Our Mission

Moses agreed to the proposal of the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and also settled half of the tribe of Manasseh on the east bank of the Jordan River. The tribes of Reuben and Gad fortified certain cities that were now in their possession. After this, some members of the tribe of Manasseh conquered additional territory.

Ya’ir son of Manasseh went and conquered the villages, and he named them “The Villages of Ya’ir.” 

The word used here for “villages” (chavot) is related to the word for “life” (chai), and the name Ya’ir means “will shine.” Thus, “The Villages of Ya’ir” means “Locales of life where light will shine.”

This name expressed the spiritual transformation that Ya’ir intended for these formerly idolatrous villages to undergo. Idolatry, the antithesis of Divine consciousness, is equivalent to spiritual death: the idolater severs himself from G-d, the source of life. By including these villages in the Jewish national homeland, Ya’ir was transforming them from domains of death into gardens of life.

Similarly, whenever we take any aspect of material reality, which by the very nature of materiality opposes Divine consciousness, and utilize it for Divine purposes, we “resurrect” it, releasing it from the realm of death and transforming it into a source of life and light.

—From Daily Wisdom