yaakov was incapable of expressing it to his children. The language of the limbs, descriptions of behaviors, can easily be put into words. The language of the heart, by contrast, cannot be expressed and explained, only felt and known.

(Inspired by the Shem miShmuel. Vayechi 5671)

Shepherd of Love

As Yaakov begins his ברכה (blessing) to the sons of Yosef, he refers to God (Ber. 46:15) as האלהים הרעה אתי, conventionally translated as "The God who shepherded me." The Ramban points out that the root רעה can also be understood to mean love, and he therefore suggests that the meaning of this verse is "The God who loves me."
Rabbi Yitzchok Isaac of Komarna points out that the word הרעה is lacking the letter ו (vov) which should have been after the ר (reish) to emphasize the sound "oh." He says that this is because the letter vov is usually used to indicate a connection between two things (vov is used to indicate the word "and" as well as serving as the Hebrew word meaning a hook, a connector between two things). A connector is only needed between things which are separate and need a means of connection, however, in this instance, where it is referring to God's love for His nation, the connection is so intimate, that there is no need for a connector.