Refuge Through Self Nullification

אא"ז מו"ר ז"ל הגיד הטעות בצרה תקלוט כבצר

My grandfather, my master and teacher, of blessed memory, expounded the meaning of "Betzer in the wilderness... and Bosra" (Yehoshua 20:8; Yirmeyahu 48:24).

The Sfas Emes opens by citing a teaching of his grandfather, the Chiddushei HaRim, on the names of the cities of refuge, Betzer and Bosra.

כי ההורג נפש בשגגה אין לו מקום בעצמו [כמ"ש ולארץ לא יכופר כו'] אך השי"ת נותן לו מקום לגלות שמה

For one who kills a person inadvertently has no place of his own [as it is written, "and for the land there shall be no atonement" (Bamidbar 35:33)], yet Hashem grants him a place to which to flee for refuge.

A person who kills accidentally has forfeited his own standing, since the land itself cannot be cleansed; nevertheless Hashem mercifully provides a city of refuge where he can find shelter.

וזה בצר

And this is the meaning of "Betzer."

The name "Betzer" itself carries this lesson of refuge.

היא החיזוק והתוקף שנותן השי"ת ויוכל לחזק בזה

It refers to the strengthening and the firmness that Hashem grants, so that through it a person can fortify himself.

Betzer connotes strength and firmness, the inner fortification that Hashem extends to a person so that he can hold himself together.

וכ"כ כי התורה קולטת כמ"ש בגמ' בצר במדבר כו' וזאת התורה כו' וג"כ מי שיודע שחטא ואבד מקומו ושב להשי"ת יוכל להנצל ע"י התורה

And so too it is written that the Torah provides refuge, as the Gemara expounds on "Betzer in the wilderness... and this is the Torah" (Devarim 4:43-44); likewise, one who knows that he has sinned and has lost his place, and returns to Hashem, can be saved through the Torah.

The same idea applies to Torah, which serves as a refuge: one who recognizes that he has sinned and lost his footing, and does teshuvah, can be rescued by clinging to the Torah.

אבל אם עולה ע"ד שיש לו מקום אינו קולט כלל כי כל מה שקולט הוא זה שיודע שאין לו מעצמו מקום

But if it enters his mind that he has a place of his own, the Torah does not provide him refuge at all, for the only one to whom it grants refuge is the one who knows that of himself he has no place.

However, the refuge only works for someone who acknowledges that he has no independent standing of his own; if he imagines he has his own place, the Torah offers him no shelter.

ובצרה היא שלוקח העוז והחיזוק לעצמו ולכך אינו קולט עכ"ד ז"ל:

And "Bosra" alludes to one who takes the might and the strengthening for himself, and therefore it does not provide him refuge. Thus far his holy words, of blessed memory.

"Bosra" hints at the opposite type, who claims the strength and fortitude as his own achievement, and for that reason he receives no refuge.

Summary: Citing the Chiddushei HaRim, the Sfas Emes draws a lesson from the names of two cities of refuge, Betzer and Bosra. One who kills inadvertently loses his own standing, yet Hashem grants him a place of shelter; the name Betzer signifies the strength and firmness Hashem extends to fortify a person who recognizes he has nothing of himself. The Torah likewise serves as a refuge for one who knows he has sinned and lost his footing and returns to Hashem in teshuvah. But this protection reaches only the person who admits he has no independent place of his own. Bosra, by contrast, alludes to one who seizes the might and strengthening as his own, and therefore finds no refuge at all.