A vort from the Rebbe on this week's פרשה, פרשת תצוה. In פרשת תצוה we learn about the making of the בגדי כהונה, the garments of the kohanim, and also the garments of the Kohen Gadol. One of the garments of the Kohen Gadol was the חושן. The חושן was the breastplate which had different gems on it with the names of the שבטים, etc., etc. Now, it says in Sha'ar HaMitzvot and Ta'amei HaMitzvot of Rav Chaim Vital in פרשת תצוה that חושן are the same letters as the word נחש, snake. But it also says in sefarim, brought down b'Shem Rabbeinu Ephraim from the Ba'alei HaTosafot, that חושן is בגימטריא משיח. The numerical value of חושן is the same as the numerical value of Moshiach. Moshiach, it is a gematria 358, and חושן is also 358. Now here it seems like they're two opposites. The snake, נחש, which is the same אותיות as חושן, represents the קליפות. The נחש represents the נחש הקדמוני, the first snake that brought קליפה into the world. He was the one that caused Adam veChavah to sin with the חטא עץ הדעת, and that was the source of all aveirot, of all קליפות. So that represents the deepest level of קליפה. On the other hand, Moshiach represents the greatest revelation of Godliness. So the נחש represents the greatest concealment of Godliness, קליפה, and Moshiach represents the greatest revelation of Godliness. How do the two fit together?

And the answer is very simple, that the whole reason why there is קליפה in the world is so we should reach a higher level revelation of Godliness. The whole reason that the Aibershter made קליפה in the world is so we should overcome it, and m'meila there will be a greater revelation of Godliness. That means that in every thing that looks to be קליפה, and it is in a revealed way klipah, but be'etzem in it is hidden the concept of Godliness, the purpose of why the klipah is there, so they should bring out more Godliness in the world.

Which is similar to what the Rebbe says in a different place, that the pasuk where it says, אנכי הסתר אסתיר פני ביום ההוא, Hashem says, In that day, I will I will hide My face, and it says הסתר אסתיר, I will hide hide, and the Baal Shem Tov says that that means there is a double הסתר. הסתר means a concealment of Godliness, but there could be a double concealment. You don't even realize that there is a concealment. Like this, at least when you know there's a concealment, certain lev- you know there's Godliness, but you know that you don't see it. But you don't even realize that there's a concealment, the concealment is concealed, that's even worse. And nevertheless, the Rebbe says, the pasuk says, ואנכי הסתר אסתיר. In that concealment there is אנכי. אנכי refers to the Aibershter Himself, עצמות אין סוף, which is אנכי הוי' אלקיך, the beginning of עשרת הדברות. So in the הסתר אסתיר, in the deepest concealment of Godliness, the truth that's there is the אנכי השם. The purpose is to reveal more of אנכי. And the same thing here, I imagine, the Rebbe doesn't connect it to, but it's the same idea, that here also, when we say that in the חושן we have the concept that represents the Nachash, which is the greatest concealment of Godliness, this is also the gematria of Moshiach, to show us that in that concealment of Godl- of Godliness, which is klipah, you have the inyan of גילוי אלקות. And our job is to from take the concealment, take the klipah, and change it over to kedushah, which is the concept what it says in זוהר, עד כד אתכפיא סטרא אחרא אסתלק יקרא דקודשא בריך הוא בכולהו עלמין. When Sitra Achra, klipah, is bent and changed over, transformed into kedushah, it brings down the highest level of kedushah. And that's the whole purpose, the tachlis of klipah, that it should bring us to a higher level in גילוי אלקות, of revelation of Hashem.