In the Torah portion of Bo we find the plague of Darkness described as follows:
[1] "Moshe stretched out his hand ... and darkness and blackness extended over all of Egypt. People could not see each other, and no one left his place for three days. The Jewish people, however, had light in all the places where they were."
According to the Midrash,[2] this plague consisted of two separate miracles: a) a miraculous form of darkness that plagued the Egyptians, b) a miraculous illumination that existed only where Jews were found, and which enabled them to see where the Egyptians hid their treasures. G-d was thereby able to fulfill His promise to Avraham that the Jews would leave Egypt "with great wealth."[3]
According to Rashi,[4] however, there was only one miracle: the darkness that G-d brought upon the Egyptians. And while it was true that the purpose of this miracle was to give the Jewish people the opportunity to search for Egyptian wealth, there was no additional miracle allowing the Jews to see what was in the Egyptian dwellings.[5]
Why does Rashi differ from the Midrash as to whether the "light in all the places where they were" was one of the miracles of the plague?
The "great wealth" that the Jews took with them from Egypt also alludes to the sparks of holiness found within that country. By taking out the silver vessels, etc., the Jewish people also took out and elevated the sparks of holiness from the evil of Egypt and returned them to the domain of holiness.[6]
"Elevating the sparks of holiness" is vitally important in the spiritual service of all Jews. Thus, in addition to the obligation of Torah study and prayer (spiritual matters that relate more directly to the person himself), a Jew must also perform the mitzvos, which usually involve physical matter.
When a person uses his mind and heart in study and prayer, he elevates his own spirituality. But when he performs the physical mitzvos and also sees to it that even his everyday permissible activities are done for the sake of Heaven, he draws spirituality into the physical universe and elevates the sparks of holiness found within physicality to the realm of sacredness.[7]
Accordingly, we may well say that according to Rashi these are the two aspects of the verse: a) The actual plague of Darkness provided the Jewish people with the ability to enter the Egyptian homes and behold their wealth; b) "The Jewish people, however, had light in all their places of dwelling." This corresponds to the two previously mentioned kinds of spiritual service.
The spiritual service of Torah study and prayer illumines and sanctifies the soul of the Jew; his personal "dwelling place" is filled with divine light. The service of purifying and elevating the world by extracting sparks of holiness from the physical and returning them to the spiritual is akin to entering the Egyptian homes and returning their objects to holiness.
As things exist in their simple context - the basis of Rashi's commentary on Torah - these are two markedly different and possibly opposite kinds of service.
According to the Midrash, however - wherein "most of the secrets of Torah are concealed"[8] - this "light in all the places where they were" is part and parcel of the miracles of the plague of Darkness.
For with regard to the divine inner intent, these two manners of service - elevating oneself and elevating the sparks of holiness within the world - are not two different kinds of service, but are bound one to the other.
This is because the ultimate purpose of Torah study and prayer is to assist a person in his sanctification of the world. For as explained in Tanya,[9] in the final analysis the soul did not descend into this world to perfect itself, for no amount of perfection can attain for the divine soul the level of holiness that it enjoyed prior to its descent. Rather, it descended below to perfect its body, the body's vitalizing soul, and its portion in the world, by purifying and elevating them to holiness.
Based on Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXXI, pp. 46-51.
Notes:
- (Back to text) Shmos 10:22-23.
- (Back to text) Shmos Rabbah 14:3; Tanchuma, Bo 3.
- (Back to text) Bereishis 15:14.
- (Back to text) Commentary on Shmos, ibid.
- (Back to text) See Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXXI, pp. 46-47.
- (Back to text) See Torah Or 60c. See also Likkutei Sichos, Vol. III, p. 823ff.; XXI, p. 15ff.
- (Back to text) See at length in Tanya ch. 37.
- (Back to text) Hilchos Talmud Torah leAdmur HaZakein 2:2; Tanya, Iggeres HaKodesh, p. 137a.
- (Back to text) Ch. 37.
In the Torah portion of Bo we read that the Jews left Egypt in great haste.
[1] The Torah thus commands us:
[2] "You shall eat matzah for seven days. This shall be lechem ohni [impoverished bread], since you left Egypt in a rush. You will then remember the day you left Egypt all the days of your life."
Our Sages conclude that the commandment to eat matzah is fulfilled only when the matzah is "impoverished bread," i.e., made only of flour and water; one does not fulfill the obligation by eating matzah ashirah (rich matzah) made with wine, oil, honey, etc.
What is the difference between lechem ohni and matzah ashirah in terms of man's spiritual service; why are we not allowed to fulfill the obligation of remembering the Exodus with matzah ashirah?
Made exclusively from flour and water, lechem ohni is a matzah that has no taste added to it by the liquid. This is not the case with matzah ashirah, as the wine, oil, etc., add flavor.
In a spiritual context this means that[3] lechem ohni is symbolic of the divine service that results from kabbalas ol, acceptance of the Divine Yoke. It involves performing G-d's commandments though the individual lacks understanding as to their significance. As a result, the person who serves with kabbalas ol does not delight in his service - it lacks "taste" and pleasure.
Matzah ashirah, on the other hand, denotes spiritual service based on a person's understanding and logic. As such, this service is replete with "taste" and delight.
When a Jew serves only out of kabbalas ol and his performance lacks the "taste" of intellect and emotion, then there is room within his intellect and emotion for evil - he merely forces himself not to follow his evil impulses and does what G-d wills.
But when a person's divine service is such that it involves his intellectual and emotional attributes, then these attributes themselves negate any possibility of acting contrary to G-d's will - the person has absolutely no desire to act in an evil manner.
These two kinds of service find expression in the two general types of redemption, the redemption from Egyptian exile and the imminent redemption from our present exile.
The Torah informs us[4] that the exodus from Egypt took place in great haste - "the Nation fled." They did so because "the evil in the [animal] souls of Israel was still at full strength"[5] and it was necessary for them to flee the evil and impurity of Egypt. This is symbolized by "impoverished bread" - a state of spiritual impoverishment in which one can serve G-d only in a manner of kabbalas ol.
However, during the future Redemption, "You will not go out it haste,"[6] as G-d assures us that at that time "I shall remove the spirit of impurity from the earth."[7] This condition, in which evil is totally negated and so there is not even a remote possibility of acting wickedly, is the level of matzah ashirah.
There is, however, a positive element as well to the prohibition of fulfilling the obligation with matzah ashirah:
Although matzah ashirah is symbolic of a total cessation of evil, only the service of lechem ohni requires labor and struggle to overpower evil.
Or put another way: Matzah ashirah emphasizes how man is united with G-d by dint of purifying and refining himself to the extent that his very being becomes the antithesis of evil. Lechem ohni, however, is indicative of a person's nullification of self to G-dliness; although there is latitude within his intellect and emotion for evil, by fulfilling G-d's will he forces himself to do that which is entirely against his own nature.
This is why, even at the time of the future Redemption, the Exodus from Egypt will still be mentioned:[8] G-d's ultimate intent is that even when a person reaches the level of matzah ashirah, where there is no room for evil, he should always retain the self-nullification that can only be achieved as a result of labor and struggle.
Based on Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XVI, pp. 122-126.
Notes:
- (Back to text) Shmos 11:37.
- (Back to text) Devarim 16:3.
- (Back to text) See Torah Or, Vayakhel, p. 89c, 90b; Or HaTorah, Shmos, p. 2,163ff., 2,171ff. See also Likkutei Torah, Vayikra 6c ff.
- (Back to text) Shmos 14:5.
- (Back to text) Tanya, ch. 31.
- (Back to text) Yeshayahu 52:12.
- (Back to text) Zechariah 13:2.
- (Back to text) Mishnah, Berachos conclusion of ch. 1. See also Michah 7:15 and Yeshayahu 11:16.
Va'eira