Receiving the hidden light of Torah through bittul

עוד במד' יש לך מקח שאין בני אדם יודעין מה לקח ומשכר הסרסור נתוודע כו' ומשה לא ידע כי קרן אור פניו כו'.

Further, in the Midrash: there is a purchase (mekach) where people do not know what was bought, and from the broker's fee (sechar ha-sarsur) it becomes known… and "Moshe did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant" (Shemos 34:29).

The Midrash compares the Torah to a hidden purchase whose value is unknown — recognized only by the broker's commission. "Sarsur" (broker) hints at Moshe, the intermediary of the Torah, whose face shone with a light he himself did not perceive.

כי שורש התורה למעלה כדכ' ונעלמה מעיני כ"ח.

For the root of the Torah is on high, as it is written, "and it is hidden from the eyes of all living (kol chai)" (Iyov 28:21).

The true source of Torah lies far above human grasp; in its essence it remains concealed from every living being.

רק ע"י הביטול אליו ית' זוכין בנ"י להמשיך אור התורה בתוכם.

Only through bittul (self-nullification) to Him do Bnei Yisrael merit to draw the light of the Torah into themselves.

Since Torah is beyond comprehension, it cannot be seized by intellect — it is drawn down only through bittul, by making oneself nothing before Hashem.

וזכו בנ"י לזה בהקדמת נעשה לנשמע.

And Bnei Yisrael merited this through placing "na'aseh" (we will do) before "nishma" (we will hear).

At Sinai, Israel's "we will do" before "we will understand" was the supreme act of bittul — accepting before grasping — which made them fit vessels for Torah's light.

שע"י המסירת נפש מתעלין בנ"י מלבוש הגשמיי.

For through mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice) Bnei Yisrael are elevated above the physical garment.

That self-surrender lifted them beyond the "garment" of physicality, raising them to a higher, more spiritual state.

וכמו שהי' במתן תורה כמלאכי השרת.

As it was at mattan Torah, [when they were] like the ministering angels.

At the giving of the Torah, freed from physicality through bittul, Bnei Yisrael reached the level of the malachim.

ואחר החטא אבדנו זאת המדרגה.

And after the sin (cheit) we lost this level.

The cheit ha-eigel caused the loss of that angelic, elevated state.

וז"ש ב"א א"י מה לקח כי הדור דעה שקיבל התורה הי' במעלה יתירה כמה"ש.

And this is the meaning of "people do not know what was bought," for the dor de'ah (generation of knowledge) that received the Torah was on an exceedingly high level, like the ministering angels.

We cannot fully appreciate what the Torah is because the generation that received it stood at an angelic height beyond our present grasp.

ובאחרונה אחר החטא דכ' כאדם תמותון.

And at the end, after the sin, as it is written, "you shall die like a man (adam)" (Tehillim 82:7).

After the sin, their immortal, angelic state was lost and they returned to ordinary mortality.

א"י להשיג רק ע"י הסרסור.

One can only attain it through the broker (sarsur).

In our fallen state, the Torah's light reaches us only through an intermediary — Moshe Rabbeinu, the "broker."

שמרע"ה נטל הכתרים.

For Moshe Rabbeinu took the crowns (kesarim).

When the crowns received at Sinai were taken from Israel after the sin, Moshe received them — becoming the channel through which their light remains accessible.

ושמעתי מפי מו"ז ז"ל שלכן בש"ק דאי' מרע"ה מחזיר לישראל הכתרים לכן יכולין לזכות לדעת [וי"ל בזה הנוסח בזמירות במצות שבת גרוסה].

And I heard from my grandfather, of blessed memory, that this is why on Shabbos Kodesh — when it is brought that Moshe Rabbeinu returns the crowns to Yisrael — they are therefore able to merit da'as. [And one may explain with this the wording in the zemiros, "with the mitzvah of Shabbos He sustains (grosah)."]

His grandfather, the Chiddushei HaRim, taught that on Shabbos Moshe restores those crowns to Israel, so that on Shabbos a Jew can attain da'as — a glimpse of the higher knowing lost after the sin. He links this to a phrase in the Shabbos zemiros.

וכפי מ"ש כי העיקר ע"י הביטול.

And according to what was said, that the essential thing is through bittul.

The key, as established, is self-nullification — which he now applies to Moshe's lack of awareness of his own radiance.

וזה הרמז לא ידע כי קרן כו'.

And this is the hint in "he did not know that [his face] had become radiant."

Moshe's not knowing of his own shining face is itself the lesson about bittul and the hiddenness of the highest level.

פי' מה שהאדם יודע אינו עדיין המדרגה השלימה.

Meaning, that which a person knows is not yet the complete level.

Whatever one can consciously grasp is by definition not the highest rung — the true peak lies beyond knowing.

כי הוא למעלה מן השגת האדם.

For it is above human comprehension.

The complete level transcends the reach of human understanding entirely.

לכן מרע"ה שהשיג מדרגה העליונה כ' בו לא ידע.

Therefore, of Moshe Rabbeinu, who attained the highest level, it is written that "he did not know."

Precisely because Moshe reached the loftiest rung, the Torah says he "did not know" — that level is too high to be consciously perceived even by the one who holds it.

והאמת כי כל עצמו של מרע"ה הוא הביטול כדכ' עניו מאוד וזה העניוות הוא סירסורתא של התורה.

And the truth is that the entire essence of Moshe Rabbeinu is bittul, as it is written "exceedingly humble (anav me'od)" (Bamidbar 12:3) — and this humility is the "brokerage" (sarsurusa) of the Torah.

Moshe's very essence was bittul, his unmatched anavah. It was precisely this humility — his total self-effacement — that made him the fitting "broker" through whom Torah is transmitted.

ומייחסו למרע"ה.

And it is attributed to Moshe Rabbeinu.

The Torah is therefore associated with Moshe — because his humility was the very vessel for it.

וז"ש לקח טוב נתתי.

And this is the meaning of "I have given you a good acquisition (lekach tov)" (Mishlei 4:2).

The Torah is the "good purchase" Hashem has given — returning to the Midrash's image of the hidden mekach.

משמע שאין אנו יכולין לראות טוב האמת הגנוז.

It implies that we are not able to see the true, hidden good.

The phrasing suggests the genuine goodness of Torah is concealed from us; we cannot directly perceive its true worth.

ומבטיח לנו ה' לקח טוב נתתי.

And Hashem promises us, "I have given you a good acquisition."

Though hidden from our eyes, Hashem assures us that what He gave is genuinely good — we must trust this even without seeing it.

אך האדם צריך רק לעסוק בתורת ה' כמ"ש תורתי אל תעזובו.

But a person need only occupy himself with the Torah of Hashem, as it says, "do not forsake My Torah" (Mishlei 4:2).

Our task is simply to immerse ourselves in Torah and not abandon it — not to measure or fathom its hidden worth.

ולא לחפוץ לידע ערך הטובה שנעלמה מעיני כל חי:

And not to desire to know the value of the good, which is hidden from the eyes of all living.

We should not crave to comprehend the Torah's true value, which is concealed from every living being. The bittul of accepting it without fully grasping it is itself the path to receiving its light.

Summary: The Torah is a hidden "purchase" whose true value is beyond human perception, for its root lies on high, concealed from all living beings. It is drawn down not through intellect but through bittul — as Bnei Yisrael showed by placing "na'aseh" before "nishma," reaching an angelic level lost after the sin and now accessible only through the "broker," Moshe Rabbeinu (and restored each Shabbos when he returns the crowns). Moshe's "not knowing" of his own radiance teaches that the highest level transcends conscious knowing; his very essence was humility, the "brokerage" of Torah. Hashem promises us a "good acquisition" even though its worth is hidden — our task is simply to immerse in Torah and not crave to measure the good that is concealed from every living eye.