Miketz תרס”ב 2
במדרש קץ שם לחושך כ”ז שיצה”ר בעולם אופל וצלמות בעולם.
“In the Midrash: ‘He set an end to darkness’ — this refers to the evil inclination in the world, which brings gloom and shadow.”
The Sefat Emet opens by identifying darkness with the yetzer hara, which obscures spiritual awareness.
כי הטבע משכח ומחשיך כמ”ש והארץ היתה תהו ואח”כ נאמר יהי אור אח”כ ויבדל בין האור והחושך.
“For nature causes forgetting and darkens, as it is written: ‘And the earth was chaos,’ and afterward it says, ‘Let there be light,’ and afterward, ‘He separated between the light and the darkness.’”
Natural existence clouds the soul just as creation began in darkness before the divine separation of light from dark.
וכ”ז הוא גם בנפש האדם ומתחדש ג”כ בכל יום וע”ז מברכין יוצר אור ובורא חושך.
“And all this is also in the human soul and is renewed daily; therefore we bless ‘Who forms light and creates darkness.’”
Creation’s pattern of darkness and light recurs within each person every day, reflected in the morning blessings.
יוצר אור כמו יוצר רוח אדם בקרבו כמ”ש בזוה”ק שהרוח מתחדש באדם תמיד.
“‘Who forms light’ is like ‘Who forms the human spirit within him,’ as stated in the Zohar that the spirit is continually renewed within a person.”
The forming of light corresponds to the constant renewal of the inner spirit.
ובורא חושך הוא התלבשות בגוף האדם שזהו בחי’ שכחה.
“And ‘Who creates darkness’ is the soul’s enclosure in the human body, which is the aspect of forgetfulness.”
Darkness signifies the body’s concealment of the soul, producing spiritual forgetfulness.
אבל לבנ”י ניתן מצות לזכור הפנימיות ולשכוח הגשמיות כמ”ש ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם כו’ למען תזכרו.
“But to Israel were given commandments to remember the inner dimension and forget the material, as it is written: ‘Do not stray after your heart… in order that you remember.’”
The mitzvot train Israel to hold onto spiritual awareness and release attachment to material illusions.
וכ”ז שיצה”ר בעולם ומחשבת האדם בהבלי עולם נסתר אור הנשמה.
“And as long as the evil inclination is in the world and a person’s thought is in worldly vanities, the light of the soul is hidden.”
Worldly distraction veils the inner divine light.
ולכן יון החשיך עיניהם של ישראל ע”י שביטלו בנ”י מן המצות ורצו להשכיחם תורתך.
“Therefore Greece darkened the eyes of Israel by preventing them from the commandments and seeking to make them forget Your Torah.”
The Greek decree was a spiritual darkening aimed at erasing remembrance of Torah.
ולכן רצו לבטל מילה שבת וחודש שכל אלו מביאין הזכירה.
“Therefore they sought to abolish circumcision, Shabbat, and the new month, all of which bring remembrance.”
These three mitzvot especially cultivate spiritual memory.
שבת יומא דנשמתין ולאו דגופא לכן כ’ זכור את יום השבת.
“Shabbat is the day of the soul and not of the body; therefore it says, ‘Remember the day of Shabbat.’”
Shabbat awakens the soul’s clarity, hence its commandment of remembrance.
והוא זכר למעשה בראשית.
“It is a remembrance of the act of creation.”
Shabbat connects a person to the original divine light of creation.
ומאיר בו הנשמה.
“And the soul shines within it.”
Shabbat enables the inner light of the soul to be revealed.
והוא זכירה בבחי’ עולם מעשה בראשית.
“And it is remembrance on the level of the world — the creation.”
Shabbat restores cosmic memory, linking the person to the world’s true spiritual origin.
ומילה זכירה בנפש.
“And circumcision is remembrance in the soul.”
Brit milah imprints divine memory within the inner being.
ור”ח זכירה בזמנים.
“And the new month is remembrance in time.”
Rosh Chodesh sanctifies time itself with renewal and memory.
Summary: The Sefat Emet teaches that darkness and light exist both cosmically and within the human soul. The yetzer hara and physicality obscure spiritual memory, while mitzvot — especially Shabbat, milah, and Rosh Chodesh — restore remembrance of the soul, creation, and sacred time.
