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Tevet 18, 5783 · January 11, 2023
Shemot
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Adapted by Rabbi Jonathan
Sacks; From the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
In this Sidra, when G-d asks Moses
to undertake the mission of redeeming the Israelites from Egypt, Moses
replies, “Send, I pray You, by the hand of whom You will send.” The
Midrash interprets this to be a plea for the Messiah to be sent in his
place. What is the connection between Moses and the Messiah—the past
and future redeemers? And what is the difference between them, that
each was given a separate mission? The Rebbe answers these questions,
and explains their significance in the life of the individual Jew.
1. The Two Redeemers
After G-d has repeatedly asked
Moses to return to Egypt and lead the Jewish people out of their
captivity, Moses finally says,1 “Send, I pray You,
by the hand of whom You will send.” The Midrash2 says on this verse, “(Moses) said
before Him, ‘Master of the Universe, send, I pray You, by the hand of
whom You will send’—by the hand of the Messiah who will be the future
redeemer.” But this request of Moses was not granted, for it was he,
specifically, whom G-d wanted to deliver Israel from Egypt.
It can be inferred from the
Midrash that there is a special connection between Moses and the
Messiah, and it was because of this that Moses wanted the Messiah
himself to be sent to Egypt. Nonetheless, the redemption from Egypt was
the task of Moses; the mission of the Messiah belongs to the final
exile.
The similarity which they share
(in virtue of which they have been given similar tasks—redemption from
exile) is indicated in the Rabbinic saying:3 “Moses was the
first and he will be the last redeemer.” This does not mean that Moses
in person will be the Messiah (since he was a Levite, and the Messiah,
who will be a descendant of David,4 will be from the
tribe of Judah); but rather that the redemptive power of the Messiah
will be drawn from Moses.
The reason is that the first and
major virtue of the Messiah will be Torah (according to Rambam,5 he will be steeped in it); from this,
his redemptive strength will be drawn; and the Torah is called “the
Torah of Moses.”6 Likewise, the
power of Israel to bring the Messiah derives from the service
articulated in the Torah.
This inner connection between
Moses and the Messiah is alluded to in the verse7 “And the scepter shall not depart from
Judah… until Shiloh come (ad ki-yavo Shilo).” This is taken to refer to
the Messiah, because the words “yavo Shiloh” and “Mashiach” (“Shiloh come” and “Messiah”)
are numerically equivalent.8 The same
equivalence also applies to the words “Shiloh” and “Moses” so that the
coming of the Messiah is related to Moses. In addition, “yavo” (“come”)
has the same numerical value as “echad” (“one”). Thus we can state the
equivalence: “Messiah = Moses + One,” and its meaning is that the
Messiah will be brought by service which has the attribute of
“Oneness”; and the power to achieve this is transmitted through Moses.9
2. Descent For the Sake of Ascent
How are we to understand this?
The Rabbis said: When the world
was created, everything was in a state of perfection.10 But after the sin of the Tree of
Knowledge, when the serpent infected Eve with impurity,11 man and the world fell from
perfection until the Giving of the Torah; for when Israel were at Mt.
Sinai the “spirit of impurity” departed.12 But it returned
with the sin of the Golden Calf,13 and it remains in
the world until the Messianic Age when the promise will be fulfilled to
remove (utterly destroy) impurity;14 and the world
will be ultimately purified and cleansed.
It is a general principle in
Judaism that every fall is for the sake of some ascent;15 and subsequent ascent is higher than
the state before the fall. Hence the state ushered in by the Giving of
the Torah was higher than that which preceded Eve’s sin. And by
implication the Messianic Age will be superior to the time of the
Giving of the Torah.
A twofold movement creates this
achievement of hitherto unreached heights: A descent of light
(revelation, spiritual power) from its source in the infinite; and a
corresponding ascent of Israel and the world.
We find this in the Giving of the
Torah. Even though the strength to fulfill Divine commandments preceded
it (Adam had 6 commandments, Noah 7, extra ones were given to each of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,16 and the Fathers
kept the whole Torah before it was given17), not only was
greater strength given at the time of the Giving of the Torah, but a
new power, different in kind from all that had existed before, was
given to Israel when the relation of chosenness between them and G-d
began (“and You have chosen us”18). This was a
revelation of G-d’s essence; something that had not been disclosed in
revelation before.
Likewise, the elevation of Israel
and the world was unprecedented—in the inwardness and intensity of
their purification. Hence their subsequent degradation, in committing
the sin of the Golden Calf, was not so great. Thus, although its
effects (the presence of impurity) remain visible today, still, the
effects of the Giving of the Torah are evident.
3. The Messianic Age
In a similar way, the elevation
that will belong to the Messianic Age—when the Messiah will teach his
Torah to all Israel19—will be
correspondingly greater than that of the Giving of the Torah;20 and this in two ways:
(i) In the Divine revelation. For
though at Sinai it was so intense that they could see it with their
physical senses, it was only like the Messianic revelation21 (when “the Glory of the L-rd will be
revealed”)22 and not equal to it.
(ii) In the elevation of Israel.
Whereas at Sinai the spirit of impurity departed, it remained in
potential and reappeared with the sin of the Golden Calf. But in the
Messianic time it will be destroyed and consumed forever. The whole
essential nature of the world itself will be changed; not temporarily
altered by specific Divine intervention from Above.
4. The Task of Exile
Since every elevation must be
preceded by a fall, the fall is a necessary preparation for it. It is
the service in the time of the fall (while its effects persist) which
brings about the elevation. The service of the Fathers, and the
catharsis of the “iron furnace”23 of Egypt, brought
the Giving of the Torah. And likewise, the Messiah will be brought by
our continual service in exile to purify the whole essence of the
world.24
5. The Meaning of “One”
This can be understood by first
understanding a well-known difficulty25 about the Shema.
Why does it say, “the L-rd is One” and not “the L-rd is unique?” For
“one” is an attribute of a countable thing; it is compatible with a
second. But “unique” rules out the possibility of another.
The explanation is this: The true
Oneness of G-d is not perceived merely by denying at the outset the
existence of anything besides Him (“uniqueness”—world-denying attitude);
but rather by perceiving in the midst of the physical world that it has
no existence in itself, by feeling in the context of a worldly
existence that it is in one with (united with) G-d.
The word “one” itself suggests
this. Its letters in Hebrew (echad: alef, chet, daled) have the
numerical values, 1, 8, 4.
8 symbolizes, as it were, the seven heavens and the earth, and 4, the
four directions. All these are emanations from 1 (alef) the Source and
Master (aluf) of the world.26 In other words,
the perception of Oneness must not be a spiritual one alone, but one
which permeates one’s whole view of the physical world and is realized
in it.
6. Torah and the Transformation of
the World
But how can it be that this world
whose nature is (and whose name in Hebrew means) the “concealment”27 of G-dliness, should be receptive to
a revelation within it of the Aluf (Master, One) of the universe?
For this purpose, to make the
world a fit dwelling-place for G-d, Israel was given the Torah and the
commandments.
At Sinai, it was not merely that
they were given so that through them the world should be purified and
refined; but also the accompanying revelation transmitted the power by
which this could be done.
At the moment when the Torah was
given, the whole world was entirely nullified in the face of the
revelation—even “the birds did not sing and the earth was silent”28—but this was a force from above
rather than from within (and hence it was not a permanent state).
Butfrom this was derived the world’s power
to become refined itself, and hence become a fitting receptacle for a
yet higher revelation.
7. Moses and the Messiah
Now we can understand why the
Messiah = Moses + One. For the Messiah will be brought by the service
which makes the Oneness manifest, and the power to do this was given
through the hand of Moses.
Hence the inner connection between
Moses and the Messiah: The latter will be brought by powers transmitted
through the former. And hence also their difference: The exile to and
liberation from Egypt was for the sake of the Giving of the Torah,29 and this was to give Israel the power
to purify themselves and the world. The task of the Messiah is to
complete this process, and to innovate the subsequent service, when the
purity of the world is complete.
8. “Oneness” and the Individual
Man is a microcosm of the world.30 And this cosmic process finds its
echo in every man at all times: When he works and performs his service
until evening; and entrusts his soul to G-d at night; and next day is
made new again,31 and begins a new
service.
The service of the day begins with
prayer and Torah. Through them a man receives the strength to serve
(the G-dly spirit is diffused through his whole being by prayer) and to
overcome the inclination to evil (through Torah which instructs him in
the right course of action). Then he is able to enact this service in
the practical world (to the extent that, as Rambam says,32 “his wisdom is manifest in his eating
and drinking”). His worldly existence (the chet and daled of echad) is
subordinated to his Divine wisdom (alef); a recognition of Oneness
permeates his physical actions.
Then, when his day of service is
over, he makes a spiritual reckoning of his day’s actions and
rededicates his task to G-d. He says, “Into Your hands I entrust my
soul… G-d of Truth,” and Truth itself is Oneness. For the Hebrew word
for truth is emet—the first, middle and last letters of the alef bet,33 reminding us that G-d is He who has
said, “I am the First and I am the Last, and besides Me there is no
god.”34 There is no reality which does not
emanate from Him, for when the alef (the One) is removed from emet, the
word becomes met, “death,” the absence of life.35
Just as the Torah (through the
hand of Moses) gives the world the power to bring the Messiah, so it
gives each and every individual the power to refine his own life and
environment, and so hasten the Messianic Age.36
(Source: Likkutei Sichot, Vol. XI
pp. 8-13)
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