chassan torah

וַיֹּאמַר ה׳ מִסִּינַי בָּא וְזָרַח מִשֵּׂעִיר לָמוֹ הוֹפִיעַ מֵהַר פָּארָן וְאָתָה מֵרִבְבֹת קֹדֶשׁ מִימִינוֹ אֵשׁ דָּת לָמוֹ  

The pshat in the pasuk is that it is describing Hashem's revelation on Sinai to give the Torah.  Rashbam: מסיני בא – ונראה לישראל ונתן להם תורתו   Shouldn't it therefore say that Hashem came לסיני, not מִסִּינַי?  

The simple answer is that מלאה הארץ כּבודו and so you cannot say that Hashem comes anywhere.  He is there already.  Like the Uncle Moishy song says, "Hashem is here, Hashem is there, Hashem is truly everywhere..."  

Rashi already anticipated this quesrtion on the pasuk as well and quotes from Chazal מסיני בא – ויצא לקראתם כשבאו להתייצב תחת ההר כחתן היוצא להקביל פני כלה.  Sefas Emes (in the Likutim) explains this analogy:

"יצא ממה שׁהי׳ נסתר מקודם ונתגלה כּבודו"

I think in this case the nimshal teaches us something with respect to the mashal and not just the other way around. Just like at mattan Torah Hashem drew Himself out kavyachol and revealed what had previously been hidden, so too, the lesson for us is that when a person who comes to teach Torah, to learn Torah, they need to draw out their latent kochos and bring them to the table. You cannot sit back and expect to passively absorb Torah; you have to push yourself to be engaged and stretch your mind to meet the text halfway.   

Every one of us on Simchas Torah and year round can be a chassan -- a chassan Torah.  But you have to reach out beyond yourself and take the first step.

אידך פּירושׁא זיל גמור

צא ולמד

כחתן היוצא להקביל פני כלה