Torah-light grasped through the mitzvos

במדרש ה' חפץ כו' יגדיל תורה כו'.

In the Midrash: "Hashem desired… He will make the Torah great and glorious" (Yeshayahu 42:21).

The Sefas Emes opens with the verse that Hashem desired, for the sake of Bnei Yisrael's righteousness, to make the Torah great — and he will explain how the Torah is "enlarged" specifically through the mitzvos.

דכתיב נר מצוה ותורה אור.

As it is written: "A mitzvah is a candle, and the Torah is light" (Mishlei 6:23).

A mitzvah is compared to a ner (candle) and the Torah to ohr (light) — the mitzvos are the vessel that holds the light of Torah.

כי אור התורה היא למעלה מהשגת האדם ולכן אין יכולים להתדבק באור תורה רק ע"י המצות שהם כלים לתקן הרמ"ח איברים וגידים להיות כלי מוכן לאחוז בהם אור התורה והנה משה רבינו ע"ה הוא בחי' תורה אור.

For the light of Torah is above human comprehension, and therefore one cannot cling to the light of Torah except through the mitzvos, which are the keilim (vessels) to repair the 248 limbs and sinews so they become a prepared vessel to grasp the light of Torah; and behold, Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, is the aspect of "Torah is light."

The ohr of Torah is too lofty for a person to grasp on his own. The mitzvos refine the 248 limbs of the body, turning the person into a fitting vessel that can hold that light. Moshe Rabbeinu embodies the aspect of Torah-ohr itself — direct attachment to the essence of the Torah.

ואהרן הוא נר מצוה בעובדא לכן כתיב סוף פ' נשא וישמע כו' הקול מדבר אליו וידבר אליו למעט את אהרן שזה בחי' משה רבינו שיש לו דביקות בעצם התורה.

And Aharon is "a mitzvah is a candle" in deed; therefore it is written at the end of Parshas Naso, "And he heard… the Voice speaking to him, and it spoke to him" — to exclude Aharon, for this is the aspect of Moshe Rabbeinu, who has attachment to the very essence of the Torah.

Aharon represents the ner mitzvah — Torah expressed through practical deed (avodah). The verse's wording "speaking to him… to him" excludes Aharon, teaching that Moshe alone had direct dveikus (attachment) to the essence of the Torah, while Aharon's avenue was the mitzvah-candle.

ואח"כ פרשת הנרות שהוא להתדבק בתורה בכח תיקון המלבוש ע"י המצות.

And afterward comes the passage of the lamps, which is to cling to the Torah through the power of refining the garment by means of the mitzvos.

Right after that excluding of Aharon, the Torah places the parsha of the menorah's lamps — hinting that for everyone other than Moshe, attachment to Torah comes by way of the mitzvos, which refine the "garment" (the body and its deeds) into a vessel for the light.

וכן כתיב סוף הפרשה הבדל בין נביאת משה רבינו.

And so it is written at the end of the parsha, distinguishing between the prophecy of Moshe Rabbeinu and that of the other nevi'im.

The end of the parsha (the episode of Miriam) draws a sharp distinction between Moshe's level of nevuah (prophecy) and that of all other prophets.

אם יהי' נביאכם כו' במראה כו'.

"If there be a prophet among you… in a vision…" (Bamidbar 12:6).

Other prophets receive their nevuah only "in a vision" (b'mar'eh) — an indirect, garbed form of revelation, unlike Moshe.

במרא"ה גי' רמ"ח שהוא על ידי הרמ"ח מצות כנ"ל.

"B'mar'eh" (in a vision) has the gematria of 248, for it is by means of the 248 mitzvos, as above.

The word "b'mar'eh" numerically equals 248 — the count of the positive mitzvos. This alludes that the prophecy of all others reaches them only through the 248 mitzvos that serve as the vessel, whereas Moshe grasped the light directly.

ומשה רבינו פה אל פה אדבר בו.

And of Moshe Rabbeinu: "Mouth to mouth I speak with him" (Bamidbar 12:8).

Moshe's level was "mouth to mouth" — direct, unmediated speech with Hashem, the aspect of essential Torah-ohr without an intervening garment.

ואיתא כי בש"ק מחזיר משה רבינו לבנ"י הכתרים מהקדמת נעשה לנשמע.

And it is brought that on Shabbos Kodesh, Moshe Rabbeinu returns to Bnei Yisrael the crowns from their placing "naaseh" before "nishma."

Chazal teach that when Bnei Yisrael said "naaseh venishma" (we will do and we will hear) at Sinai, they each received two crowns, which were taken away after the cheit ha'egel. On Shabbos, Moshe — the aspect of essential Torah — restores those crowns to Bnei Yisrael.

כי בקבלת התורה היו כל בנ"י דבקים בעצם התורה בחי' משה.

For at the receiving of the Torah, all of Bnei Yisrael were cleaving to the very essence of the Torah — the aspect of Moshe.

At Matan Torah every Jew rose to Moshe's level, attached directly to the essence of the Torah rather than to it through the garment of the mitzvos.

ולכן בעשרת הדברות נכללו כל התרי"ג מצות שהיא עצם התורה אור אנכי ה' אלקיך וזה כל התורה.

Therefore in the Ten Commandments all 613 mitzvos were included, for this is the essence of the Torah-light — "I am Hashem your God" — and this is the entire Torah.

Because the people stood at the essence of the Torah, the Aseres HaDibros contained within them all 613 mitzvos. The opening "Anochi Hashem Elokecha" is the very essence of the Torah-ohr, and it encompasses the whole Torah in a single point.

אך אחר שנפלנו ממדריגה זו בא אור תורה באמצעות תרי"ג פקודין.

But after we fell from this level, the light of Torah came by means of the 613 commandments.

Once Bnei Yisrael fell from that exalted level, the Torah-ohr could no longer be received directly; it now reaches us only through the medium of the 613 mitzvos, which serve as its vessels.

וזה למען צדקו יגדיל תורה.

And this is "for the sake of his righteousness He will make the Torah great" (Yeshayahu 42:21).

This is the meaning of the opening verse: it is precisely through the multitude of mitzvos given for our righteousness that the Torah is "enlarged" and made graspable to us.

ולפי שבשבת יש נשמה יתירה והוא הארה מעצם אור תורה למעלה מהתלבשות התרי"ג פקודין.

And since on Shabbos there is a neshamah yeseirah (an additional soul), which is a glow from the very essence of the Torah-light, above the enclothing of the 613 commandments.

The extra soul of Shabbos is a radiance of the essential Torah-ohr itself — the same direct light of Matan Torah — shining above and beyond the garment of the 613 mitzvos through which Torah reaches us on weekdays.

לכן נק' יתירה שאינו מתלבש בגוף.

Therefore it is called "yeseirah" (additional/extra), because it does not become enclothed in the body.

It is named "extra" precisely because it transcends the body — it is not garbed in physical limbs the way the weekday soul is, but is a glow of the unmediated light.

כי הנשמה בימי המעשה היא בהתלבשות בחי' נר מצוה.

For during the weekdays the soul is in a state of enclothing — the aspect of "a mitzvah is a candle."

On the six working days the neshamah functions through the garment of the mitzvos — the ner mitzvah aspect, where the light is held within the vessel of deed.

ובש"ק למעלה מזה.

But on Shabbos Kodesh it is above this.

On Shabbos the neshamah rises beyond the garment of the mitzvos to a higher, unclothed level of light.

הארה מבחי' מתן תורה.

A glow from the aspect of Matan Torah (the Giving of the Torah).

The Shabbos light is literally a radiance of the experience of Matan Torah, when Bnei Yisrael cleaved to the essence of the Torah directly.

ולכן ניתנה תורה בשבת שהי' גלוי וידוע לפניו ית"ש כי בשבת ישארו בנ"י לעולם במדריגה זו:

And therefore the Torah was given on Shabbos, for it was revealed and known before Him, may His Name be blessed, that on Shabbos Bnei Yisrael would forever remain on this level.

This is why the Torah was given specifically on Shabbos: Hashem foresaw that, even after Bnei Yisrael would fall from the level of Sinai, every Shabbos they would re-ascend and remain on that same exalted level of attachment to the essence of the Torah-ohr.

Summary: "Ner mitzvah v'Torah ohr" — the light of Torah is beyond human grasp, so it reaches us only through the mitzvos, the keilim that refine the 248 limbs into a vessel for the light. Moshe Rabbeinu embodies the unmediated Torah-ohr ("mouth to mouth"), while Aharon and the other nevi'im represent the ner mitzvah, the light garbed in the 613 mitzvos. At Matan Torah all of Bnei Yisrael reached Moshe's level and the entire Torah was contained in "Anochi"; after the fall, Torah comes through the 613 mitzvos. Each Shabbos, through the neshamah yeseirah — a glow of the essential Torah-ohr above the garment of the mitzvos — Moshe restores the crowns of "naaseh venishma," and Bnei Yisrael forever return to that level of Matan Torah.