Holy Eyes: Gateway to Torah's Heights

1“And speak to the rock before their eyes …”¹ Why does the verse say le'eineihem, “before their eyes”? It should have said lifneihem, “before them.” We find the same at the end of the Torah, which says “before the eyes of all Israel,”² when it would seem it should have said “before all Israel.” Why do both these places speak of the eyes?

2We may explain it this way. The Kedushas Levi comments on the verse “He shall not profane his word; according to all that comes out of his mouth he shall do.”³ If a person sanctifies his mouth and does not profane his words, he is privileged to reach the level of “according to all that comes out of his mouth He shall do”: Hashem Himself carries out his words. This is in the spirit of “The Holy One, blessed be He, decrees, and the tzaddik annuls.”⁴ To explain this, we may say the following. The covenant of the flesh, the covenant of circumcision, corresponds to the covenant of the tongue.⁵ So one who guards his tongue is privileged to reach the level of “the tzaddik is the foundation of the world,”⁶ the one through whom the flow of blessing comes down, and then Hashem naturally carries out his word.

3Accordingly, we may say that this is the meaning of “and speak.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moshe: “You have been sanctified with the trait of ‘the tzaddik is the foundation of the world,’ and your speech is guarded. So when you speak to the rock, Bnei Yisrael will learn from it how great the holiness of speech is.” And this is why the verse says “before their eyes”: the covenant of the flesh corresponds to the tongue, and holiness rests above all in the eyes. Something similar is found in the sefer Meshech Chochmah.⁷

4This lets us understand why the holy Torah ends with “before the eyes of all Israel.” As is well known, one who is privileged to guard his eyes is granted great success in Torah study. If, Heaven forbid, the eyes lack holiness, the mind grows dull, and a person's strength in Torah and his memory weaken. This is the verse's hint: when a person finishes the Torah and is about to begin learning it anew, the preparation is guarding the eyes, and through this he will be privileged to reach the heights of the Torah.

5This also lets us understand the words of the prophet Tzefaniah: “When I return your captivity before your eyes, says Hashem.”⁸ The words “before your eyes” seem unnecessary; he could have said “When I return your captivity,” and no more. But as is well known, in the days of Moshiach Bnei Yisrael will be privileged to reach the heights of the Torah. As the Rambam writes, “The Sages and the prophets longed for the days of Moshiach only so that they would be free for the Torah and its wisdom.”⁹ And we have explained that the heights of the Torah can be reached only by guarding the eyes and keeping the mind and thoughts pure. So when the prophet speaks of the days of Moshiach, he says “your captivity before your eyes”: the eyes will be guarded in purity and holiness, and through this Bnei Yisrael will be privileged to receive the light of the Torah, which will soon be revealed.

6May the Holy One, blessed be He, help us guard our eyes in holiness, especially in these summer days, when the fences of modesty are more breached than whole and a person can easily stumble in these matters, Heaven save us. So we must strengthen ourselves greatly and ask Hashem, Who is good, to have compassion on us and grant that we guard all our senses and limbs in holiness and purity, as we should. Through this we will bring near the coming of the Redeemer. Amen, may it be His will.