In this week’s parsha the nation sings tribute to the well
which miraculously followed them during their forty year sojourn in the desert.
“בְּאֵר חֲפָרוּהָ שָׂרִים כָּרוּהָ
נְדִיבֵי הָעָם בִּמְחֹקֵק בְּמִשְׁעֲנֹתָם וּמִמִּדְבָּר מַתָּנָה/The
well carved by princes, dug out by the generous of the people, by the lawgiver,
with their staff. From the desert, it
was a gift.” (Bemidbar 21:18)
The Chiddushei HaRim explains that digging a well in search
of water is a metaphor for the search to uncover the Godliness hidden in the
physical world.[1] This Godliness, or spirituality is the light
of the Torah that is in every component of the Creation. The Chiddushei HaRim says that the well
represents specifically Torah Shebe’al Peh (lit. the Oral Law). This is because the essence of Torah Shebe’al
Peh is our ability to create and produce חִידוּשׁ/novelty through our
Torah learning.
The Sfas Emes broadens this idea. According to the Sfas Emes the essence of
Torah shebe’al Peh includes not only the novelty we produce through our Torah
learning, but any novelty that we produce that involves a revelation of the
hidden spiritual light that permeates the Creation. Torah shebe’al Peh, then, represents our
effective action in this world. Bringing
the Torah’s light into the physical world and uncovering the Godliness in the Creation
is one and the same thing. It is the
reason we exist.
How do we produce such novelty? How do we reveal the hidden spiritual light
inherent in every part of the Creation? Following
the metaphor through the pasuk, we can learn how to reveal the hidden light of
the Torah.
“חֲפָרוּהָ שָׂרִים/carved
by princes” – The princes in the metaphor are those who have succeeded in
ruling over their natural inclinations.
“כָּרוּהָ נְדִיבֵי
הָעָם/dug out by the generous of the people” – The generous of the nation
are those who direct their generosity and desires towards the service of God
alone. Because they align their own will
with God’s so that all their activities are an expression of God’s will, they
reveal God’s will – the hidden light – in everything they do and with
everything that they come into contact.
“בִּמְחֹקֵק/by
the lawgiver” – The lawgiver represents the boundaries that are built into the
Creation. God is infinite and His bounty
is infinite. We finite beings and by
extension the entire Creation cannot receive God’s infinite revelation. So God restricts His revelation, as it
were. He reveals Himself to us in
measured doses so that we can experience Him.
Everything in the Creation is governed by boundaries. We too, by working within the boundaries that
God built in to the world, moderating our actions and practicing balance, can
draw out the[2] light of the Torah in the
measured doses that we can receive.
“בְּמִשְׁעֲנֹתָם/with
their staff” – Even though Torah sheBe’al Peh represents our ability to create
and produce novelty, the ultimate effectiveness of our actions is completely
dependent on God. The staff alludes to
our reliance on God for all things.
“וּמִמִּדְבָּר
מַתָּנָה/and from the desert it was a gift” – When we realize that we do
not merit anything as a result of our own efforts, rather it is God who helps
us in everything we do, we experience His revelation as a gift.
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