Shavuot, Megilat Ruth & The 10 Sefirot Part Six

Transcribed by Daniel Goldman from a lecture recorded on 4 May 1999: Moses comes down with two tablets.  The tablets are engraved all the way through.  No matter which way you looked at them, you always saw the front of the letter.  You saw the same thing on either side.  This miracle represented the Or Haganuz, the hidden light, which was God’s way of saying, “I will give you the capacity to see things with absolute clarity.  When you do a mitzva, you will understand what this mitzvah is accomplishing.  When you put on your tefillin in the morning, you won’t see just a strap, you will see how you are changing the world, and uncovering God’s presence, fixing and experiencing the world.  You will understand that when you pray to God, you will see the universe changing.”

In Kabbalah, Moses is referred to as Mashiach ben Yosef.  As Moses ascended  Sinai, he represented the sefirah of Netzach.  Aaron represented Hod.  As Moses descends Sinai he represents Yesod, as Mashiach ben Yosef.  At this point, the Jews successfully externalized the Evil Inclination.  It was outside of them, but still present, in the same way that the snake was external to Adam and Eve.  If the Jews now accept the Torah, they could completely break free.

Everything is ready for Mashiach ben David. He is Hur, (or charut ha’luchot, the engraving on the tablets, where the light comes from).  The Evil Inclination (Satan), realizes things look bad.  He needs to grab hold of the Jews again, or else he will be destroyed.  The Midrash says that Moses was a little late coming down from the mountain, and Satan showed them an image of a dead Moses lying in a casket.  The Jews are devastated.  In the same way that Adam & Eve turned towards the Tree of Knowledge, the people turned to the Golden Calf.  And who did they murder before making the Calf? – Hur, Mashiach ben David.