Why did Korach challenge Moshe Rabbeinu’s authority? Korach himself explains, “The entire community is holy and God is among them so why do you raise yourselves above the congregation of God?” Korach is right. The entire nation is holy and God is among them. What was his mistake?
Korach believed that each person can come close to God on the basis of his own merit. While individual merit is important, it is a mistake to think that it is adequate. The nation of Israel is one organism. Each part of the organism – each Jew – can only reach his potential within the context of the entire organism. We learn this from a Zohar which describes God’s revelation on Shabbos. The Zohar teaches us that God only sits on the throne of glory on Shabbos, a time when the entire Creation is elevated towards its singular source. That singular source is, of course, God Himself. God’s sitting on the throne of glory represents His revelation. So, God’s revelation is dependent on each part of the Creation striving towards Him.
When we say that each part of the Creation strives towards God we mean that each part is doing its unique function. A creation brings honor to its Creator by doing that for which it was created. When every part of the Creation is accomplishing its unique task, the entire Creation is complete and can be said to be at peace. This happened for the first time on the first Shabbos, Shabbos Breishis. This is why the Zohar in this week’s parsha says, “… the Creation could not exist until God came and brought peace to it. What is peace? Shabbos.” With the advent of Shabbos, each facet of the Creation automatically was elevated towards the Source. God, in response, sat on the throne of glory.
The Sfas Emes explains that if this is the case regarding the relationship between God and the Creation, that each created thing only comes close to God (and God to it) as it performs its unique task within the context of the Creation as a whole, then surely each individual Jew can only come close to God within the context of the nation of Israel.
The Midrash makes this very point when citing the difference between the nation of Israel and the other nations of the world, “The other nations of the world have many priests and many different ways of worship. We have one God, one Torah, one law, one altar, one high priest and you 250 men all want the high priesthood?” The Midrash is telling us that we need only one high priest. His contribution is for all of us. The nation’s job is to connect to him and through him to achieve a closeness to God. An organism has many parts, each of which has its own unique function for the benefit of the entire organism. Each individual’s service benefits the whole and the whole, in turn benefits the individual. Korach, though, believed that each individual could approach God on his own merit. This is why the Zohar says that Korach contested peace and Shabbos.
Just as God chooses each of us for a unique task, He chose Aharon HaCohen for a unique task. Aharon HaCohen was chosen for holiness. The pasuk in Divrei HaYamim states this clearly, “... וַיִבָּדֵל אהרֹן להקדישו קֹדש קדשים הוא ובניו עד עולם .../… Aharon was set apart, to sanctify him as holy-of-holies, he and his sons forever …” Korach was right. The entire nation is holy. However, he missed the point. The nation receives holiness through Aharon and his sons.
Korach was jealous of Aharon because he thought that Aharon received his position on the merit of his service to God. Korach thought that others were just as worthy if not more worthy than Aharon. He did not understand that God assigned Aharon a unique mission that only Aharon could accomplish. This assignment was not a reward. It was not based on anything Aharon did to deserve this mission. Aharon was simply an agent just as we are all agents to accomplish our own unique missions. This is what Moshe Rabeinu meant when he told Korach, “לכן אתה וכל עדתך הנועדים על ה' ואהרֹן מה הוא כי תלינו עליו/Therefore, you and your entire community assemble against God, for what is Aharon that you complain against him?” Korach’s jealousy of Aharon indicates that he entirely missed the point. The greatness of Aharon was in that he completely subordinated himself to his assigned mission. Chazal praise Aharon specifically in that he did not change anything that he was asked to do. He considered himself a tool ready to do God’s will.
God assigns each of us a unique task within the context of the entire nation of Israel. There is a symbiotic relationship between each individual and the nation of Israel as a whole. Each individual, by performing his unique task, contributes to the entire nation and is elevated, too. Each of us benefits as well, from the unique contributions of every other individual.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Shelach 5631 Second Ma'amar
“... ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם .../… and you shall not wander after your hearts and after your eyes …” Rashi explains that the word תתורו/wander, comes from תור/spy or scout. He writes that the heart and eyes are like the body’s spies. “The eyes see, the heart desires and the body does the sin.”
It is no coincidence that this pasuk appears in the same parsha as the story of the twelve spies. In fact, the Sfas Emes explains that there is an underlying similarity between these two seemingly disparate subjects. In order to understand this similarity we need to first understand why the spies were sent and what they did wrong.
The Chiddushei HaRim explains. The nation in the desert lived with explicit miracles. They ate food that dropped from the sky every day. They saw the clouds of glory and the pillar of fire. Coming in to Israel they would be living within nature. The challenge would be to maintain their high level of faith. The challenge would be to realize that just as God provided for them in the desert in an explicit way, He is within nature as well, albeit, implicitly. Success in this challenge would be to reach a level of understanding that nature is a bigger wonder than the miracles of the desert. As part of the transition to living within nature, the spies were sent to scout the land. Their ultimate mission was to maintain the level of faith they had in the desert when exposed to explicit miracles. Their ultimate mission involved seeing the land and its inhabitants and realizing that even though the inhabitants were strong and live in fortified cities, God is within everything. In this ten of the twelve spies failed. They did not maintain their high level of faith. They were fooled by what they saw.
According to the Sfas Emes, this is exactly the meaning of the admonition at the end of the parsha to not follow our eyes and heart. Our eyes and heart (i.e. our desires) see the external physical world. The Torah is admonishing us to recognize instead, the Godliness that underlies the external physical world. This explains the next pasuk, “למען תזכרו ועשיתם את כל מצותי .../So that you will remember and you will do all of my commandments …” The beginning of this pasuk is apparently awkward. If the pasuk were telling us to remember the mitzvos in order to do them it would be worded that way. The pasuk seems to be stating two separate things. Remember and then do the mitzvos. Remember what? The Sfas Emes explains that the word for “remember” in Hebrew means more than simply recalling. It is much deeper. It means to internalize something until it becomes a part of the person. At that point there is no possibility of forgetting. The beginning of this pasuk is really a continuation of the previous pasuk. The Torah is telling us, “Do not follow your physical eyes and desires so that you may internalize the underlying Godliness of everything physical. Through this internalization you will be able to do all My mitzvos.”
The Sfas Emes teaches that this approach applies to any mitzvah and service to God. Viewing things solely according to the laws of nature, many times leads us to believe that we cannot succeed. According to the laws of nature, for example, Avraham Avinu was unable to have children. Avraham Avinu had children because he believed God’s promise to him, "'והאמין בה .../and he had faith in God …”
When we imagine that we cannot succeed either because of previous sins or because of a general feeling of unworthiness, we have succumbed to the advice of the evil inclination. This way of viewing things only considers external physical reality and not the underlying spiritual reality. Believing that we can accomplish and succeed at any mitzvah with God’s help will lead inexorably to success in Avodas HaShem.
It is no coincidence that this pasuk appears in the same parsha as the story of the twelve spies. In fact, the Sfas Emes explains that there is an underlying similarity between these two seemingly disparate subjects. In order to understand this similarity we need to first understand why the spies were sent and what they did wrong.
The Chiddushei HaRim explains. The nation in the desert lived with explicit miracles. They ate food that dropped from the sky every day. They saw the clouds of glory and the pillar of fire. Coming in to Israel they would be living within nature. The challenge would be to maintain their high level of faith. The challenge would be to realize that just as God provided for them in the desert in an explicit way, He is within nature as well, albeit, implicitly. Success in this challenge would be to reach a level of understanding that nature is a bigger wonder than the miracles of the desert. As part of the transition to living within nature, the spies were sent to scout the land. Their ultimate mission was to maintain the level of faith they had in the desert when exposed to explicit miracles. Their ultimate mission involved seeing the land and its inhabitants and realizing that even though the inhabitants were strong and live in fortified cities, God is within everything. In this ten of the twelve spies failed. They did not maintain their high level of faith. They were fooled by what they saw.
According to the Sfas Emes, this is exactly the meaning of the admonition at the end of the parsha to not follow our eyes and heart. Our eyes and heart (i.e. our desires) see the external physical world. The Torah is admonishing us to recognize instead, the Godliness that underlies the external physical world. This explains the next pasuk, “למען תזכרו ועשיתם את כל מצותי .../So that you will remember and you will do all of my commandments …” The beginning of this pasuk is apparently awkward. If the pasuk were telling us to remember the mitzvos in order to do them it would be worded that way. The pasuk seems to be stating two separate things. Remember and then do the mitzvos. Remember what? The Sfas Emes explains that the word for “remember” in Hebrew means more than simply recalling. It is much deeper. It means to internalize something until it becomes a part of the person. At that point there is no possibility of forgetting. The beginning of this pasuk is really a continuation of the previous pasuk. The Torah is telling us, “Do not follow your physical eyes and desires so that you may internalize the underlying Godliness of everything physical. Through this internalization you will be able to do all My mitzvos.”
The Sfas Emes teaches that this approach applies to any mitzvah and service to God. Viewing things solely according to the laws of nature, many times leads us to believe that we cannot succeed. According to the laws of nature, for example, Avraham Avinu was unable to have children. Avraham Avinu had children because he believed God’s promise to him, "'והאמין בה .../and he had faith in God …”
When we imagine that we cannot succeed either because of previous sins or because of a general feeling of unworthiness, we have succumbed to the advice of the evil inclination. This way of viewing things only considers external physical reality and not the underlying spiritual reality. Believing that we can accomplish and succeed at any mitzvah with God’s help will lead inexorably to success in Avodas HaShem.
Monday, June 04, 2007
Shelach 5631 First Ma'amar
In the beginning of parshas Shelach, God tells Moshe Rabbeinu to send spies into the land of Israel, “שלח לך אנשים ויתורו את ארץ כנען .../Send out men who shall spy out the land of Canaan …” However, in parshas Devarim when Moshe Rabbeinu recounts the story, he says that the nation asked him to send the spies. Furthermore, Chazal teach us that sending the spies did not find favor in God’s eyes. How can we reconcile the two versions of this story and why did God command Moshe Rabbeinu to send the spies if He was against it?
The Sfas Emes finds the answer to these questions in the first Midrash on the parsha. The Midrash says that there is nothing as precious to God as a shli’ach mitzvah/one sent to do a mitzvah. An emissary is one whose sole motive is to do the sender’s will. If he has other personal motives, he is no longer simply an emissary. He is on his own mission as well. An emissary who has no personal motives in the mission is called, in the words of the Midrash, one who puts his soul into the success of his mission.
The Chiddushei HaRim, expounding on this point explains that it is highly significant that the two spies Yehoshua sent to Jericho disguised themselves as potters. A clay pot has no intrinsic value. Its value is defined totally by its functionality. The spies were totally prepared to do Yehoshua’s will with absolutely no personal ulterior motives. The significance of being a shli’ach mitzvah is that, as Chazal teach us, a person sent to do a mitzvah is protected against harm.
Both the version that Moshe Rabbeinu relates in Devarim and the version of our parsha are true. The people wanted to send spies into the land. Out of kindness, God commanded Moshe to send spies even though the nation had already asked for it and even though He was against it. The spies were being sent on a dangerous mission. It was physically dangerous and spiritually dangerous. God turned the mission into a mitzvah in order to afford the spies protection. They became shlichai mitzvah/emissaries sent to do a mitzvah. In order to become true emissaries, though, they needed to suppress their own desires and motives and proceed with the mission simply because God commanded it. If they had done this they would have been protected. Ten of the spies failed to do this and the results were tragic.
This Midrash is teaching us something very important about our lives in this world. The Chiddushei HaRim used to say that we are all shlichei mitzvah/emissaries sent do to a mitzvah. God sent us into this world to do His will. In this sense, we are His agents. However, we are only His agents, in the true sense, when we perform His mitzvos because we want to do His will rather than for any ulterior personal motives.
This world is a dangerous place fraught with pitfalls and traps. It is easy to be snared. The advice we glean from the Midrash is to suppress our own desires to do the will of God. We have the ability to transform all of our daily activities into mitzvos. In fact, another Midrash in this week’s parsha says that God left nothing out. There is no action that cannot be transformed into a mitzvah. By making everything we do a mitzvah we connect to the inner Godly life force that inheres in each action. This connection affords us protection in this world.
There was, however, a positive mission that spies were sent to accomplish. Before entering the land of Israel, there was no need to work at attaining any physical need. Every physical need was provided. God was manifest in the daily lives of the people. After entering the land of Israel, the nation would have to work within nature to satisfy their physical needs. Maintaining the same level of faith while living within the boundaries of nature would not be easy. The Chiddushei HaRim explains that the larger context of the spies’ mission was to help make this difficult transition as smooth as possible. They were supposed to show that the light of the Torah exists within nature as well. In fact, the word for spies - meraglim - has the same root as hergeil/habit. The spies were supposed to teach us how to bring the light of the Torah into our daily lives.
This concept is alluded to in the Zohar on a pasuk from this week’s parsha, “... ויבֹא עד חברון/… he came to Chevron.” The Zohar explains that Chevron represents the Torah SheBe’al Peh/Oral Law. The word Chevron has the same root as the Hebrew word for connection – chibur. A person who studies the oral law is called a chaver. All a Torah scholar’s actions are drawn after the Torah. His essence is connected to the Torah. He brings the light of the Torah into his daily activities. For this reason we say in our morning brachos, “שתרגילנו בתורתך/You have made us accustomed to Your Torah.” In essence we are praising God for helping us to bring the light of the Torah into our daily lives, through the mitzvos.
God told Moshe, “... ויתורו את ארץ כנען/… and they shall spy out the land of Canaan.” “ויתורו/And they shall spy out” has the same root as the word for Torah. God wanted the spies to show the nation that it was possible to bring the light of the Torah into the physical world. It was possible to live in the physical world, to work within the boundaries of nature and still live a spiritual life. This was the spies’ ultimate mission. This is our ultimate mission as well and it is accomplished by realizing that in every aspect of our lives we are shlichai mitzvah/emissaries to do a mitzvah in this world.
The Sfas Emes finds the answer to these questions in the first Midrash on the parsha. The Midrash says that there is nothing as precious to God as a shli’ach mitzvah/one sent to do a mitzvah. An emissary is one whose sole motive is to do the sender’s will. If he has other personal motives, he is no longer simply an emissary. He is on his own mission as well. An emissary who has no personal motives in the mission is called, in the words of the Midrash, one who puts his soul into the success of his mission.
The Chiddushei HaRim, expounding on this point explains that it is highly significant that the two spies Yehoshua sent to Jericho disguised themselves as potters. A clay pot has no intrinsic value. Its value is defined totally by its functionality. The spies were totally prepared to do Yehoshua’s will with absolutely no personal ulterior motives. The significance of being a shli’ach mitzvah is that, as Chazal teach us, a person sent to do a mitzvah is protected against harm.
Both the version that Moshe Rabbeinu relates in Devarim and the version of our parsha are true. The people wanted to send spies into the land. Out of kindness, God commanded Moshe to send spies even though the nation had already asked for it and even though He was against it. The spies were being sent on a dangerous mission. It was physically dangerous and spiritually dangerous. God turned the mission into a mitzvah in order to afford the spies protection. They became shlichai mitzvah/emissaries sent to do a mitzvah. In order to become true emissaries, though, they needed to suppress their own desires and motives and proceed with the mission simply because God commanded it. If they had done this they would have been protected. Ten of the spies failed to do this and the results were tragic.
This Midrash is teaching us something very important about our lives in this world. The Chiddushei HaRim used to say that we are all shlichei mitzvah/emissaries sent do to a mitzvah. God sent us into this world to do His will. In this sense, we are His agents. However, we are only His agents, in the true sense, when we perform His mitzvos because we want to do His will rather than for any ulterior personal motives.
This world is a dangerous place fraught with pitfalls and traps. It is easy to be snared. The advice we glean from the Midrash is to suppress our own desires to do the will of God. We have the ability to transform all of our daily activities into mitzvos. In fact, another Midrash in this week’s parsha says that God left nothing out. There is no action that cannot be transformed into a mitzvah. By making everything we do a mitzvah we connect to the inner Godly life force that inheres in each action. This connection affords us protection in this world.
There was, however, a positive mission that spies were sent to accomplish. Before entering the land of Israel, there was no need to work at attaining any physical need. Every physical need was provided. God was manifest in the daily lives of the people. After entering the land of Israel, the nation would have to work within nature to satisfy their physical needs. Maintaining the same level of faith while living within the boundaries of nature would not be easy. The Chiddushei HaRim explains that the larger context of the spies’ mission was to help make this difficult transition as smooth as possible. They were supposed to show that the light of the Torah exists within nature as well. In fact, the word for spies - meraglim - has the same root as hergeil/habit. The spies were supposed to teach us how to bring the light of the Torah into our daily lives.
This concept is alluded to in the Zohar on a pasuk from this week’s parsha, “... ויבֹא עד חברון/… he came to Chevron.” The Zohar explains that Chevron represents the Torah SheBe’al Peh/Oral Law. The word Chevron has the same root as the Hebrew word for connection – chibur. A person who studies the oral law is called a chaver. All a Torah scholar’s actions are drawn after the Torah. His essence is connected to the Torah. He brings the light of the Torah into his daily activities. For this reason we say in our morning brachos, “שתרגילנו בתורתך/You have made us accustomed to Your Torah.” In essence we are praising God for helping us to bring the light of the Torah into our daily lives, through the mitzvos.
God told Moshe, “... ויתורו את ארץ כנען/… and they shall spy out the land of Canaan.” “ויתורו/And they shall spy out” has the same root as the word for Torah. God wanted the spies to show the nation that it was possible to bring the light of the Torah into the physical world. It was possible to live in the physical world, to work within the boundaries of nature and still live a spiritual life. This was the spies’ ultimate mission. This is our ultimate mission as well and it is accomplished by realizing that in every aspect of our lives we are shlichai mitzvah/emissaries to do a mitzvah in this world.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Beha'aloscha 5631 Second Ma'amar
If a person wants to grow in his service to God, should he deliberately place himself in a situation in which he will be tested or not? According to the Sfas Emes the answer to this question is in this week’s parsha.
After the nation left Mount Sinai they complained that there was no meat to eat. Rashi asks that in fact they did have plenty of meat. The pesukim relate that they left Egypt with cattle and sheep and they entered Israel with cattle and sheep. Why then did they complain? Rashi answers that they were looking for an excuse. The Sfas Emes asks that since they had meat this wasn’t even a lame excuse. It was no excuse at all. What, then, is the meaning of their complaint?
We find a clue at the beginning of the pasuk in which they complain. The pasuk says, “... התאוו תאוה .../… they caused themselves to crave …” We can infer that at first they had no desire yet they caused themselves to desire. How is it that they had no desire initially? Furthermore, since they had no desire, why did they deliberately bring it on? The Sfas Emes explains that they were on a very high spiritual level. They were on a level above nature, a level on which they were free from their evil inclination. Remember, they had spent the previous year, following the receiving of the Torah, in a highly spiritual environment. They were at the foot of Mount Sinai basking in God’s presence which was manifest in the Mishkan. All their physical needs were provided for them allowing them to focus completely on the spiritual.
They were above physical desire yet they caused themselves to crave meat. Why? The Sfas Emes explains that they wanted to reach an even higher spiritual level. They wanted to merit giving God even more satisfaction by eating something as physical as meat in holiness. Certainly being holy even while living a physically oriented life style is a higher level of service than while leading a completely spiritual life.
We even find this concept in a Midrash on the pasuk which required us to serve God, “בכל נפשכם/with all your soul.” The Midrash explains that the way to serve God “with all your soul” is by directing all the attributes and forces within the soul towards the serving God. This includes physical desires. When the nation complained, “נפשנו יבשה/our soul is dry,” they were complaining that because they were living is such highly spiritual environment, they did not have the opportunity to worship God with all the attributes of their souls. Their souls were dry, so to speak. They “rectified” the situation by causing themselves to crave meat.
God, though, did not agree with their approach. It is better for a person to be more concerned with violating the will of God by deliberately placing himself into a risky situation even if he might thereby reach a higher spiritual level. In fact, the Sfas Emes explains that one who does this is demonstrating an element of selfishness. Those who are truly concerned only about transgressing God’s will, will be content with a simpler approach and rely on God to provide him with tests.
After the nation left Mount Sinai they complained that there was no meat to eat. Rashi asks that in fact they did have plenty of meat. The pesukim relate that they left Egypt with cattle and sheep and they entered Israel with cattle and sheep. Why then did they complain? Rashi answers that they were looking for an excuse. The Sfas Emes asks that since they had meat this wasn’t even a lame excuse. It was no excuse at all. What, then, is the meaning of their complaint?
We find a clue at the beginning of the pasuk in which they complain. The pasuk says, “... התאוו תאוה .../… they caused themselves to crave …” We can infer that at first they had no desire yet they caused themselves to desire. How is it that they had no desire initially? Furthermore, since they had no desire, why did they deliberately bring it on? The Sfas Emes explains that they were on a very high spiritual level. They were on a level above nature, a level on which they were free from their evil inclination. Remember, they had spent the previous year, following the receiving of the Torah, in a highly spiritual environment. They were at the foot of Mount Sinai basking in God’s presence which was manifest in the Mishkan. All their physical needs were provided for them allowing them to focus completely on the spiritual.
They were above physical desire yet they caused themselves to crave meat. Why? The Sfas Emes explains that they wanted to reach an even higher spiritual level. They wanted to merit giving God even more satisfaction by eating something as physical as meat in holiness. Certainly being holy even while living a physically oriented life style is a higher level of service than while leading a completely spiritual life.
We even find this concept in a Midrash on the pasuk which required us to serve God, “בכל נפשכם/with all your soul.” The Midrash explains that the way to serve God “with all your soul” is by directing all the attributes and forces within the soul towards the serving God. This includes physical desires. When the nation complained, “נפשנו יבשה/our soul is dry,” they were complaining that because they were living is such highly spiritual environment, they did not have the opportunity to worship God with all the attributes of their souls. Their souls were dry, so to speak. They “rectified” the situation by causing themselves to crave meat.
God, though, did not agree with their approach. It is better for a person to be more concerned with violating the will of God by deliberately placing himself into a risky situation even if he might thereby reach a higher spiritual level. In fact, the Sfas Emes explains that one who does this is demonstrating an element of selfishness. Those who are truly concerned only about transgressing God’s will, will be content with a simpler approach and rely on God to provide him with tests.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Beha'aloscha 5631 First Ma'amar
“... בהעלֹתך את הנרות אל מול פני המנורה יאירו שבעת הנרות/When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall cast their light toward the face of the candelabrum.” The menorah is a physical vessel whose purpose is to hold light which symbolizes the spiritual. The mitzvah of the menorah, then, is singularly suited to teach us about the relationship between the physical and spiritual in this world.
Why is there a mitzvah of lighting the menorah? It cannot possibly be for the light. God does not need the light. The Midrash addresses this question. God told Moshe Rabbeinu, “I did not give this commandment because I need the light of man. Rather, I gave this commandment in order to confer merit upon you and to elevate you.” The Midrash learns this from the pasuk, “ה' חפץ למען צדקו יגדיל תורה ויאדיר/For the sake of [Israel’s] righteousness God desired to make the Torah great and to glorify it.” The Midrash is saying that God gave us the mitzvah of lighting the menorah (and according to another Midrash, all mitzvos) in order to make the Torah great and to glorify it.
How does lighting the menorah glorify the Torah? To answer this question, we need to understand the purpose of the mitzvos and their connection to the Torah. God’s desire is for the Torah to be revealed in this world. The Torah is completely spiritual, though and this world is physical. There must be a mechanism for drawing the spiritual power of the Torah into the physical world. The mitzvos is that mechanism. The mitzvos are the vessels that contain the spiritual light of the Torah.
We see this concept clearly in a pasuk in Mishlei, “... נר מצוה ותורה אור .../… a commandment is a lamp and the Torah is light …” Just as light needs a lamp to hold it, so too, the light of the Torah needs a vessel to contain it. The vessel that holds the light of the Torah in this world is the mitzvos.
By performing the mitzvos we are glorifying the Torah by bringing its light into this world. The Sfas Emes teaches us that this is an aspect of Torah Shebe’al Peh/The Oral Law. The Oral Law, as its name implies, was not written down. In this sense, the Oral Law is hidden. The light of the Torah, then, which is hidden in all things is the light of the hidden Oral Law.
God gave the ability to reveal this light, to activate it, so to speak, to the nation of Israel, just as He gave the Oral Law only to us. We are God’s agents in this world to reveal the Torah’s hidden light. The mechanism for revealing this spiritual light is performance of the mitzvos. In fact, the Zohar says that our 248 limbs parallel the 248 positive commandments. Our very limbs become the conduits through which the light of the Torah is drawn down into this world.
Actually, the light of the Torah is in us in the form of our souls. Our physical body is the vessel that contains the soul. The soul, a spiritual entity, can only function in the physical world through the physical body that contains it. By performing mitzvos we draw the holiness of the soul into the physical world.
In this way we elevate the physical world. This is why the Torah, when referring to lighting lamps of the menorah which, as we’ve said, allude to the mitzvos, uses the word beha’aloscha whose literal translation is, “when you elevate” instead of behadlakascha/when you light.
There was a time when the spiritual light of the Torah was manifest in this world. Chazal teach us that the light that was created on the first day of Creation was a spiritual light that functioned only during the first week of the Creation. After the first Shabbos, God hid that original spiritual light. An inkling of it is revealed on Shabbos, but mainly it is hidden until the ultimate redemption.
The mitzvos are the tool God gave us to reveal that hidden light to some extent. Since the lamps of the menorah represent the mitzvos, when we perform the mitzvos, we are connecting the seven lamps of the menorah with the spiritual light of the first seven days of the creation. We are drawing that original spiritual light into the physical world.
This idea is hinted at by the pasuk, “... אל מול פני המנורה יאירו .../… the lamps shall cast their light toward the candelabrum …” What does this mean? The lamps are part of the menorah. How can they cast their light towards it? Chazal teach us that the three lamps on each side of the center lamp face the center. The middle lamp represents the Shabbos. The six lamps facing it represent the days of the week. When the days of the week are used to perform mitzvos then there is a revelation of that special hidden spiritual light on Shabbos.
With this idea we can explain an enigmatic Midrash. The Midrash says that Aharon HaCohen was upset because his tribe Levi did not participate in the sacrifices brought by the heads of all the other tribes to dedicate the altar. God told Moshe Rabeinu to console Aharon for he merited the mitzvah of the menorah while they merited bringing sacrifices. Sacrifices may only be brought while the Beis HaMikdash stands whereas the menorah is forever. The obvious question is that the mitzvah of the menorah also applies only while the Beis HaMikdash stands.
However, according to what we’ve said it is clear. The primary reason for lighting the menorah is to draw the spiritual light of the Torah into this world. This is something that lasts forever. The very name of the middle lamp, נר המערבי/the western lamp, hints at this. מערבי/Western has the same root as לערב/to combine. The middle lamp is the ultimate symbol of the coalescence of the spiritual within the physical.
God does not need the light of the menorah. He gave us this mitzvah to confer merit upon us and to elevate us. By performing this mitzvah (and every mitzvah) we draw spiritual light even into the physical darkness.
Why is there a mitzvah of lighting the menorah? It cannot possibly be for the light. God does not need the light. The Midrash addresses this question. God told Moshe Rabbeinu, “I did not give this commandment because I need the light of man. Rather, I gave this commandment in order to confer merit upon you and to elevate you.” The Midrash learns this from the pasuk, “ה' חפץ למען צדקו יגדיל תורה ויאדיר/For the sake of [Israel’s] righteousness God desired to make the Torah great and to glorify it.” The Midrash is saying that God gave us the mitzvah of lighting the menorah (and according to another Midrash, all mitzvos) in order to make the Torah great and to glorify it.
How does lighting the menorah glorify the Torah? To answer this question, we need to understand the purpose of the mitzvos and their connection to the Torah. God’s desire is for the Torah to be revealed in this world. The Torah is completely spiritual, though and this world is physical. There must be a mechanism for drawing the spiritual power of the Torah into the physical world. The mitzvos is that mechanism. The mitzvos are the vessels that contain the spiritual light of the Torah.
We see this concept clearly in a pasuk in Mishlei, “... נר מצוה ותורה אור .../… a commandment is a lamp and the Torah is light …” Just as light needs a lamp to hold it, so too, the light of the Torah needs a vessel to contain it. The vessel that holds the light of the Torah in this world is the mitzvos.
By performing the mitzvos we are glorifying the Torah by bringing its light into this world. The Sfas Emes teaches us that this is an aspect of Torah Shebe’al Peh/The Oral Law. The Oral Law, as its name implies, was not written down. In this sense, the Oral Law is hidden. The light of the Torah, then, which is hidden in all things is the light of the hidden Oral Law.
God gave the ability to reveal this light, to activate it, so to speak, to the nation of Israel, just as He gave the Oral Law only to us. We are God’s agents in this world to reveal the Torah’s hidden light. The mechanism for revealing this spiritual light is performance of the mitzvos. In fact, the Zohar says that our 248 limbs parallel the 248 positive commandments. Our very limbs become the conduits through which the light of the Torah is drawn down into this world.
Actually, the light of the Torah is in us in the form of our souls. Our physical body is the vessel that contains the soul. The soul, a spiritual entity, can only function in the physical world through the physical body that contains it. By performing mitzvos we draw the holiness of the soul into the physical world.
In this way we elevate the physical world. This is why the Torah, when referring to lighting lamps of the menorah which, as we’ve said, allude to the mitzvos, uses the word beha’aloscha whose literal translation is, “when you elevate” instead of behadlakascha/when you light.
There was a time when the spiritual light of the Torah was manifest in this world. Chazal teach us that the light that was created on the first day of Creation was a spiritual light that functioned only during the first week of the Creation. After the first Shabbos, God hid that original spiritual light. An inkling of it is revealed on Shabbos, but mainly it is hidden until the ultimate redemption.
The mitzvos are the tool God gave us to reveal that hidden light to some extent. Since the lamps of the menorah represent the mitzvos, when we perform the mitzvos, we are connecting the seven lamps of the menorah with the spiritual light of the first seven days of the creation. We are drawing that original spiritual light into the physical world.
This idea is hinted at by the pasuk, “... אל מול פני המנורה יאירו .../… the lamps shall cast their light toward the candelabrum …” What does this mean? The lamps are part of the menorah. How can they cast their light towards it? Chazal teach us that the three lamps on each side of the center lamp face the center. The middle lamp represents the Shabbos. The six lamps facing it represent the days of the week. When the days of the week are used to perform mitzvos then there is a revelation of that special hidden spiritual light on Shabbos.
With this idea we can explain an enigmatic Midrash. The Midrash says that Aharon HaCohen was upset because his tribe Levi did not participate in the sacrifices brought by the heads of all the other tribes to dedicate the altar. God told Moshe Rabeinu to console Aharon for he merited the mitzvah of the menorah while they merited bringing sacrifices. Sacrifices may only be brought while the Beis HaMikdash stands whereas the menorah is forever. The obvious question is that the mitzvah of the menorah also applies only while the Beis HaMikdash stands.
However, according to what we’ve said it is clear. The primary reason for lighting the menorah is to draw the spiritual light of the Torah into this world. This is something that lasts forever. The very name of the middle lamp, נר המערבי/the western lamp, hints at this. מערבי/Western has the same root as לערב/to combine. The middle lamp is the ultimate symbol of the coalescence of the spiritual within the physical.
God does not need the light of the menorah. He gave us this mitzvah to confer merit upon us and to elevate us. By performing this mitzvah (and every mitzvah) we draw spiritual light even into the physical darkness.
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