by Rabbi Mordecai Griffin

The Light of the World

“Yeshua spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. The one who follows Me will no longer walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

When understood in its Torah Judaism context, this statement is cosmically profound. Yeshua declares that He is “the light of the world”. What is He actually saying? What does it mean to be the light of the world? What precisely is the “light of the world”? Once one answers these important questions, the essence of Yeshua’s nature and mission become crystal clear.

The Primordial Light of Creation

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was chaos and waste, darkness was on the surface of the deep…Then God said, “Let there be light!” and there was light. God saw that the light was good.” Genesis 1:1-4

The story of creation begins with HaShem bringing forth light. The question is, what was the nature and source of this light? The sun, stars, and moon would not be created until the fourth day of creation. Therefore the “light” spoken of here is not natural. It is not the light from the sun or from some other star. So, what is this “light” exactly?

The Torah give us a clue in the Hebrew of verse 4 with the phrase כי טוב  וירא אלהים את האור (God saw that the light was good). There is a Jewish technique of biblical exegesis known as gematria. Gematria is a way of interpreting Jewish texts by adding up the numerical values of letters or words as each Hebrew letter has a numeric value much like Roman numerals.  Using this technique, the latter part of this phrase, את האור (that the light) has the numeric value of 613. This is significant because there happen to be 613 total commandments in the Law of Moses. Therefore, the light being referred to in this verse is the Torah of HaShem; the 613 commandments (mitzvot)!

Baal HaTurim further mentions that the gematria of את האור (the Light) is also equal to בתורה which translates “in the Torah”. Bnei Yissaschar, referring to a comment by Rashi to Talmud Chagigah 12a and Midrash Rabbah Breishis 3:6 that the world did not deserve the Divine Light, states that HaShem concealed this Light in the Torah. Or HaChayim writes: “Let there be Light, alludes to the Torah, for it is the sweet light, and it is called “light” in the Tanakh as it is written in Proverbs 6:23 “and the Torah is light”. According to Sefer HaBahir, the Light that was “created” on that first day was so incredibly intense that no human could look upon it and live. Thus, HaKadosh Baruch Hu stored it away for the righteous in the age to come! 

Finally, the word “light” is used five times which correspond to the five books of Torah. These insights lead to only one conclusion which is that the Law of Moses is synonymous with the primordial Light of creation. Indeed, midrash Tanchuma Bamidbar 13 states, “The world was in the dark until Israel received the Torah. But when they came to Mount Sinai and received the Torah, the world illuminated, as it is stated, “For the commandment is a lamp, and the Torah a light.” (Proverbs 6:23).

 The את in Torah

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says HASHEM Elohim, “Who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty!” Revelation 1:8

 The book of Revelation refers to Yeshua as the “Alpha and the Omega”. What does that mean exactly? Our clue is connected to the discussion above.

In Hebrew, the word את (Aleph-Tav) is a preposition and it does not have an equivalent word in English. According to 13^th century commentator Ramban, the word is similar to the phrase “the essence of that thing” or “that very thing itself”. The Sages in Pesachim 22b and Kiddushin 57a suggest that the word asserts that something is included but it is simply not mentioned in the verse. In other words, “hidden” or at least included but not explicitly mentioned.  In the Zohar 1:60a, referencing Isaiah 6:1 וָֽאֶרְאֶ֧ה אֶת־אֲדֹנָ֛י (I saw the Lord), states that the את represents the Shechinah (Holy Spirit) Who comprises the entire aleph-bet of Divine speech which is referring to the entirety of the Hebrew alphabet whose letters are used to write the Holy Torah. In the Zohar 15b it says that את is a reference to HaShem Himself!

How is it that the את (Aleph-Tav) can be said to be referring to the aleph-bet (which is synonymous with the Torah) and also HaShem? The answer is that the Torah and HaShem are one as it says in the Tanya chapter 4, “The Torah and the Holy One, blessed be He, are one. The meaning of this is that the Torah, which is the wisdom and will of the Holy One, blessed be He and His glorious Essence are one…for the Holy One, blessed be He, has compressed His will and wisdom within the 613 commandments of the Torah, and in the laws, as well as within the combination of the letters of the Torah, the books of the Prophets and the Writings….For the Torah and HaShem are one and the same…”. Therefore, the Greek “alpha and the omega” would naturally be rendered “Aleph and the Tav” in Hebrew. This means that Yeshua is declared to be equivalent to the Torah which is identical with HaShem all in accordance with John 1:1!

As a quick aside, I would like to use this opportunity to highlight the Proverbs 31:10-31 blessing spoken over women during the erev Shabbat seder ever Friday night. This passage of scripture is an acrostic poem in which each stanza begins with a letter of the aleph-bet; from the aleph to the tav. Given the above, when a man speaks this blessing over his wife, he is necessarily infusing into her soul the entire Torah, which is HaShem which is the Living Messiah, which is the Light of creation!

Your Word is Truth

^“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.” John 17:17

As I wrote in a previous article, the Law of Moses (the Torah) consists of the entire first five books of the bible. With that in mind, the Sages recognized that the opening phrase of Genesis, בְּרֵאשִׁ֖ית בָּרָ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים “at the beginning of God’s creating”, has His “seal” embedded in it. The final letters of each of these three Hebrew words, when combined, spell the word אמת (Emet) which means Truth. The ancient Rabbis wrote that the seal of HaShem is Truth. Thus, the Law of Moses begins with the Divine seal of Truth.

Later Yeshua confirms (John 17:17) that the word of God is synonymous with Truth. In the first century the “Word of God” was understood to be synonymous with the Torah (the Law of Moses). One of the common formulas for the Hebrew blessings is Baruch attah Adonai, Eloheinu Melech HaOlam, asher kideshanu b’mizvotav v’tzivanu…which translates “Blessed are You, Lord Our God, King of the Universe Who sanctifies us by His commandments and commands us”. HaShem’s Word, His Holy Torah, sanctifies us.

Aside form this interesting study, this teaches us that the Torah is Truth which is the seal of HaShem!

The Divine Splendor

“Bless HASHEM, O my soul. HASHEM my God, You are very great! You are clothed with splendor and majesty wrapping Yourself in light as a robe, stretching out heaven like a curtain…”  Psalm 104:1-2

The above verse is recited as part of the blessings spoken when a Jewish man dons the tallit gadol (the prayer shawl). The tallit gadol represents the Torah as its main purpose is to provide for the wearing of tzitzit (the fringes). In fact, the blessing spoken just prior to donning the tallit is Blessed are You, Lord Our God, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and has commanded us to wrap ourselves in tzitzit. The tzitzit themselves represent the Torah of HaShem. Therefore, to wrap oneself in a tallit gadol is to don the garment of God, which is the Torah, which is a robe of light.

In the Midrash Rabbah Bereishis 3:4 Rabbi Shimon be Yehotzadak asks Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman “Out of what was the light [of the first day] created?”.  Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman replied, “Scripture [citing Psalm 104:2] teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, wrapped Himself in a garment and caused His splendor to brighten the world from one end to the other.” The Rabbi was saying that the light of creation was the splendor of God Himself. However, this light is too intense thus it was “filtered” through a “garment”. The garment of HaShem is His Word; His Torah.

The Temple of the Most High

“and behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters. The earth was radiant with His glory.” Ezekiel 43:2

Returning to the Midrash Rabbah Bereshis 3:5, “the Sages R’ Berechyah taught in the name of R’ Yitzchak that the light was created from the site of the Holy Temple as it is written in Ezekiel 43:2. His glory mentioned here is nothing other than the Holy Temple as it is written in Jeremiah 17:12 ‘A seat of glory, primevally exalted, is the place of our Sanctuary.’ Hence Ezekiel teaches us that the Temple was the original source of Light.” From this entry we are taught that the Holy Temple was the Light of the World. There are many insights that point out that King Solomon built the Temple in such a way that the windows would channel light from the inside to the outside. It has been understood from ancient times that the Holy Temple was the source of light to the entire world! This concept was well known in the first century.

Why was the Temple considered to be the source of light? Because the entire purpose of the Temple was to house the Holy Ark – the Ark of the Covenant. The purpose of the Ark of the Covenant was to hold the Tablets of the Law which is the Covenant. This is why it was the source of light.

Conclusion

^““Destroy this Temple,” Yeshua answered them, “and in three days I will raise it up. ”The Judean leaders then said to Him, “Forty-six years this Temple was being built, and You will raise it up in three days?” But He was talking about the temple of His body. So, after He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He was talking about this. Then they believed the Scripture and the word that Yeshua had spoken.” John 2:19-22

Originally, we set out to determine the cosmic implications of Yeshua declaring that He was “the Light of the World”. What have we discovered? We have learned that the ancient sources identify the Light of the World as the Torah (the Law of Moses), the Holy Temple and even HaShem Himself. Which is it? The answer is YES! Herein we have the answer to our opening inquiry. By declaring that He was the Light of the World [a statement He made while standing in the Temple courts] Yeshua was declaring that He was the Torah which is the Word of God. He was proclaiming that He was the garment of HaShem; the “filter” of Divine Splendor. He was exclaiming that He was the Holy “House” of the Covenant; the mystical Temple. Now that we see the deep meaning of this phrase, we can understand what an unbelievable pronouncement Yeshua was making! I can imagine the looks of astonishment from the crowd. I can hear the deafening silence of the masses as they attempt to process such a profound claim. They were looking at the embodiment of the Divine Law; the Torah manifest. HaShem manifest. May the Messiah return soon and in our time.

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