The Soul Is God's Lamp and the Searching of Jerusalem to Come

Pesikta Rabbati 8:1

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with lamps" (Zephaniah 1:12). Let our master teach us: may a person kindle a lamp to use from the Chanukah lamp? Our masters taught us: Rabbi Acha said in the name of Rav, it is forbidden to kindle a lamp to use it from the Chanukah lamp, but it is permitted to kindle one Chanukah lamp from another. And from where did they learn that it is permitted to kindle one Chanukah lamp from another? Rabbi Yaakov ben Abba said: from the candelabrum that was in the Holy of Holies they learned, for our masters taught: if they found that the lamps had gone out, they cleared them and rekindled them from the ones still burning. If of the candelabrum that was within the innermost place, when they found a lamp gone out they would kindle it from its fellow, how much more so is the Chanukah lamp permitted to be kindled from another Chanukah lamp. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: just as in this world the lamps burned in the Holy of Holies, so in the future I am destined to do when I rebuild Jerusalem — "I will search Jerusalem with lamps." "And it shall come to pass at that time" — thus Rabbi Tanchuma opened: "The lamp of God is the soul of man, searching all the inward parts of the belly" (Proverbs 20:27). Rabbi Acha said: just as mortal kings have officials who report to the king every single thing, so the Holy One, blessed be He, has officials who tell every single thing a person does, whether in hiding, in darkness, or openly. And who are the officials of the Holy One, blessed be He? This is the soul, which tells the angel, and the angel the cherub, and the cherub the Holy One, blessed be He. From where do we know this? Solomon says, "a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which has wings shall tell the matter" (Ecclesiastes 10:20). And ledgers are written before the Holy One, blessed be He, of all that human beings do. To what is the matter like? To one married to the king's daughter, who rises early and asks after the king's welfare every day, and the king tells him: thus and thus you did in your house, thus you grew angry, thus you struck your servants. He goes out and says to the men of the palace: who told that I did this? How does he know? They say to him: fool, you are married to his daughter, and you say, how does he know? His daughter tells him. So this person does whatever he wishes, and his soul tells everything to the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Holy One, blessed be He, judges the person. He stands astonished and says: who told that I did all this? And they answer him: fool of the world, you are married to His daughter, and His spirit is upon you, as it is said, "and He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" (Genesis 2:7), and you say, how does He know what you think in your heart? Your soul tells Him all things. Therefore: "the lamp of God is the soul of man, searching all the inward parts." Another interpretation: "with lamps" — with lamps you search, and not by the light of the moon nor the light of the sun, for they do not burn away the leaven on Passover; rather one kindles lamps and searches out the leaven. So in the future the Holy One, blessed be He, will not search Jerusalem except with lamps, to remove from there idolatry and to uproot the evil inclination. Therefore it is said, "I will search Jerusalem with lamps." Another interpretation: Rabbi Acha said, do not read it with the letter samekh (achapes, "I will search") but with the letter shin (achapesh, "I will free"). The Holy One, blessed be He, said: I bring her out to freedom, just as I wrote in the Torah, "if a man strike the eye of his servant…he shall let him go free for his eye's sake" (Exodus 21:26). I struck both eyes of My children, as it is said, "the LORD has poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes" (Isaiah 29:10); it is only just that they go free. Thus, "I will free Jerusalem." And thus He showed Zechariah, "behold, a candelabrum all of gold" (Zechariah 4:2) — this is the assembly of Israel, "you are all fair, my love" (Song of Songs 4:7). "And its seven lamps upon it" (Zechariah 4:2) — this is the merit of the Sabbath, which Israel keep one in seven. "Seven and seven pipes" — the seven corresponding to the seven days of creation, and seven corresponding to the seven fathers: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Kohath, Amram, Moses, and Aaron. "And two olive trees by it" (Zechariah 4:3) — these are the two anointed ones, one anointed for war and one anointed to be king over Israel.

Themes

SoulRedemptionJerusalem

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