Groping Toward Torah Light
בפסוק והיית ממשש בצהרים כ' ימשש העור באפילה
On the verse "and you shall grope at noon as a blind man gropes in the darkness" (Devarim 28:29).
The Sfas Emes opens with the verse from the tochachah that describes Bnei Yisrael groping at midday like a blind man feeling his way in the dark.
כי הנה בנ"י נבראו להאיר לכל העולם וניתן להם התורה ומצות תורה אור
For behold, Bnei Yisrael were created to give light to the entire world, and the Torah was given to them, and "the mitzvah is a lamp and the Torah is light" (Mishlei 6:23).
He establishes the foundation: Bnei Yisrael's purpose is to illuminate the world, and the Torah they received is itself described as light.
והמצות הם להמשיך אור התורה גם בגוף
And the mitzvos serve to draw the light of the Torah down even into the body.
The role of the mitzvos is to carry that Torah-light down even into the physical body and the physical world.
כי הנשמה אור תורה וע"י נר מצוה מאיר אור הנשמה בגוף
For the neshamah is the light of the Torah, and through "the mitzvah is a lamp" the light of the neshamah shines into the body.
He explains the mechanism: the neshamah is the Torah's light, and the lamp of the mitzvah is what makes the neshamah's light shine within the body.
כי הגוף מחשיך אור הנשמה לכן הכסיל בחושך הולך שהוא חשכת הטבע
For the body darkens the light of the neshamah; therefore "the fool walks in darkness" (Koheles 2:14), which is the darkness of nature.
Because the body obscures the neshamah's light, a fool who lives only on the bodily plane walks in darkness, which is the darkness of unilluminated nature.
ובנ"י בכח התורה ומצות הם מאירים את הטבע
But Bnei Yisrael, through the power of the Torah and mitzvos, illuminate nature itself.
In contrast, Bnei Yisrael use Torah and mitzvos to bring light into nature itself.
וכ"כ וזרח בחושך אורך ואפלתך כצהרים
And so it is written, "then shall your light shine forth in the darkness, and your gloom shall be like noon" (Yeshayahu 58:10).
He brings a supporting verse showing that when one acts properly, one's light shines forth even in darkness and one's gloom becomes as bright as noon.
וכ"כ החושך יכסה א' ועליך יזרח ה'
And so it is written, "for behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, but upon you Hashem will shine" (Yeshayahu 60:2).
A further verse teaches that while darkness covers the world at large, Hashem's light shines specifically upon Bnei Yisrael.
והלכו גוים לאורך
"And nations shall walk by your light" (Yeshayahu 60:3).
And as a result of that light, even the nations of the world come to walk by it.
אבל עתה בגלות הגם שיש לנו התורה ועוסקים בתורה ותפלה אין מרגישין האור תורה וממששין בתורה כעור באפלה
But now, in galus, even though we possess the Torah and we toil in Torah and tefillah, we do not feel the light of the Torah, and we grope about in the Torah like a blind man in the darkness.
He turns to the present: in galus, even with Torah learning and tefillah, we no longer sense the Torah's light and we merely grope in it like a blind man.
אעפ"כ צריכין עכ"פ למשש בתורה שגם העור הממשש באפילה הקב"ה מצליח לו הדרך וע"ז מבקשין גל עיני כו':
Even so, we must at the very least grope about in the Torah, for even the blind man who gropes in the darkness, the Holy One, Blessed is He, grants him success on his way; and concerning this we daven, "uncover my eyes [that I may behold wonders from Your Torah]" (Tehillim 119:18).
Nevertheless we must keep groping in the Torah, because Hashem grants the groping blind man success on his path, and this is what we ask for when we daven that Hashem uncover our eyes to perceive the Torah's light.
Summary: The Sfas Emes takes the verse from the tochachah about groping at noon like a blind man and turns it into a teaching about the light of the Torah. Bnei Yisrael were created to illuminate the world, the Torah is light, and the mitzvos are the lamp that draws that light into the body and into nature itself, while the body and the realm of nature otherwise darken the light of the neshamah. He marshals verses from Yeshayahu showing that Bnei Yisrael's light shines forth even when darkness covers the world, so that the nations too walk by it. In galus, however, we no longer feel this light and merely grope in the Torah like a blind man in the dark. Even so, we must continue to grope, for Hashem grants the groping blind man success on his way, and it is for this that we daven "uncover my eyes that I may behold wonders from Your Torah."