Elevating Speech Through Daily Acceptance
במדרש ונשבעת חי ה' באמת במשפט ובצדקה
The Midrash expounds on the pasuk "And you shall swear, 'As Hashem lives,' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness" (Yirmiyahu 4:2).
The Sfas Emes opens with a pasuk in Yirmiyahu in which the oath to Hashem must be made with three qualities: truth, justice, and righteousness.
כבר כתבתי כי אלה הג' הם בחי' בכל לבבך נפשך מאודך
I have already written that these three correspond to the levels of "with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might" (Devarim 6:5).
He links these three qualities to the famous three expressions of love in the Shema: heart, soul, and might.
כי באמת בחי' נפשך שהוא חיות הפנימיות
For "in truth" corresponds to the level of "your soul," which is the innermost life-force.
"Truth" matches "your soul," because the soul is the deepest inner vitality of a person.
במשפט בחי' לבבך שיש ב' לבבות וצריך בירור ומשפט
"In justice" corresponds to the level of "your heart," for a person has two hearts (the yetzer tov and the yetzer hara), and this requires clarification and judgment.
"Justice" matches "your heart," since a person has two competing inclinations and must judge between them.
בצדקה בחי' מאודך
"In righteousness" corresponds to the level of "your might."
"Righteousness" matches "your might," the level of one's resources and effort.
אח"כ והיו הדברים כו'
Afterward comes "And these words... shall be upon your heart" (Devarim 6:6).
Only after these three come the "words" of Torah that rest upon the heart.
שאחר תיקון הגוף והנפש יכולין לקבל דבורי התורה
For after the rectification of the body and the soul, one is able to receive the words of the Torah.
Once a person has rectified both body and soul, he becomes a fit vessel to absorb the words of Torah.
כי באמת כל התורה שמותיו של הקב"ה ואלה הדיבורים של התורה הקדושה מדבקין לבות בני ישראל אליו ית'
For in truth the entire Torah is composed of the Names of the Holy One, Blessed is He, and these words of the holy Torah bind the hearts of Bnei Yisrael to Him, Yisbarach.
Since the Torah is woven from Hashem's Names, its words actually bind the hearts of Bnei Yisrael to Him.
ולכן והגית בו יומם ולילה
Therefore it says "and you shall meditate upon it day and night" (Yehoshua 1:8).
This is why we are commanded to meditate on Torah constantly, day and night.
וכן מצות ק"ש ותפלה ודברת בם שמוסיפין חיות אל
And so too the mitzvah of Krias Shema and tefillah, "and you shall speak of them" (Devarim 6:7), which add life-force to a person.
The same applies to Shema and tefillah, whose words infuse a person with added life-force.
וע"י הקבלת מלכות שמים בכל יום בפה מלא מסייעין אלה הדיבורים להיות נמשך המעשה כפי הקבלה כמ"ש נשבעתי ואקיימה ונודרין לקיים את המצות
And through accepting the yoke of Malchus Shamayim each day with a full mouth, these words assist in drawing the deed to follow in accordance with the acceptance, as it says "I have sworn, and I will fulfill it" (Tehillim 119:106), and one takes a vow to fulfill the mitzvos.
Verbally accepting Hashem's kingship each day helps a person's deeds follow through to match what he committed to with his mouth.
והנדר מסייע
And the vow itself assists.
The very act of vowing lends strength to carrying out the commitment.
כמ"ש ככל היוצא מפיו יעשה
As it says "according to all that issues from his mouth he shall do" (Bamidbar 30:3).
He brings the pasuk of vows, that one must do whatever issues from his mouth.
והוא הבטחה ג"כ כי יוכל האדם לקיים אח"כ במעשה כפי הקבלה בפה ולכן כתיב ככל ולא כל
And it is also an assurance, that a person will be able afterward to fulfill in deed according to what he accepted with his mouth, and therefore it is written "according to all" and not simply "all."
The wording "according to all" (rather than "all") hints that the vow is also a promise that one will indeed be able to fulfill his verbal commitment in action.
כי באמת המעשה רחוקה מאוד מהרצון והקבלה רק שע"י הקבלה יכולין להדמות המעשה אל הקבלה כנ"ל
For in truth the deed is very far removed from the will and the acceptance; only that through the acceptance one is able to bring the deed to resemble the acceptance, as above.
In reality, action lags far behind one's will, but verbalizing the commitment draws the deed into alignment with it.
אכן כפי תיקון הנפש כך יכולין לעורר בפה
Indeed, according to the rectification of the soul, so is one able to arouse with the mouth.
The degree to which a person can rouse holiness through speech depends on how far he has refined his soul.
כי יש בחי' דצח"ם ואדם כולל הכל
For there are the levels of domem (inanimate), tzomei'ach (plant), chai (animal), and medaber (speaker), and man encompasses them all.
He introduces the four tiers of creation — inanimate, plant, animal, and speaker — and notes that man contains all four within himself.
ואחר תיקון דצ"ח יכולין לבוא אח"כ לבחי' הדיבור שהוא למעלה מהכל
And after the rectification of the domem, tzomei'ach, and chai, one is able afterward to come to the level of speech, which is above them all.
Only after a person refines his lower three tiers can he rise to the tier of speech, which towers above them.
וג' בחי' הנ"ל הם בחי' דצ"ח שבאדם ואח"כ זוכין לדיבור כנ"ל כי הדיבור צריך להנהיג מדריגות התחתונות וכשכולם כפופים אליו חל שם שמים על הדיבור
And the three levels mentioned above are the aspects of domem, tzomei'ach, and chai within man, and afterward one merits speech, as above; for speech must govern the lower levels, and when they are all subordinate to it, the Name of Heaven rests upon the speech.
The three qualities above are man's inanimate, plant, and animal levels; mastering them lets him reach speech, which must govern the lower levels so that the Name of Heaven can rest upon it.
ובכל יום יש שבועה זו כמ"ש שבע ביום הללתיך והוא קבלת מלכות שמים
And each day there is this oath, as it says "seven times a day I praise You" (Tehillim 119:164), and this is the acceptance of Malchus Shamayim.
Daily acceptance of Hashem's kingship is itself a kind of oath, alluded to by praising Hashem seven times a day.
ובש"ק ג"כ נקרא שבועה על ידי שכל ששת הימים מתאחדין בי' חל עליו שם שמים
And on Shabbos Kodesh it is likewise called an oath, in that all six days are unified within it, and the Name of Heaven rests upon it.
Shabbos too is called an oath, for all six weekdays gather into it and the Name of Heaven rests upon it.
וכפי תיקון ימי המעשה יכולין לקבל השבת
And according to the rectification of the weekdays, the days of action, one is able to receive the Shabbos.
The quality of one's weekdays determines one's capacity to receive the Shabbos.
וששת הימים הוא ג' בחי' הנ"ל
And the six days correspond to the three levels mentioned above.
The six weekdays themselves embody the three levels discussed earlier.
והמ"י
Understand this well.
An instruction to ponder this point.
לכן כתיב בשבת ודבר דבר שלא יהי' דבורך בשבת כדבורך בחול
Therefore it is written regarding Shabbos "and speaking a word" (Yeshayahu 58:13) — that your speech on Shabbos should not be like your speech during the week.
On Shabbos one must guard his speech, for Shabbos speech should differ in elevation from ordinary weekday speech.
שבשבת מתעלה הדיבור כנ"ל
For on Shabbos the speech is elevated, as above.
The reason is that on Shabbos the faculty of speech itself is raised to a higher plane.
ומה"ט מומחה מיפר כמו שכל בחי' דצ"ח כפופים למדבר כן במדבר עצמו יש כמה בחי'
And for this reason an expert can annul a vow: just as all the levels of domem, tzomei'ach, and chai are subordinate to the medaber, the speaker, so too within the speaker himself there are several levels.
This also explains why an expert sage can annul a vow: just as the lower tiers submit to the speaker, within the realm of speech itself there are higher and lower grades.
וזה דיבור של החכם שליט על הדיבור הזה
And this is the speech of the chacham, who has dominion over this speech.
The chacham's speech occupies the higher grade and therefore rules over ordinary speech.
וכפי מעלת האדם כך יש כח בדיבורו
And according to the elevation of the person, so is there power in his speech.
A person's spiritual stature directly determines the potency of his words.
והרמז כל עמל אדם לפיהו
And the hint is in the pasuk "all the toil of man is for his mouth" (Koheles 6:7).
He finds a hint to this in the pasuk that all of man's toil is ultimately for his mouth — for the power of speech.
וכפי התיקון בכל יום מתעלה הדיבור ויכולין אח"כ לקבל יותר עמ"ש בדיבור
And according to the rectification each day, the speech is elevated, and one is then able to receive more — as it says — through speech.
Daily refinement steadily elevates one's speech, enabling him to absorb ever more holiness through it.
ונתקן הנפש עי"ז הקבלה ביותר ויש אח"כ כח לקבל יותר וכן הולכים המדריגות בכל יום ויום וכן השבת אחר ימי המעשה תמיד
And the soul is rectified through this acceptance even more, and there is afterward power to receive more, and so the levels ascend each and every day, and so too the Shabbos always follows the days of action.
Each acceptance further rectifies the soul, granting capacity to receive still more, so the levels keep climbing daily, with Shabbos forever crowning the weekdays.
וככל היוצא מפיו בשבת כן יעשה בימי המעשה כנ"ל:
And according to all that issues from one's mouth on Shabbos, so shall one do during the days of action, as above.
Whatever one commits to with his mouth on Shabbos, he then carries out through the weekdays that follow.
Summary: The Sfas Emes builds a ladder from the pasuk's three qualities of oath-making — truth, justice, and righteousness — which he aligns with the soul, heart, and might of the Shema, and with the three lower tiers of creation (inanimate, plant, and animal) that exist within every person. Only once a person rectifies these lower levels can he ascend to the crowning tier of speech, the medaber, which must govern all that lies beneath it so that the Name of Heaven can rest upon his words. Verbally accepting the yoke of Malchus Shamayim each day functions as a daily oath, drawing one's deeds into alignment with one's commitments and steadily refining the soul, so that the power and holiness of one's speech grow from day to day. Shabbos is itself such an oath, gathering all six weekdays into it and elevating the very faculty of speech — which is why our speech on Shabbos must rise above weekday speech, and why a sage of elevated stature can even annul a vow. Whatever a person commits to with his mouth on the holy Shabbos he then carries forward and fulfills throughout the weekdays that follow.