The power of Torah and song as Israel's true weapon

בענין התקיעות במקדש.

Concerning the matter of the trumpet-blasts in the Mikdash.

The Sefas Emes turns to the blowing of the chatzotzros (trumpets) in the Beis Hamikdash discussed in the parsha.

וכן במלחמה.

And likewise in war.

The same trumpets were sounded when Bnei Yisrael went out to battle.

דכחן של ישראל בפה כמ"ש רוממות אל כו' וחרב פיפיות.

For the strength of Yisrael is in the mouth, as it is written, "the exaltations of God," etc., "and a double-edged sword."

Bnei Yisrael's true power is not physical but in the "mouth" — in speech of Torah and tefillah — as the pasuk pairs "the exaltations of God in their throat" with "a double-edged sword in their hand" (Tehillim 149:6).

ובכח התורה שע"ז רומז השופר גברו כל המלחמות.

And it was through the power of the Torah, to which the shofar alludes, that all the wars were won.

The trumpet/shofar blast symbolizes the power of Torah, and it was by that power — not weapons — that Bnei Yisrael prevailed in battle.

וכן בנסוע הארון כו' קומה ה' כו' שהכל הי' בכח התורה.

And so too "when the Aron traveled," etc., "Arise, Hashem," etc. — that everything was through the power of the Torah.

When the Aron (which held the luchos) set out and Moshe proclaimed "Arise, Hashem," their enemies scattered — again showing that the victory came through the power of Torah.

וזה שנק' צבאות ה'.

And this is why they are called "the hosts of Hashem."

Bnei Yisrael are called "the armies of Hashem" because their warfare is waged with the spiritual power of Torah.

ומבן עשרים יוצא למלחמה כי בן י"ג נעשה בר מצוה ובן כ' נעשה בן תורה כדאיתא בזוה"ק.

And from the age of twenty one goes out to war, for at thirteen one becomes a bar mitzvah and at twenty one becomes a "son of Torah," as is brought in the Zohar HaKadosh.

One only goes out to war at twenty because, as the Zohar teaches, only then does a person become a full "ben Torah" — and since the war is fought by the power of Torah, the soldier must have reached that level.

וכל מלחמתן הי' בכח התורה כמ"ש רש"י בפ' דברים שלא היו צריכין כלי זיין לולי חטא המרגלים לכן דור ראשון נקראו אנשי המלחמה.

And all their warfare was through the power of the Torah, as Rashi wrote in Parshas Devarim, that they would not have needed weapons were it not for the sin of the meraglim; therefore the first generation were called "the men of war."

Had it not been for the cheit hameraglim (sin of the spies), Bnei Yisrael would have conquered Eretz Yisrael without any weapons at all, purely through Torah — which is why the desert generation are titled "men of war."

ומעין זה הי' בביהמ"ק מציון תצא תורה כו' וזה הי' ניצוח הלוים בשירה.

And something of this nature existed in the Beis Hamikdash: "from Tzion shall go forth Torah," etc.; and this was the "victory" of the Leviim in song.

This same power of Torah-through-the-mouth shone in the Mikdash, from which Torah went forth, and it found expression in the Leviim's song — "nitzuach," which means both "conducting" and "conquering."

וגם עתה מעט ע"י שירות ותשבחות שנק' פסוקי דזמרה.

And even now, a little, through the songs and praises called Pesukei D'Zimra.

Even today, in our diminished state, a measure of this power survives in the daily songs and praises of Pesukei D'Zimra.

ובוחר בשירי זמרה י"ל על השיריים שבדורות אלו:

And "He chooses songs of praise" can be explained as referring to the "leftovers" of these generations.

The phrase "He chooses songs of zimrah" (from the berachah) can be read with a play on "shirayim" (leftovers): Hashem cherishes even the small remnant of that great power of song that remains to us in these later generations.

Summary: The true strength of Bnei Yisrael lies in the "mouth" — the power of Torah, tefillah, and song — symbolized by the trumpets and shofar. By this power, not weapons, they won their wars and would have conquered Eretz Yisrael effortlessly but for the sin of the spies. This same power lived in the Leviim's song in the Mikdash, and a remnant of it endures today in our Pesukei D'Zimra.