‘The Light of the Moon Shall be Like the Light of the Sun’

The above distinction between hokhmah and keter sets the stage for the conclusion of the hemshekh. In his original discussion of hokhmah, R. Shmuel noted that there is a fundamental equivalence between hokhmah and malkhut, the last of the ten sephirot. Malkhut translates as “kingship” and signifies G‑d’s dominion over creation. The function of malkhut, at least theoretically, is to perpetuate the sense of effacement that is embodied by hokhmah throughout all existence. Yet the function of malkhut is also to constrict the revelation of divinity in order to allow creation, distinguished by its sense of autonomy and otherness, to emerge. Hokhmah illuminates all the other sephirot, beginning with binah, so that they serve as transparent conduits for the revelation of divine singularity. Malkhut serves as the opaque intermediary between the majesty of the divine king and the mundanity of G‑d’s created subjects.1

It is only through the all-encompassing connectivity of da’at that malkhut too can internalize the luminous singularity of divine being, achieving the transparent clarity of binah and dissolving the barrier between G‑d and creation. This becomes clear at the close of the hemshekh, where R. Shmuel returns to this theme, and emphasizes that this is the telos of redemption, the ideal to be achieved in the future-to-come, as forecast by Isaiah: “The light of the moon (malkhut) shall be like the light of the sun (binah).”2

But at the genesis of redemption—when the Jewish people first eat matzah and are poised to embark on the exodus from Egypt—the effacement embodied by hohkmah has not yet been internalized. It remains in its infant state of vulnerability (qatnut aba), a tenuous point of introverted luminosity that yet flickers in the darkness of Egypt, where it is threatened with extinction. The long path of redemptive growth lies ahead and the infant hokhmah must be protected, hastily extracted from the threatening confines of Egypt, and carried forth to illuminate the heart of man and transform the consciousness of the cosmos.3

This brings us back to the verse with which the hemshekh begins: “Vekakhah tokhlu oto” - “And like so shall you eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hands; and you shall eat it in haste; it is a Passover sacrifice to the Lord.”4 The reason for the haste, R. Shmuel tells us, is “because evil is still in its strength.” Hokhmah, on the other hand, is still in infancy. Redemption stands at the tenuous brink of a genesis that won’t be actualized at all unless it is actualized quickly. This accords with the well known teaching that in Egypt the Jewish people had descended to the penultimate station of impurity, and needed to depart its borders before they reached the spiritual point of no return.5

In the messianic future-to-come “a far better” state will have been achieved. Evil will by then have been subdued, and worldly constraints rendered transparent to divine infinitude. Darkness will have been entirely refined into light, and an all-encompassing macro-consciousness (mokhin de-gadlut) will have been achieved. Unthreatened by the competitive strife that results from small-mindedness (mokhin de-qatnut), the telos of redemption is arrived at with the unhurried grace endowed by maturity, confidence and security: “you shall not go forth in haste.”6 The final redemption will be endowed with “eternal perpetuation” and “will not ever falter.”7

When divinity has been eternally internalized by all creations its luminous revelation will no longer be threatened with obscuration. But until that time comes we must continue to tread the redemptive path, on which we prepared ourselves to embark during the eve of the exodus from Egypt. In addition to eating the matzah, ingesting the very being of hokhmah, we 1) girded our loins, 2) put our sandals on our feet, and 3) took our staves in our hands. Each of these, R. Shmuel explains, alludes to another measure that we who tread the redemptive path cannot do without.

1) The axiomatic faith that marks the genesis of redemption must be supported by studying the oral law (torah she-baal peh). The oral law maps out precisely how we walk the redemptive path, revealing the transcendent will of G‑d as it pertains to the many complexities of Jewish life and practice:

Girding one’s loins, aside from testifying to haste, as above, also signifies the strengthening of faith … The loins hold up the body, and just as it is physically, so it is spiritually in the soul of man too … The loins refer to that which holds up and sustains the head, that is, the intellect that contemplates and immerses their da’at in the greatness of the infinite … to cleave to Him literally. But what is it that gives the loins the strength and might to hold up and sustain the head? This is the toil and study in the laws of the Oral Torah, which reveals the will of G‑d … and its root is higher than hokhmah … This is the meaning of “she girds her loins with might,” [for] “there is no might other than Torah.”8

Spiritual cognition and experience alone cannot bridge the gap between G‑d and creation, nor properly sustain faith. Only through studying the oral law can we come to know the transcendent will of G‑d, i.e. how to observe the commandments in the specific manner that G‑d intended. So in addition to studying the written Torah, or the mystical and ethical dimensions of the Torah, we must gird our loins with the mighty power of the oral law. Only then can we traverse the distance between finite physicality and infinite divinity with efficiency and ease.9

2) As we tread the path of redemption we must remember to protect our feet. The feet are the lowest part of the body, which come into direct contact with the dirty ground. Sandals represent the protective layer that prevents the harsh environment of the physical world form sapping our spiritual energy and dragging us down. Sandals are also fashioned from a raw material—coarse animal skin—that must be worked into fine leather before it can crafted into a useful product. We too must tool the raw and animalistic facets of our character and environment, refashioning them into useful tools in our transformative journey.

Just as in the physical realm the sandal is a guard that protects the foot from becoming dirty, so … the [spiritual] sandal guards the foot so that the externalities (klipot) should not leach sustenance from holiness … Therefore the task is to guard the heel even against those sins that man tends to trample underfoot … Just as we see in the physical realm that animal skin [from which sandals are made] has a stench, and when it is worked it becomes fashioned and beautiful, so too to be understood in the spiritual realm … And this is [the meaning of] “how fair are your feet in sandals” … [spiritual beauty is achieved] through the refinement and transformation of the animal soul specifically …10

3) A walking staff can be wielded as a weapon of defense against the dangers of the road. But it can also be carried as a baton of rank or a scepter of rulership.11 These functions of the staff reflect its presence at the genesis and telos of redemption respectively: At the genesis of the redemptive path, when evil remains strong and we are still vulnerable to attack, the staff must sometimes be wielded as a weapon. The significance of this in each individual’s service of G‑d is explained by R. Shmuel in light of the Talmudic dictum, “one should always incite the good inclination against the evil inclination.”12 In the internal dialogue between these competing inclinations, a rhetoric of anger—“words that are harsh as the staff and the stick”—can embolden you to do good and to stave off the seductions of worldliness and vice.13

At the telos of the redemptive path, however, we and the cosmos will have reached such a state of maturity and refinement that weaponization will no longer be necessary. “All the nations shall stream to G‑d.”14 There will be no dichotomy between “us” and “them,” nor between the G‑dly and animalistic sides of the individual self. There will be no need to smite the wicked, for then the true being of divinity will become explicit, and G‑d’s dominion will be all-encompassing. The staff of the messianic future-to-come is the scepter of this all-encompassing dominion, rather than a weapon of forceful subjugation. “You shall be sovereign among your enemies,”15 means that those who were formally your enemies will ultimately be included within the collective kingdom of G‑d.16

Midrashic and Zoharic sources further tell us that the staff of Moses was carved from the tree of knowledge (ets ha-da’at) in the Garden of Eden; that this was the same staff that Jacob carried over the Jordan; and that this staff will ultimately be placed in the hand of the messianic king of the future.17 The staff accordingly emerges as a symbol of continuity, marking every stage of humanity’s historic journey. R. Shmuel adds that this staff also bridges the poles of cosmic reality: It symbolizes the middle path that spans the entire hierarchy of existence, from keter, through da’at and tifferet, and all the way down to malkhut. In spanning the cosmos and collapsing its hierarchical facade, the staff of Moses acquires the miraculous power to reveal divinity in the place of concealment.

In R. Shmuel’s words:

The staff of Moses and the staff of the future-to-come; both are of the same station as the staff of Jacob [who said, “for with my staff I crossed the Jordan”] … and for this reason the splitting of the sea [following the exodus from Egypt] was possible … In order for the sea to be transformed into dry land, which is a change from the way it was created … [G‑d commanded Moses] “and you raise up your staff,” the staff of Jacob, with which he crossed the Jordan, for Jacob is the middle bolt that runs from one pole to the other …18 for he is the station of beauty (tifferet) [which arises from the combination of the entire spectrum of color], which rises to the transcendence of keter, drawing forth an easterly wind (ru’ah kadim) from the one who pre-exists the world (kadmono shel olam) so that the sea shall be transformed into dry land.”19

At every stage of history, we grasp hold of a staff that spans eternity. In every situation we grasp the power to transform our circumstances, miraculously transcending nature and transforming nature, overcoming adversity and transforming our challenges into opportunities for ascent.

In the final passage of the hemshekh, R. Shmuel returns once more to the theme of effacement, as reflected in the Passover commandment of ridding our homes of all risen dough. This commandment, he continues, applies “throughout the year, for risen dough is the evil inclination that incites and seduces the individual away from the good path to draw him after physical pleasures, and it is called risen dough due to its haughtiness. For why does one desire to conduct himself like a wealthy person, for example? This is because of one’s haughtiness … and the subjugation of the evil inclination is called getting rid of the risen dough. And through this, in the future-to-come even the soul as it is vested in the body will be connected with divinity just like the source and root of the soul … In the future-to-come, the day that is entirely Shabbat, …even the soul as it is vested in the body will connect itself to the station of infinite light, the station of singularity.”20

When the Rebbe Maharash concluded Hemshekh Vekakhah, he called for me and asked the attendant to bring a bottle of Tokajer Wine (a noble sweet wine from the Hungarian region of Tokaj). He told me to close the door and said, “come and we shall be joyous; I and you.”

- R. Shalom DovBer Schneersohn of Lubavitch, as related to his son, R. Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn of Lubavitch, and transcribed by the latter’s son-in-law, R. Menachem M. Schneerson, the seventh rebbe of Chabad-Lubavitch21