Re'ei 563 Seventh Ma'amar

The Chiddushei HaRim said that the third meal of Shabbos is similar to Shemini Atzeres.  Chazal[1] teach us that whereas the seven days of Succos is for the nations of the world as well as for us, Shemini Atzeres is God’s declaration that we are His special people and He wants to keep us an extra day because separation is difficult.  The third meal of Shabbos is also an aspect of difficult separation.  Therefore, the Chiddushei HaRim teaches that it is important to yearn not to forget that special feeling of Shabbos light that we experience during the third meal at the culmination of the Shabbos even during the days of the week.

The Sfas Emes expands this concept of wanting to retain the Shabbos experience during the week and yearning during the week for the Shabbos experience.

Chazal[2] teach us that God gives us an extra soul when Shabbos commences and takes it from us when Shabbos ends.  This is inferred from the word וַיִּנָּפַשׁ/He rested,” in “... וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שָׁבַת וַיִּנָּפַשׁ/… and on the seventh day He stopped working and rested.” (Shmos 31:17)  The root of the word for rest is also soul.  The word וַיִּנָּפַשׁ alludes to “וֵוי אָבְדָה נֶפֶשׁ/Woe for the loss of the soul.”  This is difficult to understand because the soul is lost only at the end of Shabbos while God (and we) rested from the beginning of Shabbos.  How can this word include a hint to what occurs when Shabbos ends?

The Ba’al Shem Tov answers that Chazal are not commanding us to cry for the loss of the extra soul after Shabbos ends.  Rather, Chazal are teaching us how we should relate to Shabbos itself.  Knowing that we will lose the extra soul at the end of Shabbos, we should do everything we can during Shabbos to make the most of it – as long as we have the extra soul.  This is in line with the Chiddushei HaRim’s idea of yearning to not forget the Shabbos experience of the third meal.

The Sfas Emes gives a different answer to this question.  As the Sfas Emes writes in many places, on Shabbos there is a greater Godly revelation than during the week.  One of our primary tasks in this world is to see through the screen of the physical in which we live in order to cling to the source of our souls, the source of life, to God.  On Shabbos this is much easier to do than during the week because God reveals Himself to us more.  However, even though it is not easy to see past the physical during the week, trying to do so by pining for that higher spiritual state of Shabbos is actually an aspect of experiencing Shabbos.  This is because Shabbos can be define as a state of heightened spiritual awareness.  When Chazal teach us that “וַיִּנָּפַשׁ/and He rested” alludes to pining for the extra soul of Shabbos – Woe for the loss of the soul – they mean exactly this.  To the extent that during the week we yearn for that Godly experience, we experience an aspect of Shabbos during the week as well and this is what we are required to do.

Yearning for Shabbos during the week also affects how we experience Shabbos itself and since the holiest time of Shabbos is towards the end of the day, the effect of yearning during the week is felt most powerfully when we eat the third meal.

The Zohar[3] gives an interesting parallel to craving the experience of Shabbos during the week.  Chazal teach us that God wears tefillin, in a matter of speaking.  God’s wearing tefillin is a metaphor for His revelation.  The Zohar says that Shabbos and the holidays are the manifestation of God’s tefillin.  The Zohar continues and explains that God gave us the mitzvah of tefillin so that we may be protected during the week when we do not have the protection of God’s tefillin – revelation.  That protection is reserved, of course, for Shabbos and Yom Tov.  The tefillin are God’s “seal” as in, “שִׂימֵנִי כַחוֹתָם עַל־לִבֶּךָ כַּחוֹתָם עַל־זְרוֹעֶךָ .../Place me like a seal on your heart, like a seal on your arm …” (Shir HaShirim 8:6)  He gave us His seal to wear during the week.[4]

Not only is the tefillin a protection, as the Zohar says, according to the Sfas Emes it reminds us of the special revelation of God’s tefillin represented by Shabbos.  Here we see clearly that remembering Shabbos during the week is built into the mitzvah of tefillin.

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[1] Rashi on Vayikra 23:36 (see Ramban ad loc), see also Succa 55b

[2] Beitza 16a – ma’amar of Reish Lakish

[3] Zohar Chadash Shir HaShirim 79b in Masok MeDvash edition

[4] The Zohar explains that this is also the reason why we are not permitted to wear tefillin on Shabbos and Yom Tov.  On Shabbos and Yom Tov we experience the real tefillin, the real seal of God.  Wearing the reminder would be the height of insolence.  Interestingly, the Zohar says that while Shabbos and Tom Tov are related to the tefillin shel rosh, Chol HaMoed is related to the tefillin shel yad.  The Zohar thus concludes that wearing tefillin during Chol HaMoed is prohibited for the same reason it is prohibited on Shabbos and Yom Tov.

Yisro 5632 Third Ma'amar

In Tehillim, “... גִבֹּרֵי כֹחַ עֹשֵׂי דְבָרוֹ לִשְׁמֹעַ בְּקוֹל דְבָרוֹ/… strong warriors who do His bidding, to hearken to the sound of His word.” It would seem that this pasuk is worded backwards. One needs to hearken to God’s word and understand what He requires of us in order to do His bidding. The pasuk says that the strong warriors do His bidding in order to hearken to his word. What does this mean?

We find the same construct when we accepted the Torah. Chazal praise the nation of Israel for saying, when offered the Torah, “... נַעֲשֶׂה וְנִשְׁמָע/… We will do and we will listen.” Even before we knew what God required of us we committed to do. This requires an explanation, though. We certainly trusted in God and believed that He would not require us to do anything beyond our capabilities. We certainly knew that anything God would ask of us would be for our own benefit. Why the great praise, therefore, when we committed to comply with God’s commandments even before understanding them fully?

The Sfas Emes explains that while the simple meaning of listening to God’s word is understanding how to perform his commandments, it also implies something much deeper. God’s דִבּור/speech teaches us how to perform the commandments. However the קוֹל דְבָרוֹ/sound of his word implies a deeper understanding. We can relate to the speech of the words and we can related to the underlying sound of the speech. The underlying sound suggests the underlying spiritual meaning of the words. The Zohar makes this distinction between דִבּור/speech and קוֹל/sound as well when it refers to speech as components of sound [1] (i.e. sound is the כלל and speech is the פרט.)

At Mount Sinai we committed to comply with God’s commandments and we accepted the yoke of heaven upon us in order to merit hearing the sound of God’s voice within the commandments, as it were. By committing to perform the commandments we would merit understanding that would otherwise be impossible to attain. This is the reason we said, “נַעֲשֶה וְנִשְׁמָע /We will do and we will listen.” We committed to do in order to merit hearing (the underlying sound of God – understanding the inner meaning of the commandments.) This is also the reason the pasuk in Tehillim states first, “עֹשֵי דְבָרוֹ/do His bidding” and only afterwards, “לִשְמֹעַ בְּקוֹל דְבָרוֹ/to hearken to the sound of His word.” By taking appropriate action the strong warriors would merit hearing the sound within His words; they would merit understanding the deeper meaning of their actions.


[1] For more detail on this Zohar and the relationship between קול/sound and דיבור/speech see the Sfas Emes on Shmos 5631 Second Ma’amar.

Also, for a fascinating discussion of this concept as it relates to the names of God, the Tetragrammaton and Adnus and the different sounds we are required to blow with the Shofar on Rosh HaShana see Ya’aros Devash Chelek 1 Derush 6.

Yisro 5632 First Ma'amar

“... וינח ביום השביעי על כן ברך ה' את יום השבת .../… He rested on the seventh day, therefore God blessed the Shabbos day ...” One would think that the opposite is the case. Because the seventh day is special, therefore He rested on it. Why does the pasuk say that God blessed the day because he rested on it? To understand this pasuk we need to understand what it means when we say that God rested and what it means when we say that He blessed the seventh day.

Chazal tell us that the Shabbos includes the entire Torah and that keeping the Shabbos is akin to keeping the entire Torah. One who denies Shabbos is a denier of the entire Torah. What is the relationship between Shabbos and the entire Torah?

At the end of the paragraph describing the sixth day of creation we find, “ויהי ערב ויהי בקר יום הששי/There was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” Why does the pasuk say, “יום הששי/the sixth day” instead of “יום ששי/a sixth day” as it says on every other day of creation? Reish Lakish explains that the extra letter ה/the, having a numeric value of five, alludes to the Torah which contains five books. Reish Lakish is teaching us that God created the world on condition that Israel accept the Torah. The Creation continues to exist because we accepted the Torah and the ten commandments. The Chidushei HaRim explains that the ten commandments were a rectification for the ten commands with which God created the world. How so? The revelation on Mount Sinai made it clear that the world exists only because God wills it through the power of the Torah. The revelation rectified the ten commands that created the natural word by showing that God runs it. The Torah is the conduit through which God gives life and existence to the Creation. This is the meaning of Chazal who say that the world was created for the sake of the Torah.

Once the Torah was revealed in this world it became available to us to use as a tool for coming close to God even as we live within the physical world. We see this from the following Midrash. The Midrash states that when the nation of Israel stood at the foot of Mount Sinai and witnessed the revelation of God, our souls left us. We did not have the strength to cope with the intense experience. The Torah itself asked God for mercy. Immediately our souls returned. This is the meaning of the pasuk, “תורת ה' תמימה משיבת נפש/God’s Torah is complete; it restores the Nefesh-soul.” The Zohar explains that the soul comprises three parts, Nefesh, Ruach and Neshamah in ascending spiritual order. The lowest part of the soul, the Nefesh, is the part that resides within the body. It is the part most closely associated with the physical world. The Midrash is teaching us that the Torah is the tool that enables man to experience God in this world. This is the deeper meaning of “תורת ה' ... משיבת נפש/God’s Torah … restores the Nefesh-soul.”

The power to connect us and the rest of the Creation to God is inherent in Shabbos as well. The pasuk states, “... וביום השביעי שבת וינפש/… and on the seventh day He ceased work and rested.” The words “וינפש/rested” and נפש/soul have the same Hebrew root. The pasuk is telling us that on the seventh day, all souls become connected to God. On Shabbos we are able to more easily have a spiritual experience. Not only souls, but the entire Creation comes closer to God on Shabbos, meaning that on Shabbos, God is more revealed. Being connected, they re-energize from the Godly life-giving force. Shabbos is the channel through which the Godly life force comes into the Creation. This is why the Zohar says that Shabbos is the vehicle through which the Godly life force is drawn down to the other days of the week. They – the days of the week – (and everything else in the Creation) are connected to Godliness through Shabbos.

While Torah is the tool through which God gives life and existence to the creation, it is through Shabbos that the life giving power of the Torah is drawn into the world. This is why keeping Shabbos is like keeping the entire Torah.

The concept that the Godly life force is drawn down to the Creation and re-energizes it is the essence of ברכה/blessing. The inner meaning of all blessing is closeness to God. We can now understand why the pasuk says that God blessed the seventh day because He rested on it. Earlier we said that God’s resting suggests that all souls come closer to God. God rested on the seventh day so that all souls could come close to Him and experience blessing. He rested on the seventh day. As a result all of Creation came closer to Him and experienced blessing.

When we turn to God on Shabbos, opening ourselves up to Him, subjugating our own will to His and connecting to Him, we create channels along which the Godly life force is drawn down to us and the Creation. Shabbos, thus, becomes the source of ברכה/blessing for us and the entire Creation.

Bo 5631 First Ma'amar

The Chidushei HaRim asks why it was necessary for God to bring specifically ten plagues upon the Egyptians. God could have accomplished His purpose with any number of plagues or with no plagues at all. Why ten? The Chidushei HaRim answers that the ten plagues removed God’s concealment from the ten commands with which the world was created and changed them fromעשרה מאמרות/ten commands to עשרת הדברות/ten commandments.

The Sfas Emes explains this enigmatic answer. God created the world withעשרה מאמרות/ten commands. These are stated clearly in the first chapter of Breishis. God constructed the Creation mechanism so that when He uttered the words of creation, the words themselves gave their creations existence. So, for example, when God said, “יהי אור/Let there be light,” those words gave existence to light. The life force behind everything in this world is those letters in the beginning of the Torah which describe the Creation. The letters are the means through which God extends His Will to create and continue the existence of the entire creation. This is a crucial concept. The Creation was not a one time act. It is a continuous.

Looking around us, though, it is not clear at all that the life force that gives everything existence is in the letters of these very commands. In fact, it is not obvious that there is a spiritual life force at all. The Godly life force in Creation is hidden. The purpose of the plagues that God wrought upon Egypt was to clearly reveal that the physical Creation owes its continuing existence to a Godly life force. It was to make it known that there is more to the world around us than our eyes perceive. Each plague revealed God in one aspect of the creation. Each plague removed a barrier preventing us from being aware of God in that aspect of nature referred to in one Creation מאמר/command. This is why God brought ten plagues upon the Egyptians; one plague for each of the ten commands by which God created the world.

What does the Chidushei HaRim mean, though, when he says that each מאמר/command changed to a דבור/utterance? The Chidushei HaRim is using a play on words. Although in Hebrew the root דבר/DBR means speech, in Aramaic it means leader. The Zohar uses this same play on words when it explains, “ודברת בם/You will speak about them.” The Zohar explains this as, “You will guide your actions according to the word of God.” דבור/Leadership symbolizes the revelation of God in the world. In the exile God’s truth is hidden. The Zohar describes this as the aspect of דבור/leadership being in exile.

We find this concept regarding Moshe Rabeinu’s speech impediment. When God asked Moshe Rabeinu to return to Egypt to speak to Pharaoh and begin the redemption process, he responds, “לא איש דברים אנכי/I am not a man of words.” When the Torah was given, however, the pasuk says, “אלה הדברים אשר דבר משה .../These are the words that Moshe spoke …” How did Moshe change from a man with a speech impediment to one who could speak and explain the entire Torah to the nation? The Midrash teaches us that after he merited receiving the Torah he was healed. In the exile Moshe Rabeinu was not a man of words. Moshe Rabeinu understood that in the exile God’s influence was far from apparent. But at the giving of the Torah, God’s leadership was clear for all to see. It follows that Moshe Rabeinu’s speech impediment, which symbolized God’s concealment, was healed.

As we’ve said, the ten plagues removed God’s concealment from theעשרה מאמרות/ten commands with which the world was created. As we and the Egyptians became more aware of God with each plague, each aspect of nature represented by one of the ten commands was changed to an aspect of God’s דבור/leadership. Finally, they were aware of God in all aspects of nature. This is why the Chidushei HaRim said that the ten commands which created the world changed to עשרת הדברות/ten aspects of (God’s) leadership.

Shemos 5631 Second Ma'amar

“וַיָּקָם מֶלֶךְ-חָדָשׁ עַל-מִצְרָיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יָדַע אֶת-יוֹסֵף/A new king arose in Egypt who did not know Yosef.” (Shmos 1:8) Explaining this pasuk the Midrash says that after Yosef died the nation of Israel stopped circumcising their children. They said, “Let us be like the Egyptians.” As a result God caused the love the Egyptians had for us to turn into hatred. A new king arose who did not know Yosef.

Generally, Chazal give novel interpretations to pesukim when the simple meaning is diffucult. What compelled the Midrash to give this explanation? The key word in the pasuk is “new.” The Chidushei HaRim explains that novelty is an attribute of spirituality. When we contemplate the material world around us it is easy to conclude that nothing new happens. Nature follows predictable laws. Today is the same as yesterday which was the same as the day before. The Chidushei HaRim explains that while this may be the case for the material world it is not true of the spiritual. Shlomo HaMelech teaches this in the pasuk, “... וְאֵין כָּל-חָדָשׁ תַּחַת הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ/… and there is nothing new under the sun.” (Koheles 1:9) The implication is that above the sun – beyond nature – there is novelty and renewal. Originality, creativity and novelty are spiritual endeavors. The physical is merely a manifestation of that which already exists in the spiritual.

Because novelty is a spiritual attribute, it is particularly associated with the nation of Israel. The key to change and creativity is the realization that everything physical contains within it spirituality. When we disregard external physical appearances and relate to the underlying spirituality in our actions, the power of creativity is ours. In Egypt we disregarded the spiritual and allowed ourselves to be affected by the physical environment of decadent Egypt. As the Midrash notes, we wanted to be like the Egyptians. So, novelty was taken from us and given to the Egyptians instead.

What, though, is the significance of breaching the covenant of circumcision? After all, in Egypt we fell to very low levels. Why does the Midrash single out circumcision as the reason for losing our connection with God, with novelty?
The Sfas Emes explains. Yosef is called the keeper of the covenant referring to the covenant of the circumcision. The plain meaning is that he resisted the temptations of Potiphar’s wife. However, on a deeper level, circumcision represents unveiling the spiritual that is concealed by the physical. Yosef is called a keeper of the covenant of circumcision because he believed that although the material world around him was decadent, spirituality was concealed within it. Yosef’s belief was complete. He did not notice the physical decadence. He saw only the spiritual.

In our daily lives, we many times see barriers and obstacles that prevent us from reaching our goals. We can overcome them by cultivating the belief that the physical is a mask that hides the spiritual. On a spiritual level, there are no barriers. They are illusory. Everything starts with belief that the spiritual light exists but we don’t see it because it is behind a screen. We find a hint to this in the brachah following Sh’ma at night. The bracha starts, “אֱמֶת וֶאֱמוּנָה/Truth and faith.” At night, a time of darkness when we do not see light, Chazal advise us to believe that it is there anyway.

We see this again when Moshe Rabbeinu says in response to God’s request to return to Egypt to begin the process of the redemption, “... וְהֵן לֹא-יַאֲמִינוּ לִי .../… and they will not believe me …” (Shmos 4:1) Faith is a prerequisite for redemption. In order to merit redemption – seeing God – we must have faith during the preceding darkness.

Responding to Moshe Rabbeinu’s concern, God gives him a sign which gives expression to this concept. God tells Moshe to throw his staff to the ground. When he does this it turns into a snake. When he grabs it, it turns back to a staff. In reality it was a staff. The snake was an illusion. The way to see the reality behind the illusion is by believing it is there, grabbing on to it, connecting with it and, importantly, disregarding external appearances. The staff appeared as a snake. God told him to disregard this and to grab its tail. Upon doing so the snake reverted to a staff. God powers external appearances as well.

God gives existence to the screen that we call reality even when the screen appears to contradict spirituality and holiness. The truth, though, becomes clear to us according to the level of our faith. We can actually experience the spiritual that underlies the physical world by first believing it is there. Once we believe, no physical obstacle can stand between us and our goals. We are connected directly with the source of novelty, creativity and originality.

The Sfas Emes applies this concept to exile and redemption. Exile means that God is concealed. He is not apparent. Redemption means that God is revealed in the world. As we’ve said, a strong belief that the physical world is powered by the spiritual is a necessary prerequisite for redemption to occur. During exile this idea is concealed. If it were revealed there would be no possibility of exile.
We find this concept explained in the Zohar. The Zohar uses the analogy of sound vs. speech to explain God’s presence vs. His influence in the world.

Undifferentiated sound represents God’s oneness. He is everywhere always. In terms of God’s presence, there is no difference between one place and another. Speech is “processed” sound. It is the method by which we relate to and influence others. Speech, therefore, represents God’s influence and revelation in the Creation. With regard to God’s revelation, there are differences between one place and another. Exile means that God’s influence in the world is not apparent. It is concealed. For this reason the Zohar tells us that in Egypt, speech was in exile. God’s influence was not apparent.

Realizing this and believing it means to understand that although we see things differentiated in the physical world, underlying every separate thing is Oneness. The “undifferentiated sound” is ubiquitous. To the person who internalizes this belief totally, there is no fundamental difference between revelation and concealment. This is the deeper meaning of Chazal telling us that faith is the one basic principle as the prophet Habakuk said, “The righteous person lives by his faith.” May we merit it!