Rabbi Shimon said: “Woe to the person who says that the Torah comes only to give instructions and tell descriptive stories and simple tales. Of course this is not the case. Every word in the Torah reflects higher wisdom and higher secrets; the narratives of the Torah are only its outer clothing.
The body of the Torah is dressed in stories from this world. The wise ones, servants of the Highest King, those who stood at Mount Sinai, see through to the soul of the Torah that is truly her essence and in the future will delve into the soul that is within this essence of the Torah.
The portion of the Torah read this week begins with G-d's
command to kindle the candelabrum of the holy Temple. The lamps of the
candelabrum (the seven-branched menorah of the
holy Temple) were all in a straight line; the "front" of the menorah is thus
interpreted to mean the lamp situated on top of its middle shaft. The word used
for "kindle" literally means "cause to ascend".
The Ari explains how its very structure illustrates the Kabbalistic
maturation process of the Feminine Principal (Nukva). When the Torah
mentions Aaron's kindling of the Menorah - literally causing [the flames]
to rise", he thus aptly represents the way the flow of Zeir Anpin (i.e.
the emotions, the principle one of which is the love characterized by him)
inspires and causes Nukva to mature and develop.
When G d speaks about appearing to prophets "in a dream", this describes the impact of G d's communications to such prophets as being similar to that of people who experience a dream while asleep, although G d always communicated with His prophets while the latter were awake.
Only Moses was able to maintain his regular posture when G d communicated with him; he did not prostrate himself or go into convulsions as did other prophets. Neither did he receive such communications in the form of a riddle or parable. Every communication Moses received from G d was crystal clear, requiring no further elaboration. This is what the Torah means when it describes such communication as "I speak with him mouth to mouth."
Moses was the only human being able to retain his composure when thus addressed by G-d as he succeeded in transforming the material part of himself into the perfect state G-d has created it in. Once man has achieved this, his body is no longer a hindrance to his receiving communications from G-d, and he will be able to do so as a matter of course.
This week's Torah reading includes G-d's praise of Moses: "…he is the most faithful of all the people." The Chasidic masters teach that one of the most profound paths towards clarity in faith is a path of simplicity and humility, putting aside any accomplishments that one has made using one's intellectual and emotional faculties. It requires one to approach divine service with the innocence and security of a small child who believes with absolute faith that his father and mother can do anything. It is unequivocal faith and trust.
The Baal Shem Tov was the embodiment of simple, unequivocal faith. Near the end of his days he was known to have said, "Even after all of my advances in spirituality and achievements in knowing the ways of G-d, I am prepared to forfeit them all. Instead, I embrace only plain, simple and unequivocal faith in G-d."
King Solomon said, "G-d's lamp is the human soul." The flame of a candle constantly flickers upwards, as if yearning to leave the wick behind and ascend to the heavens. The soul shares this nature, constantly striving to break out of the boundaries imposed on it by the body and the physical world and reconnect with its spiritual source.
At times, however, this nature falls into remission. The soul is so blinded by its surroundings that it forgets its natural thirst for the Divine. This is why the lamps must be kindled. They must be reminded of their inclination to ascend.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that seven candles of the candelabra represent the souls of the Jewish people as they are divided into seven different aspects of service to G-d. Like a candle, the soul is supposed to shine until it rises upward. When a person is involved in serving G-d and his soul is able to express its true purpose in the world, then it rises upward naturally. Rising has two connotations: connecting to G-d above and not being distracted by difficulties in this world, below.
The Menorah was, by divine command, molded out of one piece of gold. The branches as well as the center column were all hammered into shape from one solid piece. As a unit, the Menorah represents the spiritual entity of all of the souls of the Jewish people together. Just as gold is precious and the Menorah is of one piece, so are the Jewish people.
Why were you not afraid to speak against him?"
Shabbat Shalom.
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