Wholehearted Trust Over Divination
בפסוק לא נחש ביעקב כו' כעת יאמר ליעקב ולישראל מה פעל אל
On the verse, "There is no divination among Yaakov... at the proper time it shall be said to Yaakov and to Yisrael what Hashem has wrought" (Bamidbar 23:23).
The Sfas Emes opens with Bilaam's prophecy that there is no divination among Yaakov, and that in time it will be revealed what Hashem has wrought for them.
ואיתא בגמ' נדרים כל מי שאינו מנחש מכניסין אותו במחיצה שאפילו מה"ש אינם יכולין לכנוס שם
And it is brought in the Gemara (Nedarim 32a) that anyone who does not practice divination is brought into a partition into which even the ministering angels cannot enter.
The Gemara teaches that one who refrains from divination is brought into a closeness with Hashem that even angels cannot reach.
והוא מדה במדה ע"י שאינו רוצה לחקור בשכלו ומאמין בהנהגת הבורא ית' לכן מגלין לו הכל מהשמים וע"ש בר"ן
And this is measure for measure: because he does not wish to probe with his own intellect but rather trusts in the conduct of the Creator, may He be blessed, therefore everything is revealed to him from Heaven; and see there in the commentary of the Ran.
Because such a person refuses to rely on his own reasoning and instead trusts in Hashem's guidance, he is rewarded measure for measure with Heavenly revelation.
דאיתא במשנה מי שיש בו ג' דברים הללו מתלמידיו של אברהם אע"ה עין טובה רוח נמוכה נפש שפילה אוכלין בעוה"ז ונוחלין לעוה"ב
For it is taught in the Mishnah (Avos 5:19) that whoever possesses these three traits is among the disciples of Avraham Avinu: a good eye, a lowly spirit, and a humble soul; they eat in this world and inherit the World to Come.
The Mishnah lists three traits of Avraham's disciples — a good eye, a lowly spirit, and a humble soul — which bring reward in both worlds.
וג' אחרים מתלמידיו של בלעם הרשע לא יחצו ימיהם כו'
And three other traits mark the disciples of Bilaam the wicked, who "shall not live out half their days..." (Tehillim 55:24).
By contrast, the opposite three traits belong to the disciples of Bilaam, who do not live out even half their days.
ומה זה הלימוד של אותו הרשע
And what is this "teaching" of that wicked man?
The Sfas Emes asks what exactly the wicked Bilaam's "teaching" or discipline consists of.
אך הקב"ה ברא העולם בהנהגת הטבע
Rather, the Holy One, Blessed is He, created the world to run by the conduct of nature.
He answers that Hashem created the world to operate through the laws of nature.
ויש הנהגה פנימיות
Yet there is also an inner mode of conduct.
But beneath nature there is also a hidden, inner mode of Divine conduct.
ולזה ניתן הברירה
And it is over this that free choice was granted.
Free will exists precisely regarding whether a person attaches himself to that inner conduct or stays with surface nature.
כי מי שמבטל עצמו אל הנהגת ית' זוכה לחסות בצלו
For whoever nullifies himself before the conduct of Hashem, may He be blessed, merits to take shelter in His shade.
One who nullifies himself before Hashem's guidance merits to dwell in His protective shade.
וכתיב מדרכיו ישבע סוג לב ומעליו איש טוב
And it is written, "From his own ways shall the wayward of heart be sated, but a good man rises above them" (Mishlei 14:14).
The verse in Mishlei contrasts the wayward person, sated only by his own ways, with the good man who rises above them.
וזה הדרך של נחש וקוסם הוא למלאות תאוות הרשע וגבהות רוח שלו וכדאיתא כשפים שמכחישין כח פמליא של מעלה
And this path of the diviner and sorcerer is to fulfill the wicked man's cravings and his haughtiness of spirit, as it is brought that sorcery is so called because it contradicts the power of the heavenly retinue.
The diviner uses his craft to satisfy his cravings and pride; sorcery is named for its attempt to contradict the heavenly powers.
פי' דלכל הדברים יש שורש בעולמות העליונים בקדושה
The meaning is that all things have a root in the upper worlds in kedushah.
Everything in the world has a root in the upper, holy worlds.
ולזה זוכין תמימי דרך כדכ' יודע ה' ימי תמימים דורש במד' כשם שהם תמימים כך שנותיהם תמימים שמעלין הכל אל השורש ואז נקרא תמים כי חלק שלמטה הוא רק מחצה
And to this the wholehearted of way merit, as it is written, "Hashem knows the days of the wholehearted" (Tehillim 37:18), which the Midrash expounds: just as they are wholehearted, so too their years are wholehearted, for they raise everything up to its root, and then it is called "whole" (tamim), for the portion below is only a half.
The wholehearted merit because they raise everything back to its root; a thing is only "whole" when joined to its source, since the part below is just half.
וכ' ימים יוצרו ולא אחד בהם שיש לכל הימים שורש באחדות
And it is written, "The days were fashioned, and not one of them" (Tehillim 139:16) — that all the days have a root in the Oneness.
The verse "the days were fashioned, and not one of them" teaches that all days are rooted in Hashem's Oneness.
ולכן כתיב באברהם בא בימים
And therefore it is written regarding Avraham that he "came with days" (Bereishis 24:1).
This is why Avraham is described as one who "came with days" — he gathered all his days up to their root.
וזה אוכלין בעוה"ז ונוחלין לעוה"ב כמ"ש ונחלתם לעולם תהי'
And this is "they eat in this world and inherit the World to Come," as it is written, "and you shall inherit it as an everlasting possession" (cf. Yechezkel 46:18).
This rootedness is what allows one to both eat in this world and inherit an everlasting portion in the next.
זה מעליו איש טוב
This is "but a good man rises above them."
Rising above one's own ways is the trait of the "good man" of the verse.
והלימוד של אאע"ה לבטל עצמו אל השורש להיות רוח נמוכה ונפש שפילה להמשך אחר רצונו ית' כמ"ש תמים תהי' עם ה' לכן שמח בחלקו ויש לו עין טובה
And the teaching of Avraham Avinu is to nullify oneself before the root, to be of a lowly spirit and a humble soul, to be drawn after the will of Hashem, may He be blessed, as it is written, "Be wholehearted with Hashem your God" (Devarim 18:13); therefore he rejoices in his portion and possesses a good eye.
Avraham's discipline was self-nullification before the root — humility of spirit and soul, being drawn after Hashem's will — which produces contentment with one's portion and a good eye.
והרשעים היפוך זה כל השביעה שלו למלאות תאות לבו ומבקש תחבולות לצאת מגזירת עליון בכח מכשפות וקוסמים שהוא היפוך התמימות כמ"ש תמים תהי' כו' כי הגוים האלה כו' אל מעוננים כו' קוסמים ישמעו
And the wicked are the opposite of this: all his sating is to fulfill the cravings of his heart, and he seeks devices to escape the decree of the Most High through the power of sorcery and divination, which is the opposite of wholeheartedness, as it is written, "Be wholehearted... for these nations... heed soothsayers... and diviners" (Devarim 18:13-14).
The wicked are the inverse: they chase only their heart's cravings and seek schemes to evade Hashem's decree through sorcery, the very opposite of wholeheartedness named in the Torah.
א"כ הוא היפוך התמימות
If so, he is the opposite of wholeheartedness.
Therefore the wicked man stands as the direct opposite of the trait of wholeheartedness.
לכן לא יחצו ימיהם אפילו החצי שלמטה בעוה"ז ניטל מהם
Therefore "they shall not live out half their days" — even the lower half in this world is taken from them.
Because of this, even their lower half — their portion in this world — is taken from them, and they do not live out their days.
אבל בנ"י לא נחש ביעקב כו' לכן מתגלה להם מה פעל אל בהתגלות הנהגה פנימיות
But of Bnei Yisrael, "there is no divination among Yaakov..."; therefore there is revealed to them "what Hashem has wrought," through the revelation of the inner mode of conduct.
Bnei Yisrael, having no divination, merit revelation of what Hashem has done through the hidden inner conduct.
וז"ש מה טובו אהליך לשון עראי בעוה"ז
And this is what is said, "How goodly are your tents" (Bamidbar 24:5) — a term denoting that which is temporary, in this world.
"How goodly are your tents" refers to the temporary dwelling of this world, a tent being something impermanent.
משכנותיך ישראל הוא חלק עוה"ב ע"י שמבטלין כל עניני עוה"ז והוא טפל להם זוכין לב' עולמות
"Your dwelling places, O Yisrael" — this is the portion of the World to Come; through their nullifying all the matters of this world so that it is secondary to them, they merit both worlds.
"Your dwelling places" refers to the World to Come; by making this world secondary, Bnei Yisrael merit both worlds.
כמ"ש תורתן קבע מלאכתן עראי זה וזה נתקיימו בידן כנ"ל:
As it is said (cf. Berachos 35b), their Torah was their fixed occupation and their labor was merely temporary — both this and that endured in their hands, as above.
This mirrors the teaching that those whose Torah is fixed and whose labor is temporary secure both this world and the next.
Summary: The Sfas Emes builds on Bilaam's words that there is no divination among Yaakov, explaining through the Gemara that one who refuses to rely on divination — refusing to trust his own intellect and instead trusting wholly in Hashem — is brought measure for measure into a closeness even angels cannot reach. He distinguishes between the outer conduct of nature, where Hashem hides Himself, and the inner conduct rooted in Hashem's Oneness; free will lies in whether one nullifies himself before that root or clings to the surface. This is the discipline of Avraham Avinu, whose disciples possess a good eye, a lowly spirit, and a humble soul, for they raise everything back to its source and thereby become tamim, whole, meriting both this world and the World to Come. Bilaam and his disciples are the precise inverse: chasing their cravings and using sorcery to evade the heavenly decree, the very opposite of wholeheartedness, so that even their lower half in this world is stripped away. Bnei Yisrael, free of divination, merit the revelation of Hashem's inner guidance, and by treating this world as a temporary tent while making their dwelling in the next, they inherit both worlds.