Chasidut sobre Malaquias 2:7

Tzaddikim called malachim, “angels,” belong to this group because the tzaddik gamur is as dedicated as an angel. Celestial beings do not have an urge to violate God’s commands. A tzaddik gamur also has no urge for sin. In the final prophetic work, Malachi wrote, sifsei cohen yishmeru da’as ve-Torah yevakshu mi-pihu ki malach Hashem Tzevakos hu, “The lips of the priest preserve wisdom, and Torah is sought from his mouth, for he is an angel [malach] of God, the Lord of Hosts” (Mal. 2:7). Literally, malach means “messenger.” We are all God’s messengers, sent to accomplish the mission of living a life with God, observing His commandments, learning His Torah, and thus sanctifying His world.⁸⁵See further Sfas Emes to Parashas Shelach (5631). Unfortunately, we too often ignore our calling. A true tzaddik lives with a constant awareness of mission, and as a result, Malachi named him a malach, a constant Messenger.⁸⁶R. Tzadok Ha-Cohen of Lublin, Sichas Malachei Ha-Shareis, pg. 5.

Da’as implies connection and separation. Da’as implies connection, as the attachment between husband and wife is called in the Torah a da’as relationship.³⁶⁵The initial intimate closeness between Adam and Eve is called a connection of da’as: Va-yeda adam es chavah ishto, “And Adam knew Eve his wife” (Gen. 4:25). It also connotes a separation as evidenced in the statement of the Jerusalem Talmud, “Without da’as how could distinction be drawn?”³⁶⁶Da’as Tefillah pg. 401. Da’as means focusing upon and blending together the ideas from intuition (chochmah) and understanding (binah). To focus on a thought, I must separate my mind from other concepts and attach it exclusively to a single topic.³⁶⁷See further Da’as Tefillah pg. 402, who applies this focus to internalization of a sense of holiness and quotes the following source: “The concept of holiness requires two stages. Initially, it is a struggle and its end is a gift. Initially, man sanctifies himself, and at the end, God dedicates man.”
The effort entailed in man’s sanctification is that he detach himself entirely from materialism, and he must attach himself fully, at every moment, to His God. This level caused the prophets to be called angels, as was written in regards to Aaron, “For the lips of the priest preserve da’as, and Torah will be sought from his mouth, for he is an angel of the Lord of Hosts” (Mal. 2:7). Even at moments when he is involved in material acts that are needed for his body, he feels a sense of attachment with the Divine.
“It is impossible for man to reach this level on his own. Man is a material being composed of flesh and blood, which is why I said that the end is a gift. Man can attempt to pursue da’as of truth and constant appreciation of the saintliness of deeds. However, successful attainment of these levels comes from God who will lead man down the path he has chosen and He will place upon man His holiness and He will sanctify man” (excerpted from Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, Path of the Upright, Chapter 26). Feeling fully connected to the ideas that are father and mother (wisdom and understanding) causes them to fully enter one’s personality and to create emotions.

And here the mitzvah of lightning the Menorah (Numbers 8:2) will be explained, that truly it is [done] in every human being and in every time through the kohen. We already mentioned that a person is called candle/light: the 248 members and inside them soul (Nefesh) and spirit (Ruach), behold, these are candle (NeR). Even though a person has also a Neshamah (essence) in any instance, through a sin, the Neshamah separates from the person, and only soul and spirit are left. And the Alshich has written that the kohen is hinted at by the text, "the lips of the kohen guard knowledge and they seek Torah from his mouth" (Malachi 2:7) "he held many back from iniquity" (Malachi 2:6); and so too is mentioned in the Zohar "whoever seizes the hand of an evildoer and enables him to leave the evil path, rises three levels, which does not happen to other human beings, etc (Zohar 2:128b:3); and it seems to me to recall what I heard as way of musar [on the verse] "seeks the good of his people" (Esther 10:3) - the one who speaks of ethics and admonishes at the gate how should a person cling to the Holy One of Blessing, and after that all those who listen will be connected in unity, so that the speaker would make the words of the Holy One cling to them, and this is "to seize the hand of the evildoer" to raise them. And these are wise words.

219 And here the mitzvah of lightning the Menorah (Numbers 8:2) will be explained, that truly it is [done] in every human being and in every time through the kohen. We already mentioned that a person is called candle/light: the 248 members and inside them soul (Nefesh) and spirit (Ruach), behold, these are candle (NeR). Even though a person has also a Neshamah (essence) in any instance, through a sin, the Neshamah separates from the person, and only soul and spirit are left. And the Alshich has written that the kohen is hinted at by the text, "the lips of the kohen guard knowledge and they seek Torah from his mouth" (Malachi 2:7) "he held many back from iniquity" (Malachi 2:6); and so too is mentioned in the Zohar "whoever seizes the hand of an evildoer and enables him to leave the evil path, rises three levels, which does not happen to other human beings, etc (Zohar 2:128b:3); and it seems to me to recall what I heard as way of musar [on the verse] "seeks the good of his people" (Esther 10:3) - the one who speaks of ethics and admonishes at the gate how should a person cling to the Holy One of Blessing, and after that all those who listen will be connected in unity, so that the speaker would make the words of the Holy One cling to them, and this is "to seize the hand of the evildoer" to raise them. And these are wise words.