Hidden and Revealed Miracles

בענין שירת הים

Regarding the Song of the Sea.

The Sfas Emes opens by setting his theme against the backdrop of the Song of the Sea, where the open miracle of the splitting of the sea was sung aloud.

ושירת הבאר שלא נזכר בה משה רבינו ע"ה דיש נסים נגלים ויש נסים נסתרים והם בחינת אספקלריא המאירה ושאינה מאירה

And the Song of the Well, in which Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, is not mentioned — for there are open, revealed miracles and there are hidden, concealed miracles, and they correspond to the two levels of prophetic vision: the 'clear glass' (aspaklaria ha-meirah, the lucid lens through which one sees plainly) and the 'unclear glass' (aspaklaria she-einah meirah, the dim lens).

He contrasts that song with the Song of the Well, in which Moshe Rabbeinu is conspicuously absent, and explains that this reflects two categories of miracles — the openly revealed and the hidden — which parallel the two levels of prophecy: Moshe's clear lens versus the dimmer lens of the other prophets.

ודור המדבר הי' התגלות שכל הנהגה שלהם הי' שלא עפ"י הטבע

And the generation of the wilderness was a generation of revelation, for their entire mode of conduct was not according to the natural order.

The generation that traveled through the midbar lived entirely within the realm of revealed miracles, since nothing about their existence followed the ordinary rules of nature.

ולכן היו בנ"י מכוסים בענני כבוד

And therefore Bnei Yisrael were enwrapped in the Clouds of Glory.

Because they dwelt in that openly miraculous state, Hashem surrounded them with the Clouds of Glory that visibly enveloped and protected them.

ואחר שנסתלקו ענני הכבוד וכתיב וייראו שהיו מגולים לכן היו הנסים בהסתר

But after the Clouds of Glory departed, and it is written 'and they were afraid' (Shemos 34:30) — for now they were exposed and uncovered — therefore from then on the miracles came about in a hidden manner.

Once the Clouds of Glory were removed and Bnei Yisrael stood exposed — alluded to by the fear that came over them — the manner of Hashem's miracles shifted from the open to the hidden.

דאיתא אורייתא סתים וגליא וישראל סתים וגליא

For it is brought down: the Torah is hidden and revealed, and Yisrael too is hidden and revealed.

He grounds this in the teaching that both the Torah and Bnei Yisrael possess a concealed face and a revealed face.

דיש פנימיות וחיצוניות וכשהפנימיות נגלה החיצונית נסתר

For there is an inner dimension (penimiyus) and an outer dimension (chitzoniyus), and when the inner dimension is revealed, the outer is concealed.

There is an inner penimiyus and an outer chitzoniyus, and these operate in inverse relation: when the inner is shining forth, the outer necessarily goes dark.

וכן להיפוך

And likewise the reverse — when the outer is revealed, the inner is concealed.

The same inverse relationship holds in the other direction — when the outer dimension is on display, the inner one withdraws into concealment.

וזה דכתיב גן נעול גל נעול

And this is the meaning of that which is written, 'a locked garden... a locked spring' (Shir HaShirim 4:12).

The locked garden and sealed spring of Shir HaShirim allude to this inner dimension that is sealed off and hidden from view.

וכתי' שער החצר הפנימית כו' יהי' סגור דבש"ק שנפתח שער הפנימית לכן צוה לשבות בו ממלאכה שיהי' החיצוניות נסתר כדאיתא פורס סוכת שלום עלינו בש"ק

And it is written, 'the gate of the inner court... shall be closed' (Yechezkel 46:1) — for on the holy Shabbos, when the inner gate is opened, therefore He commanded us to cease from melachah (creative labor) on it, so that the outer dimension should be concealed, as it is brought down: 'He spreads over us the canopy of peace' on the holy Shabbos.

On Shabbos the inner gate swings open, and precisely for that reason we are commanded to rest from melachah, so that the outer, physical dimension recedes and is covered — just as Hashem spreads the canopy of peace over us on Shabbos.

וז"ש בזוה"ק לא אשתכח ביה מנא מה ברכתא אשתכח אלא כולהו בשביעאה תליא

And this is what is said in the holy Zohar: 'no manna was found on it (Shabbos) — what blessing, then, was found in it? Rather, all of it depends upon the seventh.'

He cites the Zohar's question on why, with no manna falling on Shabbos, the day is nonetheless the source of blessing, and its answer that all blessing of the week is suspended from and rooted in the seventh day.

פי' ע"י שנגלה הפנימיות צריך להיות החצוניות נסתר לכן מן הגשמיי לא אשתכח כדכ' היום לא תמצאוהו בשדה

The explanation: through the inner dimension being revealed, the outer dimension must be concealed; therefore from the physical realm nothing was found, as it is written, 'today you shall not find it in the field' (Shemos 16:25).

He explains that because the inner dimension is revealed on Shabbos, the outer must be hidden, which is why nothing physical like the manna could be found in the field that day.

ובימי המעשה שהוא תיקון החיצוניות לכן הפנימיות נסתר כמ"ש יהיה סגור

And on the weekdays, which are the rectification of the outer dimension, therefore the inner dimension is concealed, as it is written, 'it shall be closed.'

During the weekdays the avodah is to rectify and engage the outer, physical dimension, and so the inner dimension stays concealed, as the verse says the gate 'shall be closed.'

ובנ"י נבראו להאיר לכל הבריאה

And Bnei Yisrael were created to illuminate the entire creation.

The purpose for which Bnei Yisrael were created is to bring Hashem's light into the whole of creation.

ויש זמן שהם מקבלים ואין משפיעים לאחרים והיא יום ש"ק

And there is a time when they receive and do not bestow upon others — and that is the day of the holy Shabbos.

There is one time when they simply absorb and receive that light without channeling it outward to the world, and that is Shabbos, when the inner dimension shines and the outer rests.

ובימי המעשה נבראו להאיר גם בחיצוניות:

And on the weekdays they were created to illuminate even within the outer dimension.

On the weekdays, by contrast, their task is to draw that light outward and illuminate even the outer, physical dimension of the world.

Summary: In this piece the Sfas Emes draws a fundamental distinction between revealed miracles and hidden miracles, which correspond to the clear lens of Moshe Rabbeinu's prophecy and the dimmer lens of the others — the very reason Moshe is mentioned in the Song of the Sea but absent from the Song of the Well. He explains that the generation of the midbar lived amid revealed miracles and was enwrapped in the Clouds of Glory, but once those clouds departed and Bnei Yisrael stood exposed, Hashem's conduct turned to the hidden mode. The underlying principle is that both the Torah and Bnei Yisrael have an inner penimiyus and an outer chitzoniyus that stand in inverse relation: when one shines, the other is concealed. On Shabbos the inner gate is opened, so we cease from melachah and the outer physical realm recedes — which is why no manna fell, yet all the week's blessing is rooted in the seventh day. Thus Bnei Yisrael were created to illuminate all of creation: on Shabbos they receive the inner light in stillness, while during the weekdays they carry that light outward to illuminate even the outer dimension of the world.