Techeiles: hidden light transformed to revelation

בפסוק ונתנו כו' פתיל תכלת והיה לכם לציצית כו'.

On the posuk, "And they shall place... a thread of techeiles, and it shall be for you as tzitzis..." (Bamidbar 15:38–39).

The Sefas Emes opens his discussion of the white (lavan) and blue (techeiles) threads of tzitzis.

ענין לבן ותכלת הוא בחי' אספקלריא המאירה ושאינה מאירה דאיתא תכלת היא לסמא עיני הרשעים וסט"א וע"ז נאמר מה רב טובך אשר צפנת ליריאך והוא בחי' אספקלריא שאינה מאירה שניתן לבנ"י כענין שאמרו בנ"י מונין ללבנה.

The matter of lavan and techeiles corresponds to the aspect of the "shining mirror" (aspaklaria ha-me'irah) and the "non-shining mirror" (aspaklaria she-einah me'irah). For it is brought that techeiles serves "to blind the eyes of the wicked and the sitra achra," and concerning this it is said, "How great is Your goodness, which You have hidden away for those who fear You" (Tehillim 31:20) — and this is the aspect of the non-shining mirror, which is given to Bnei Yisrael, akin to what they said: "Bnei Yisrael count by the moon."

The white thread is the clear "shining mirror" of open revelation, while the blue techeiles is the "non-shining mirror" — a hidden, dimmer light. To the wicked the techeiles only blinds, but to those who fear Hashem it is a treasured concealed good, like the moon by which Bnei Yisrael reckon, which shines from within darkness.

והיא הארה הבאה מתוך החושך.

And it is an illumination that comes from within the darkness.

The light of the non-shining mirror is precisely a light that emerges out of concealment and darkness.

וזהו פי' אספקלריא שאינה מאירה שבאופן זה הוא מאיר אור הגנוז לצדיקים בלבד וז"ש והיה לכם לציצית לכם ולאחרים מחשיך ועיני רשעים תכלינה.

And this is the meaning of the non-shining mirror: that in this manner the hidden light (or ha-ganuz) shines for the tzaddikim alone — and this is "and it shall be for you as tzitzis": for you, but for others it darkens, and "the eyes of the wicked shall fail" (Iyov 11:20).

The very same techeiles that radiates the hidden light to tzaddikim appears as darkness to the wicked; "for you" emphasizes that this revelation is reserved exclusively for those who fear Hashem.

ולבנ"י מתהפך נהורא תכלא לחוורא.

And for Bnei Yisrael the dark light (nehora tichla) is transformed into white light (chivra).

For Bnei Yisrael, the "dark" blue light is turned over and becomes radiant white light — concealment becomes revelation.

והי' שנעשה הוי' חדשה ומתהפך לציצית לשון מציץ מן החרכים.

"V'hayah" (and it shall be) — that a new existence (haviyah) is made, and it is transformed into "tzitzis," from the expression "peering (meitzitz) through the lattices" (Shir HaShirim 2:9).

The word "tzitzis" hints at "peering through the lattices" — a glimpse of Hashem's light shining through the openings of the concealment, creating a renewed reality.

וכמ"ש וראיתם אותו.

As it is written, "and you shall see it" (Bamidbar 15:39).

The mitzvah "you shall see it" expresses this perceiving of the hidden light through the tzitzis.

וזה המצוה להיות נכרך לבן ותכלת ורמזו חז"ל מתחיל בלבן ומסיים בלבן וכדאיתא בזוה"ק תרומה קל"ט א' דבכל יום מתהפך נהורא תכלא כו'.

And this is the mitzvah: to wind together the lavan and the techeiles; and Chazal hinted, "one begins with lavan and ends with lavan," as is brought in the Zohar Hakadosh (Terumah 139a) that each day the dark light is transformed, etc.

The tzitzis are wound beginning and ending with white, framing the techeiles; the Zohar teaches that daily the dark blue light is converted into the white light of revelation.

[שוב ראיתי מזה בזוה"ק בהעלותך ק"ן ע"א ע"ש].

[I later saw concerning this in the Zohar Hakadosh (Beha'aloscha 150a). See there.]

The Sefas Emes adds a cross-reference to another place in the Zohar that discusses the same idea.

וז"ש בגמ' משיכיר בין תכלת שבה ללבן שבה.

And this is what is said in the Gemara: "from when one can distinguish between the techeiles in it and the lavan in it" (Berachos 9b, regarding the time for Krias Shema).

The Gemara's measure for the morning Shema — being able to tell apart the blue and white of the tzitzis — itself hints at the transformation of techeiles into lavan.

פי' שבנ"י זוכין להוציא אור הגנוז בתכלת.

The explanation is that Bnei Yisrael merit to draw out the hidden light within the techeiles.

Bnei Yisrael have the ability to extract the or ha-ganuz, the hidden light, from within the dark techeiles.

דכ' יומם יצוה ה' חסדו.

For it is written, "By day Hashem commands (yetzaveh) His chesed" (Tehillim 42:9).

The Sefas Emes will now read "yetzaveh" not as "command" but as an expression of connection.

מה לשון יצוה.

What is the meaning of "yetzaveh"?

He asks why the posuk uses the word "yetzaveh" specifically.

הוא דביקות וחיבור שע"י שבלילה שירה עמי שבנ"י מאמינים אפילו כשהחושך מסתיר וזוכין להיות חוט של חסד נמשך ומתחבר ומתהפך החושך לאור.

It denotes deveikus and connection (from the related root tzavsa) — that because "in the night His song is with me" (Tehillim 42:9), since Bnei Yisrael have emunah even when the darkness conceals, they merit that a "thread of chesed" is drawn down and joins, and the darkness is transformed into light.

"Yetzaveh" connotes binding and attachment: because Bnei Yisrael keep their emunah through the night of concealment ("His song is with me in the night"), a thread of chesed is drawn down by day that connects the two and turns the darkness itself into light.

וע"ז כתיב טובה תוכחת מגולה מאהבה מסותרת.

And concerning this it is written, "Better is open rebuke than hidden love" (Mishlei 27:5).

The contrast of "open" and "hidden" parallels the revealed white and the concealed blue; the verse is read to point toward the value of bringing the hidden into the open.

וכ"כ אוהבי שחרו מוסר.

And so it is written, "those who love Me, seek Me early (shichru)" (Mishlei 8:17, read in connection with mussar and "shachar," dawn).

The Sefas Emes links "shichru" (seek early) to "shachar" (dawn) and to mussar — the discipline that leads to light.

פי' שע"י מוסר זוכין בנ"י לאור השחר כמ"ש ותוכחתי לבקרים פרשנו כדי למצוא הבוקר אור.

The explanation is that through mussar Bnei Yisrael merit the light of dawn, as it is written, "and my rebuke comes every morning" (Tehillim 73:14) — we have explained it as in order to find the light of morning.

Accepting tochachah and mussar in the darkness is precisely what brings a person to the "light of dawn," the breaking through of revelation after concealment.

והוא סוד התכלת כי באמת התכלת הוא מדה"ד כדאיתא דבי' דנין ד"נ.

And this is the secret of the techeiles, for in truth techeiles is the midas ha-din (the attribute of judgment), as it is brought that "with it they judge capital cases (dinei nefashos)."

The blue techeiles essentially represents strict judgment — Chazal associate its color with the severity by which capital cases are judged.

ורמז התכלת למיתה.

And the techeiles alludes to death.

As an expression of strict din, techeiles hints at death itself.

אבל באמת מיתת הצדיקים כדי לחיות אח"כ חיים אמיתים.

But in truth, the death of the tzaddikim is in order to live afterward a true life.

For tzaddikim, even "death" — the seeming severity of din — is only a passage into genuine, eternal life.

וכמ"ש כי אעשה כלה כו' אותך לא אעשה כלה.

As it is written, "for I will make a full end... but of you I will not make a full end" (Yirmiyahu 30:11).

Hashem's promise that Bnei Yisrael will never be utterly destroyed shows that the din applied to them is not annihilation but refinement.

וכן הוא כל מדת הדין לבנ"י ולצדיקים מתהפך למדת הרחמים.

And so it is with all of the midas ha-din: for Bnei Yisrael and for the tzaddikim it is transformed into the midas ha-rachamim (attribute of mercy).

Just as techeiles turns to white, the entire attribute of judgment is, for Bnei Yisrael and tzaddikim, converted into mercy.

ולכן לילה לאו זמן ציצית רק ביום דמתהפך תכלתא לחוורא.

And therefore night is not the time for tzitzis, only the day — when the techeiles is transformed into white.

Since the whole point of tzitzis is this transformation of dark into light, it belongs to the daytime, when that conversion takes place; night, pure concealment, is not its time.

והנה ברמב"ם איתא דעושה ג' חוטי לבן וחוט הד' מחצה לבן ומחצה תכלת.

Now, it is brought in the Rambam that one makes three threads of lavan, and the fourth thread half lavan and half techeiles.

The Sefas Emes cites the Rambam's view on the make-up of the tzitzis threads as the basis for the next idea.

ולפי דרכנו נאמר שהוא בחי' יום השבת והג' חוטין מצד זה ג' ימים דקמי שבתא.

And according to our approach we may say that this corresponds to the day of Shabbos: the three threads on this side are the three days before Shabbos.

The mixed fourth thread represents Shabbos, with three pure white threads on one side representing the three weekdays leading up to it.

ומצד ב' דבתר שבתא.

And on the second side, the three days after Shabbos.

The corresponding three threads on the other side represent the three weekdays following Shabbos.

והשבת הוא לחם משנה כל מעשיו כפולין ולכן מחצה לבן מחצה תכלת.

And Shabbos is "lechem mishneh" (double bread) — all its matters are doubled; therefore it is half lavan and half techeiles.

Because Shabbos has a doubled, dual nature (as seen in the double portion of mahn), the fourth thread representing it is itself dual — half white and half blue.

כי תכלת דומה לכסא הכבוד והוא השורש שלמעלה.

For techeiles resembles the Kisei HaKavod (the Throne of Glory), and this is the root that is above.

Chazal teach that techeiles recalls the heavenly Throne of Glory; it represents the supernal root, the upper, hidden dimension.

והשבת מחבר חלק שלמטה עם חלק שלמעלה כמש"ל בפ' בהעלותך פי' לחם משנה.

And Shabbos joins the lower portion with the upper portion, as we explained above in Parashas Beha'aloscha, the meaning of "lechem mishneh."

Shabbos unites the lower world (white) with the upper root (blue); the double bread expresses this joining of the two realms.

ואל תתמה במ"ש כי הלבן בחי' אספקלריא המאירה.

And do not be puzzled by what we said, that the lavan is the aspect of the shining mirror.

He anticipates a difficulty: if Shabbos is so exalted, how can white (the shining mirror of the weekdays) be the higher element?

שכן הוא המדה דששת ימי המעשה הם משורש אספקלריא המאירה ולכן מאירין בעלמא דאתגליא.

For so it is: the quality of the six days of action stems from the root of the shining mirror, and therefore they shine in the revealed world (alma d'isgalya).

The weekdays belong to the realm of open revelation — the shining mirror — which is why they illuminate the visible, revealed world.

אבל השבת אספקלריא שאינה מאירה ולכן כל הנהגת השבת למעלה והוא יומא דנשמתין וניתן רק לבנ"י ומעלה החלק שלמטה להיות דבוק בשורשו ודו"ק:

But Shabbos is the non-shining mirror; therefore all the conduct of Shabbos is "above," and it is "the day of souls" (yoma d'nishmasin), given only to Bnei Yisrael, and it elevates the lower portion to be attached to its root. Understand this well.

Shabbos belongs to the hidden realm of the non-shining mirror — the higher, concealed source — which is why it is the "day of souls" given exclusively to Bnei Yisrael, and why it has the power to raise the lower world up and reunite it with its supernal root.

Summary: The white and blue threads of tzitzis correspond to the "shining mirror" of open revelation and the "non-shining mirror" of hidden light. The dark techeiles, representing midas ha-din and concealment, appears as darkness to the wicked but for Bnei Yisrael is transformed daily into the white light of revelation — through emunah held fast in the night and through accepting mussar that brings the light of dawn. The Rambam's threads further hint at Shabbos: the fourth thread, half white and half blue, represents the doubled nature of Shabbos, which is the hidden "non-shining mirror," the day of souls given only to Bnei Yisrael, that joins the lower world to its supernal root.