We previously reviewed the Maharal’s book, Ner Mitzvah, in the light of Chanukah and the miraculous redemption Hashem performs for His nation, Israel. The beginning of this book is considerably darker, but out of the darkness inevitably comes the light. This is the lesson that Yosef learned when he emerged from the pit only to become the leader of all of Egypt. This is the lesson that we must learn again and again, as we descend into exile and emerge each time.
There are four major exiles, and Maharal teaches that these are anticipated in the text of the account of Creation. Why is this? Maharal explains that although Hashem is perfect and all-powerful, the world He created is flawed. Inherent in the act of Creation was the reduction of Hashem’s infinite capability, in order that a finite world could emanate therefrom. This reduction, or as the Maharal terms it, the intermediary, or the means of accomplishing physical creation, creates ripples in our existence – mirages of history, so to speak. These manifest as kings, and until Israel can achieve our purpose in ennobling the world and effecting the unity of Hashem and His Torah, we fall under their sway.
The four kings, corresponding to the four exiles, are viewed by Daniel in a dream as four great beasts (Daniel 7:2-7). Nebuchadnezzar (the son) also dreams – but he sees a gargantuan man composed of four materials (Ibid. 2). Maharal explains that these are essentially the same vision, but the perception of the two is profoundly different. For Nebuchadnezzar, on his very low spiritual level, the kings of the nations are exemplary humans so he beholds them in human form. But Daniel is a Torah scholar and a servant of Hashem – he and his consciousness are far more refined. When Daniel beholds the essence of these kings, they appear to him as beasts – they don’t achieve the status of human beings at all. Maharal explains in detail, following the Midrash, how each of the beasts represents the kingdom it corresponds to.
In the end, each of the kings is defeated, the exile ends, and Israel is redeemed. This outcome is anticipated in the Torah, the blueprint of Creation, according to which the intent was always for kings to arise and, in time, to fall. Israel triumphs because, and only when, we achieve the status of elevated human beings in the image of G-d as is befitting us – when we exercise our power to transcend the corruption that is represented by the forms of the beasts that Daniel saw in his dream. Just as Daniel was saved from the literal beasts in the lion’s den, so Israel is saved from the jaws of the beasts that seek to destroy us.
