Aharon's Clouds Guarding Israel

בפסוק וישמע הכנעני דרשו חז"ל שמע שמת אהרן ונסתלקו ענני הכבוד וניתן רשות להלחם כו'

On the verse "And the Canaani heard" (Bamidbar 21:1), Chazal expounded: he heard that Aharon had died and that the Clouds of Glory had departed, and so permission was granted to wage war, and so on.

When Aharon passed away, the protective Clouds of Glory that surrounded Bnei Yisrael withdrew, leaving them exposed, and only then did the Canaani dare to wage war against them.

מה שיחסו מלחמות אלו בכחו של אהרן

We must understand why these wars were attributed specifically to the power of Aharon.

The Sfas Emes raises his central question: why were these wars tied specifically to the power of Aharon, rather than to Moshe Rabbeinu or anyone else?

דכתיב ואשים דברי בפיך כו'

For it is written, "And I have placed My words in your mouth, and in the shadow of My hand I have covered you, to plant the heavens and to lay the foundation of the earth" (Yeshayah 51:16).

He brings the pasuk in Yeshayah, in which Hashem speaks of placing His words in a person's mouth and sheltering him under the shadow of His hand, in order to establish the heavens and the earth - this verse will be the key to the answer.

והם ב' המתנות שני שדיך משה רבינו ע"ה ואהרן הכהן

And these are the two gifts, "your two breasts" (Shir HaShirim 4:5) - Moshe Rabbeinu, alav hashalom, and Aharon HaKohen.

He identifies the two halves of that pasuk with two great gifts to Bnei Yisrael, comparing them to the "two breasts" of Shir HaShirim, which represent Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon HaKohen as the two who nourish Bnei Yisrael.

דברי בפיך הוא התורה שניתן לנו בזכותו של מרע"ה וזה לנטוע שמים היינו החלק שבנ"י מעוררין בשמים בשורשן

"My words in your mouth" is the Torah, which was given to us in the merit of Moshe Rabbeinu, alav hashalom, and this corresponds to "to plant the heavens" - that is, the portion that Bnei Yisrael arouse and awaken in the heavens, at their root.

Moshe Rabbeinu's gift is the Torah, which corresponds to "planting the heavens" - the channel by which Bnei Yisrael reach up and stir spiritual realities at their very root in the heavens.

ובצל ידי כסיתיך הוא בחי' אהרן הכהן וענני הכבוד והוא ליסוד ארץ היינו לקרב ולחבר בחי' ארץ לשמים, וזה הי' עבודת הכהן בקרבנות

"And in the shadow of My hand I have covered you" is the aspect (bechinah) of Aharon HaKohen and the Clouds of Glory, and this corresponds to "to lay the foundation of the earth" - that is, to draw near and to bind the aspect of earth to the heavens; and this was the avodah of the Kohen in the korbanos.

Aharon's gift is the sheltering shadow of Hashem's hand and the Clouds of Glory, which correspond to "laying the foundation of the earth" - the avodah of drawing the lower world upward and binding it to the heavens, which the Kohen accomplished through the korbanos.

וזהו צריך הגנה כי כל מלחמות הרשעים על בנ"י לבטל כח הקדושה שרוצין לעורר בארץ כי בחי' שורש בשמים אין להם שייכות

And this is what requires protection, for all the wars of the resha'im against Bnei Yisrael are aimed at nullifying the power of kedushah that they wish to arouse within the earth, since to the aspect of the root in the heavens the resha'im have no connection at all.

This lower work of infusing kedushah into the physical earth is exactly what is vulnerable to attack, for the resha'im can only contest holiness as it is being drawn into the earth below; they have no grip at all on Bnei Yisrael's root in the heavens, which is wholly beyond their reach.

אך התורה ניתנה לנו כדי לקרב כל הדברים לשורש העליון

But the Torah was given to us in order to draw all things near to the supernal root.

The Sfas Emes explains that the very purpose for which the Torah was given is to be the instrument that draws every thing back up and connects it to its supernal root.

וזה ענין כח מעשיו הגיד שהוא בחי' התורה בעובדא ע"י המצות זה נקרא בצל ידי

And this is the meaning of "the power of His deeds He told" (Tehillim 111:6) - that this is the aspect of the Torah expressed in deed, through the mitzvos; this is what is called "the shadow of My hand."

When Tehillim says Hashem "told the power of His deeds," it refers to Torah as enacted in concrete deed through the mitzvos, and this active, earthly dimension of Torah is the protective "shadow of My hand."

ולכן כתיב ולאמר לציון עמי אתה דרשו אל תקרי עמי אלא עמי בשותפות מה אנא במילולא עבדית ארעא ע"ש בתקונים

And therefore it is written, "and to say to Tziyon: you are My people" (Yeshayah 51:16); Chazal expounded: do not read "My people" (ami) but rather "with Me" (imi) - in partnership - just as I, through speech, fashioned the earth (so too do you); see there in the Tikkunim.

Because Bnei Yisrael become Hashem's partners in fashioning the world - just as He created through speech - Chazal reread "My people" as "with Me," teaching that Bnei Yisrael sustain the earth through Torah, as is brought in the Tikkunim.

ואשים דבריהם הטעמים של המצות כמ"ש תורה אור

"And I have placed their words" - these are the underlying reasons (te'amim) of the mitzvos, as it is written, "the Torah is light" (Mishlei 6:23).

The continuation, "I have placed their words," points to teaching the reasons that underlie the mitzvos, for the Torah's reasons are a light that illuminates their meaning.

ולשון שימה הוא כשולחן הערוך כמ"ש חז"ל בפסוק אשר תשים לפניהם לבאר להם הטעמים וזהו כחו של משה רבינו ע"ה שהוא הדעת ואמרו ז"ל לך אני מגלה טעם פרה:

And the expression of "placing" (simah) connotes something like a table that is set in order, as Chazal said on the verse "which you shall place before them" (Shemos 21:1) - to clarify for them the reasons; and this is the power of Moshe Rabbeinu, alav hashalom, who is the aspect of Daas, and Chazal said: to you alone do I reveal the reason of the parah.

The term "placing" evokes a fully set table, meaning Moshe Rabbeinu was charged to lay out the reasons of the mitzvos clearly; this reflects his unique aspect of Daas, which is why Hashem said He would reveal even the reason of the parah adumah to him alone.

Summary: This piece asks why the wars against Bnei Yisrael broke out specifically when Aharon died and the Clouds of Glory departed. The Sfas Emes answers through the pasuk in Yeshayah 51:16, which he reads as describing two complementary gifts: Moshe Rabbeinu's gift of Torah, which "plants the heavens" by raising Bnei Yisrael to their spiritual root, and Aharon's gift of the protective Clouds, which "lays the foundation of the earth" by drawing the physical world upward and binding it to the heavens through the korbanos. The resha'im can only attack this lower work of sanctifying the earth, since Bnei Yisrael's root in the heavens lies wholly beyond their reach - so when Aharon's protective dimension was removed, the earthly front became exposed and war was permitted. Yet the Torah itself is the means by which all things are reconnected to their supernal source, making Bnei Yisrael Hashem's partners in sustaining creation. This active, reason-bearing dimension of Torah is bound up with Moshe Rabbeinu, the aspect of Daas, to whom alone the reason of the parah adumah was revealed.