Two levels of love for Hashem through Torah

במדרש איש כי יפליא שוקיו עמודי שש זה העולם שנשתוקק הקב"ה לבראתו שנא' ועלי תשוקתו כו' ד"א שוקיו זו התורה כו'.

In the Midrash on "a man who shall set apart" — "his thighs are pillars of marble" (Shir HaShirim): this refers to the world, which the Holy One longed to create, as it says, "and His longing is upon me"; another interpretation: "his thighs" — this is the Torah.

The Sefas Emes opens with two readings of the same pasuk — the "pillars" upon which everything stands are the world Hashem desired to create, and the Torah through which it stands.

דכל מה שברא הקב"ה בעולמו לכבודו ברא.

For everything that the Holy One created in His world, He created for His glory.

The entire purpose of creation is the revelation of Hashem's kavod (glory).

ולכן נשתוקק לברוא העולם כדי שיכירו כבוד מלכותו ית"ש שא"א להכיר את הבורא רק ע"י מעשיו.

Therefore He longed to create the world so that they would recognize the glory of His kingship, for one cannot recognize the Creator except through His works.

Hashem desired creation as the medium through which His creatures could come to know Him — for He can only be perceived through what He has made.

אבל זו ההכרה באה ע"י התורה שמלמדת לאדם איך להכיר את הבורא מתוך מעשיו.

But this recognition comes by means of the Torah, which teaches a person how to recognize the Creator from within His works.

The world alone is not enough; the Torah is the guide that teaches us to see the Creator within His creation.

ובמשנה חביבין ישראל שניתן להם כלי חמדה שבו נברא העולם.

And in the Mishnah: "Beloved are Yisrael, for they were given a precious instrument (kli chemdah) with which the world was created."

The "precious instrument" is the Torah, the very blueprint and tool of creation, entrusted as a sign of love to Bnei Yisrael.

התורה נק' כלי חמדה שע"י התורה באים לתשוקה אל הבורא ית"ש ולהכיר חסדיו ורחמיו ומדותיו של הקב"ה ולכן כתיב ועלי תשוקתו שבנ"י מוציאין מכח אל הפועל זו התשוקה.

The Torah is called a "precious instrument," for through the Torah one comes to a longing for the Creator and to recognize His kindnesses, His mercies, and the middos (attributes) of the Holy One; therefore it is written "and His longing is upon me," for Bnei Yisrael bring this longing from potential into actuality.

Through Torah, a person comes to yearn for Hashem and to recognize His attributes of kindness and mercy — and Bnei Yisrael are the ones who actualize the very longing for which the world was created.

אכן התורה נק' ג"כ חמדה גנוזה כדאיתא בגמ'.

However, the Torah is also called a "hidden treasure (chemdah genuzah)," as is brought in the Gemara.

Beyond its revealed role as a tool for knowing Hashem, the Torah has a deeper, concealed dimension.

דיש אהבת עולם ויש אהבה רבה.

For there is "ahavas olam (everlasting love)" and there is "ahavah rabbah (abundant love)."

The Sefas Emes distinguishes two levels of love for Hashem, named after the two blessings before Shema.

וזה הדרך שמכירין את הבורא מתוך מעשיו זה בחי' אהבת עולם.

And this path of recognizing the Creator from within His works — this is the aspect of "everlasting love."

Ahavas olam is the love that arises from contemplating Hashem through His creation and His acts of kindness.

וגם זה ע"י התורה שנק' כלי חמדה.

And this too comes by means of the Torah, which is called a "precious instrument."

This outward path to love is itself reached through the revealed Torah, the "precious instrument."

אבל אהבה רבה היא הפנימיות.

But "abundant love" is the penimiyus (inner dimension).

Ahavah rabbah is a deeper, inner love that does not depend on contemplating creation.

רבה גי' אור.

"Rabbah" has the gematria of "ohr (light)."

The numerical value of "rabbah" equals "light," hinting that this love is a direct, inner illumination.

ורז.

And of "raz (secret)."

"Rabbah" also equals "raz," indicating that this love belongs to the hidden, secret realm of the Torah.

ומי שזוכה אל אהבה זו יש לו דביקות בה' בעצם ואין צריך לעורר את האהבה על ידי הבריאה.

And one who merits this love has an essential dveikus (cleaving) to Hashem and does not need to awaken the love by means of creation.

At this level, a person is bound to Hashem directly and intrinsically, needing nothing in the created world to stir his love.

וזהו אהבת אמת.

And this is "ahavas emes (true love)."

This direct, unconditioned bond is the truest form of love for Hashem.

ובמתן תורה היו בנ"י בזו המדריגה.

And at Matan Torah (the Giving of the Torah), Bnei Yisrael were on this level.

At Sinai, Bnei Yisrael attained this highest, inner love — a direct cleaving to Hashem.

וע"ז מבקשין ישקני מנשיקות פיהו כו'.

And about this they request, "Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth."

The opening request of Shir HaShirim expresses the yearning for this direct, intimate love, unmediated by the world.

דודיך מיין.

"For Your love is better than wine."

The intimate love of "kisses" is praised as surpassing the love symbolized by "wine."

יין הוא המדריגה שלמטה אהבת עולם שכולל כל השבעים אומות ג"כ וע"ז כתיב הביאני אל בית היין ע' אומות כמ"ש במד'.

"Wine" is the lower level, "everlasting love," which includes all seventy nations as well; and about this it is written, "He brought me to the house of wine" — the seventy nations, as the Midrash says.

The love that comes through contemplating creation ("wine") is a more general level shared in some way with all of mankind — the seventy nations.

אך ודגלו עלי אהבה ביחוד למעלה מאהבת עולם.

But "and His banner over me is love" — this is the unique love, above "everlasting love."

The exclusive, intimate love between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael ("His banner of love") is the higher, inner ahavah rabbah.

וזהו בחי' הנזיר כי יפליא שגובר בו כח הנשמה שהוא בחי' פלא כמ"ש ז"ל ומפליא לעשות שקשר הקב"ה הנשמה בגוף.

And this is the aspect of the nazir, "when [a man] shall set apart (yafli)," in whom the power of the neshamah prevails — which is the aspect of "wonder (pele)," as Chazal said on "and He acts wondrously," that the Holy One bound the neshamah to the body.

The nazir, who "sets himself apart," reaches the level where the soul overpowers the body — the "wonder" of the soul, which is itself a marvel that Hashem joined a heavenly soul to a physical body.

וכשגובר בו כח הנשמה בא לבחי' אהבה רבה ושוכח כל תענוגי עולם כמ"ש ועמך לא חפצתי בארץ.

And when the power of the neshamah prevails in him, he comes to the aspect of "abundant love" and forgets all the pleasures of the world, as it says, "and beside You I desire nothing on earth."

When the soul dominates, a person attains the highest love and loses all interest in worldly pleasures, desiring only Hashem.

ולכן פורש עצמו מן היין כנ"ל.

Therefore he separates himself from wine, as above.

The nazir abstains from wine — symbol of the lower love rooted in the created world — because he has risen to the direct, inner love.

ומעין תשוקה זו נמצא בשבת קודש שנקראת מתנה טובה בבית גנזי בחי' חמדה גנוזה כנ"ל:

And a taste of this longing is found on Shabbos Kodesh, which is called "a good gift in My treasury," the aspect of the "hidden treasure," as above.

Shabbos, the precious gift from Hashem's hidden treasury, offers a taste of this inner ahavah rabbah — the concealed dimension of the Torah.

Summary: Hashem created the world so that He would be recognized, and the Torah — the "precious instrument" — teaches us to perceive Him through His works, awakening "ahavas olam," a love drawn from creation that all the seventy nations share in part. But the Torah is also a "hidden treasure" leading to "ahavah rabbah," a direct, essential cleaving to Hashem that needs no created thing to arouse it — the love Bnei Yisrael reached at Matan Torah. The nazir, in whom the soul's "wonder" overpowers the body, attains this inner love and forsakes the "wine" of worldly pleasure; and a taste of it is granted each Shabbos, Hashem's gift from His hidden treasury.