No Place Earns Refuge
במדרש על ערי מקלנו טוב וישר ה' על כן יורה חטאים בדרך
The Midrash, concerning the cities of refuge, expounds the verse "Good and upright is Hashem; therefore He instructs sinners in the way" (Tehillim 25:8).
The Sfas Emes opens by citing a Midrash that links the cities of refuge to the verse praising Hashem as good and upright, who guides sinners along the proper path.
בגמ' דייקי בפ' יתמו חטאים מן הארץ חוטאים לא כ' רק חטאים כו'
In the Gemara they are precise regarding the verse "Let sins cease from the earth" (Tehillim 104:35) — that it is not written "sinners" but "sins," and so forth.
He notes the Gemara's careful reading of another verse, which says "sins" should cease rather than "sinners" — pointing to the sin itself as the object, not the person.
וכמו כן יש לדייק בפסוק זה יורה חטאים
And in the very same way one must be precise in this verse, "He instructs sinners (chataim)."
He applies that same precision here: the verse says Hashem instructs "chataim," which can be read as the sins themselves, not only the people who commit them.
כי החטא עושה רושם כמ"ש ז"ל שנברא משחית מכל חטא והוא להורות שאין עונש החטא ע"י שמורד בו ית' בלבד רק שגוף החטא בורא משחית לכן אף שוגג צריך תיקון והוא ע"י גלות כמ"ש אא"ז מו"ר ז"ל על מ"ש בצרה תקלוט כבצר כי השי"ת נתן ערי מקלט למי שיודע שאין לו מקום ע"י שנזדמן לו חטא גדול כזה להרוג נפש
For the sin itself leaves an impression, as Chazal said that with every sin a destroying angel is created — and this teaches that the punishment of sin is not merely because one rebels against Him, blessed is He, but rather that the very substance of the sin creates a destroyer; therefore even an inadvertent transgressor (shogeg) requires rectification, and this comes about through galus, as my grandfather, my teacher and master, of blessed memory, explained on the words "In distress he shall find refuge as in Betzer" — for Hashem gave the cities of refuge to one who knows that he has no place, because such a great sin as taking a life has come about through him.
The sin is not merely an act of rebellion against Hashem; it actually creates a real destructive force, so that even an accidental wrongdoer needs a tikkun, which galus provides — and his grandfather explained that the cities of refuge are given to one who feels he has no place after committing so grave a sin as killing.
וזה עצמו נותן לו מקום שהשי"ת נותן מקום למי שאין לו אבל כשסומך עצמו על זה המקום אינו נותן לו כו' ודפח"ח
And this itself grants him a place, for Hashem gives a place to one who has no place; but when one relies upon this place, He does not grant it to him, and so forth — and these are words pleasant to one who hears them.
The very recognition that he has no place is what earns him a place from Hashem; but if he presumes upon that refuge as something owed to him, it is withheld.
נמצא כי עיקר מקומו מה שיודע שאין לו מקום
It emerges that one's essential place is precisely his knowing that he has no place.
Therefore a person's true place is rooted precisely in his humble awareness that he has no place of his own.
וזה עצמו תיקון החטא כפי מה שהוא מתחרט לפני השי"ת ואינו מוצא לו מקום כמו כן חטא שלו ומלאך המשחית אינו מוצא לו מקום והשי"ת נותן לכולם מקום וז"ש יורה חטאים כו'
And this itself is the rectification of the sin: in the measure that he is remorseful before Hashem and finds no place for himself, so too his sin and the destroying angel find no place, and Hashem grants a place to all of them — and this is the meaning of "He instructs sinners," and so forth.
This humble remorse is itself the sin's rectification: as the person finds no place for himself before Hashem, his sin and its destroying angel likewise find no place, and Hashem then grants a place to all of them.
ובס' תומר דבורה מהרב הרמ"ק כתב שזה חסד גדול מהשי"ת שנותן מקום להמשחית שבא ע"י חטא האדם כו' ע"ש:
And in the sefer Tomer Devorah of the Rav, the Ramak, he writes that this is a great kindness from Hashem, that He grants a place to the destroyer that comes about through a person's sin, and so forth — see there.
He closes by citing the Tomer Devorah of the Ramak, that Hashem's granting a place even to the destroyer born of a person's sin is itself a great act of kindness.
Summary: The Sfas Emes expounds the verse "Good and upright is Hashem; therefore He instructs sinners in the way" in connection with the cities of refuge. He explains that a sin is not only an act of rebellion against Hashem but actually creates a real destructive force, so that even an inadvertent transgressor requires a tikkun, which galus accomplishes. The cities of refuge are given specifically to one who knows he has no place of his own; this very humility and remorse is what earns him a place from Hashem, whereas presuming upon the refuge causes it to be withheld. Thus a person's true place lies precisely in recognizing that he has none, and through this remorse both his sin and its destroying angel find no place, until Hashem in His kindness grants a place to them all.