Revealing the hidden light of Torah

במדרש גם חושך לא יחשיך ממך כו' משל כו' כלי הדיוטות כו' פי' שמצדו ית' אין חושך בעולם רק השי"ת העלים האור בעוה"ז כדי שיהי' לנו במה לכבד אותו ית' למצוא אור הגנוז בעולם ומצד זה אינו דומה להמשל.

In the Midrash on "even darkness is not dark to You" (Tehillim 139:12) — with a parable about an ordinary man's lamp — the meaning is that from Hashem's perspective there is no darkness in the world at all; rather, Hashem Yisborach concealed the light in this world so that we would have a means by which to honor Him — to find the hidden light within the world. And in this respect the case is unlike the parable.

The Midrash brings a mashal comparing a human being's need for a lamp to Hashem, who needs no light. The Sefas Emes explains: in truth there is no darkness before Hashem. He deliberately hid the divine light within this world so that we would have a task — to seek out and reveal the or haganuz (the hidden light) buried in creation, and thereby give Him honor. Here the analogy breaks down: unlike a person who genuinely lacks light, Hashem's "darkness" is only a purposeful concealment.

כי גם אורן של צדיקים ממנו ית' הוא.

For even the light of tzaddikim comes from Him.

Even the illumination that righteous people generate is not their own independent light; it too originates entirely from Hashem.

כמ"ש אתה תאיר נרי.

As it is written, "You light my lamp" (Tehillim 18:29).

Dovid HaMelech says that it is Hashem who kindles his lamp — the human being's "light" is really Hashem shining through him.

רק העבודה למצוא אורו ית' בעולם.

The avodah is only to find His light within the world.

Our task is not to create light but to uncover the divine light that Hashem already placed, hidden, within creation.

וברש"י ז"ל שתהי' שלהבת עולה מאלי' והוא כנ"ל שלכך נאמר בהעלותך כי השי"ת ברא עולמו באור שזה תחילת הבריאה יהי אור.

And in Rashi z"l [it is explained] that one must kindle the menorah until the flame rises on its own — and this is as above: this is why the term "be-ha'aloscha" ("when you raise up [the lamps]") is used, for Hashem created His world with light, since this was the beginning of creation: "Let there be light."

Rashi notes the kohen must hold the flame to the wick until it ascends by itself. The Sefas Emes connects this to the word be-ha'aloscha, "when you cause to rise": the light is not produced by man — it is already there from the very first act of creation, "Yehi or." The kohen merely "raises up" and reveals a flame that then burns on its own.

רק שהאדם צריך לחבר כל הדברים ליחד אותם בשורשם וממילא מאירים מאליהם וגוף ההדלקה אין מעשה האדם רק עליות הנרות והכלים להאור.

It is only that a person must connect all things, uniting them in their root, and then they shine of themselves; the actual kindling is not a deed of man — only the raising up of the lamps and the providing of vessels for the light.

Man's avodah is to bind all things back to their divine source. Once everything is reconnected to its root, the light shines forth on its own. We do not generate the light itself; we only "raise the lamps" and prepare the keilim — the vessels — into which the ever-present divine light can flow.

וכ' בית יעקב אש כו' יוסף להבה פרש"י ז"ל אש בלא להבה אינו שולט מרחוק.

And it is written, "the house of Yaakov shall be a fire… and the house of Yosef a flame" (Ovadiah 1:18); Rashi z"l explains that fire without a flame does not take effect from a distance.

The pasuk pairs Yaakov as "fire" and Yosef as "flame." Rashi notes that fire alone, without a projecting flame, cannot reach and ignite something far away. The Sefas Emes will now use this to describe how Torah reaches the world.

והפי' כי התורה היא אש והיא למעלה מהטבע בחי' יעקב שצורתו חקוקה בכסא ולכן אין יכולין הנבראים לקבל הארת התורה רק ע"י התלבשות והוא בחי' יוסף לחבר וליחד כל המעשים לאור התורה ועי"ז שולט כח אש התורה מרחוק.

The explanation is that the Torah is fire, and it is above nature — the aspect of Yaakov, whose form is engraved upon the Heavenly Throne. Therefore created beings cannot receive the illumination of the Torah except through a "garment" (hislavshus), which is the aspect of Yosef — to connect and unite all deeds to the light of the Torah; and through this the power of the Torah's fire takes effect from afar.

Torah is a fire that transcends nature, corresponding to Yaakov, whose image is engraved on the Kisei HaKavod — utterly above this world. Created, physical beings cannot absorb such transcendent light directly; it must be "clothed" in a garment to reach them. That garment is the aspect of Yosef, who connects and unites all worldly actions to the light of Torah. Through this enclothing, the distant, transcendent fire of Torah can reach into and affect even the lowest realms — "from afar."

והכלל כי יש עומק רום ותחת כי השי"ת הוא א"ס ואין תכלית.

The general principle is that there is "depth of height" and "depth of below," for Hashem Yisborach is Ein Sof (without end) and without limit.

Borrowing the language of Sefer Yetzirah ("omek rom ve-omek tachas"), the Sefas Emes notes two infinite directions — upward and downward — because Hashem is Ein Sof, infinite in every direction, beyond any boundary.

ובחי' אין תכלית היא עבודת האדם שיהיו נמשכים כל מעשיו אחר מלכותו ית'.

And the aspect of "without limit" is the avodah of man — that all his deeds should be drawn after Hashem's malchus (kingship).

The "limitless below" corresponds to human avodah: a person's task is to draw every one of his actions, without exception, into submission to Hashem's sovereignty — extending the divine kingship into the endlessly varied details of ordinary life.

וכפי עבודה זו זוכין להמשיך בחי' א"ס כי כן תלה הבורא ב"ה וב"ש זה בזה.

And according to this avodah one merits to draw down the aspect of Ein Sof — for so the Creator, blessed and exalted be He, made the one dependent upon the other.

The measure of our work below determines how much of the infinite light from above is drawn down. Hashem deliberately linked the two: the "limitless" effort of binding all deeds to His kingship opens the channel for the "infinite" illumination from Above.

וכן פי' אא"ז מו"ר ז"ל ענין האור שמאיר ע"י שדבוק בפתילה שע"י התדבקות האש בפתילה מעלה שלהבת יותר כו' ע"ש דפח"ח:

And so my master, grandfather, and teacher z"l explained the matter of the light that shines by being attached to the wick — that through the clinging of the fire to the wick it raises up a greater flame — see there; these are words that are pleasant to hear.

The Chiddushei HaRim taught that the flame burns brightest precisely where the fire grips the physical wick: the very contact with the material substance draws up a higher flame. So too, the transcendent fire of Torah and the infinite light shine most fully when "attached" to the avodah of physical deeds — the wick of this world — which raises the flame higher still.

Summary: Hashem hid the divine light within this world so that our avodah would be to find it; we do not create light but reveal it, "raising the lamps" and binding all things back to their root until they shine on their own. The transcendent fire of Torah (Yaakov) must be clothed in a garment (Yosef) to reach the created world from afar. Since Hashem is Ein Sof in both directions, the limitless effort of drawing every deed after His malchus is what draws down the infinite light — and, like a flame gripping its wick, the holy fire rises higher precisely through its attachment to physical avodah.