Lifting the Heart Heavenward
בפסוק עשה לך שרף כו'
Regarding the verse "Make for yourself a fiery serpent" (Bamidbar 21:8), and so forth.
The Sfas Emes opens by citing the verse in which Hashem commands Moshe Rabbeinu to fashion a copper serpent so that those bitten in the wilderness could be healed by gazing at it.
במשנה וכי נחש ממית כו' מחי' אלא בזמן שמסתכלין כלפי מעלה ומשעבדין לבם לאביהם שבשמים מתרפאין
In the Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 3:8) it asks: But does a serpent kill, or does a serpent give life? Rather, at the time when Bnei Yisrael would gaze upward and subjugate their hearts to their Father in Heaven, they would be healed.
He brings the Mishnah's teaching that the copper serpent itself had no power to kill or to give life; the healing came only when Bnei Yisrael lifted their eyes upward and surrendered their hearts to Hashem.
וקשה הי' צריך להיות הסתכלות לשמים בלבד למה נחש נחושת
Yet there is a difficulty: it should have sufficed merely to gaze toward Heaven; why was a serpent of copper needed at all?
He raises his central difficulty: if the true cure was directing the heart to Heaven, why was a physical copper serpent needed at all?
אכן באמת הי' הנחש מסוגל לרפואה זו ששם הקב"ה בו רפואה זו וכמ"ש רמב"ן ז"ל שדרכו של הקב"ה למתוק מר במר לכן אף שדרך הטבע מי שנשוך מכלב ורואה אותו מזיק לו יותר שם הקב"ה כאן להיפוך שע"י הראי' יתרפאו ע"ש
Indeed, in truth the serpent was specifically suited to this healing, for the Holy One, Blessed is He, placed this very power of healing within it, as the Ramban writes, that it is the way of the Holy One, Blessed is He, to sweeten the bitter with the bitter. Therefore, even though by the natural order one who has been bitten by a dog and then sees it is harmed all the more, here the Holy One, Blessed is He, established the opposite, so that through the very seeing they would be healed - see there.
He answers, citing the Ramban, that Hashem deliberately invested the healing power in the very serpent, since it is His way to sweeten the bitter with the bitter, reversing the natural order so that gazing at the image of the very creature that wounded them became the means of their cure.
אעפ"כ זה הרצון שבהיותו עוסק ברפואה הגשמיי יסתכל ויהי' לבו לשמים ע"י שמיישב עצמו וכי נחש מחי' וזה שאמר מסתכלין ומשעבדין לבם
Even so, this was the divine will: that while a person is engaged with the physical remedy, he should gaze upward and direct his heart to Heaven, settling his mind with the thought, "But does a serpent give life?" And this is the meaning of "they would gaze" and "they would subjugate their hearts."
Still, the deeper purpose was that even while a person busies himself with a physical, natural remedy, his heart must be turned upward, recognizing through reflection that no serpent and no object heals on its own.
פי' אף שהם רחוקים מעולם העליון ועוסקים בטבע אעפ"כ ישעבדו לבם פי' להסתכל לשמים ולהראות שחפצים לצאת ממאסר עוה"ז והטבע ולהתדבק בו ית'
The meaning is that even though they are far from the upper world and are occupied with the natural realm, even so they should subjugate their hearts - that is, to gaze toward Heaven and to show that they yearn to go forth from the imprisonment of this world and of nature, and to cleave to Him, may He be blessed.
This teaches that even people far from the upper world and immersed in the natural realm must subjugate their hearts to Hashem, showing that they long to break free from the confinement of this world and nature and to cleave to the Ribono shel Olam.
וזהו עשה לך שרף הוא התלהבות האדם לדבוק בו ית' כנ"ל:
And this is the meaning of "Make for yourself a fiery serpent" (saraf) - it refers to the burning enthusiasm of a person to cleave to Him, may He be blessed, as explained above.
Finally, the word saraf (fiery serpent) is read as a hint to the inner fire and burning yearning a person must kindle within himself in order to cleave to Hashem even from within the physical world.
Summary: This piece reflects on the copper serpent that Moshe Rabbeinu fashioned to heal those bitten in the wilderness, anchored by the Mishnah's teaching that the serpent itself neither kills nor gives life - rather, the healing came only when Bnei Yisrael turned their hearts upward to their Father in Heaven. The Sfas Emes asks why a physical serpent was needed if the cure depended on gazing toward Heaven, and answers, following the Ramban, that Hashem deliberately invested the healing in the serpent by sweetening the bitter with the bitter, reversing the natural order so that the very image of what wounded them became curative. The deeper teaching is that even while a person is engaged with physical, natural means, the will of Hashem is that he lift his heart toward Heaven and recognize that all life and healing flow from Hashem alone. In this way, even those immersed in the material world can subjugate their hearts and express their yearning to escape the imprisonment of nature and cleave to the Ribono shel Olam. Read on this level, "make for yourself a saraf" becomes a call to ignite within oneself the burning enthusiasm of dveikus, clinging to Hashem Yisbarach even from within the physical realm.