Distance Grants Enduring Existence

המסעות שנכתבו בתורה מוצאיהם כו' שיש מקומות שאין להם קיום רק ע"י שמתרחק האדם מהם ככל עניני עוה"ז שבטולם זה קיומם

The Torah writes of the journeys, "and their starting points," and so on — for there are certain places that have no enduring existence except through a person's distancing himself from them; for so it is with all the matters of this world, that their very nullification is their existence.

The journeys of Bnei Yisrael in the midbar teach that worldly things only attain a lasting standing when a person moves past them rather than clinging to them; their bittul is what gives them permanence.

ונק' מסעות שהמסע משם הוא המעלה שעי"ז זכו להיות נזכר בתורה ויש להם מקום ועי"ז עצמו מתוקנים להיות נק' מקום לעצמו כנ"ל

And they are called "journeys" (masa'os), because the journeying away from there is itself the elevation, for through this they merited to be recorded in the Torah and to have a place; and through this very thing they become rectified, to be called a place unto themselves, as above.

They are named "journeys" because the very act of departing from each stop was the spiritual ascent, and that is what earned each place its eternal mention in the Torah and its fixed standing.

וכן צריך כל אדם לזכור בכל דבר כי הוא לצורך השי"ת וכשעושה לשם שמים מקיים הדבר ונותן לו מקום הן דבר טוב או רע בהתרחקו ממנו כנ"ל

And so every person must remember regarding every matter that it is for the sake of Hashem, the Holy One, Blessed is He; and when he does it for the sake of Heaven, he gives existence to the thing and grants it a place — whether it be something good or something bad — through his distancing himself from it, as above.

A person must approach every matter as being for the sake of Hashem; doing it l'shem Shamayim is what gives the thing real existence and a proper place, even when his avodah is to distance himself from it.

ובמד' כשחוטפין לעצמן כו' ע"ש אצל בני גד וב"ר

And in the Midrash: "when they seize for themselves," and so on — see there, in connection with the children of Gad, and in the Bereishis Rabbah.

The Sfas Emes points to a Midrash about "grabbing for oneself," cited regarding the request of the children of Gad, and a parallel in Bereishis Rabbah.

שצריך לידע שהוא בכח התורה ועי"ז יש קיום אף לממון וכדומה כו' כנ"ל

For one must know that this is by the power of the Torah, and through this there is enduring existence even for money and the like, and so on, as above.

The lesson is that worldly things, even money, gain lasting worth only when they are channeled through the power of the Torah and used for a higher purpose.

וז"ש שלא לעשות הטפל עיקר כנ"ל שכשהוא טפל יש לו מקום כנ"ל:

And this is the meaning that one should not make the secondary into the primary, as above — for when it remains secondary, it has a place, as above.

This is the meaning of not turning the secondary into the primary: precisely when material matters are kept in their secondary place do they earn an enduring standing.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains why the Torah records each of the journeys of Bnei Yisrael in the midbar by their starting points: certain places, and by extension all the matters of this world, gain enduring existence only through a person's distancing himself from them, for their very nullification is their permanence. They are called "journeys" because the act of moving on was itself the elevation that merited each stop its place in the Torah. Accordingly, every person must approach all his dealings as being for the sake of Hashem; when he acts l'shem Shamayim, he grants the thing a true and lasting place, even when his avodah lies in distancing himself from it. Citing a Midrash on the children of Gad who "seized for themselves," the Sfas Emes teaches that even money and worldly possessions attain lasting worth only through the power of the Torah. The principle is that one must never make the secondary into the primary, for it is precisely when material matters remain secondary that they earn their proper, enduring place.