On Mental Refraction and the Vision of Devarim
Scientific Layer
Light, Refraction, and Prophetic Optics
We enter Parashat Devarim, in the days leading into Tishah Be’Av, a zone of spiritual diffraction – where hidden structures break into visible consequence.
It is written:
אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה אל כל ישראל “These are the words that Moshe spoke to all of Israel” (Devarim 1:1).
This verse does not simply open a narrative, as it actually defines the mechanics of prophetic transmission. Until now, Moshe Rabbeinu received and relayed. Here, he emits.
Devarim is not diluted prophecy; it is coherent emission from a perfected mind, acting as a prism of divine light.
To understand the magnitude of this shift, we must turn to the physics of refraction. When light crosses from one medium into another ̶ say, from air into glass ̶ its speed changes. This shift in velocity bends the light’s trajectory. The measure of this effect is called the index of refraction (n).
White light, when passed through a prism, slows at the boundary, and due to differing wavelengths, each component bends at a distinct angle. Red light bends less, violet bends more. The result is a spectrum: a visible unfolding of what was once unified.
Now consider this: the human mind is a transmission medium. Divine light – pure, unfragmented Ohr Ein Sof/Infinite Light ̶ enters through the higher soul. But it must pass through the refractive index of the psyche.
What emerges depends entirely on the clarity and calibration of that internal prism.
Soul Dynamics
Mental Refraction and Inner Optics
A fragmented mind scatters divine input. Thoughts emerge tinted by ego, impulse, and distortion. This is mental refraction.
The lower the quality of the k’li, the higher the distortion. Pride, emotional imbalance, and impurity – these all increase the effective optical density of the self. The light bends. The message breaks.
Even the greatest prophets emitted light with personal coloration. Yeshayahu, Yirmiyahu, Yechezkel ̶ their souls had high indices of purity, yet the wavelengths refracted according to the prism of experience, emotional architecture, and soul root.
Only one was different.
Moshe Rabbeinu, for his da’at was refined to near-zero distortion. He embodied what optics calls normal incidence ̶ light entering a surface perpendicular to the boundary. In this scenario, no refraction occurs. The beam continues undisturbed.
Thus, when Moshe spoke, the light retained its coherence. His words did not echo; they radiated.
Kabbalistically, this state is expressed as the perfect union of Abba (Chochmah) and Imma (Binah). These are not abstract forms ̶ they are forces within the mind. Abba is intuitive flash, psychic knowing; Imma is analytical resolution, unfolding.
When these forces operate in harmony, the soul produces chiddush ̶ Torah novelty. Not invention, but emergence. The Zohar affirms: He who brings a chiddush creates new heavens and new earth. This is not literary – it is ontological physics.
Yet in our reality, fractured by the sin of Adam, the default state is distortion. Ima descends, contracts, and attempts to transmit light to the emotional system. However, the fall has widened the critical angle ̶ most transmissions now suffer from total internal reflection. The intellect remains sealed. The emotions run untethered.
And so, the light is lost in the vessel.
Moshe restored the original optic system. His inner alignment reestablished the high-order waveguide between Chochmah and Binah, restoring coherence. Thus, he becomes the only one capable of re-expressing the Torah in human words without compromising its origin.
Prophetic Architecture
Gematria and Angelic Structure
The verse אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה אל כל ישראל is not just introductory ̶ it is numerically encoded with this reality.
This is revealed through gematria achas beta, a transformation method often employed by the Ari”zal. When applied to the full verse: אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה אל כל ישראל, the total is 1275. Adding 8 for the number of words and 2 for 2 kolelim the phrase, as the Ari”zal does in many places to signify structural duality to represent the dual root or male-female structure of an expression (e.g. guf v’nefesh, nigleh v’nistar, or tzinor v’tachlit[1]), the final value becomes 1285.
This equals the gematria of מיכאל אחד השרים הראשונים “Micha’el, one of the chief ministers” (Daniel 10:13), when calculated with gematria and 4 for the kolel of the 4 words.
This confirms a profound correspondence: Moshe’s final transmission in Devarim was not only prophetic ̶ it was angelically structured. It emerged through the prism of Michae”l, guardian of Israel, expressing divine content with celestial geometry and ministerial force.
Footnotes:
[1] צינור ותכלית tzinor v’tachlit “conduit and purpose” is a structural polarity used in the writings of the Ari”zal to describe the inherent duality within any expression of divine light. The tzinor represents the channel or mechanism by which something flows — whether shefa, knowledge, or form — while the tachlit is the intended end, the destination or purpose that justifies and completes the flow. These are not sequential steps, but ontological opposites: the tzinor is outbound, functional, and defined by movement; the tachlit is inbound, teleological, and defined by stillness and fulfillment. Neither exists in isolation — a conduit without purpose is chaotic flow; a purpose without conduit remains inert. Their union defines a dynamic structure: one that moves from origin toward completion, with both polarities needed for meaningful emergence. As said, the Ari”zal sometimes alludes to this duality by adding 2 to a verse’s gematria — signifying the pairing of tzinor and tachlit as essential structural components within a phrase or system.
Epilogue
Beha’alotecha and the Flame of Transmission
The parashah opens with:
בהעלתך את הנרות “When you elevate the lights” (Bamidbar 8:2).
This command to Aharon HaKohen is not to merely ignite the menorah, but to raise the flame until it stands by itself, stable and luminous.
It is the same principle expressed in Devarim:
The soul must become a sustained light, a vessel of clarity that does not flicker, distort, or dim.
Moshe is that light, that prism, that flame which needs no fuel but the divine coherence within.
The menorah radiates through elevation.
The prophet radiates through refinement.
The soul radiates through alignment with the source.
And so, in the week of Beha’alotecha, we learn how to become lamps.
In the speech of Moshe Rabbeinu, we learn how to transmit without scattering.
This is the convergence of אור התורה Ohr HaTorah “Light of the Torah“, and העלאת הנפש ha’alahat hanefesh “soul elevation” ̶ the true elevation of the flame, where soul and light ascend as one.
If this exploration resonated with you, consider subscribing below or writing to share your thoughts. Tehomia exists for such alignments.
Rabbi Avraham Chachamovits
Version 1.0 • Sivan 5785 / June 2025
© 2025 Avraham Chachamovits. Licensed under CC BY 4.0
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