Purity After the Sin

זאת חקת התורה במדרש מי יתן טהור מטמא לא אחד כו'

"This is the chok (decree) of the Torah" — the Midrash comments: "Who can bring a pure thing out of an impure thing? Is it not the One?" and so forth.

The Sfas Emes opens with the Midrash's question on "the chok of the Torah": only Hashem can produce something pure out of something impure, which sets the theme of how purity emerges from the impure.

עפ"י מ"ש כבר כי יש בחי' קדוש וטהור

This may be understood according to what we have already explained, that there are two distinct aspects: that of "holy" (kadosh) and that of "pure" (tahor).

He builds on a teaching he gave before, that holiness and purity are two separate spiritual modes, and the whole piece will rest on the difference between them.

וקודם החטא הי' בנ"י כולם קדושים כמ"ש וקדשתם היום ומחר כו' ואחר החטא הי' הנהגת בנ"י בבחינת הטהרה ושם יש בירור הטהור מטמא

Before the sin, all of Bnei Yisrael were holy, as it is written, "and sanctify them today and tomorrow" (Shemos 19:10); but after the sin the conduct of Bnei Yisrael was on the level of purity, and it is there — within the realm of purity — that there is the sifting and separating of the pure from the impure.

Before the cheit ha'eigel, Bnei Yisrael were on the lofty plane of holiness; after the sin their service shifted to the plane of purity, where the work is to separate the pure from the impure.

והם ב' מדריגות כי קודש הי' בחי' מרע"ה אספקלריא המאירה ובש"ק זוכין בנ"י גם עתה לקדושה כמ"ש קודש היא לכם לכן א"צ בירורים בשבת

These are two distinct levels: "holy" was the aspect of Moshe Rabbeinu, the clear, luminous lens (aspaklaria ha'me'irah), and on the holy Shabbos Bnei Yisrael merit kedushah even now, as it is written, "it is holy for you" (Shemos 31:14) — and therefore on Shabbos there is no need for siftings and clarifications.

Holiness belongs to the level of Moshe Rabbeinu, who saw through the clear lens, and Bnei Yisrael regain this kedushah every Shabbos, so on Shabbos no siftings or clarifications are needed.

ומחזירין לבנ"י הכתרים שהיו להם בעת קבלת התורה קודם החטא

And on Shabbos the crowns are returned to Bnei Yisrael, the crowns that they had at the time of the giving of the Torah, before the sin.

Shabbos restores to Bnei Yisrael the very crowns they received at Har Sinai before the sin took them away.

ובימי המעשה צריך להיות התיקון ע"י הטהרה וזוכין לתורה ע"י הבירור טהור מטמא כי מקודם הי' לבני ישראל דביקות בעיקר התורה שהוא קודש בחי' מרע"ה תורה שבכתב, אח"כ כתי' חקת התורה והוא שזוכין להתורה על ידי הטהרה

But on the weekdays the rectification must come about by way of purity, and one merits the Torah through the sifting of the pure from the impure; for at first Bnei Yisrael had a direct attachment (dveikus) to the very essence of the Torah, which is the aspect of "holy" — the aspect of Moshe Rabbeinu, the Written Torah — but afterward it is written "the chok of the Torah," meaning that one merits the Torah by way of purity.

During the weekdays, however, the tikkun comes only through purity — separating pure from impure — whereas originally Bnei Yisrael cleaved directly to the Torah's essence (the Written Torah, Moshe's level), but now the Torah is reached through purity.

לכן תלה הכ' התורה בהטהרה כמ"ש זאת חקת התורה זאת התורה אדם כו' להודיע כי זוכין להתורה ע"י הטהרה והבירור

Therefore the verse made the Torah dependent upon purity, as it is written, "This is the chok of the Torah" and "This is the Torah: a man [who dies in a tent]" (Bamidbar 19:14) — to make known that one merits the Torah by way of purity and clarification.

The Torah deliberately ties itself to the laws of purity, teaching that in our post-sin state we earn the Torah specifically through the avodah of purification and clarification.

וזה הי' חטאו של קרח שאמר כל העדה כולם קדושים ולא ידע כי נפלו אח"כ ממדריגה זו שהי' להם בסיני שכולם שמעו אנכי כו'

And this was the sin of Korach, who said, "the entire congregation are all holy" (Bamidbar 16:3), for he did not realize that afterward they had fallen from that level which they had at Sinai, where all of them heard "I am [Hashem your God]" (Shemos 20:2) directly.

Korach erred by claiming the whole nation was uniformly holy; he ignored that they had descended from the Sinai plane where everyone heard the Divine word directly.

אבל לא נשארנו בבחי' הזו

But we did not remain on that level.

The Sfas Emes concedes Korach's premise in part: we truly did not remain on that exalted Sinai level of holiness.

עכ"ז בא הכתוב לומר כי הכל אחדות אחד הקדושה והטהרה

Even so, the verse comes to teach that everything is one unity — the kedushah and the purity alike.

Nonetheless the verse teaches that holiness and purity are ultimately a single unity, both rooted in the same Source.

ז"ש לא אחד

This is the meaning of "is it not the One?" — that both flow from the One.

This is the Midrash's phrase "is it not the One?" — both holiness and purity issue from the one Ribono shel Olam.

וכ' ויקחו אליך לחבר בחי' זו לתורה שבכתב דרגא דמשה לכן נכתב עתה פרשה זו התחברות מדריגת דור המדבר למדריגת באי הארץ:

And it is written, "and they shall take to you" (Bamidbar 19:2) — to join this aspect [of purity] to the Written Torah, the level of Moshe; and therefore this parshah is recorded now, [marking] the joining of the level of the generation of the wilderness to the level of those who would enter the Land.

The wording "and they shall take to you" links the level of purity to the Written Torah of Moshe, which is why this parshah is placed here, joining the wilderness generation's level to that of those who would enter Eretz Yisrael.

Summary: The Sfas Emes, taking up the Midrash that asks how something pure can come from something impure, distinguishes two spiritual modes: kedushah (holiness) and taharah (purity). Before the sin of the eigel, Bnei Yisrael stood on the plane of holiness — the level of Moshe Rabbeinu and the clear lens — and even now they regain that kedushah every Shabbos, when their Sinai crowns are restored and no siftings are needed. During the weekdays, however, they merit the Torah only through the avodah of purity, painstakingly separating the pure from the impure, which is why the parshah ties the Torah itself to the laws of taharah. This also exposes Korach's error: he claimed all the congregation were uniformly holy, failing to see that after the sin they had fallen from the direct holiness of Sinai. Yet the verse's deeper message is that holiness and purity are ultimately one, both flowing from the One Ribono shel Olam, and so "and they shall take to you" joins the level of purity to Moshe's Written Torah, uniting the wilderness generation with those who would enter the Land.