691. The Torah Was Given in Secret

“Let it be given to the upper ones and let them not be given to Moses.” The Torah should be given when one is ascended. “And let them not be given to Moses,” as Moses is called “the faithful shepherd,” and the hands of Moses are regarded as “faith.” At that time, Satan slanders and says that the Torah cannot be received when one is unworthy of it. So the advice is that Moses has the ability to receive, meaning in the quality of faith, for then he is above reason, and there, there are no questions, since all the questions are only within reason.

Hence, when one wants to receive the Torah in public, he understands that he has a need for the Torah for a reason that is Lo Lishma [not for Her sake]. But in a manner of concealment, there is no issue of Lo Lishma. Then, when he receives the Torah, it is only with the aim that the Torah will bring him the quality of faith. Hence, it must be in secret, and only during the Katnut [smallness/infancy]. But during the Gadlut [greatness/adulthood], the Torah is called “healing” and “the potion of life.”

This is the meaning of “another thing,” which is called Tohu, meaning “the earth hangs on nothing.” This is why Rav Hanin interpreted that it exhausts a person’s strength, for then he sees that he is devoid of faith. It follows that all mean the same thing.