Cleaving Through Supporting Torah

במדרש ונשבעת חי ה' באמת במשפט ובצדקה ה' אלקיך תירא ואותו תעבוד אין לך עבודה אחרת כו' ובו תדבק וכי אפשר אלא עוסק בפרקמטיא ומהנה ת"ח מנכסיו כו'

The Midrash expounds the verse "And you shall swear, 'As Hashem lives,' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness" (Yirmiyahu 4:2), together with "Hashem your God you shall fear, and Him you shall serve" (Devarim 6:13) — there is no other avodah, etc. — "and to Him you shall cleave" (Devarim 10:20): and how is it possible to cleave to Him? Rather, by being engaged in commerce and providing benefit to a talmid chacham from one's possessions, etc.

The Sfas Emes opens with a Midrash that links several verses about serving Hashem, ending with the surprising teaching that one cleaves to Hashem by supporting a talmid chacham financially.

דכתיב לא יחל דברו פרש"י לא יעשה דבריו חולין מכלל שהדיבור הוא קודש כי הוא מהבל ורוח שבאדם דכ' ויפח באפיו כו' ויהי כו' לנפש חי' לרוח ממללא נמצא שרוח האדם הוא קודש

For it is written, "He shall not profane his word" (Bamidbar 30:3), and Rashi explains: he shall not make his words chullin (profane) — from which we learn that speech is holy, for it comes from the breath and the spirit within a person, as it is written, "And He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" (Bereishis 2:7), "and the man became a living soul," which Targum renders "a speaking spirit" — so it emerges that the spirit of man is holy.

He proves from Rashi on the law against profaning one's vow that human speech is intrinsically holy, since it stems from the divine breath of life that Hashem blew into man.

אך זה נמשך כפי מדריגת האדם שיודע זאת ומבטל כל חיותו לחי החיים כמאמר השבועה חי ה' שיהי' זה באמת

However, this is drawn down according to a person's level, when he knows this and nullifies all his vitality to the Living One of all life, as in the language of the oath "As Hashem lives," that it should be in truth.

Yet this holiness only becomes manifest according to a person's spiritual level — specifically when he recognizes it and nullifies his own life-force to Hashem, the source of all life.

וזה ה' אלקיך תירא ע"י שהוא אצל האמת ויודע ומכיר שאין לו קיום בלתי חיות הבורא ב"ה וב"ש

And this is "Hashem your God you shall fear" — through being attached to the truth and knowing and recognizing that he has no existence whatsoever without the vitality of the Creator, Blessed is He and Blessed is His Name.

Fear of Hashem grows from clinging to this truth and recognizing that one has no independent existence apart from the Creator's vitality.

ובמשפט הוא שמלבד הידיעה צריך להיות נגמר המעשים להיות נמשכין אחר הידיעה וזהו אותו תעבוד שהוא עבודת האדם תמיד לשפוט כל מעשיו ותנועותיו שיהיו בלתי לה'

And "in justice" means that beyond mere knowledge, the deeds themselves must be brought to completion so that they follow after the knowledge; and this is "Him you shall serve," which is the constant avodah of a person to judge all his deeds and movements so that they be for the sake of Hashem alone.

"Justice" demands that knowledge translate into action; one's avodah is to constantly judge his every deed and movement so they are done purely for Hashem.

וצדקה הוא לפנים משורת הדין וז"ש ובו תדבק ומפרש שמהנה ת"ח מנכסיו

And "righteousness" is going beyond the letter of the law, and this is what the verse means by "and to Him you shall cleave," which the Midrash explains as providing benefit to a talmid chacham from one's possessions.

"Righteousness" means acting beyond the strict law, and the Midrash identifies this with supporting a talmid chacham from one's wealth as the path to cleaving to Hashem.

ואף שמדבר בכאן מזה שהוא ירא שמים כאברהם ואין לו עבודה אחרת כו' א"כ הוא צדיק נפלא

And even though it speaks here of one who is a yarei Shamayim like Avraham Avinu and has no other avodah, etc. — and is therefore a wondrous tzaddik —

Even a person on the level of Avraham Avinu, a complete yarei Shamayim with no other avodah, is a remarkable tzaddik —

עכ"ז אינו יכול לבוא לדביקות רק באמצעיות שמהנה לת"ח מנכסיו

nevertheless, he cannot arrive at dveikus except through the means of providing benefit to a talmid chacham from his possessions,

yet even he can only reach dveikus through the channel of materially supporting a talmid chacham.

גם כי יוכל להיות גדול מאותו ת"ח

even though he himself may be greater than that very talmid chacham.

This holds true even if that righteous person is actually spiritually greater than the talmid chacham he supports.

ועי"ז עצמו בא לדביקות ע"י שיודע ומבין שמצד מעשיו א"י לזכות לדבק בו ית' ועושה מעשים טובים לצרף עבודת אנשים אחרים בזכותו והוא חסיד המתחסד עם קונו

And through this itself he comes to dveikus — through knowing and understanding that on the strength of his own deeds he cannot merit to cleave to Him, Blessed is He, and so he performs good deeds in order to join the avodah of other people to his own merit; and such a one is the chassid who acts with chesed toward his Maker.

The very act of supporting another's Torah brings him to dveikus, because he humbly recognizes that his own deeds cannot earn it, so he attaches himself to others' avodah — this is the true chassid who acts with chesed toward his Maker.

ונסמכה פרשת נדרים לפרשת קרבנות תמידין ומוספין סוף פ' פינחס להודיע כי בכח פיהם של ישראל בשיח שפתותינו להיות לפניו לריח ניחוח בזמן החורבן כאלו הקרבנו כו' לכן לא יחל כו':

And the parsha of nedarim (vows) was placed adjacent to the parsha of the korbanos — the temidin and musafin — at the end of Parshas Pinchas, to make known that through the power of the mouths of Bnei Yisrael, through the utterance of our lips, it is as though we have offered the korbanos before Him as a sweet savor in the time of the Churban; therefore "he shall not profane," etc.

Finally, the Torah placed the parsha of vows next to the korbanos to teach that the holy speech of Bnei Yisrael, our words of tefillah, serves in place of the korbanos as a sweet savor during the Churban — which is why one must never profane his words.

Summary: The Sfas Emes builds on a Midrash that the way to cleave to Hashem is by supporting a talmid chacham from one's possessions. He grounds this in the holiness of human speech, which derives from the divine breath of life, and shows how the verse's three terms — truth, justice, and righteousness — map onto knowing one's utter dependence on Hashem, translating that knowledge into purified action, and going beyond the letter of the law. He then teaches the striking point that even a tzaddik on the level of Avraham Avinu, who may be greater than the talmid chacham he supports, can only reach dveikus through this channel, because he humbly recognizes that his own deeds alone cannot earn it and instead joins his merit to the avodah of others. Such a person is the true chassid who acts with chesed toward his Maker. He concludes that the parsha of vows adjoins the korbanos to teach that the holy speech of Bnei Yisrael stands in place of the korbanos as a sweet savor in the time of the Churban.