Man And Animal - Part 3

Based on the foregoing we can now understand the difference between torah maivee lidei zihirus and hamaor she-ba machziram la-mutav. The former means that the power of ruler ship invested in the intellect is now used for holy matters. Instead of the mind being used for secular matters it is used for spiritual ones. The phrase "hamaor she-ba machziram lamutav" is on a far more elevated plane. It means that Torah has the power to activate the koach hataanug which is not activated by the intellect rather it activates the intellect. In other words the Torah has the power to shine its light into the reality [metzius] of the koach hataanug. This causes the koach hataanug to become transformed into a "service vessel" for holiness and instead of enjoying regular standard pleasure the soul enjoys sublime spiritual pleasure. A sensitive ear can discern that the words "hamaor she-ba" the light of Torah, is talking about the koach hataanug, because taanug is indeed the light of the soul. This is evident when we see that a person who is happy has a shining countenance and when a person is sad his face is darkened. When we say that Reuven welcomed Shimon with "maor ponim" we mean that he ENJOYED welcoming him. Now it is clear that "Torah maivee lidei zihirus" is talking about Torah qua Torah whereas the expression "hamaor she-ba" is referring to the koach hataanug and light of Torah. [Translators note: If light is synonymous with pleasure we can understand the concept of "or ain sof" - infinite light. What that means is infinite pleasure. We can also understand that the ninth plague was "darkness" – being cut off from this Divine light and pleasure and this was followed up by the tenth plague "makas bechoros" which is a cutting off of the connection to the "beginning" HKB"H in His glory].

Now new light shines on an apparent contradiction between a chazal and a Rambam [which puts the Rambam in trouble..]. Chazal [in the Sifree] say that the way to achieve love of Hashem is to study Torah while the Rambam opines that the path to love of G-d is through viewing and appreciating His wondrous creations.

The answer is that when the Rambam asks "What is the path to come to a love of G-d " he is asking how we can empower the intellect to instill love in the heart. When the Sifree asks how one should love G-d the question is how can one shine the light of pleasure in the soul so that the intellect will enjoy it. The Sifree then answrs that this is achieved by Torah study – "Vihayu hadvarim ho'ayle asher anochi mitzavcha hayom al livavecha" – [this pasuk appears after the pasuk "vi'oavta es Hashem Elokecha"].