Hashem joins thought to deed

אל מול פני המנורה יאירו כו' ובמד' משל למלך שהוכן לו סעודה בכלי הדיוטות וכשבא המלך עם כבוד גדלו הטמין ההדיוט כליו וצוה המלך לפסול כליו ולהשתמש רק בכלי הדיוטות כו'.

"Toward the face of the menorah shall the lamps give light," etc. And in the Midrash: a parable of a king for whom a feast was prepared using a commoner's vessels; and when the king arrived in the glory of his greatness, the commoner hid away his (own plain) vessels — yet the king ordered that his (own royal) vessels be set aside, and that only the commoner's vessels be used, etc.

The Sefas Emes cites the Midrash's mashal: a king is hosted with a humble man's simple dishes. When the king arrives in full majesty, the host, embarrassed, hides his plain vessels — but the king insists that his own splendid royal vessels be put away and that only the commoner's simple ones be used. This pictures Hashem "choosing" the lowly service of those below.

ביאור הענין שע"י זה הביוש עצמו שראה והרגיש שצריך להטמין כליו עי"ז שימש בהם המלך.

The explanation of the matter: it was precisely through this very shame — that the host saw and felt that he ought to hide away his vessels — that the king (chose to) use them.

The key is the host's humility. Because he genuinely felt unworthy and was moved to hide his plain vessels in shame, that very self-effacement is what made them fit for the king's use. The lowliness itself is what draws the King.

וז"ש אל מול שצריך הכהן העובד לידע כי כל אלה המצות הם רמזים לאורות עליונים.

And this is the meaning of "toward the face of" — that the kohen performing the avodah must know that all these mitzvos are hints (remazim) to supernal lights (oros elyonim).

The kohen lighting the menorah must "face toward" it with the awareness that the physical mitzvah is only a remez to lofty spiritual lights far beyond the simple act he performs.

ועי"ז מתבטל כל מעשיו בבושה והכנעה להבורא ית' ועי"ז עצמו יש עלי' ונחת רוח ע"י המעשים שלמטה.

And through this, all his deeds become nullified in shame and submission (hachna'ah) before the Creator, may He be blessed; and through this very (nullification) there is an ascent and nachas ruach (satisfaction Above) by means of the deeds (performed) below.

Realizing how far the physical act falls short of the supernal lights, the kohen is filled with humility and bittul before Hashem. Paradoxically, it is precisely this sense of his own smallness that elevates the lowly deed and brings nachas ruach Above — like the king choosing the commoner's vessels.

וכביכול פוסל הקב"ה העליונים לחיבת התחתונים.

And, as it were (kivyachol), the Holy One, blessed is He, sets aside the upper (vessels) out of His love for those below.

Out of His love for the humble avodah of those below, Hashem, so to speak, "disqualifies" the lofty supernal "vessels" and chooses instead the simple deeds of Bnei Yisrael done with bittul.

ובמד' ה' חפץ למען צדקו כו' כמה פעמים כתובה פרשת הנרות כו'.

And in the Midrash: "Hashem desired, for the sake of His righteousness," etc. — how many times the passage of the lamps is written, etc.

The Sefas Emes brings a second Midrash, on the pasuk (Yeshayahu 42:21), which wonders at how often the parsha of the menorah's lamps is repeated in the Torah.

פי' כי בודאי בשורש המצוה למעלה יש כל אלה האורות וסודות הגנוזים בכל פרשיות התורה שמדברי' מהמצות הם שייכים לאותה המצוה אך כי אין בכח התחתונים להשיג כל זה.

The meaning is that certainly, in the root of the mitzvah Above, there exist all these lights and hidden secrets (sodos genuzim) — and all the passages of the Torah that speak of the mitzvos pertain to that (root of the) mitzvah — but it is not within the power of those below to grasp all of this.

Each mitzvah has a root Above containing infinite oros and concealed sodos, and every Torah passage about a mitzvah belongs to that supernal root. But mortals below cannot possibly comprehend that whole, boundless reality.

אכן הקב"ה בטובו מסר לנו כל התורה וסודותי' הגנוזים בה שעל ידי קיום המצוה לשם שמים כל אחד כפי כחו כך מתעוררין כל האורות למעלה שכך עשה השי"ת להיות תלוין אורות עליונים במצות אלו.

However, the Holy One, blessed is He, in His goodness, handed over to us the entire Torah and its hidden secrets, such that through the fulfillment of the mitzvah lishmah (for the sake of Heaven) — each person according to his own capacity — so are all the supernal lights awakened Above; for thus Hashem arranged it, that supernal lights should depend upon these mitzvos.

In His goodness, Hashem nonetheless entrusted us with the Torah and its hidden secrets in a way that does not require us to grasp them. When a person performs the mitzvah lishmah, each according to his own level, the full array of supernal lights is awakened above — because Hashem deliberately made the highest oros contingent on our simple performance of these mitzvos.

וכתיב כמראה אשר הראה כו' את משה כן עשה כו'.

And it is written, "according to the vision that He showed Moshe, so he made," etc.

The pasuk (Bamidbar 8:4) states that the menorah was made according to the vision Hashem showed to Moshe Rabbeinu.

ובמד' שנתקשה מרע"ה ונעשית מעצמה.

And in the Midrash, that Moshe Rabbeinu found it difficult (to fashion the menorah), and it was made by itself.

The Midrash relates that Moshe Rabbeinu struggled to form the menorah, until in the end it was made on its own — formed miraculously rather than by his hand.

וקשה שהרי כתיב בתורה שבצלאל עשאה וכן איתא במד' שתמה מרע"ה על בצלאל שיכול לעשותה ע"ש.

And this is difficult, for it is written in the Torah that Betzalel made it; and so it is also brought in the Midrash that Moshe Rabbeinu wondered at Betzalel, that he was able to make it — see there.

The Sefas Emes raises the contradiction: the Torah states that Betzalel built the menorah, and another Midrash says Moshe Rabbeinu marveled that Betzalel managed to fashion it. So which is it — made "by itself," or made by Betzalel?

אמנם ביאור הענין כי ודאי כפי מה שהשיג מרע"ה כל פרטי מעשה המנורה לא הי' בכח אנושי לעשותה.

However, the explanation of the matter is that certainly, according to all the details of the menorah's construction that Moshe Rabbeinu grasped, it was not within human power to make it.

The resolution begins here: Moshe Rabbeinu perceived every supernal detail and depth of the menorah, and at that exalted level of comprehension, no human hand could possibly translate it into a physical object.

אך בצלאל לא השיג כל כך.

But Betzalel did not grasp so much.

Betzalel, by contrast, did not attain that same overwhelming depth of perception.

וכפי השגתו עשאה ברצון ובכוונה טובה לש"ש.

And according to his (more limited) comprehension, he made it, with desire and with good intention (kavanah tovah) for the sake of Heaven.

Precisely because Betzalel grasped less, he was able to act. With sincere ratzon and pure kavanah lishmah, he fashioned the menorah at the level he could reach.

ולכך גמר השי"ת להיות נעשה כל שאר הדברים מעצמה.

And therefore Hashem completed (the work), so that all the rest was made by itself.

Betzalel did his part with sincerity, and Hashem completed everything beyond his reach — so that the parts no human could form were made "by themselves," by Hashem.

וז"ש כמראה שהראה למשה כך נעשה ע"י בצלאל אף שהוא לא השיג זאת כלל.

And this is the meaning of "according to the vision that He showed Moshe" — thus it was made through Betzalel, even though he (Betzalel) did not grasp this at all.

So the menorah did match the full supernal vision shown to Moshe Rabbeinu, yet it was realized through Betzalel's hands — even though Betzalel himself never comprehended that lofty vision. His sincere deed became the vessel for the heights Moshe saw.

וזה ללמד לכל מצוה שע"י רצון אמיתי לשם שמים נתקן הכל בעזרת הבורא ית' כמ"ש לאל גומר עלי.

And this comes to teach concerning every mitzvah, that through a true desire (ratzon amiti) for the sake of Heaven, everything is rectified with the help of the Creator, may He be blessed, as it is written, "to the Almighty who completes (gomer) for me."

This is the universal lesson: with genuine ratzon lishmah, a person does his limited part and Hashem completes the rest, repairing everything beyond his power — "la'Kel gomer alai" (Tehillim 57:3), the Almighty who brings to completion on my behalf.

וגם זאת אמת שע"י ראיית מרע"ה שהראה לו ה' מעשה המנורה אף שמרע"ה נתקשה ולא הי' יכול לקיימה בפועל הועיל הראי' והכוונה שלו שיוכל בצלאל לעשותה.

And this too is true: that through the "seeing" of Moshe Rabbeinu — that Hashem showed him the making of the menorah — even though Moshe Rabbeinu found it difficult and could not carry it out in practice, his "seeing" and his kavanah were of avail, so that Betzalel was able to make it.

The other direction is also true: Moshe Rabbeinu's lofty vision and kavanah were not wasted even though he could not execute the work. His exalted perception "above" empowered Betzalel "below" to actually fashion the menorah — the higher seeing made the lower doing possible.

וכך הוא שהקב"ה מצרף מחשבה טובה של יחידי סגולה למעשה פשוטה של פשוטי בנ"י.

And so it is, that the Holy One, blessed is He, joins the good thought (machshavah tovah) of the select few (yechidei segulah) to the simple deed of the simple ones of Bnei Yisrael.

Here is the deeper principle: Hashem combines the elevated machshavah of the rare, great souls with the plain, sincere maaseh of ordinary Jews — uniting the thought of the few with the deed of the many.

כי נראה שאיש פשוט יכול יותר לקיים מצוה במעשה בפשיטות לשם שמים.

For it appears that a simple person is more able to fulfill a mitzvah in deed, with simplicity (peshitus), for the sake of Heaven.

The simple Jew, unburdened by overwhelming comprehension, can more readily perform the mitzvah straightforwardly and wholeheartedly lishmah.

והצדיק ע"י שמשיג יותר אינו יכול לקיים בפועל כ"כ.

And the tzaddik, because he grasps more, is not as able to carry it out in practice.

The tzaddik's very depth of perception, like Moshe Rabbeinu's, can make the simple physical act harder for him to translate into deed — the more he sees, the harder it is to contain it in action.

לכן הקב"ה מצרף המחשבה להמעשה.

Therefore the Holy One, blessed is He, joins the thought to the deed.

So Hashem unites the tzaddik's lofty machshavah with the simple Jew's maaseh, so that together they accomplish what neither could alone.

[כך יראה א"כ רצון הבורא ית'] ואמת שגם באדם עצמו הדעת שלו יותר מהמעשה והקב"ה מצרף כו' כנ"ל כי מרע"ה הוא הדעת של ישראל כנ"ל:

[Thus, then, is seen the will of the Creator, may He be blessed.] And it is true that even within a single person, his daas (understanding) exceeds his deed, and the Holy One, blessed is He, joins (the two), as above — for Moshe Rabbeinu is the daas of Yisrael, as above.

Finally, this plays out within each individual too: a person's daas always reaches higher than what his actions can realize, and Hashem joins his thought to his deed so the gap is bridged. And Moshe Rabbeinu, the "daas of Yisrael," embodies this elevated thought that completes and uplifts the deeds of all Bnei Yisrael — the inner Moshe in every Jew that lends the higher seeing to the simple doing.

Summary: Through the mashal of the king who chooses the commoner's plain vessels, the Sefas Emes teaches that Hashem, out of love, prefers the humble deeds of those below, done with bittul and the awareness that every mitzvah only hints at boundless supernal lights. Hashem made those highest oros depend on our simple performance lishmah, each according to his capacity. This resolves who built the menorah: Moshe Rabbeinu's vision was too lofty for human hands, while Betzalel, grasping less, could fashion it with pure kavanah — and Hashem completed the rest "by itself." The enduring lesson is that Hashem joins the elevated machshavah of the great few to the simple maaseh of the many — and even within each person, joins his higher daas to his limited deed, Moshe Rabbeinu being the inner "daas of Yisrael" that completes every Jew's avodah.