The Hidden Light That Dwells Within Yisroel

Grave of Beis Aharon

“לֹא רָאוּ אִישׁ אֶת אָחִיו וְלֹא קָמוּ אִישׁ מִתַּחְתָּיו… וּלְכָל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הָיָה אוֹר בְּמוֹשְׁבֹתָם

.”(Sh’mos 10:23)

“They did not see one another, and no man rose from his place… but for all the Children of Yisroel there was light in their dwellings.” (Sh’mos 10:23)

One must reflect on the Torah’s precise wording. Why does it say “אוֹר”, and why does it emphasize “בְּמוֹשְׁבֹתָם”, implying that the light was specifically in their dwellings, in Goshen? In truth, wherever a Yid went during those days, there was light for him. They were able to see clearly—even to identify the vessels of the Egyptians, which they would later borrow before leaving Mitzrayim.

The Beis Aharon explains this wondrous phenomenon based on the words of Chazal:

“מֵהֵיכָן הָיָה הַחֹשֶׁךְ בְּמִצְרַיִם? מֵחֹשֶׁךְ שֶׁל מַעְלָה.” (Sh’mos Raboh 14)“From where did the darkness in Egypt come? From the supernal darkness.”

As it is written:

“יָשֶׁת חֹשֶׁךְ סִתְרוֹ.” (Tehillim 18:12)“He makes darkness His concealment.”

Yet in the Upper Worlds there is no darkness at all—there is only Or Ein Sof, boundless Divine light. What, then, is meant by “darkness above”?

This is a deeply Chassidish teaching. Even the malochim, the holy angels, lack the capacity to grasp the infinite light of the Ribono Shel Olam. The intensity of His Or is far beyond their ability to contain. And that which cannot be grasped or received is experienced not as light, but as darkness. Thus, “יָשֶׁת חֹשֶׁךְ סִתְרוֹ” means that the very greatness of Hashem’s light becomes “darkness” for those who lack the proper vessels to receive it.

Since this exalted light is revealed specifically through the avodah of those below, through the avodas bnei adam in this world, it remains inaccessible to the malochim. From their perspective, it is therefore called “choshech.”

The Beis Aharon explains that this was precisely the nature of Makat Choshech. Hashem revealed an extraordinarily great light—a powerful giluy of the Or Haganuz. Only the Bnei Yisroel possessed the keilim to receive this light. For them, it was illumination and clarity; for the Egyptians, who lacked those vessels, it appeared as total darkness.

As Chazal say:

“אוֹר שֶׁבָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא גְּנָזוֹ לַצַּדִּיקִים לֶעָתִיד לָבוֹא.” (Chagigah 12a; B’reishis Raboh 3)“The light that the Holy One, blessed be He, created—He hid away for the righteous for the future.”

With the coming of Mashiach, speedily in our days, this hidden light will be revealed in its full splendor, as it is written:

“וְהָיָה לָךְ ה' לְאוֹר עוֹלָם.” (Yeshayahu 60:19)“And Hashem will be for you an everlasting light.”

We can understand this with a simple mashal. Even today, no human being can gaze directly at the sun—though it is merely one of Hashem’s servants—without harming his eyesight. One must place screens or filters to diminish the light. The problem is not a lack of light, but an overwhelming abundance of it.

The Beis Aharon explains, based on the Maharal, that the light of the sun is only a faint ray—a tiny reflection of the great hidden light that Hashem concealed within creation. And if even this limited light can blind a person, how much more so the great and hidden light itself, if revealed without garments and concealments.

The Zohar Hakodosh reveals from which spiritual level the redemption from Mitzrayim emerged:

“חֲמִשִּׁין זִמְנִין אַדְכַּר יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם בְּאוֹרַיְיתָא.” (Zohar II, 36b)“The Exodus from Egypt is mentioned fifty times in the Torah.”

These fifty mentions correspond to the nun seiferim she’arei Binah, the Fifty Gates of Binah. Binah is called Olam Hachiruseh (the World of Freedom)—a level above limitation, above bondage, and above concealment. (For simple understanding: Binah is deep understanding or insight into Hashem’s plan, and the number 50 represents a complete set of spiritual doors or “gates” through which freedom and clarity can flow.)

At the time of Yetzias Mitzrayim, there was a revelation—however brief—of this exalted level. A light far greater than the world could normally tolerate shone forth. The Egyptians, who lacked the spiritual vessels to receive it, experienced it as thick, immobilizing darkness. But the Bnei Yisroel beheld the Or Haganuz.

This is the inner meaning of:

“לֹא רָאוּ אִישׁ אֶת אָחִיו.”They could not see one another—not because there was no light, but because the light was too great.

But regarding Israel it says:

“וּלְכָל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הָיָה אוֹר בְּמוֹשְׁבֹתָם.”

That very same light—the hidden, primordial light—became illumination and chayim for them.

The word “בְּמוֹשְׁבֹתָם” means more than a physical dwelling. It means that the light settled within them. They possessed the keilim. They were already refined through emunah, holiness, and avodah. Therefore, the light did not overwhelm them—it illuminated them.

Thus, the darkness of Mitzrayim was not an absence of light, but an overabundance of it. For the Egyptians, it was choshech; for Yisroel, it was Or, Yeshiv Hada’as, and Geulah.

May it be Hashem’s will that we all merit to purify our entire being, to cleanse our dwellings—both in heart and deed—until we are worthy to receive the hidden light. May Hashem merit to illuminate us swiftly with the light of His countenance, with the coming of our righteous Mashiach, in the complete revelation of:

“וְהָיָה ה' לְמֶלֶךְ עַל כָּל הָאָרֶץ… וְהָיָה לָךְ ה' לְאוֹר עוֹלָם”

Speedily in our days, Amen.