והענין [To explain the latter] concept:
That the “candle of mitzvah” creates a setting for “the light of the Torah.”
The radiance of the light of a candle is generated by the air surrounding the light.
The Alter Rebbe is speaking in simple physical terms: a candle needs oxygen to burn. This physical phenomenon illustrates the spiritual concepts described previously. It was explained that for “the light of Torah” to shine forth, it is necessary that a setting be created through “the candle of mitzvah”; i.e., the Torah is comparable to the light that shines forth, and the mitzvos – and, similarly, the letters – to the air that enables that light to shine.
Why are the mitzvos and the letters able to cause the light of the Torah to shine forth? Because their source is higher than the source of the intellectual content of the Torah.
If, by contrast, there is no air, [the flame] will be extinguished and will not shine at all. Therefore one may not cover a candle with a container on Shabbos lest it be extinguished,1 since covering it with the container will prevent air from reaching the light. Thus it is the air that generates the radiance of the light.
As the Alter proceeds to explain, this physical phenomenon represents a spiritual concept.
[The inner, spiritual root of this phenomenon] is that אויר, air, is made up of the letters אור י, “the light of yud.” For air (אויר) is the source of light (אור). The yud that is hidden in the letters of the word אויר represents the hidden dimension of light,
I.e., this level is not revealed because it is higher and above the ordinary channels of revelation. This is mirrored in the pronunciation of the term אויר (avir), in which the yud is not sounded as an independent letter.
and it serves as a medium through which the light is drawn down and brought into revelation from a hidden state.
I.e., the source of light that is too transcendent to be revealed is the motivator that enables those levels that can be revealed to shine forth.
והיינו [This relates to the concepts discussed previously. The air] resembles the letters that transcend the Torah. That same level is the root and source for the mitzvos that are rooted in the sublime will which transcends Chochmah and hence the Torah which emerges from Chochmah. Therefore it is the performance of mitzvos — which involve an elevation [of entities on] a lower level
I.e., the elevation of the material entities with which the mitzvos are fulfilled.
to the source and root [of G‑d’s light], i.e., the attribute of אויר which can be divided as אור י — that cause the light of the Torah
The term “the light of Torah” refers to the G‑dly energy and vitality enclothed within the Torah that transcends the Torah’s intellectual dimension.
to shine forth.
On this basis, we can appreciate how “the candle of mitzvah” leads to “the light of the Torah” shining forth. The source of the mitzvos is the level of Kesser, the crown,that transcends Chochmah, wisdom. When a person performs a mitzvah, thereby elevating the material dimensions of our existence, he evokes and draws down influence from the level of Kesser. The infinite influence that stems from this level empowers the light of the Torah to shine forth powerfully, beyond its usual limits.
כי Accordingly, all the mitzvos are called tzedakah,
I.e., because they generate the potential for the light and influence of Torah to shine forth, the mitzvos are comparable to gifts to the poor.
charity,
Hence when the Talmud Yerushalmi uses the term mitzvah, it is referring to tzedakah.
as indicated by the verse:2 “It will be tzedakah for us if we are careful in observing this entire commandment.” [Giving] tzedakah to the poor and the destitute involves drawing down influence “to enliven the spirit of the lowly.”3 Similarly, [the mitzvos] arouse influence Above that is drawn down “to enliven the spirit of the lowly,” [i.e., all humanity].
I.e., just as in a physical sense, tzedakah involves giving the poor food and money on which their vitality depends, similarly, the mitzvos draw down vitalizing influence to all existence which — when seen in relation to G‑d — can be considered as “poor.”
For all [existence] is of no importance before Him4 and all are considered poor and impoverished in relation to Him. The Divine influence that is drawn down is the light of the Torah,
Since this influence stems from the attribute of Kesser,a level of G‑dliness that has no limitations, it empowers the light of the Torah to burst through the limitations preventing its revelation and shine forth powerfully.
because, [in this context,] light and influence are one and the same.
Both light and influence are metaphors for the energy that radiates forth from the Torah and which is drawn down through the observance of mitzvos.
וזהו On this basis, we can understand our Sages’ statement:5 “Whoever says: ‘For me, there is nothing except the Torah,’ does not even possess the Torah.” Instead, the Torah must be coupled with deeds of kindness.6 For without deeds of kindness, i.e., tzedakah, the Torah will not shine forth for him.
I.e., the person may comprehend the intellectual dimension of the Torah, but unless he couples the Torah with deeds of kindness — which, as explained above, include the observance of the mitzvos as a whole — he will not draw on the infinite G‑dly dimension of the Torah. Accordingly, the Torah will not shine forth for him in his life and he will not sense this infinity.
וזהו This is the intent of the phrase, “[he] does not even possess the Torah,” i.e., the Torah is not connected or related to him.
In a halachic sense, the concept of “possessing the Torah” is reflected by the law (Kiddushin 32a) that a Torah scholar is permitted to forgo the honor due him because of his scholarship.Although the honor is due the Torah and not him personally, he has the right to forgo it, since he has acquired the Torah as his own.
In Chassidus, acquiring the Torah is interpreted as not only mastering it intellectually, but internalizing it within one’s personality. Only after such a spiritual process is completed can it truly be said that the Torah is one’s own. The initial step in this spiritual process is connecting to the dimension of the Torah that transcends intellect, which is identified with its letters as described previously.
[The development of a personal connection to the Torah
I.e., that the Torah should illuminate the person’s life.
is possible] only through [the source of] the Torah, [the dimension] that is associated with letters.
I.e., the Torah has an intellectual form, but its source is bound up with G‑d’s Essence and thus transcends intellect. The mitzvos and the letters of the Torah relate to and reveal that transcendent dimension.
וזהו On this basis, we can understand [the expression]:7 “[The spirit generated by man]
I.e., man’s desire to seek the dimension of the Torah that transcends intellect.
draws down a spirit [from Above] and brings the spirit [to lower spiritual levels].” The “spirit [from Above]” refers to the attribute of air mentioned above.
To allude to the connection to the level of avir, “air,” mentioned previously, the Zohar uses the term “spirit.”
At first, [man’s arousal in Divine service] draws down the attribute of the letters
Man’s arousal to Divine service creates an arousal Above, drawing forth the essential dimension associated with letters.
and then it brings and draws down G‑d’s infinite light into Chochmah,
G‑d’s infinite light — which the maamar has associated with air, the letters of the Torah, and the observance of the mitzvos — is drawn down within the limited spiritual realms, producing light that can be perceived by the intellect.
i.e., the beginning of the revelation of the letters so that the Torah will [serve] as light.
Summary
In the previous sections, the maamar explained that the Torah possesses an essential G‑dly core that transcends its revealed intellectual dimensions. In this section, the Alter Rebbe develops that concept, drawing on an analogy to the light of a candle. For the light of a candle to shine, it must be surrounded by air. Thus the air can be considered as the factor that generates the light. Similarly in the analogue, it is the Torah’s essential G‑dly core which makes it possible for the light of the Torah to be generated.
That inner G‑dly core is aroused through the Divine service of the Jewish people in their observance of the mitzvos and, particularly, the mitzvah of tzedakah. Through the performance of these activities, the Jews call forth the G‑dliness invested in the Torah and thus draw down the Torah’s light.
