Me’or Einayim #1

Okay, we'll begin from Breishis. To just state the obvious, I'm, I'm not, I'm light years away from being able to give shiurim on Maor Einayim. We're trying to, to learn it together a little bit. באורייתא שנקרא ראשית דרכו ברא קודשא בריך הוא עלמא. Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world through the Torah. The, the instrument for briat haolam is the Torah. We'll, we'll come back later bli neder, I don't think today, to the significance of shenikra reishis dacho. I mean, just simply that it's the source, it's the beginning as it were of Hakadosh Baruch Hu's path in, in the briah.

נמצא כל דבר נברא על ידי התורה וכח הפועל הפועל בנפעל.

The, the life force of the, the, the actor, the agent of creation is present in that which was created. Im kein, בכל דבר ובכל העולמות כח התורה. Everything that exists, exists because of the, the life force of Torah. Vechein haadam, and that includes adam as well, דכתיב זאת התורה אדם. That the Torah is, is again that which animates adam, kaasher yisbaer.

והתורה וקודשא בריך הוא חד נמצא בכל דבר הוא חיות הקדוש ברוך הוא ואתה מחיה את כולם.

Everything, everything that exists is distinct from Hakadosh Baruch Hu. If, if a person thinks that everything that exists is Hakadosh Baruch Hu, then he's a pantheist, which is, which is kefirah, rachmana litzlan. Everything that exists is distinct from Hakadosh Baruch Hu, but its chiyus, but its existence is drawn from Hakadosh Baruch Hu. ואתה מחיה את כולם. Nefesh hachayim comments on, on this phrase also in a similar context. ואתה מחיה את כולם. I think some, someone once commented that when you see how the sefarim call our attention to what a, an important profound yesod is encapsulated in that phrase, you understand the dinei kadima if, if a person is late and has to catch up with the tzibur, so you say in Vayivarech David, you say until ואתה מחיה את כולם וצבא השמים לך משתחוים, you say through that pasuk and then you, and then you fast forward if need be to yishtabach. וצמצם כביכול עד מדרגות התחתונות. So what, what tzimtzum means is also light years beyond our having any comprehension, but it's important to understand what it doesn't mean. It's okay not to understand what everything means, but it's more important to understand what things don't mean. Hakadosh Baruch Hu didn't change. There's no, Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the same after briat haolam as before briat haolam. as he was before briyas haolam.

אתה הוא עד שלא נברא העולם אתה הוא משנברא העולם.

The same, the same atoh. That's what those lines in tefilla mean.

אתה הוא עד שלא נברא העולם אתה הוא משנברא העולם.

Hakadosh Baruch Hu didn't, didn't change. Whatever this process of tzimtzum is that the sfarim talk about, again literally it means contraction, it doesn't mean any change in Hakadosh Baruch Hu himself.

אתה הוא עד שלא נברא העולם אתה הוא משנברא העולם.

Somehow or other it refers to giving, in quotation marks, space. But space in a non-physical sense, in a spiritual sense. Space for the briyah to exist. וצמצם כביכול עד מדרגות התחתונות that the chiyus of Hakadosh Baruch Hu, not only is that chiyus responsible for the highest levels of malachim, very very spiritual, rarefied spiritual levels of existence, but all the way down into the physical world where we live, where we exist. That ואתה מחיה את כולם is responsible, again not with the same degree of directness, but is responsible for everything.

וצמצם כביכול עד מדרגות התחתונות והוא שם חלק אלוק ממעל תוך חשכת החומר.

And again this, even in the darkness of matter, even there the chiyus that Hakadosh Baruch Hu provides, which allows for the briyah is present. Again what chelek eloka mima'al means, so it's hard to understand. It doesn't mean that it's a little piece of Hashem. There's no such thing. Hakadosh Baruch Hu is not physical, there are no little pieces of Hashem. It means the source of our existence which is from Hashem.

כי כל עיקר כוונה הוא שיעלו מדרגות התחתונות למעלה ולהיות יתרון האור מן החושך.

So the Me'or Einayim is, again without being misyaches to what's his, what he's quoting from others, we'll just consistently just refer to the Me'or Einayim. Again I'm using one of the various editions which have notes which provide the sources. The Me'or Einayim is taitching the pasuk יתרון האור מן החושך, it doesn't just mean that light is superior to choshech, but it rather means when the light emerges from the choshech, so that's something which is again even greater than when the light doesn't emerge from choshech. When you sort of think about it, you know, if you take a physical metaphor. So if you light a match right now in this room, okay, it won't be too discernable. But if you'll go into a room which is pitch black, you know if it'll be midnight and you have the shades drawn so you don't even have any moonlight or starlight coming into the room. Or you go in the hallway where there are no windows and it's pitch black, and then you'll light a match there. It's the same match, but how can you compare sort of the effect of the light when you light it in the pitch black hallway at midnight as opposed to if you light it here in the middle of the day. יתרון האור מן החושך. What... Is that for whatever reason Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world that we're supposed to be oved Hashem in this physical world which is so far removed from the highest spiritual realms. But we should recognize that even though on the one hand the fact that this world is so physical and we're so physical because we belong to this world, אף על פי כן that only highlights the avodas Hashem that happens. It doesn't demean the avodas Hashem that happens, it highlights the avodas Hashem that and that's what Hakadosh Baruch Hu wanted. He didn't want us to light a match in midday when there's a brilliant sun, he wanted us to light a match when it's midnight and pitch-black. יתרון האור מן החושך. Again, when the or is drawn from the choshech. והוא עניין ירידת יוסף למצרים, madreigas ha-tachtonos, Meitzar Yam. This idea of drawing or providing or amidst choshech and that that's sort of the ultimate achievement in illumination. That it's a yisron when the or is drawn from is generated in the choshech. That's what again on a mystical level the significance of Yosef, what was Yosef ha-Tzaddik doing in Mitzrayim, a mokom tumah? So Mitzrayim is broken down into two words: Meitzar Yam. So Meitzar is like a gvul a boundary, and Yam the commentators explain mean Yam ha-Chochma. That it was as it were that there was a barrier that had been erected in Mitzrayim impeding access to genuine Chochma. שע"י זה יתוסף תענוג kedichsiv ve-yisron ha-or שיש יתרון תענוג כשהוא בא מן החושך. And that's what we were just discussing that the or is greater is more significant when the or is something which is elevated min ha-choshech. ולכך נקרא יוסף מלשון תוספות. So what does it mean? The Maor Einayim is suggesting that in so the pasuk says explicitly right the ba-Chumash it says why why she gives the name Yosef, right? יוסף ה' לי בן אחר. So either the Maor Einayim means that she reveals the nigla intent of the name but there's a nistar intent in the name as well. Or these are not really totally distinct, it's not really one and two, it's they're really interconnected. Well Rachel's tefilla is Yosef. יוסף השם לי בן אחר. It's not stam that the tefillah is that the name has nothing to do with him. You know, you should hopefully you're not going to be my only son. So it's sort of a funny—what's the name got to do with him? No, that you should be the tzinor for hosofa. You should be the tzinor for hosofa, you know, so it'll be in that you'll be the tzinor that you'll have an ach mei'ha'eim as well. And it's that same yesod of hosofa for the יתרון אור מן החושך. And in that sense it's not that the Me'or Einayim is saying a totally independent additional reason for the name, which wouldn't be anything problematic with that per se lechora, but he's saying that that's the amkus of what Rachel Imeinu said. No, that this baby, it should be he should have the koach for hosofa within the world. So that should mean again sort of most immediately, most visibly, most tangibly, Binyamin, but in a deeper sense this יתרון אור מן החושך. I'm not sure with the match. Like we as physical human beings see that that or as greater because it's surrounded by choshech. But if we were only created as human beings to do avodas Hashem here and to increase that or because it's amongst choshech, that it's only us as perceiving that light as greater. Meaning Hakadosh Baruch Hu knows that the light is the same whether it's light surrounded by whether it's darkness surrounded by. So why, it seems like sort of circular in a way that if we were only created to increase that light, but we're the only ones that perceive that light as greater as well? Well, we're not behila oro hutzerach as the Gemara says in Shabbos. We're not looking to we're not providing the illumination of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. The point is that why Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world? We don't know why He created the world. We don't know why He created the world. Why does a perfect being create a world? We don't know why He created the world. No one can know, it's not even the highest level of malachim can know. Why is there a world? We can't know. Within the world, whatever we discuss is within the world. Taking the bri'as ha'olam as a given, so then sort of how does it function? You know, what's supposed to happen? You know, it's not a kasha to say, I don't know, let's say you have someone who's a personal trainer or he's a gym teacher, right? So he's in unbelievable shape. He can do a hundred pull-ups and a hundred push-ups and whatever else without breaking a sweat. And he designs, you know, the program for his clients that is significant for them. So it's not to benefit him. When the personal trainer tells you that you should do ten pull-ups, so what does he gain? He can do a hundred pull-ups. What does he gain with you doing ten pull-ups? Because you're not doing it for him. He's designing a program for you. So it's not measured by what the Ribbono Shel Olam needs. He doesn't need anything. So it's not measured by Him. Okay, so maybe we'll stop here for today. Bli neder tomorrow we'll begin with וזהו והיה יעקב כאש כלהבה. Okay. Is that why it says in the pasuk that Yaakov is esh and Yosef is lehavah neged Esav? Because Yosef is shayich to the inyan of ribui or? That's what it is. Beautiful.