Rav Kook's Ein Ayah: Thanks to the Lowly Connector

(condensed from Ein Ayah, Shabbat 9:105)

Gemara: [Our gemara deals with the aftermath of the argument between Moshe and the angels, at the end of which the angels accepted Moshe’s arguments.] Immediately, every one of [the angels] became a friend and gave [Moshe] something, as the pasuk says: “You went up to the Heavens, you took ‘captives’; you took presents of man” (Tehillim 68:19) – as a reward for the fact that they called you a man, you took presents.

Ein Ayah: The fact that the Torah was revealed throughout the universe is that which brought the physical and spiritual worlds to a connection of harmonious unity. The foundation of this unity is man’s set of characteristics, that specifically because he has lowliness that brings him down to earth, he connects all of existence from its beginning to its end. This reveals the previously unknown love and the feeling of being connected to everything in the world. The recognition that the light of Torah shines onto the bottom of man’s material status and is a light of life and blessing for all of the universe brings this unity. This automatically creates a connection to all of the powers of creations so that they give each other and impact upon each other with their individual spiritual lights. [This can be fitting compensation for the angels] for being deprived of receiving the impact of the Torah on a continual basis. Man stands out for having greatness that comes from his lowliness. He is a creation who is lowered to the depths of materialism yet has within him all of the special spiritual characteristics.

Once the secret became known to all of the angels, the connection became strong, and everyone loved Moshe. This was not just a theoretical love, but one that had a practical impact, as every angel gave him something. This was the great victory of the “man of G-d” (i.e., Moshe, based on Devarim 33:1), as the pasuk says: “You went up to the Heavens, you took ‘captives’; you took presents of man.” This is because all of the powers of creation came under the general control of Hashem, as became revealed by the aura and grandeur of the Torah.

This revelation’s impact and the presents were described as “presents of man.” In other words, it was only because they realized man’s lowliness, which proved that man is able to connect the creations of the Heaven and of the earth, which becomes special when it is adorned by reaching its highest point, when the light of Torah shines upon them. Indeed with the potential for lowliness, the ability to connect the universe depends on the hidden power of the wonderful human soul. The soul shines its light on others when the unblemished Torah appears in all of its levels. Therefore, it is the attribute of being a man that gave Moshe the right to the many presents of the angels.