The Torah consists of two layers: the revealed (nigleh) and the hidden (nistar). The revealed is the plain meaning—its commandments, laws, etc. The hidden is the Divine inner essence of the Torah.
In the Torah reading Yitro, the Torah describes the revelation at Mount Sinai, where G-d revealed Himself to the people of Israel and gave them the Torah. At this time, the entire Torah was given to us, both the revealed and the hidden. In fact, at Mount Sinai, the hidden was visible to all, for all the children of Israel saw the “Works of the Chariot,” (Ma’asei Merkava) while the revealed was still hidden, since the details of the commandments and laws had not yet been delineated (in the Ten Commandments there are 620 letters, corresponding to the 613 commandments and the seven Rabbinic commandments; yet all of this is a hint, concealed within the letters, and not openly visible to all).
Two Objections
Some people are satisfied with studying only the revealed Torah and do not wish to study the inner dimension (the hidden), the Torah of Chassidut. To justify their approach, they present two arguments:
- If the study of the inner dimension is truly necessary, why was it not practiced before the revelation of Chassidut? For many years, people managed without studying Chassidut, so it is not essential.
- Chassidut brings with it a sense of bitul, nullification of one’s existence, and they do not wish to engage in matters that lead to the negation of their reality.
The answer to both questions can be found in the field of medicine. Maimonides compares physical illnesses to spiritual illnesses, and thus one can learn from the methods of healing physical ailments about the methods of healing spiritual ones.
A disease, generally, involves damage or weakening of an organ. Yet, in recent generations, a disease has spread whose cause is the opposite—it stems from a growth developing in the body, an addition of flesh and tissue. Yet this growth causes severe damage to the body, more than caused by deficiency in some organ.
The treatment differs from the usual healing of illnesses. Normally, one strives to heal and strengthen the damaged organ. Here, the opposite approach is taken—one seeks to destroy and eradicate the growth, and it is precisely this destruction that brings healing. This medical method was invented in recent generations, and from time to time it improves and develops.
A Necessary “Medicine”
This serves as an analogy for spiritual life. In recent generations—the era of the footsteps of Moshiach—a new disease has developed, which involves growth. An addition to reality has emerged—pride and audacity, without any logic or reason (in the past, pride and self-centeredness existed, but not to this extent).
G-d provided a “medicine” in advance and gave us the Torah of Chassidut—the inner dimension of the Torah—which causes the “growth” to be destroyed, nullifying the sense of self and pride, and it is precisely through this that healing comes to a person. It is clear that one cannot argue that in the past this “medicine” was unnecessary, for in earlier times this “disease” was also not widespread. Today, however, it is essential to study the inner dimension of the Torah, in order to gain strength to cope with the challenges of the era and to fortify the spiritual life of the Jewish people.
(the Rebbe, Likkutei Sichot, Vol. 1)
