In the Cleft in the Rock
We encounter the cleft in the rock (נקרת הצור) in Parashat Ki Tissa, which is always read during the month of Adar. God placed Moses in the cleft of the rock so that he would merit to tranquilly experience God passing by his face.
The etymology of the word “cleft” (נקרת) in Hebrew stems from the verb meaning “to peck” (lenaker) or make a hole. Similarly, it can mean “to remove,” primarily when referring to the removal of the sciatic nerve when an animal is prepared according to the laws of Kashrut. We recall that the sciatic nerve was prohibited after the archangel of Esau injured it in its battle with Jacob. Thus, the sciatic nerve represents the root of Esau in corporeality. This root of Esau originates from the side of might (gevurah).
The cleft in the rock is clearly a parable for the Kabbalistic secret of the contraction (tzimtzum). Within the void, seemingly empty of God’s revelation, created by the contraction and symbolized by the cleft in the rock, there is room for placing the worlds of Creation. This space is where where Moses stands and where he comes to “know” God. The Komarna Rebbe “criticized” the Alter Rebbe for removing the appellation “the Rock of Israel” from his compilation of the Siddur. After all, the Arizal included this phrase in his compilation of the prayers, the Baal Shem Tov included it, everyone included it. How was it possible that the Alter Rebbe remove it from his Siddur?
One might say that the Alter Rebbe pecked or removed the rock out of the prayer book for a reason known to him!
Again, the root to peck or remove (lenaker) corresponds to the sefirah of might, as does the expression appearing earlier, “you will see My backside, but My frontside shall not be seen.”
“And You Shall See My Backside”
Every Jewish soul contains a spark of Moses, as written and explained in the Tanya. Everyone has a spark of Moses in addition to their unique individuality and also in addition to their general comprehension of reality. Moses prophesies with the phrase, “this is the thing that God commanded” (זה הדבר אשר צוה ה׳) because he sees through “a translucent pane of glass” (אספקלריא המאירה).
What is the “translucent pane of glass?” It is written that it refers to Moses seeing reality from Above, as if through the eyes of God, from God’s perspective!
There is a verse that says about Moses, “and the picture of God, he sees” (ותמונת ה׳ יביט). How can one see God when it is written regarding even the Giving of the Torah, “You saw no form?” We did not see a form, God has no form. What then does “and the picture of God, he sees” mean? Rashi explains: “This refers to a view of the backside, as in what was said ‘and you shall see My backside.’”
When Moses requests to see the glory of God, God responds, “and you shall see My backside, but My frontside shall not be seen.” This too is difficult to understand, what does “a view of the backside” mean? Does God have a frontside or a backside? As Maimoinides writes, “He has no body, nor the form of a body,” at all!
The Alter Rebbe explains that Moses was granted levels that no mortal has ever achieved! He was privileged to see reality from above to below, as if through the eyes of God. Moses looks at the image of the world as God sees it! Seeing the world as God sees it – and this itself is called “a view of the backside.” God and the world—it is all one, but so to speak, how God looks at reality—this is referred to as, “God’s backside; this is what is meant by, “and you shall see My backside.” Regarding this, it is written, “and the picture of God, he sees.” Thus, this is what it means that Moses merited seeing through a translucent pane of glass.
Seeing the Countenance of God with the Eye of Intellect in the Heart
The holy Zohar describes how Moses lamented that his request “Please, show me Your glory” (the request to see the Fiftieth Gate of Understanding) not fulfilled, and he was only allowed to see God’s backside, i.e., the way God’s Providence orchestrates reality. The Zohar goes on to say that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai consoles Moses and tells him that although he did not see God’s frontside with his eyes, “with the eye of understanding in your heart, you can see everything,” including God’s frontside. The power to see Divinity is specifically related to the sefirah of wisdom (chochmah) because all the other sefirot represent the way God’s Providence over reality functions. Thus, apart from wisdom, all the sefirot reflect God’s backside. Only within the sefirah of wisdom is there the possibility of seeing the frontside, the true countenance of God.
