Now, the truth is that even the ‘arousal from below’ -described above- that a person awakens himself to desire to connect to Hashem Himself, this ability is also a gift of Hashem, and is not according to the natural ability of the person according to his inborn characteristics.
This level of love of Hashem is referred to as “Aharon will ‘ה עֲלוָֹּתָּ-bring up the fire of the lamps’ of the Menorah: Meaning that the level of ‘Aharon’ as it exists above (as Hashem’s Kindness beyond Atzilus), this gives the power to the Jewish People to be able to arouse this love for Hashem (through their effort during prayer).
The word “וּבְהַעֲלוֹת” literally means: ‘when he will make something go up’ and on a simple level is referring to the flame kindled on the menorah that once lit -even the end of the wick- it will continue to burn and go up by itself, thus Aharon causes the flames to go up by themselves. On a mystical level this means that through ‘Aharon’ -Hashem’s limitless kindness- we receive the power to awaken a love for Hashem through our own efforts in prayer, like the flames that continue to go up by themselves.
This is the meaning of saying that “Aharon will ‘הַעֲל וֹ ת-bring up the fire of the lamps’ of the Menorah specifically “in the evening”: when it is spiritually evening, and night, and dark by itself, that there is no Divine Light. Meaning, when a person is spiritually dark and doesn’t experience the “light of love” of Hashem, then Hashem gives that person the power to arouse a love for Him, just like Aharon lit the menorah for its flames to go up by themselves.
However, when it is spiritually ‘morning’, which corresponds to the aspect of ‘Avraham’ who represented kindness, as it is written (Bereishis 19:27): “And Avraham got up early in the morning”, showing how Avraham-Kindness is connected to ‘morning’-revelation of Divine Light, then comes the aspect of “he will ‘ה טִיבוָֹּ-improve and light up’ the Menorah”.
This means that when someone has already reached a level of spiritual ‘morning’ and revelation of Hashem and experiences a love of Hashem through his own effort, then Hashem sends a different revelation from Above to ‘improve’ and magnify his existing love. (The revelation that empowers the person to awaken love of Hashem with his own effort is not a ‘revelation’ in a revealed way, it is just giving the potential ability to arouse the love.)
Now, someone can ask himself: Which person is able to reach such a level, that the level of “Aharon” as it exists Above (power to love Hashem) should reach him? The answer is that it is possible for every Jew through the Torah and Mitzvos he performs. This is because “the Mitzvah is like an oil lamp”, meaning that the mitzvos come from a very lofty level -Hashem’s Essential Will- and therefore it is not possible to understand them at all.
The analogy for this is the oil of the lamp, as explained above how the oil itself doesn’t directly produce light but it is the ultimate source of all of the light of the fire, therefore the connection to Hashem accomplished through the mitzvos doesn’t inside the person’s soul internally (consciously), rather it ‘encompasses’ the person from ‘above’ (in a hidden manner).
Like it is written (Devarim 17:15): “You should place over yourself a King,” meaning that just like the physical king rules over the people and is exalted above them, and they fulfill his will even if they don’t understand the reason, simply because “it is the command of the king”, and “the heart of kings cannot be fathomed”, meaning the reasoning behind why they command certain things is beyond our understanding.
So too, Hashem is our King who gives us Mitzvos that must be performed regardless of our understanding. In fact, Hashem’s mitzvos are completely beyond understanding entirely.
However, even though the mitzvos are beyond understanding, nonetheless they accomplish a connection with Hashem, this is by way of analogy like a person who holds the king by one of his limbs (his hand, for example) and brings him close to himself, by doing so he also draws to himself the life which is inside the king, so too it is written regarding Hashem’s mitzvos (Shir Hashirim 2:6): “His ‘right hand’ hugs me”:
Since the 248 Active Mitzvos are called (in the Tikunei Zohar chapter 30): “The 248 ‘limbs’ of the King”, meaning that through the person fulfilling the mitzvos he automatically also draws down the Oneness of Hashem Himself, as this True Oneness is described above in the maamar.
Just like someone who hugs his friend (or King) also hugs and connects to the person’s very soul not just his body, even though this connection isn’t based on any understanding, so too when we perform a mitzvah, we connect not just to the mitzvah but to Hashem Himself, in a manner beyond any understanding. This essential connection that is beyond understanding that is accomplished through mitzvos is what gives us the ability to receive the “light of love” in prayer, first through our own efforts, which is then intensified through additional revelation from Above. This process of awakening a love for Hashem is like lighting up the menorah to shine and give off light. However, before the menorah can be lit there first must be oil, which is the mitzvos.
