Torah Sustains The World
עוד לסמיכות סוף התורה אשר עשה משה לעיני כל ישראל בראשית
There is a further explanation for the juxtaposition of the end of the Torah, "which Moshe performed before the eyes of all of Bnei Yisrael" (Devarim 34:12), with its beginning, "In the beginning" (Bereishis 1:1).
The Sfas Emes asks why the Torah's final words about Moshe lead straight back to its opening word of Creation, and sets out to explain this circular link.
כי כל מה שעשה מרע"ה היה בכח התורה שנק' ראשית
For everything that Moshe Rabbeinu accomplished was through the power of the Torah, which is called "the beginning."
Moshe's every achievement drew on the Torah, which is termed "the beginning" since it preceded and underlies the world.
כמו שנברא העולם ע"י התורה כן כל התיקונים שנעשו בעולם הכל ע"י התורה
Just as the world was created by means of the Torah, so too all the rectifications that have been wrought in the world are entirely accomplished through the Torah.
The Torah is not only the blueprint of Creation but the ongoing instrument by which all repair and improvement in the world is carried out.
וז"ש ואהי' אמון אומן שבתורה נברא
This is the meaning of the verse "and I was an amon" (Mishlei 8:30) — that the world was created with the craftsmanship of the Torah.
The word amon means a craftsman's tool or skill, teaching that Hashem fashioned the world with the Torah as His instrument.
ואהי' שעשועים יום יום הם כל התיקונים שעושין בנ"י והצדיקים בכל יום ע"י התורה
"And I was a delight day by day" (Mishlei 8:30) — these are all the rectifications that Bnei Yisrael and the tzaddikim accomplish each day through the Torah.
The Torah's other description, a daily "delight," points to the constant rectifications that Bnei Yisrael and tzaddikim bring about through Torah every single day.
וזה שמחת תורה שהתורה משמחת כשמקיימים בנ"י העולם ע"י התורה ומצותי'
And this is Simchas Torah: that the Torah brings joy when Bnei Yisrael sustain the world through the Torah and its mitzvos.
Simchas Torah expresses the Torah's own joy at being fulfilled, as Bnei Yisrael uphold the world by keeping it and its mitzvos.
שנגמר עצתה שיעצה התורה לברוא העולם
For the counsel that the Torah advised — to create the world — has thereby been brought to completion.
Through this fulfillment, the Torah's original "advice" to create the world reaches its intended purpose and completion.
ובמד' אמון פדגוג מכוסה מוצנע רבתי
And in the Midrash, the word amon (Mishlei 8:30) is expounded as "tutor (pedagogue)," "covered," "hidden away," and "great."
The Midrash reads amon as four distinct ideas, which the Sfas Emes now explains one by one.
פדגוג המצות של התורה שהם מתקנים איברי האדם כמו שהוא מלובש בגוף זה בחי' קטנות
"Tutor" refers to the mitzvos of the Torah, which set right the limbs of a person according to how he is clothed within this body — this is the aspect of katnus, smallness.
As "tutor," the Torah's mitzvos refine and correct the physical limbs of a person bound within the body — the level of katnus, the lower or constricted plane of avodah.
מכוסה מה שצריכין למצוא ע"י היגיעה בתורה כמ"ש יגעתי ומצאתי תאמין
"Covered" alludes to that which one must discover through toil in the Torah, as Chazal said: "If a person says, 'I toiled and I found,' believe him" (Megillah 6b).
As "covered," the Torah holds insights that a person uncovers only through genuine toil, as Chazal promise that honest labor in Torah yields discovery.
מוצנע הם דברים שא"א להתגלות שגנוזין ונגלים רק לזמנים מיוחדים ונפשות מיוחדים יחידי סגולה
"Hidden away" refers to matters that cannot be revealed, for they are stored away and are disclosed only at special times and to special souls, the chosen few.
As "hidden away," some depths of Torah stay concealed and surface only at unique moments and to uniquely worthy neshamos.
רבתי שאין בה השגה כלל בעוה"ז רק לעוה"ב:
"Great" refers to that of which there is no apprehension at all in this world, but only in Olam Haba.
As "great," the loftiest dimension of Torah lies entirely beyond human grasp in this world and is reserved for Olam Haba.
Summary: The Sfas Emes explains why the Torah ends with Moshe Rabbeinu's deeds and immediately returns to its opening word of Creation: everything Moshe accomplished flowed from the Torah, which is called "the beginning." Just as the world was created through the Torah, so too every rectification in the world is achieved through it — this is the meaning of the Torah being Hashem's "craftsman" (amon) and His daily "delight," the latter referring to the repairs Bnei Yisrael and the tzaddikim effect each day. This is the joy of Simchas Torah: the Torah rejoices when Bnei Yisrael sustain the world through it and its mitzvos, completing the very counsel by which the world was created. He then unpacks the Midrash's fourfold reading of amon — "tutor," "covered," "hidden away," and "great" — as ascending levels of Torah: the mitzvos that refine the body in katnus, the insights found through toil, the depths revealed only to special souls at special times, and the highest reaches attainable only in Olam Haba.