Shavuos commemorates the Giving of the Torah, when G-d descended upon Mount Sinai and revealed His holy Torah to the Jewish people. This chapter will focus on the revelation of the Torah’s more esoteric teachings, a process that will reach its culmination in the Final Redemption.

It is a basic principle in Judaism that the Torah was given in its entirety: “All that a veteran scholar will innovate in the future was given to Moshe at Sinai.” Or in Chasidic terminology, “There will never be another Giving of the Torah.” However, some aspects of the Torah are revealed, while others are deliberately obscured. At present, many of the inner aspects of Torah are beyond our powers of comprehension. When Moshiach comes, these secrets will be revealed.

On the verse in Shir Hashirim (1:2), “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth,” Rashi comments: “We are promised that He will appear to them again, to explain the Torah’s secrets and mysteries.” The Jerusalem Talmud also associates this verse with the Torah’s hidden aspects, which we will only come to understand in the Days of Moshiach.

[Chasidus elaborates on the concept of concealed entities, citing examples from the physical world around us. Take, for example, the phenomenon of the flint stone. A flint stone will retain its ability to produce a spark even if it is submerged under water for many years. The invisible “fire” it contains is always within, ready to be revealed, albeit in a state of concealment. In the same manner, so are the Torah’s secrets already part and parcel of the Torah, waiting to be revealed by Melech Hamoshiach.

Nigleh vs. Penimiyus Hatorah
In his Igeres Hakodesh (end of Chapter 26) the Alter Rebbe compares the way we study Torah now and the way we will study it in the future. At present, most of our study is focused on Nigleh, the revealed aspect of Torah. By contrast, in the Messianic era, “the principal occupation with Torah will also be with the inner aspect of the commandments, and their hidden reasons.”

The revealed aspect of Torah deals primarily with physical objects and the material world. It talks about oxen and donkeys, litigation between neighbors, and even discusses undesirable matters and circumstances. Halachah tells us what to do if a witness testifies falsely, how to make restitution for stealing, and which foods are prohibited to a Jew.

Another characteristic of Nigleh is that a person can study it and never even once think about G-d, the Giver of the Torah. A sugya in the Gemara can be approached as an interesting legal problem, without regard for the fact that it is G-d’s wisdom and will. Nigleh can thus be said to have “descended” even lower into our world than the hidden aspect of Torah.

Penimiyus Hatorah, on the other hand, deals with spiritual concepts and ideas. It speaks about the higher worlds, the various levels of Divine illumination, and has no negative elements at all. Most importantly, when a person studies the inner aspect of Torah, there is no doubt that it relates to G-d; he is always cognizant that it is Divine wisdom.

Yet despite the advantage of Penimiyus over Nigleh, we find that most of our Sages throughout history – Tannaim and Amoraim, Rishonim and Acharonim – focused primarily on Nigleh, which relates to the physical world. The reason is that the study of Nigleh, the determination of the Torah’s dinim and halachos, is part of the Divine service of “avodas habirurim,” meaning separation or refinement. As Chasidus explains, when the world was first created the boundaries between good and evil were clearly delineated. Evil existed, but as a separate entity. The boundaries became blurred, however, with the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, and ever since then the world has been an admixture of good and evil. The sin of the Tree of Knowledge also made it easier for unclean forces to derive spiritual sustenance from the realm of holiness.

When Adam and Chava sinned a third realm was created, “kelipas nogah,” which contains elements of both good and evil. In truth, almost everything in our world belongs to this realm, as most things can be utilized for either positive or negative purposes. Unfortunately, however, because kelipas nogah is a mixture of good and evil, its evil component can also derive vitality from holiness.

One of the basic teachings of Yiddishkeit is that the Jewish people are the focal point of the universe. The function of every Jew is to separate good from evil in microcosm, i.e., within his own body and soul, which simultaneously affects the entire world in macrocosm. This process is accomplished primarily through observance of the Torah’s commandments: When a Jew takes a physical object belonging to the realm of kelipas nogah, and removes its evil component by using it to perform a mitzvah, the object is refined and becomes “good.” At the same time, when a Jew is careful not to transgress the Torah’s prohibitions, he avoids all contact with the realm of evil. The end result of this process of refinement is that when evil becomes separated from good, it loses its power and strength.

Imbuing Objects with Holiness
Another way this is accomplished is through Torah study. A Jew has the power to imbue physical objects with holiness merely by learning about them. For example, when a Jew pronounces something “forbidden” or “unclean” according to Torah law, the very act of speaking separates evil from good.

This, in fact, explains why the main emphasis of our study at present is on Nigleh, which relates to the physical realm and counteracts negatives influences. When a Jew learns Nigleh, he draws holiness down into physical objects and separates good from evil. This process of refinement will reach its culmination in the Messianic era, when the boundaries between good and evil will be reestablished, and evil will no longer derive sustenance along with the good.

Consequently, when Moshiach comes it will no longer be necessary to spend so much time and effort on Nigleh, as the world will already be refined; at that time, our primary focus will be on Penimiyus Hatorah. Moreover, the performance of mitzvos will no longer serve the function of separating good from evil, but will serve another purpose entirely (see Igeres Hakodesh for further explanation).

[As the Rebbe has explained in Volume 27 of Likutei Sichos, this does not mean that the revealed aspect of Torah will be ignored. The study of Nigleh, however, will not be conducted to determine practical halachah, but will delve into the reasons behind the halachos and concentrate on the dialectic process itself, for the purpose of  “making the Torah great and glorious” (Yeshayahu 42:21).]

Intuitive Knowledge

The Alter Rebbe adds that in the Messianic era, we will not even need to study in order to know how to conduct ourselves. In the future, a Jew will learn a halachah only once and he will never forget it. The phenomenon of forgetfulness is derived from the “spirit of uncleanliness” that pervades the world at present. Once that spirit has been “removed from the earth” in fulfillment of Biblical prophecy, a Jew will remember everything he has learned, and he will be able to devote more time to Penimiyus Hatorah.

Elsewhere (Hilchos Talmud Torah, Chapter 2) the Alter Rebbe explains that not only will a person’s knowledge be retained, but even those things he forgot will be restored to him. “In the future he will be reminded of all his study [in this world], which was forgotten against his will.”

Another explanation of why we forget is found in Midrash Yirmihayu: “The reason it is possible to forget is that in this world, the Jewish people learn Torah from a human being. The Torah was given through Moshe Rabbeinu, a mortal of flesh and blood. Just as human beings are transitory and short-lived, so too is the knowledge we acquire. In the future, the Jewish people will learn Torah directly from the Holy One, Blessed be He. And just as G-d is eternal, so too will our knowledge be retained forever.”

Most interesting, however, is that in the Messianic era, our knowledge of halachah will be intuitive. To explain:

According to Penimiyus Hatorah, the performance of mitzvos has spiritual consequences in the higher worlds. When a Jew does a mitzvah, his physical action has a corresponding spiritual effect. Thus when a Jew really knows the inner aspects of Torah, he “automatically” and intuitively knows how to conduct himself on the physical plane of existence.

Another factor is the role of the Evil Inclination. As the Rebbe explains in Volume 25 of Likutei Sichos, at present the Evil Inclination tries to prevent us from doing mitzvos. In the Messianic era, by contrast, the entirety of creation, both in microcosm and macrocosm, will testify to the existence of the Creator.

As the Midrash relates (Midrash Tehillim, end of Chapter 73), if a Jew will even think of plucking a fig off a tree on Shabbos, the fig will cry out, “Today is Shabbos!” In the future it will be natural and normal for a Jew to do mitzvos. It will therefore be unnecessary to formally sit and study the halachos of Shabbos, as we will already know them. In the same way a small child or even an animal has an instinctive fear of fire without being taught, so too will a Jew instinctively observe the Torah’s positive commandments and refrain from transgressing its prohibitions.

In a Manner of Seeing

There are many facets of Torah that are hidden to us. Some mitzvos are simply super-rational, without explanation, while others, even if we understand certain aspects, are mostly beyond our comprehension. Then there are the Torah’s diacritical marks, vowel signs and accents, which contain secrets that are completely beyond our ken. These secrets will be revealed by Moshiach Tzidkeinu, who will teach Penimiyus Hatorah to the entire Jewish people; in the Messianic era, the knowledge of the average Jew will be more profound than that of the greatest sages of history.

Even the reason for the red heifer, which was incomprehensible to Shlomo Hamelech, the wisest of all men, will be common knowledge. As the Midrash relates, “Those things that are hidden from you in this world will be visible in the World to Come, like a blind man whose eyes are suddenly opened.” Or, in the words of the Matnos Kehunah: “Like a blind man whose eyes are opened and he is able to see, so will the eyes of the Jewish people be opened in the future.”

The manner in which we will learn Torah will also be superior to today’s method:

According to Chasidus, after the dead are resurrected there will be “thousands upon thousands of tens of thousands of Jews without number.” How, then, will it be possible for Moshiach to teach Torah to everyone simultaneously? The answer is that in the Messianic era, the way we will apprehend knowledge will be totally different from anything the world has experienced until now.

At present, during the exile, intellectual ideas and concepts are expressed through the medium of letters. Because a concept is an intangible, spiritual entity, it must first be “enclothed” in words and sentences in order to be conveyed to others and absorbed.

In the future, however, information will be transmitted differently. Instead of the time-consuming process of letters, Moshiach will merely show us the Torah’s secrets and we will understand them immediately.

The difference between these two approaches is similar to the difference between hearing a detailed verbal description of an object and seeing it. No matter how detailed the description, it cannot approach the clarity and unambiguousness of actually seeing the object in person.

The same is true with regard to intellectual concepts. When a person “sees” an idea he understands it instantly, in all its details. Of course, because we have never studied Torah in this manner, it is very hard for us to visualize. However, it is said that the Arizal once told a student that one time, while sleeping on Shabbos, he had understood such profound secrets of the Torah that if it were necessary to put them into words or letters, it would take sixty or eighty years to do so (see Pri Eitz Chaim). The reason is that the Arizal was able to absorb the knowledge directly, in a manner of “seeing,” entirely bypassing any other medium.

A Foretaste of the Days of Moshiach

This new method of learning is one of the innovations Moshiach will bring about in the Final Redemption. It is not, however, entirely without precedent, as the revelation of Chasidus over the past few generations is similar in many respects and indeed, gives us a foretaste of things to come: In the same way it is a mitzvah to taste the Shabbos delicacies right before Shabbos, so too have we been given a glimpse of the secrets Moshiach will reveal.

The superiority of Torah study in the Messianic era over our present method is obvious. Our Sages even went so far as to declare, “The Torah learned by a person in this world is like vapor compared to Moshiach’s Torah.” Nonetheless, our present Torah study has the advantage of preparing us for the future, just as a young child must go through a period of education and training in order to become a Torah scholar.

To conclude, in the same way a Jew’s Torah study in this world enables him to merit the higher revelations of Gan Eden, so too may it be G-d’s will that our present study lead us to the revelation of Moshiach’s Torah in the Final Redemption, immediately and at once.

Comments (1)

Subscribe to this comment's feed