Or Haganuz

(1) When God began to create heaven and earth— (2) the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water— (3) God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. (4) God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. (5) God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day.

Anyone who wants to experience a taste of the Or HaGanuz (Hidden Light)—i.e., the mysteries of the Torah that will be revealed in the Future—must elevate the aspect of fear to its source.

(1) "Let there be light" - this is the light of the seven days [i.e., Or HaGanuz], which was for the use of those created without seed, and it will be [again] in the future, as the words of the Sages (may their memories be a blessing) Shabbat 30b: it will then be for that which is the future will "bring forth baked treats and fine clothing" without [needing] the power of seed.

in His Habitation,⁴⁷See Daniel 2:22. The meaning of the word “light” is not clear in this context. Perhaps it refers to the “Or haganuz” (אוֹר הַגָנוּז) the hidden light which Hashem hid away during the Six Days of Creation to be used for the benefit of the righteous in the World to Come.

2. And it is known that whoever receives pleasure from someone else is referred to as “feminine” vis-à-vis that other person. We see from this that when God receives pleasure from the prayers of the Jewish people, He becomes, as it were, feminine vis-à-vis them. This is as it is written (Numbers 28:8), “it is ISheH (a fire-offering), a pleasing aroma to God.” Through the pleasing aroma that God receives from the Jewish people’s prayers He becomes the aspect of IShaH (a woman). Thus “the woman shall court the man” (Jeremiah 31:21), and as a result the inner element becomes the outer element. {See above, Lesson #15, Or HaGanuz (Hidden Light), which likewise explains this matter.}

Praise God! He preserves the righteousness of men for [two] thousand generations.⁴⁵Shemos 34:7. According to Rashi the verse refers to the good deeds performed by man rather than to the righteousness of Hashem. Thus He preserves the merit of their righteousness for generations. He battles His enemies in each generation; He will restore the dwelling of His anointed enclosing its breaches.⁴⁶Amos 9:11 The specific meaning of the word לִגְדוֹר in this piyut is not clear. According to Radak and Malbim, it can refer to the Jewish people or to the House of Dovid, thus indicating that Hashem will mend the breaches of our people or those in the royal family of Dovid. Some commentaries say that סֻכַּת מְשִׁיחוֹ refers to the Holy Temple and לִגְדוֹר indicates that its walls will be built solidly to last forever. See Mateh Levi. The light dwells with Him, in His Habitation,⁴⁷See Daniel 2:22. The meaning of the word “light” is not clear in this context. Perhaps it refers to the “Or haganuz” (אוֹר הַגָנוּז) the hidden light which Hashem hid away during the Six Days of Creation to be used for the benefit of the righteous in the World to Come. therefore will He be exalted. This is His Name from generation to generation.

R’ Elazar of Worms says in his work ‘the Rokeach’ that the thirty-six candles we light on Hannukah parallel the thirty-six hours for which the original light of the six days of creation shone, before it was hidden away. If this is so, then it appears that each Hannukah candle draws from the or haganuz, the hidden light of creation, and gives light in great darkness, as our Sages hinted with their description of the or haganuz as a light which shined from one end of the world to the other (Chagigah 12a). There is no hiddenness or obscurity (he’elem) before this light. We call the world (olam) which obscures (ma’alim) and hides this light ‘the natural,’ but the original light of creation shone through all these layers of concealment and it was hidden away for the righteous; on this it is written “A light shines for the upright in the darkness…” (Psalms 112:4) It is also written “The people that walked in darkness have seen a brilliant light…” (Isaiah 9:1) The generation which lived in the days of the wicked Greeks walked in darkness, as the Sages taught “darkness refers to Greece which darkened the eyes of Israel…” (Bereshit Raba 2:4), nevertheless they served God with a spirit of self-sacrifice even in the midst of this darkness. That is why they merited that the hidden light shine for them, and some of its illumination remains, radiating from year to year even in these lowly times. Every servant of God must rejoice during these days when a touch of the hidden light illuminates Divine service. The primary intent of the wicked ones was to make us forget God’s laws and Torah, and the Hannukah lights bring us to remembrance.