Bringing light into the world

For many of us in Pittsburgh and in Israel, the month of October will never seem the same. Our minds refuse to forget the tragedies that shocked our world. The question is, how do we recover from the past even as we enter the future?

By Divine Providence, the Hebrew calendar for this year, 5775, provides an answer. The holidays of Shimini Atzeres and Simchas Torah occur on Thursday and Friday and are immediately followed by the first Sabbath of the year, Shabbos Bereshit. It’s as if G-d is telling us, “There is no time to dwell on the pain; rather, we must move forward.”

If that is the message, then G-d also must give us the strength and energy to carry on. The place to look for that strength and energy is in the Torah — specifically, Bereshit itself.

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In a groundbreaking talk, translated by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, England’s former chief rabbi, the Rebbe notes that the Torah begins Creation with “Let there be light!” Light, however, exists only to illuminate something else, and because the Earth was “unformed and void,” nothing else existed.

To complicate matters, the Hebrew words for “light” (ohr) and “secret” (roz) share the same numeric value. This indicates that the two words are related. But light reveals and secrets hide. In other words, they are opposites.

What are we to make of the relationship between “light” and “secret”? And what is the secret that is hidden by the light? Moreover, how will this secret comfort the Jewish people in our collective trauma?

The Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah) comments, “A king who wishes to build a palace consults an architect’s plans; so too, G-d looked into the Torah and created the world.”

Since the Torah begins Creation with “Let there be light,” it must represent the purpose of creation. This is like an architect who draws the completed building before breaking ground. The finished drawing “hides” many of the elements that make it up. For example, we don’t see the plumbing,

the light fixtures, etc. Even if we did see all these parts lying around the work site, it would be hard to understand how they fit together.

How does this analogy apply to our lives? G-d, who is above any form or description, could easily “maintain His Presence” among the infinite worlds and beings that inhabit the celestial spheres. However, the Sages teach us that “G-d desired to have an abode in this physical world.” The Torah is the set of instructions that make this happen. Furthermore, G-d chose man to partner with Him in this effort.

Whenever we do a mitzvah or perform an act of kindness, we elevate our mundane activities. These acts draw holiness into the world. Currently, we don’t sense any change, and, sadly, the world does not look any different. However, in the World to Come (the Messianic Era), we will see and acknowledge how G-d has always been intimately and actively involved in all aspects of our reality.

This explains the relationship between the words “light” and “secret.” Once G-d’s Being is revealed, we will experience the light that was hidden away for the future. At that time, any negativity we have experienced will disappear before the eternal truth of G-d. Then we will understand how the triumphs, the tragedies and the trivialities of our lives were all necessary for the perfection of the world.

In Heaven, those who have passed before us know the roles they played and pray for their beloved relatives down here to do their part. The Torah portion of Bereshit, with its new beginning, conveys the message to carry on and bring our own light into the world. Our ultimate comfort will come soon, very soon, as we witness the end of the past and the beginning of the future with the coming of Moshiach. PJC

Rabbi Yossi Rosenblum is CEO of Yeshiva Schools of Pittsburgh and rabbi of Congregation Kesser Torah. This column is a service of the Vaad Harabonim of Greater Pittsburgh.