Mitzvos as vessels for the hidden Torah-light

אל מול פני המנורה יאירו במדרש המשל שהטמין כלי הדיוטות ע"ש.

"Toward the face of the Menorah shall they give light" (Bamidbar 8:2) — regarding which the Midrash brings the parable about one who hid common, ordinary vessels — see there.

The Sefas Emes opens from the Menorah and a Midrashic mashal involving "common vessels," which he will unpack as the relationship between the hidden light of Torah and the simple vessels of mitzvos.

דאיתא בראשית ירא שבת בשת.

For it is brought: "Bereishis" can be read as an acronym — "Yarei Shabbos Boshes" (fear Shabbos so as to avoid shame).

The word "Bereishis" is rearranged to hint at fearing/honoring Shabbos in order to be spared shame in the World to Come.

ויובן הענין עפ"י משל הנ"ל.

And the matter can be understood by means of the aforementioned parable.

The Sefas Emes will explain this allusion through the Midrash's parable of the hidden vessels.

כי באמת מה האדם שיבוא אחר המלך לתת דין וחשבון לפניו.

For in truth, what is a person, that he should come after the King to give a reckoning before Him?

How can frail man dare to stand before the King of Kings and present an accounting of his deeds?

מה מציאות יש לכל בו"ד הבל הבלים.

What existence does any flesh-and-blood being have — utter vanity of vanities?

On his own, man is nothing but "hevel havalim," with no independent significance before Hashem.

אכן כפי הביטול שיש באדם בעודו בעוה"ז יודע ומבין כי הכל לה' ומאתו ית' זוכה כל אחד בחלקו ואין כחו נפרד מאתו ית'.

However, according to the bittul (self-nullification) that a person has while still in this world — knowing and understanding that everything is Hashem's, and that from Him each one merits his portion, and that his strength is not separate from Him.

Man's worth before Hashem is measured by his bittul: recognizing that all belongs to Hashem, that every gift comes from Him, and that one's own power is never independent of Him.

בזה יש מקום להעריך מעשיו לפניו ית'.

Through this there is room to give value to his deeds before Him.

It is precisely this bittul that lends a person's actions worth in Hashem's eyes.

כענין שנאמר למעשה ידך תכסף.

As in the matter of what is said, "You will long for the work of Your hands" (Iyov 14:15).

When a person nullifies himself, his deeds become "the work of Hashem's hands," which Hashem then cherishes and desires.

וזוכין לזה ע"י השבת שהוא הביטול אליו ית' ומתדבקין בשורש ועי"ז יש עלי' לכל הדברים אל הראשית.

And one merits this through Shabbos, which is the bittul to Him, when we cling to the root, and through this there is an elevation of all things back to their beginning (reishis).

Shabbos is the vehicle of this bittul: by clinging to the Source on Shabbos, all of one's deeds are elevated back to their root, their "reishis."

וזה בראשית ירא שבת כדי שלא יהי' בבושת פנים לעוה"ב.

And this is "Bereishis — fear Shabbos," so that one will not be put to shame in the World to Come.

Honoring Shabbos, the day of bittul that elevates everything to its root, is what spares a person shame when he must give his reckoning in the World to Come.

וע"ז נאמר הביטו אליו ונהרו.

And concerning this it is said, "They looked to Him and were radiant" (Tehillim 34:6).

Those who turn entirely toward Hashem in bittul become luminous, reflecting His light rather than any light of their own.

ועי"ז שכל האור הי' מאתו ית' פניהם אל יחפרו לשון עתיד אפילו לעוה"ב.

And because all the light was from Him, "their faces shall not be ashamed" — stated in the future tense, even in the World to Come.

Since they claim no light as their own and attribute everything to Hashem, they will never be put to shame, not even in the future world.

וזה השבח של אהרן שלא שינה.

And this is the praise of Aharon, "that he did not deviate" (Rashi, Bamidbar 8:3).

Aharon's greatness in kindling the Menorah exactly as commanded reflects this same self-effacement — he added nothing of his own.

וכענין שאמרו חז"ל בפסוק וכלים מכלים שונים שע"י שהוציאו כלי המקדש נשתנו כלי הדיוטות ונעשין כנחושת וברזל ע"ש.

And as Chazal said on the verse "and vessels differing from other vessels" (Esther 1:7) — that because the vessels of the Mikdash were taken out [by Achashverosh], the ordinary vessels were "changed," becoming like copper and iron — see there.

When the holy vessels of the Bais Hamikdash were paraded out, the common vessels beside them were diminished, turning dull like base metal by comparison to the revealed sanctity.

אבל באהרן דכתיב אל מול פני המנורה יאירו שלא נשתנו הנרות שהכין הגם שנתגלה במקדש אור השכינה מן השמים.

But with Aharon, of whom it is written "toward the face of the Menorah shall they give light," the lamps that he prepared were not "changed," even though the light of the Shechinah was revealed in the Mikdash from Heaven.

By contrast, even when the heavenly light of the Shechinah was openly revealed in the Mishkan, Aharon's lamps were not diminished — his "ordinary vessels" held their own light alongside the supernal one.

ולהבין ענין הכנת כלי הדיוטות עפ"י מ"ש במדרש ה' חפץ למען צדקו כו' וכן הוא במשנה רצה הקב"ה לזכות את ישראל הרבה להם תורה ומצות.

And to understand the matter of preparing the "common vessels," based on what the Midrash says, "Hashem desired, for the sake of His righteousness [to make the Torah great and glorious]" (Yeshayahu 42:21), and likewise in the Mishnah (Makkos 23b): "The Holy One, Blessed is He, wished to grant merit to Yisrael, therefore He gave them abundant Torah and mitzvos."

To explain why these "common vessels" matter, the Sefas Emes cites the teaching that Hashem multiplied Torah and mitzvos specifically to give Bnei Yisrael abundant merit.

והענין הוא כי התורה עצמה נעלמה מעיני כל חי והוא באמת אור הגנוז כמ"ש וירא כו' את האור כי טוב ויבדל ודרשו חז"ל שהי' מאיר מסוף העולם כו' וראה שאין הרשעים כדאי וגנזו לצדיקים כו'.

And the matter is that the Torah itself is hidden from the eyes of all living, and it is truly the Or HaGanuz (the Hidden Light), as it is written, "And [Hashem] saw the light, that it was good, and He separated" (Bereishis 1:4), and Chazal expounded that it shone from one end of the world to the other, and He saw that the wicked were unworthy of it, and He hid it away for the tzaddikim.

The Torah in its essence is the primordial Or HaGanuz, the light of the first day that Hashem concealed when He saw the wicked were unfit for it, storing it away for the tzaddikim in the future.

והיא התורה שנקראת אור.

And this is the Torah, which is called "light."

That very hidden light is the Torah, which Scripture calls "or."

ונק' חמדה גנוזה שגנזו הקב"ה באלה המצות מעשיות גשמיות שנקראו נרות כמ"ש נר מצוה ולגבי תורה גנוזה נקראו אלה כלי הדיוטות.

And it is called a "hidden treasure" (chemdah genuzah), which the Holy One, Blessed is He, concealed within these physical, practical mitzvos that are called "lamps," as it is written, "for a mitzvah is a lamp" (Mishlei 6:23); and in relation to the hidden Torah, these are called "common vessels."

Hashem embedded that hidden treasure of Torah-light within the physical mitzvos, which are the "lamps" — and relative to the concealed Torah itself, these material mitzvos are the "ordinary vessels" of the parable.

שרצה המלך שבנ"י יתקנו כלי הדיוטות להיות כלים לקבל בהם הארת התורה.

For the King desired that Bnei Yisrael should prepare the common vessels, to be vessels in which to receive the illumination of the Torah.

Hashem wanted Bnei Yisrael to fashion these "ordinary vessels" — the practical mitzvos — so they could serve as kelim to hold the radiance of the hidden Torah-light.

ובבהמ"ק הי' מתגלה אור תורה הגנוזה אעפ"כ יאירו שבעת הנרות כנ"ל:

And in the Bais Hamikdash the light of the hidden Torah was revealed; nevertheless, the seven lamps "shall give light," as above.

Even though the concealed Torah-light shone openly in the Bais Hamikdash, Aharon's seven physical lamps still gave their own light — the "common vessels," prepared in bittul, were not eclipsed but remained luminous alongside the revealed light.

Summary: Through the Menorah and the Midrashic parable of "common vessels," the Sefas Emes teaches that man has no standing before Hashem on his own — "vanity of vanities" — and acquires worth only through bittul: recognizing that everything is Hashem's and his own power is never separate from Him. Shabbos is the vehicle of this bittul ("Bereishis = fear Shabbos"), elevating all deeds back to their root so that one is spared shame in the World to Come, like those who "looked to Him and were radiant." The Torah itself is the Or HaGanuz, concealed for the tzaddikim and embedded within the physical mitzvos — the "lamps," which relative to the hidden Torah are mere "common vessels." Hashem wanted Bnei Yisrael to prepare these vessels to receive the Torah's light; and the praise of Aharon, who "did not deviate," is that even when the Shechinah's light was openly revealed in the Mikdash, his humble lamps were not diminished but still gave light.