Unearthing the Hidden Torah

בפסוק באר חפרוה שרים כו'

On the verse, "A well — the princes dug it…" (Bamidbar 21:18).

The Sfas Emes opens with the verse describing the well dug by the princes of Bnei Yisrael, which he will read as an allusion to the Torah.

כי התורה נעלמה מעיני כל חי ואבותינו וצדיקים הראשונים חפרו עד שהוציאו באר התורה מכח אל הפועל להיות תורה ערוכה לפנינו בפרשיות כתובות ומפורשות כמאמרם ז"ל הראשונים זרעו וחרשו וקצרו כו' ואין לנו פה לאכול

For the Torah is hidden from the eyes of all living things, and our forefathers and the early tzaddikim dug until they brought forth the well of Torah from potential into actuality, so that the Torah lies set out before us in portions written and explained — as Chazal said, "The earlier ones plowed and sowed and reaped…" — and we need only a mouth to eat.

The Torah was originally hidden, and the early tzaddikim labored to bring it into a revealed, written, explained form, so that we who come after need only to 'eat' — to take it in through our own effort.

חפרוה כרוה

"They dug it" — "they bored it."

The two verbs 'dug' and 'bored' describe stages of drawing out something that is buried and not yet visible.

הוא כשעדיין נסתר ומכוסה כמו שהיא התורה הגנוזה

This refers to when it is still concealed and covered over, as the Torah is in its hidden form.

'They dug it' corresponds to the first stage, when the Torah is still entirely concealed in its hidden form.

ואח"כ בא לידי ציור וחקיקה וזה במחוקק

And afterward it comes into form and engraving, and this is alluded to in "with the lawgiver (mechokek)" — the one who engraves.

The word 'mechokek' (lawgiver/engraver) signals the next stage, where the hidden Torah takes on defined shape and engraving.

ובמשענותם הוא מפורשת ביותר באלה הצירופים המתלבשים בגשמיות

And in "with their staves (mish'anosam)" it becomes more fully explained, through those letter-combinations that clothe themselves in physicality.

The word 'mish'anosam' (their staves) marks the most revealed stage, where Torah is clothed in concrete, physical letter-combinations we can grasp.

ולנו נצרך רק כח הפה לאכול

And for us only the power of the mouth is needed, in order to eat.

Once the early ones have done the digging, our remaining task is simply to use 'the power of the mouth' to take in what was prepared for us.

והיינו דכתיב וממדבר מתנה שכל אלה הכחות יכולין לעורר בכח הפה ביגיעה בתורה ותפלה

And this is the meaning of what is written, "and from the wilderness, a gift (Matanah)" (Bamidbar 21:18), for all these powers can be aroused through the power of the mouth, by toiling in Torah and tefillah.

The verse 'from the wilderness, a gift' teaches that all these revelatory powers are activated through the mouth — through toil in Torah and tefillah.

כי זה הבאר נמצא בכל איש ישראל רק שצריכין לייגע להוציא הדברים מכח אל הפועל

For this well is found within every Jew, only that one must toil to bring the matters forth from potential into actuality.

Every Jew already contains this 'well' within himself; the work is to labor and draw the latent Torah out into actuality.

ואמרו חז"ל כי פי הבאר נברא בע"ש ביה"ש

And Chazal said that the mouth of the well was created on Erev Shabbos at twilight.

Chazal place the well's mouth among the things created at the very edge of Creation, at twilight of Erev Shabbos, linking the well to Shabbos.

כי הנה שבת סהדותא אקרי ומתחדש כח פיהן של ישראל בש"ק

For behold, Shabbos is called "testimony," and the power of the mouth of Bnei Yisrael is renewed on the holy Shabbos.

Since Shabbos is called 'testimony,' the speaking power of Bnei Yisrael — the means of bearing that testimony — is renewed each Shabbos.

כי רמז הבאר הוא פנימיות מכוון הבריאה שהי' לכבודו ית' רק שבעוה"ז נסתר ונכסה האמת ובנ"י בכח התורה יכולין לברר ולגלות שורש הפנימיות

For the well is a hint to the inner purpose of Creation, which was for His honor, may He be blessed — only that in this world the truth is concealed and covered over, and Bnei Yisrael, through the power of Torah, are able to clarify and reveal the root of that inner dimension.

The well symbolizes the hidden inner purpose of all Creation — Hashem's honor — which is buried in this world but which Bnei Yisrael uncover through Torah.

וזה עצמו השבת שהוא סהדותא ובו נפתח השורש הפנימית והאמת

And this itself is Shabbos, which is "testimony," and on it the inner root and the truth are opened.

Shabbos is precisely this act of 'testimony,' the day on which the concealed inner root and truth of Creation are opened up.

וזה עיקר המנוחה שבאין אל שורש הפנימיות, וז"ש ונחך ה' תמיד כו' והיית כגן רוה וכמוצא מים כו' ובשבת באין לזאת המנוחה ונעשין כמוצא מים אשר לא יכזבו מימיו

And this is the essence of the rest (menuchah) — that one arrives at the root of the inner dimension; and this is the meaning of "And Hashem shall guide you always… and you shall be like a watered garden and like a spring of water…" (Yeshayah 58:11), and on Shabbos one arrives at this rest and becomes like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.

True menuchah means reaching that inner root; the verse's 'watered garden' and unfailing 'spring of water' describe the Shabbos state of arriving at this rest.

והאמת הוא כי כפי מה שמעידין על הבורא ית' כך מתגבר כח הפה וכמו שבכח הפה יכולין לפתוח הבאר כמו כן כפי פתיחת הבאר כך מתגבר כח הפה

And the truth is that according to how much one testifies about the Creator, may He be blessed, so does the power of the mouth grow stronger; and just as through the power of the mouth one can open the well, so too according to the opening of the well, so does the power of the mouth grow stronger.

There is a reciprocal relationship: testifying about Hashem strengthens one's power of speech, and opening the well of Torah likewise strengthens that speech — each feeds the other.

ואמרו חז"ל פתחו לי כחודה של מחט כו'

And Chazal said, "Open for Me an opening like the eye of a needle…" (and I will open for you openings through which wagons can pass).

The teaching that we open a needle's-eye opening and Hashem opens vast gateways expresses this reciprocity — our small effort draws a much greater opening from Above.

ולכן בשבת קודש שמעידין עליו ית' מתחדש כח הפה

Therefore on the holy Shabbos, when one testifies about Him, may He be blessed, the power of the mouth is renewed.

Because Shabbos is the day of testifying about Hashem, it is precisely then that the power of the mouth is renewed.

ובאמת זה עיקר העדות כמ"ש כמה פעמים כי אין כל העדות להגיד בפה

And in truth this is the essence of the testimony, as I have written many times — for not all the testimony can be expressed with the mouth.

The deepest testimony is not something the mouth can fully articulate, as the Sfas Emes notes elsewhere.

רק האמת עד לעצמו בזה שרואין שכפי מה שאדם עוסק בתורה ותפלה כך מתעלה כח פיו ממדריגה למדריגה

Rather the truth is a witness to itself, in that one sees that according to how much a person occupies himself with Torah and tefillah, so does the power of his mouth ascend from level to level.

Rather the truth testifies to itself: one can see plainly that the more a person toils in Torah and tefillah, the more his very power of speech rises from level to level.

וכמו כן בכלל שנבחרו בנ"י להעיד על הבורא ית' ולכן נמסר להם כח הפה

And likewise in a general sense, Bnei Yisrael were chosen to testify about the Creator, may He be blessed, and therefore the power of the mouth was entrusted to them.

On the national level, Bnei Yisrael were chosen as Hashem's witnesses, and for that reason the special power of the mouth was given to them.

זה עצמו עדות על הבורא ית"ש

This itself is testimony about the Creator, may His Name be blessed.

The very fact that this power of speech was entrusted to them is itself testimony about the Creator.

ז"ש אתם עדי אתם בעצמכם כענין כל רואיהם יכירום כו':

This is the meaning of "You are My witnesses" (Yeshayah 43:10) — you yourselves are the testimony, in the manner of "all who see them shall recognize them…" (Yeshayah 61:9).

Thus 'You are My witnesses' means Bnei Yisrael are themselves the living testimony, recognizable to all who see them as bearers of Hashem's truth.

Summary: In this piece the Sfas Emes reads the verse of the well dug by the princes as an allusion to the Torah, which was originally hidden and which the early tzaddikim labored to draw forth from potential into actuality, leaving us only the task of using 'the power of the mouth' to take it in through toil in Torah and tefillah. He traces three stages of revelation in the verse — digging, engraving (mechokek), and the staves (mish'anosam) — moving from the wholly concealed Torah to its fully physical, graspable form, and notes that this well lies within every Jew. He then ties the well, created at twilight of Erev Shabbos, to Shabbos as 'testimony': Shabbos is the day on which the hidden inner purpose of Creation, Hashem's honor, is opened and the speaking power of Bnei Yisrael is renewed. There is a reciprocal dynamic — testifying about Hashem strengthens the power of the mouth, and opening the well of Torah strengthens it in turn, as in 'open for Me an opening like the eye of a needle.' Finally, the deepest testimony is not what the mouth articulates but the visible fact that toil in Torah and tefillah raises a person's very power of speech, so that Bnei Yisrael themselves are Hashem's living witnesses — 'You are My witnesses,' recognizable to all who see them.