Shoes in Gan Eden
The first time the Baal Shem Tov spoke to his students about Simchas Torah, he related that the Jews wake up later than usual on Simchas Torah morning. At night there is protracted joyful dancing into the small hours which is followed by a late Yom Tov meal.
The angels, however, arrive at the regular time eager to sing their songs of praise to Hashem. But since there are no Jews in shul that early the angels are unable to sing their songs of praise.
So the angels retired to Gan Eden where they saw something they had never seen before—sandals and shoes! They were very surprised because it wasn't unusual to find tefillin or tzitzis in Gan Eden, but never before had they seen shoes in Heaven.
They ascended to the level of the Archangel Michael who indicated that these shoes were his special treasure.
He explained to them that these shoes were from the dancing of the Jews with the Torah on Simchas Torah and therefor very precious to Hashem. And with these shoes the Angel Michael would rise up to a higher level of service than his commander the Angel Metatron whose service was to tie crowns to the Holy One with the letters of the Jewish prayers. But he, Michael, would tie an even more beautiful crown to his G-dly master using these torn shoes from the dancing of Simchas Torah.
We can ask why shoes were found of all human garments in Gan Eden. Why not hats for example? Because hats indicate a spiritual level that shoes do not; a hat is connected to fear of heaven.
In fact, all our garments indicate levels in holiness and G-dly service [as witnessed by the clothes of the Cohanim].
Shoes, however, are a protection from thorns and sharp objects of which there is nothing similar on a spiritual level. In Gan Eden thorns and sharp objects are never found because Heaven can't bare bad [symbolized by thorns and sharp objects]. That is why Adam was banished from Gan Eden.
Shoes, however, do represent a very high level of G-dly service as witnessed by the dynamic that “The final action is the first in thought,” And as King Solomon relates Hashem's praise of the Jewish people in the “Song of Songs”, “How beautiful are your feet in your shoes!"
The service represented by shoes, in fact, is so sublime they are mentioned in the prophecy that Moshiach, “will strike the river with his hand and it will split into seven streams, and we will walk through in our shoes!"
A person could mistakenly think it is enough for him to put his head, his intellect, and thought, and even the majority of his body in proper order. But to ask him to go all the way to his heels; why does he need to trouble himself with such a minor detail as a mere slipper?
We tell him that since it is connected to a Jew, it is important and he has the responsibility to elevate it. Moreover, it is necessary to use it to greet Moshiach, when “we will walk through the river in our shoes!"
