Four Levels of Torah

בפסוק באר חפרוה שרים כו' הם ד' מדריגות כי הבאר הוא המשכה משורש העליון בכח התורה

Regarding the pasuk "A well that the sarim (princes) dug, that the nedivei am (nobles of the people) delved, with the mechokek (lawgiver), with their staffs" (Bamidbar 21:18) — these are four levels, for the well is a drawing-down from the supernal root through the power of the Torah.

The Sfas Emes opens with the pasuk of the well dug by the leaders of Bnei Yisrael and reads it as encoding four levels, since the well stands for the Torah's power to draw spiritual flow down from its supernal source.

ויש ד' פירושים לתורה פשט רמז דרוש סוד

And there are four modes of interpretation in the Torah: pshat (the plain meaning), remez (the allusive meaning), drush (the homiletical meaning), and sod (the hidden, mystical meaning).

These four levels are the four classic modes of learning the Torah — pshat, remez, drush, and sod — together known as PaRDeS.

וע"ז נאמר ונהר יוצא כו' לד' ראשים

And it is concerning this that it says, "And a river went forth from Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four headwaters" (Bereishis 2:10).

He links this to the river of Eden that split into four headwaters, showing that the fourfold pattern is rooted in the very order of creation.

וכמו שיש ד' פירושי פרד"ס בתורה שלפנינו כן הוא בשורש התורה

And just as there are the four modes of interpretation of PaRDeS (an acronym for pshat, remez, drush, sod) in the Torah that is before us, so it is in the root of the Torah above.

This fourfold structure is not merely a human way of reading; it mirrors the very structure of the Torah at its supernal root above.

שרים הוא הסוד

"The sarim (princes)" corresponds to sod, the hidden dimension.

He now maps each phrase of the pasuk onto one of the four levels: "the sarim" alludes to the deepest, hidden dimension of sod.

נדיבי עם דרוש

"The nedivei am (nobles of the people)" corresponds to drush, the homiletical dimension.

"The nedivei am" alludes to drush, the homiletical dimension.

מחוקק רמז

"The mechokek (lawgiver)" corresponds to remez, the allusive dimension.

"The mechokek" alludes to remez, the allusive dimension.

במשענותם הפשוט שהוא לעולם קיים אין מקרא יוצא מידי פשוטו והכל יכולין לאחוז בפשטות התורה

"With their staffs" corresponds to pshat, the plain meaning, which endures forever — for "a pasuk never departs from its plain meaning" — and all are able to grasp hold of the plainness of the Torah.

"With their staffs" alludes to pshat, the plain meaning, which is enduring and accessible to all, since a pasuk never loses its plain sense and even the simplest person can take hold of it.

וכמו שיש ד' דרכים הנ"ל

And just as there are these four pathways mentioned above,

Having laid out these four pathways of grasping the Torah,

יש אח"כ י"ג מדות שהתורה נדרשת

so too there are afterward the thirteen middos (hermeneutical principles) by which the Torah is expounded.

the Sfas Emes adds that beyond them stand the thirteen middos through which the Torah is derived and expounded.

והם ג"כ בכל הד' דרכים פרד"ס

And these too operate within all four pathways of PaRDeS.

These thirteen middos are not a separate track but function within each of the four levels of PaRDeS.

ואלה הדרכים הם בחי' אבות ומרע"ה וי"ב שבטים

And these pathways are the aspect of the Avos (Patriarchs), and of Moshe Rabbeinu, and of the twelve Shevatim (tribes).

He now identifies these pathways with the Avos, with Moshe Rabbeinu, and with the twelve Shevatim — the foundational figures of Klal Yisrael who embody them.

וכמו כן יש זמנים מיוחדים להתגלות שורש העליון שבת וג' ימים טובים וי"ב חדשי השנה שיש בהם התגלות מציור הפנימי כמ"ש אתה צרת עולמך מקדם

And likewise there are special times for the revelation of the supernal root — Shabbos Kodesh, the three Yamim Tovim, and the twelve months of the year — in which there is a revelation of the inner form, as it is written, "You formed Your world from of old."

Just as the Torah has structured layers, so too time itself has designated points — Shabbos, the three Yamim Tovim, and the twelve months — when the supernal root and the inner form by which Hashem shaped His world become revealed.

וכ' ויטע כו' גן בעדן מקדם וישם שם את האדם

And it is written, "And Hashem planted a garden in Eden from the east (mikedem), and there He placed the man" (Bereishis 2:8).

He cites that Hashem planted the garden and placed Adam there "from the east / from of old" (mikedem), reading mikedem as pointing to Adam's primordial origin.

א"כ עיקר מקומו של אדם הי' דבוק בגן מקדם

If so, the essential place of Adam was bound up in the garden from the very beginning (mikedem).

From this he derives that Adam's true place was originally one of intimate attachment to the garden, that is, to the supernal source.

ואחר החטא נתקן ע"י התורה להיות נמשך הארה מנהר היוצא ומתפרד לד' ראשים ולי"ג מדות שהם הארות מצומצמים יותר לכן נקראו מדות

And after the cheit (sin) it was rectified by means of the Torah, so that an illumination is drawn down from the river that goes forth and divides into four headwaters, and into the thirteen middos — which are more constricted illuminations, and are therefore called middos (measured attributes).

After the cheit disrupted this, the Torah became the means of repair, channeling the supernal river into four headwaters and into the thirteen middos, which are more constricted — and therefore "measured" — forms of that illumination.

וד' פרד"ס הם דרכים רחבים וגבוהים ביותר

And the four of PaRDeS are pathways that are broader and loftier still.

By contrast, the four modes of PaRDeS are broader and loftier channels of divine light than the constricted thirteen middos.

ולכל אלה ההארות זוכין על ידי היגיעה בתורה כדכתיב וממדבר מתנה

And one merits all these illuminations through toil (yegiah) in the Torah, as it is written, "And from the wilderness, a gift (matanah)" (Bamidbar 21:18).

All these illuminations are earned specifically through toil and labor in the Torah, as hinted by the pasuk's progression from "wilderness" to "gift."

במדבר

"From the wilderness" (bamidbar) —

The Sfas Emes now begins a wordplay on bamidbar ("from the wilderness").

במלולא

is read as "through the spoken word" (bemilula) —

He re-reads midbar as related to dibur, rendering it "through the spoken word," shifting the focus from place to speech.

כחן של ישראל בפה:

for the strength of Bnei Yisrael is in the mouth, in speech.

The point is that the unique strength of Bnei Yisrael lies in the mouth — in the spoken words of Torah and tefillah — which is the very vessel that draws down all these illuminations.

Summary: Building on the pasuk of the well dug by the leaders of Bnei Yisrael (Bamidbar 21:18), the Sfas Emes reads its four phrases as the four classic modes of learning the Torah — pshat, remez, drush, and sod (PaRDeS) — and shows that this fourfold pattern is not merely a human method but is rooted in the supernal source of the Torah, paralleling the river of Eden that split into four headwaters. He layers onto this the thirteen middos, which operate within all four pathways, and connects these structures both to the Avos, Moshe Rabbeinu, and the twelve Shevatim, and to the sacred times of Shabbos, the Yamim Tovim, and the months, when the inner form by which Hashem shaped His world is revealed. Adam's primordial place was intimate attachment to the garden, and after the cheit the Torah became the channel that repairs that loss, drawing the supernal flow down into the broad pathways of PaRDeS and the more constricted, "measured" thirteen middos. Finally, through a wordplay reading bamidbar as bemilula ("through the spoken word"), the Sfas Emes teaches that all these illuminations are attained through toil in the Torah, since the unique strength of Bnei Yisrael resides in the mouth — in the spoken word of Torah and tefillah.