The Sfas Emes's discourses on the Torah are widely regarded as classics of Chassidic thought. This blog is dedicated to making the Sfas Emes available in clear and easy to understand English.
The archives contain more than 500 ma'amarim. Please avail yourself of the search feature on the right to find ma'amarim on the weekly parasha.
On the seventh day of Pesach the nation of
Israel crossed the Red Sea and sang Shiras HaYam/The Song of
the Sea.1
The Shirah starts with, “... אָשִׁירָה
לַה' כִּי־גָאֹה
גָּאָה .../I will sing to God for He is
most exalted.” The double wording “גָאֹה
גָּאָה/He is most exalted” implies that
He is the epitome of exaltedness, of greatness. To say that the
difference between God’s exaltedness and that of others is simply a
matter of degree is difficult. Instead, the Sfas Emes explains that
the double wording teaches us something about the relationship of the
greatness of others to God. It implies that the greatness of all
others are only for His glory whereas God’s glory is inherent. It
has no ulterior reason. How so?
We find in Mishlei (16:18),
“לִפְנֵי־שֶׁבֶר
גָּאוֹן/Pride precedes destruction.”
The greatness of the wicked glorifies God in their destruction. The
greater they are, the greater the destruction when they fall and the
greater God’s honor when they are destroyed. The greatness of the
righteous glorifies God as well when the righteous person even in
greatness subordinates himself to God and recognizes His benevolence.
The greater the righteous the more he glorifies God when he
acknowledges God’s kindnesses. We see that the greatness of others
is not intrinsic. The greatness of others is defined by its
relationship to God and how it brings out God's glory. God's glory,
though, is independent.
According to this we can understand why we find
in the Shirah, “אָמַר
אוֹיֵב אֶרְדֹּף אַשִּׂיג .../The
enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will reach …” (Shmos 15:9)
Why is this part of the Shirah? Do we care to know the intentions
of the enemy? Is not the purpose of the Shirah to sing praises to
God for having saved us? The Sfas Emes explains that this is exactly
the reason that the enemy’s intentions are mentioned. The more
impertinent the enemy the greater God’s glory when he is destroyed.
The enemy’s intentions are followed directly with God’s action
to destroy him, “נָשַׁפְתָּ
בְרוּחֲךָ כִּסָּמוֹ יָם .../You
blew with Your wind, the sea covered them …” (Shmos 15:10)
The enemy’s impudence helped cause his own destruction.
On the seventh day after leaving Egypt we found ourselves at the shores of the Red Sea with the entire Egyptian army in hot pursuit. We were fearful and cried out to God.We complained to Moshe Rabbeinu, "המבלי אין קברים במצרים לקחתנו למות במדבר מה זאת עשית לנו להוציאנו ממצרים/Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the desert? What have you done to us by taking us out of Egypt?" (Shmos 14:11)And yet, a few pesukim later we sing, "זה א-לי ואנוהו/This is my God and I will extol Him." (Shmos 15:2) Chazal[1] understand that this pasuk is referring to a level of prophecy. Even a maidservant at the sea saw more than the prophet Yechezkel!
What happened that caused us to advance from fear and complaining to an incredibly high level of faith and prophecy in such a short time?The answer to this question is dependant on a better understanding of the salvation and the miracle at the Red Sea.
Between our complaining and the splitting of the sea Moshe Rabbeinu delivered a crucial instruction. He said to us, "אל תיראו התיצבו וראו את ישועת ה' ... ה' ילחם לכם ואתם תחרישון/Do not fear. Stand firm and witness God's salvation … God will fight for you and you must remain silent." (Shmos 14:13,14)Then we were told to move forward towards the sea! Chazal[2] teach us that the sea did not split until the water was up to our necks.
The Torah is telling us that the true salvation happened inside us before the sea split. The true salvation was when we stopped complaining and stopped trying to figure out what to do. The salvation came when we were silent and gave our fate over to God.When we walked into the sea at God's behest the pasuk tells us, "הים ראה וינס/The sea saw and fled." (Tehillim 114:3)When the sea saw that we were ready to deliver ourselves completely to God disregarding any physical obstacle, the sea delivered itself to God as well and split.
Chazal allude to this idea in two Midrashim. The first Midrash[3] relates that the sea did not want split.The sea claimed that it was more important that man having been created earlier – on the third day of creation – whereas man was created later – on the sixth day of creation. The second Midrash[4] as the Sfas Emes explains it says that if man relates only to his physical being and the physical world around him, he was indeed created last and is less important that every other creation. However, if he negates the physical in favor of the spiritual, he was spiritually first.When the nation walked into the sea, we negated the physical. The waters had no choice but to split.
The splitting of the sea then served to strengthen our awe of God and our faith even more as we find, "וייראו העם את ה' ויאמינו בה' ובמשה עבדו/The nation feared God and had faith in God and in Moshe His servant." (Shmos 14:31)
Pesach is called זמן חירותנו/the time of our freedom.We repeat this every year in our prayers to declare that the events of the Exodus influence us today at this time of year even though they occurred so long ago. The Sfas Emes explains that the freedom we celebrate is not just the physical freedom from Egyptian bondage. The main freedom that we celebrate is the freedom from the physical that we experienced at the splitting of the sea.We can aspire to this freedom even now particularly at this time of year.
The Sfas Emes teaches that anytime we find ourselves in dire straits as we did at the shore of the Red Sea, the best thing we can do is to clarify and accept the will of God with all our heart.We should desire and look forward to God saving us for the sake of His Name so that His greatness is revealed.One who can do this is truly free.His perspective is one of equanimity.
This is exactly what happened at the Red Sea. We sang Shiras HaYam/The Song of the Sea praising God not so much for splitting the sea. Rather, we sang the song because He saved us and we experienced Him.It was the high level of faith and awe that caused us to sing as the pesukim directly preceding the song indicate, "ויושע ה'... את ישראל ... וייראו ... את ה' ויאמינו ... אז ישיר .../God saved Israel … and they feared God and believed … Then they sang ..." (Shmos 14:30,31)
In the Haggada we read that God made a covenant with Avraham Avinu promising that his progeny would be afflicted in exile for four hundred years before returning with great riches.[1]This covenant was to be a show of God's affection for Avraham Avinu. How could it be that specifically in the context of this covenant God told Avraham that his descendants would be I exile for four hundred years?
It is natural to view exile negatively.It is after all a trauma both nationally and individually.We know from our own history that exile results in untold suffering. To answer the question regarding what can possibly be positive about exile, we need to better understand the purpose of exile.
The reason we exist and by extension the reason the world exists is to reach a revelation of God.If He were revealed to us, there would be no point to our existence. He therefore created the world as a screen to prevent us from "seeing" Him. This gives us the opportunity to work towards coming close to Him, to revealing Him, to experiencing Him.
God gave us exile so that we may gain the strength to find Him in every situation in which He is concealed.In fact, the very word exile – גלות– has the same root as the word for revelation – התגלות (or גלוי).Exile leads inexorably to redemption which is simply another way of saying revelation.
This is why the promise to bring us into exile and then return us to our own land is followed in the Haggada by, "והיא שעמדה לאבותינו ולנו .../This is what stood by our forefathers and us …"This promise is what helps us in every generation. It gives us the tools we need to use the exile for its true purpose – to reveal God is every situation in which He is concealed.Every concealment of God results in a stronger subsequent revelation.
Actually, everything physical hides a spiritual component.Exile is just the most extreme example of this idea.The Sfas Emes sees a hint to this concept also in the beginning of the passage, "ברוך שומר הבטחתו לישראל ברוך הוא שהקב"ה חישב את הקץ לעשות כמה שאמר לאברהם אבינו בברית .../Blessed is He who keeps His promise to Israel, blessed is He, for God calculated the end (of the exile) in order to do what He said to Avraham Avinu at the covenant …"The Sfas Emes translates, "חישב את הקץ לעשות/He calculated the end in order to do" as, "He calculated the end of doing." "Doing" relates to physical activity. However, through the exile we reach an understanding that every physical action has a spiritual component.We can say that every physical action has within it the possibility of Godly revelation.Exile teaches us to recognize this and not to get bogged down in the physical aspects of our activities but to strive to reveal the spiritual within.It is the end of physical doing.
At the end of the paragraph we read, "והקב"ה מצילנו מידם/And God saves us from their hand."Whereas the plain meaning is clear – God saves us from those who would rise against up to destroy us – the Sfas Emes sees a continuation of the concept of spirituality within the physical.The word מצילנו/He saves us, can also be translated as, "He separates us," as in, "ויצל ... את מקנה אביכם ויתן לי/He … separated your father's livestock and gave them to me." (Breishis 31:9)
The same idea can be understood from the pasuk, "רבות רעות צדיק ומכולם יצילנו ה'/The afflictions of the righteous are many and God saves him from them all." (Tehillim 34:20)The Zohar[2] understands that this pasuk is not referring to afflictions brought upon the righteous but rather to afflictions that come from within as a result of the struggle the righteous has with his evil inclination.The evil inclination wants to prevent the righteous from experiencing closeness to God.Here too, יצילנו/He saves him, can be understood as, "He separates him."From within the darkest straits God separates the spark of holiness and reveals it.
This revelation is the essence of redemption.This is the meaning of God's promise to Avraham Avinu that at the end of the exile, "ויצאו ברכוש גדול/They will leave with great riches." (Breishis 15:14)The riches allude to the sparks of holiness that are hidden within the exile.Revelation is a sure indication of the end of exile, may we merit it speedily!!
On the seventh day of Pesach God split the sea to miraculously save the nation of Israel from the clutches of the Egyptian army. We walked to the other side on the dry seabed and the entire Egyptian army drowned.
The splitting of the sea is considered to be one of the greatest miracles recorded in the Torah. Chazal[1], though, relate that rivers split for individuals such as Rebbi Pinchas ben Ya’ir. Why then is the splitting of the sea for the nation as we fled the Egyptians commemorated each year as the greatest of miracles? It seems to have been not altogether rare during the time of the Tannaim.
To answer this question we need to understand the make up of the nation that crossed the sea. Chazal[2] tell us that the nation comprised four distinct groups. Only one group considered crossing the sea an option. One group maintained that they should return to Egypt. Another group was of the opinion that they should stand their ground and do battle with the Egyptians. Yet a fourth group said that they should cry out to God.
The greatness of the miracle was not that the sea split. Surely it is not difficult for God to split the sea for those who deserve it. The greatness of the miracle and the reason we commemorate it each year is because the sea split even for those who showed a lack of faith and complained to Moshe, “... הֲמִבְּלִי אֵין־קְבָרִים בְּמִצְרַיִם לְקַחְתָּנוּ לָמוּת בַּמִדְבָּר .../Is it for the lack graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the desert?” (Shmos 14:11)
Those who identified with and subordinated themselves to the nation were raised up from a level of impurity to a level of purity and saved even though they would not have been saved on their own merit. Moshe Rabbeinu told them, “ה' יִלָּחֵם לָכֶם וְאַתֶּם תַּחֲרִשׁוּן/God will fight for you and you will be silent.” (Shmos 14:14) Moshe Rabbeinu is giving the complainers good advice. He told them that if they just stop complaining, if they are silent, they will be saved simply because they are part of the nation.
Practical Application
Many people, knowing their own faults and frailties, wonder in what merit will they be saved at the time of the ultimate redemption. The Sfas Emes teaches that identifying with the nation of Israel, feeling a part of the nation, being a part of the nation, is an extremely powerful tool that we can use to merit participating in the redemption even if we do not necessarily deserve it on our own merit.
On Pesach we celebrate our freedom. The nation of Israel was freed from the bondage of Egypt. There is also a deeper type of freedom. As humans living in the physical world, we are needy. Our bodies need food and shelter. Beyond our basic needs, we have physical desires. Many times we find ourselves enslaved by these desires. In addition to a commemoration of our freedom from the Egyptians, Pesach also represents freedom from our physical desires.
How so? Before the Exodus, there was no concept of freedom within nature. Freedom within nature means that even though we live in, benefit from and are involved with nature we can still live holy lives. Before the Exodus freedom meant from nature. The Sfas Emes teaches us elsewhere that our forefathers where on a level above nature. They were free from the pulls of nature. Living a life of holiness meant withdrawing from the physical world and rising above nature.
It was only at the Exodus that God made it clear that He is running the show, that He works within nature as well and that the natural world has a component of holiness within it. Therefore, even as we live in the material world, we can connect to the spiritual component, the Godliness that inheres in this world. We can live holy lives even as we benefit from and are involved in the physical world.
We find a hint to this deeper concept of freedom in Chazal who call Pesach, זְמַן חֵירוּתֵינוּ/the time of our freedom. Time, a function of the material world, represents the physical. Thus the time of our freedom can be interpreted as freedom within nature.
This idea is symbolized by Matzah and Chametz. Chazal teach us that except for the first night of Pesach, eating Matzah during the rest of the holiday is elective. It is optional, not obligatory. The implication is that during the rest of the year, eating Matzah is not even an option. What does this mean? There is no prohibition against eating Matzah during the year.
The answer is based on an understanding of the difference between Matzah and Chametz. Matzah is made of flour and water and is baked before the dough can rise. It symbolizes simplicity in the physical world. Chametz, on the other hand, represents man’s involvement in the physical world. It represents our processing of the physical world to satisfy our desires.
As long as we change and process the physical world in order to satisfy our desires, we are, in a sense, subordinate to the material. This is the antithesis of Matzah which represents freedom from the physical even as we live within and benefit from it.
Practical Application
Pesach is particularly suited for us to work on breaking out of the prison of our desires. It is that prison that prevents us from truly accepting the yoke of Heaven properly. The next time you eat Matzah, think about what it represents. Living life simply allows us to focus our energies on serving God properly rather than on satisfying our desires.
On Shabbos Chol HaMo’ed we read from parshas Ki Sisa, “אלֹהי מסכה לא תעשה לך: את חג המצות תשמֹר .../Do not make for yourself any molten gods. You shall observe the festival of matzos …” From the juxtaposition of these two laws, Chazal teach us that one who belittles the holidays is as if he worships idols. On the second day of Pesach we read in parshas Emor, several paragraphs commanding us regarding all the holidays. These are preceded by the command to keep Shabbos. Here Chazal teach us that one who keeps the holidays is considered to have kept the Shabbos and conversely, one who profanes the holidays is considered to have profaned the Shabbos. What is the meaning and significance of these teachings?
The following fundamental premises will help us to understand. The first premise is that the entire physical Creation is rooted in the spiritual. Everything we see around us is simply the physical manifestation of an entity whose root is spiritual, outside of the natural world.
The second premise is that on Shabbos the entire physical Creation is more sensitive to its spiritual roots. The words of the Sfas Emes are, “Shabbos means an uplifting of every thing to its root which is above nature and which is the source of life of every thing.” On Shabbos, this sensitivity to the spiritual is automatic. This is why the sanctity of Shabbos (as opposed to the sanctity of the holidays as we shall soon see,) is not dependent upon us.
It is important to note though, parenthetically, that people will experience Shabbos differently depending upon how they prepare for Shabbos during the week. This is the point of a Midrash in Shir HaShirim which we read this Shabbos. The pasuk in Shir HaShirim states, “שחורה אני ונאוה/I am black and beautiful.” The Midrash says that “black” refers to the days of the week whereas “beautiful” refers to Shabbos. The Sfas Emes asks that apparently “black” is also a praise but what is the praise? The praise is, the Sfas Emes answers, that I can draw the holiness of Shabbos into the days of the week. Even as we are busy with our necessary weekday activities, we understand these activities, too, are rooted in holiness, in the spiritual. By recognizing this, we draw an aspect of Shabbos into our weekdays as well. To use the metaphor, even as I am black with mundane activities on a physical level, I am beautiful when I recognize the aspect of Shabbos holiness which inheres in those very activities.
The ability to experience a more spiritual Shabbos is alluded to by the halachah of Toseffes Shabbos, the requirement to accept Shabbos early before sunset on Friday and to keep it until after nightfall on Shabbos night. (Click here to see VaYeishev 5631 First Ma’amar for a more detailed discussion of Toseffes Shabbos.) We see that we can “add” to Shabbos.
The third premise is that God gave us the authority to establish when we celebrate the holidays. The mechanism we use to do this is establishing when the month begins. Beis Din alone decides when the month begins. Chazal teach us that the new month is established according to the decision of Beis Din, even when Beis Din made a mistake and even if they intentionally established the wrong day as the beginning of the new month.
(There is a famous story brought in Maseches Rosh HaShanah in which Rabban Gamliel, the president of the Sanhedrin, required R’ Yehoshua to profane the day on which Yom Kippur fell according to R’ Yehoshua’s reckoning. Rabban Gamliel needed to drive the point home. Beis Din sanctifies the days of the month. According to the Sanhedrin’s reckoning, R’ Yehoshua’s Yom Kippur was a regular weekday. R’ Yehoshua’s calculation may have been correct and the Sanhedrin may have erred. This is missing the point. The Sanhedrin has the authority to decide on which day Yom Kippur falls, even in error.)
Since the holidays fall on specific dates, Beis Din has the authority to sanctify specific days of the month. The calendar, having everything to do with time, represents the physical Creation which exists within time. Time itself is part of the Creation having been created as well. We learn from the holidays that we can sanctify the physical. Whereas on Shabbos the Creation is automatically more sensitive to its spiritual roots, the holidays teach us that we have the ability, as well, to make the physical more sensitive to its spiritual roots. We are able to reveal the spiritual inherent in the physical.
Now, with these premises, we can understand the two teachings of Chazal regarding keeping the holidays. Keeping the holidays is an acknowledgement that the physical world exists because it is connected to spiritual roots. One who does not keep the holidays, denies this connection. He believes that the physical has an autonomous existence. Believing that there is an autonomous power outside of God, outside of the spiritual, is the fundamental definition of idol worship. In the words of Chazal, “One who belittles the holidays is as if he worships idols.”
The Zohar is clearly referring to this concept when it says that one who does not keep the holidays is like one who does not believe in God because belief in God is dependent upon the holidays. This otherwise enigmatic Zohar is understood according to what we’ve said; keeping the holidays is a demonstration of our belief that the physical is part of and in fact, stems from, the spiritual, from God.
In the same vein, a person who profanes the holidays is considered to have profaned Shabbos as well. The only difference between Shabbos and the holidays is that on Shabbos the sensitivity to the spiritual is automatic whereas on the holidays we cause it. Denying the connection on the holidays, therefore, is the same as denying it on Shabbos, too.
“בכל דור ודור חייב אדם לראות את עצמו כאלו הוא יצא ממצרים ... לא את אבותינו בלבד גאל הקב"ה אלא אף אותנו גאל עמהם שנאמר, 'ואותנו הוציא משם'/In each and every generation a man must look upon himself as if he left Egypt… God did not only redeem our forefathers. He redeemed us with them as it says, ‘He took us from there.”
The Torah says simply that God took us out of Egypt. Why do Chazal instruct us to view ourselves individually as if we left Egypt? Also, why did Chazal choose to preface their instruction with, “בכל דור ודור/In each and every generation”? What does this add to our understanding of Chazal’s teaching?
The Sfas Emes explains that the Exodus contained the seeds of all future redemptions. In Hebrew the word “מצרים/Egypt” has the same root as the word for distress – מֵצר, and it connotes a constricted path. Each generation has its own particular issues, its own constricted path that prevents it from serving God to the hilt; that prevents it from experiencing God’s presence. Each generation has its own “Exodus” as well; its own redemption that is uniquely appropriate for the tribulations of the generation. Each generation’s unique redemption was included in the original Exodus. The original Exodus made possible all future redemptions just as a seed makes possible the subsequent tree that grows out of it. Chazal allude to the uniqueness of each generation by prefacing the instruction to remember the Exodus with, “בכל דור ודור/In each and every generation.”
The Maharal explains that as part of the nation of Israel we were included in the Exodus. In order to experience our own personal redemption, though, we must view ourselves individually as if we left Egypt. When a person sees himself as part of the nation – by seeing himself as if he left Egypt – and believes that the seeds of his generation’s redemption hark back to the Exodus, his personal redemption will be revealed to him. Then he will be able to break out of those bonds holding him personally back from serving God to the utmost. He will be able to break free of his own constraints and experience a personal “Exodus.”
This same concept appears regarding the mitzvah of telling the story of the Exodus. We find in the Hagaddah, “... ואפילו כולנו חכמים ... מצוה עלינו לספר ביציאת מצרים .../… and even if we are all scholars … we are required to tell the story of the Exodus...” Why is it incumbent even upon scholars, who certainly know the story of the Exodus well, to repeat it? God is more manifest to a Torah scholar than to others. God’s revelation is simply another way of saying redemption. Saying that God is revealed to a Torah scholar, is the same as saying that there is a redemption in his generation. This redemption is possible only because of the redemption from Egypt. It has its roots in the redemption from Egypt. In absolute terms, this is certainly true. However the scholar will only experience this redemption personally by believing that its source is the redemption from Egypt. He tells over the story of the Exodus to demonstrate his belief that the original Exodus contained the seeds of every future redemption. By relating the story of the Exodus he attests that it is relevant today and to his own personal situation.
According to the level of our faith that each of use were part of the original Exodus, our own redemption will be revealed to us and we will be able to overcome our own personal constraints and experience a personal redemption.
Why do we call the Shabbos before Pesach, Shabbos HaGadol – The Great Shabbos? Various reasons are brought. The Chidushei HaRim gives two answers. The first one follows.
The Chidushei HaRim associates this question with a similar question we find in a Gemara regarding the name of the assembly of Torah greats that functioned during the Babylonian exile and at the beginning of the second Beis HaMikdash.
R’ Yehoshua ben Levi asks, “Why are they called Anshei K’nesses HaGedola – Men of the Great Assembly? Because they returned the crown to its former glory. Moshe said, ‘God, the great, the strong, the awesome.’ Yirmiyahu said, ‘Gentiles are cackling in His sanctuary. Where is the awe? He did not say, ‘the awesome.’ Daniel said, Gentiles are enslaving His children. Where is His strength? He did not say, ‘the strong.’ They came and said, ‘Just the opposite. His strength is because He overcomes His anger and displays patience to the wicked. His awesomeness is because if it weren’t for the fear of God, one nation (Israel) would not be able to exist amidst all the others.”
It’s true that the Anshei K’nesses HaGedola returned, “the strong” and, “the awesome” but why is this a reason to call their assembly, “great?” Yirmiyahu and Daniel never removed the appellation, “great” and it therefore never had to be returned. The Chidushei HaRim explains that the Anshei K’nesses HaGedola did more than give a novel definition to God’s awesomeness and strength during the exile. They realized that God’s patience towards our enemies and the trying circumstances in which we survived the exile were the very key to making the subsequent redemption complete. After the redemption from our enemies in Persia and the miracle of Purim, it became clear that everything that we endured, that His “awesomeness” and “strength,” were indications of God’s great love for us. This realization was understandably missing during the tribulations of the exile. For this reason they were called the “great” assembly. They really returned the understanding of God’s greatness.
The Chidushei HaRim applies this same concept to the Creation. The Creation is an expression of God’s glory. However, this only became apparent when the Creation was completed, on Shabbos. Then it became clear that the entire Creation is really one tool, each part of which works towards the common goal of revealing God’s glory. When we say that it became clear, the meaning is that it became clear to man. God created the world for man to recognize Him through it. Before the nation of Israel accepted the Torah, only individuals recognized God in the Creation. The first time that an entire nation did a collective act recognizing God as the Creator was on the Shabbos before the Exodus when we performed the mitzvah of taking the lamb in preparation for the Korban Pesach. In terms of recognizing God in the Creation, this Shabbos was the culmination of Shabbos Breishis. On this Shabbos, it finally became clear to an entire people that everything that happened until this point in history including the Creation itself was the hand of the Creator. God’s greatness was finally revealed in the Creation. We commemorate it by calling this Shabbos, Shabbos HaGadol.
The Sfas Emes adds to this: The Rambam says that Avraham Avinu yearned for an entire nation to affirm God’s rule. God then promised him, “I will make you into a great nation.” How, though, is Israel considered a great nation? The pasuk tells us explicitly that the nation of Israel is the smallest of the nations. The Zohar answers that the nation is considered great because of the mitzvos, “ומי גוי גדול אשר לו חוקים ומשפטים .../And who is a great nation who has statutes and laws …” This Shabbos which commemorates the first time the nation performed a mitzvah is appropriately called Shabbos HaGadol – the Great Shabbos.
