The Great Light

I’m sure everyone feels that after all the Yomim Tovim of Tishrai it’s a letdown to have to go back to the everyday grind of live.  Being the first parsha after the Yomim Tovim possibly Parshas Berashis can give us a clue as to how to make this transition. 

Rashi (1:4) quotes Chazal that Hashem created a great light and then hid it for the tzaddikim in the future.  If the light was going to be hidden why create it in the first place?  The Ba’al Haturim says the numerical value of את האור is the same as בתורה.  Seemingly he is alluding to the idea that this great light is hidden in the Torah (this idea is shared both in the name of the Baal Shem Tov (see Degel Machena Epraim) and in the name of the Gra.  I once heard from Rav Asher Weiss that in that case we can be sure its Torah miSinai.)  The Gemorah Niddah 31a says that a malach teaches a person the entire Torah when he is in the womb of his other and when he’s born he forgets it.  What’s the point of teaching a person the entire Torah if he’s going to forget it?  Because the Torah is so great, it’s the chochmas Hashem, that without being taught it before being born a person wouldn’t be able to comprehend it at all.  It’s the same idea in regard to the light of creation.  Without this light being exposed to the world at the time of creation there wouldn’t be any way for the world to become purified the world enough to absorb such light (based on Toras Haparsha with additional piece about Torah and a little different explanation.)  Rosh Hashana is the great light at the beginning of the year.  Chassidus points out its not called תחילת שנה, the beginning of the year, rather Rosh Hashana, the head of the year.  Just as all limbs and organs are connected to the head so too Rosh Hashana is connected to the rest of the year.  It is on Rosh Hashana that the din takes place for the totality of events of the individual’s year; everything is connected to Rosh Hoshana.  It is the great light of Rosh Hashana that gives us the power to survive through the year. 

The Rebbe (Likutay Sichos volume 10) takes a different approach as to the purpose of the creation of the great spiritual light.  He says that when one builds something s/he always starts with the goal in mind.  If one wants to build a building they first envision it in its totality and only after that start getting down to the details.  Similarly, when Hashem created the world (the midrash says He built it like one builds a building,) He first set up the goal and then let go of it to fill in the details.  We learn from here that one must start his day, week or year with the end goal in sight; it is his/her mission to bring light to the world.  Similarly, Rosh Hashana serves as the model for the year.  It is the great light which both gives us the power to retain our acceptance of the malchus of Hashem throughout the year and gives us the frame of mind as to what we are supposed to be accomplishing throughout the year as well.