Clear Days and Cloudy Days
We must, however, understand an important nekudah: This isn’t a situation in which Hashem places obstacles in our way, waiting for us to fail, chas v’shalom... it is part of the design of Creation that there’s concealment, and we must banish the concealment. The Ribbono shel Olam created the world with a system of darkness and light, and automatically this means that we will often find ourselves in a situation of challenge. There will be times when emunah and clarity are easier to come by, and there will be times when the nisyonos are more powerful—just as there are sunny days and cloudy days... there are wintry days when it’s cold and overcast, and there are clear spring days when we can see much farther.
The same applies regarding This World, which was created with concealment. Nevertheless, there are days in which it’s more apparent that the Ribbono shel Olam is running everything, and there are days when this is more concealed. There have been eras in which the entire Klal Yisrael collectively endured a period of darkness and great concealment, and there are periods of great rachamim wherein we merit to see the Conductor at work.
Likewise, the same applies to each person individually. While one person is struggling through his personal darkness and concealment, his neighbor is experiencing a period of great light and clarity. It’s like when two people in different countries are speaking on the phone; for one person the weather is sunny and clear, while his friend is watching the rain and the wind howl outside.
We Can Illuminate
But while the Ribbono shel Olam created This World with concealment, He has not decreed that it must always remain this way, with the same degree of darkness. Even when it’s dark and cloudy, a Yid has the power to banish the concealment by beaming in the light of emunah.
Sometimes, we apply a veneer of dark plastic to obscure a window—such that we can’t even tell that there was ever a window there. But we have the choice to peel it off and open the window, and then we see that the world isn’t as dark as it appeared—we can allow the light to illuminate our lives.
The world was indeed created originally with concealment—only because it is our purpose to banish it! The Ribbono shel Olam wants us to transform This World into a pleasant and serene place so that we should see Elokus and that we should enjoy the pleasant clarity of knowing that Hashem runs the entire world.
Torah Opens the Floodgates of Hidden Godliness
For this reason, the Ribbono shel Olam created a Shabbos Kodesh wherein a spirit of rest, serenity, and the revelation of Elokus comes into the world—and He says to us: Take the Shabbos Kodesh and infuse it into your Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday! Beam the clarity of emunah into your darkness. This will make your life pleasant and enjoyable.
So, how do we accomplish this on a practical level? How do we remove layers upon layers of concealment? For this we have a Torah! Hashem says to us: 1. I created a concealed world. 2. I have given you a Shabbos that testifies to the reality, and through this you can reveal Elokus in the world and illuminate the entire creation. 3. I am giving you a Torah. Learn Torah and fulfill the Torah, and this will reveal for you the hidden Elokus in the world. For this reason, a talmid chacham is considered “Shabbos”—for he always lives with this spirit of revelation. Through his Torah, he reveals the light of Shabbos and emunah in all situations.
