Rav Kook's Ein Ayah: Resting on Hashem and there are Two Sides to Existence but One Right Place for Things

Resting on Hashem

(condensed from Ein Ayah, Shabbat 12:6)

Gemara: Rav Chisda said: The letters mem and samech in the Tablets stood as a miracle (when chiseled from one side to the other, the middle sections of these letters are not connected to anything and thus should fall).

Ein Ayah: The foundation of miracles, which is a most lofty level, is the power that allows all of the existence, both spiritual and physical, to stand. It represents not having things being connected in an apparatus of cause and effect; rather, what occurs is directly the doing of Hashem, Who created all.

The letter mem, hints, due to its similarity, to the word mayim (water), which is the first building block of the world. Water is an object which is soft to the touch and heavy things cannot be supported by it [but sink]. The only thing that makes it stand (i.e., mem in the Tablets that stood due to a miracle) is the spirit of Hashem, which is His desire. This Spirit is the foundation of everything and is more fundamental than any chain of cause and effect. From here emanates the idea of absolute freedom, which comes from the light of Torah to the world. For whenever people perceive that the closest physical cause to that which transpired is that which brought it about (i.e., Hashem), there is a force that draws them closer to each other.

Things are different when one looks at everything as relying only on the element of the divine desire, represented by the image of the spirit of Hashem hovering over the face of the water (see Bereisheet 1:2), giving a place for the whole world to rest upon Him. (This is hinted at by the miraculous letter samech, whose similar word means resting upon). Then the world remains in a state of freedom, for there is no limit to the goodness and abundance of light from the Source of All. So we see that the Torah (in whose Tablets the letters of mem and samech had a miracle) is the source for the essence of miracles in the world of existence. It is through the Torah that Hashem’s dominion in the world has been revealed, is revealed, and will be revealed.

There are Two Sides to Existence but One Right Place for Things

(condensed from Ein Ayah, Shabbat 12:7)

Gemara: Rav Chisda said: The writing on the Tablets was able to be read from the inside and the outside.

Ein Ayah: Everything, in existence in general, has a lofty purpose that only the Master of the Universe knows. The light of Torah does not only appear on all of the internal and primary elements of existence and brings them to their highest level. Rather, the light of Torah even relates to everything that is secondary to other things and reliant upon them. For indeed, there is nothing that does not have its place.

The problem only arises when something does not find its appropriate place and is not properly appreciated. Then something that should be internal can be found externally, i.e., fundamental matters are treated like superficial matters, or in the opposite direction, things that are external are treated as if they are internal. But actually everything should be seen according to its status, with things remaining in their correct position, either on the inside or the outside. Then it is connected to the root of its divine origin, from where the light comes. That is what Rav Chisda means by saying that the words on the Tablets could be read from the inside or the outside.