In Parshat V’Zot HaBrachah, the Avodat Yisrael addresses the question: Why did Moshe feel the need to bless the tribes even though Yaacov Avinu already did so:
“V’Zot” = Malkhut/Adonai. Jacob’s blessings configure the twelve tribes as a merkavah to A-D-N-I (the Nukva or feminine/receiving mode).
Moshe—“Ish HaElohim”—elevates them to a merkavah for Y-H-V-H (the radiating/Duchra or male mode).
The twelve tribes align with twelve permutations (“seals”) of the Name, twelve months/mazalot, and twelve diagonal boundaries (י״ב גבולי אלכסון)—the channels through which Shefa flows into the world.
Takeaway: Moshe upgrades Israel’s spiritual wiring—from Yaacov’s bracha configuring them to Adonai/Malkhut , a receptive state, to Y-HV-H (active radiance)—to Moshe’s Ish HaElokim, from merely being a vessel to becoming an emanator, from receiving Shefa to actively channeling it outward.
About Shmini Atzeret, the Avodat Yisrael teaches:
It’s Yom HaGeshem—the “day of rains”—where rain = Torah (“יַעֲרֹף כַּמָּטָר לִקְחִי”). Rava says it can be greater than Matan Torah in a certain sense (Ta’anit 7a).
Ideally it should have come 50 days after Sukkot (parallel to Pesach → Shavuot), but Hashem compressed it out of compassion so we make Atzeret while still with Him (Tanchuma).
The span from Day 1 of Sukkot → Shmini Atzeret is a condensed Omer-like tikkun comparable to Pesach → Shavuot
Avodah: begin “Morid HaGeshem” with a whole heart—pray for physical rain and for a downpour of Torah, renewal, and unification to permeate all the “fields” of life.
Chag Sameach and Gmar Chatimah Tovah.
Use this V’Zot habracha source sheet and this one for Shemini atzeret, with footnotes, to enjoy this teaching of the Avodat Yisrael, perfect for those who want to self-learn at their own pace.
Shanah tovah u’metukah—may our joy in Him open a year of tempered mercy and abundant good.
Prepared by Rabbi Shalom (Saul) Orbach
The Avodat Yisrael was authored by Rabbi Yisrael Hopstein (c. 1737–1814), the Kozhnitzer Maggid, a leading Polish Hasidic master and founder of the Kozhnitz dynasty. A principal disciple of R. Elimelech of Lizhensk (and of the Maggid of Mezritch), he was a towering talmid chacham who blended deep mysticism with accessible, practical guidance. He taught turning everyday life into avodah—guarding the senses, praying with kavannah, and sanctifying body and relationships—with joy, humility, and deveikut.