Oath of Daily Avodah

במדרש ונשבעת חי ה' באמת כו'

The Midrash expounds on the verse, "And you shall swear, 'As Hashem lives,' in truth (Yirmiyahu 4:2)."

The Sfas Emes opens with a verse from Yirmiyahu about swearing truthfully in Hashem's Name, which he will now unpack.

כי הנה עיקר השבועה בשמו ית' הוא לסייע לעובד ה' כמ"ש נשבעתי ואקימה כמ"ש רז"ל מזה שנשבעין לקיים המצות

For behold, the essential purpose of an oath taken in His Name, may He be blessed, is to lend assistance to the one who serves Hashem, as it says, "I have sworn and I will fulfill it" (Tehillim 119:106), as Chazal expounded from this verse that a person may take an oath in order to fulfill the mitzvos.

The deeper purpose of an oath in Hashem's Name is to strengthen a person in serving Hashem, and Chazal even permit taking an oath as a means of spurring oneself to keep the mitzvos.

וע"ז נאמר מגדל עוז שם ה' בו ירוץ צדיק ונשגב

Concerning this it is said, "The Name of Hashem is a tower of strength; the tzaddik runs into it and is set on high" (Mishlei 18:10).

He cites the verse that Hashem's Name is a fortress into which the tzaddik runs for protection and is elevated.

וגם לאנשים פשוטים מישראל התעסקות בדברי תורה ותפלה נותן להם קדושה ומסייע להם לטהר לבם

And even for the simple folk among Bnei Yisrael, occupying themselves with words of Torah and tefillah grants them kedushah and assists them to purify their hearts.

Even ordinary Yidden who simply engage in Torah and tefillah receive kedushah and help in purifying their hearts.

מכש"כ לגדולים שבישראל כענין שיש בעליונים כדאיתא במדרשים שאין להם רשות לעלות כל כך ומשביעין את הכתר ועולה לראשו של מלך כמו כן בצדיקים האמיתים השבועה בשמו ית' עומדת להם בשעה הצריכה להם

How much more so for the great ones of Bnei Yisrael, similar to what exists in the upper worlds, as is brought in the Midrashim that the angels are not granted permission to ascend so high, and so they administer an oath to the crown, and it ascends upon the head of the King; so too with the true tzaddikim, the oath in His Name, may He be blessed, stands ready for them in the hour when they have need of it.

For great tzaddikim this is all the more true; just as in the upper worlds the crown is sworn and ascends to the King's head, so the oath in Hashem's Name stands ready to aid the true tzaddikim in their hour of need.

אבל לא כל מי שרוצה ליטול את השם יטול

But not anyone who wishes to take up the Name may simply take it.

Not everyone may presumptuously invoke Hashem's Name as he pleases.

רק כדמפרש במדרש ה' אלקיך תירא כו' תעבוד כו' תדבק כו' אח"כ בשמו תשבע ולכן מסר כח השבועה לראשי המטות

Rather, it is as the Midrash explains: "You shall fear Hashem your God" (Devarim 6:13), "you shall serve Him," "you shall cling to Him," and only afterward "and you shall swear by His Name" (Devarim 10:20); and therefore the power of the oath was entrusted to the heads of the tribes.

There is an order: first fear of Hashem, then service, then clinging to Him, and only then swearing by His Name; that is why the Torah entrusted the power of oaths to the tribal leaders.

עכ"ז גם לקטנים שבישראל הקבלה שמקבלין בפה עול מלכות שמים בכל יום הוא ג"כ שבועה כמ"ש שבע ביום הללתיך על ק"ש וברכותי' בכל יום

Even so, also for the small ones among Bnei Yisrael, the acceptance with which they take upon themselves the yoke of the Kingship of Heaven each day with their mouths is likewise an oath, as it says, "Seven times a day I praise You" (Tehillim 119:164), referring to Krias Shema and its berachos each day.

Yet even the simplest Yidden, by accepting the yoke of Heaven each day through Krias Shema, are effectively taking an oath, as hinted in "seven times a day I praise You."

וקבלה זו מסייע להם שניתן להם כמו כן סיוע מלמעלה כענין שאמרו שמשביעין את האדם קודם שבא לעולם תהי צדיק כו' כן הקב"ה מחדש בכל יום מעשה בראשית ומשביעין לאדם בכל יום על זה וז"ש אשר אנכי מצוך היום

And this acceptance assists them, for they too are granted assistance from Above, similar to what Chazal said, that they administer an oath to a person before he comes into the world, "Be a tzaddik" (Niddah 30b); so too the Holy One, Blessed is He, renews the work of Creation each day, and they administer an oath to a person each day regarding this, and this is the meaning of "that which I command you this day" (Devarim 6:6).

This daily acceptance draws down heavenly help, paralleling the oath administered to a soul before birth; since Hashem renews Creation daily, the person is, as it were, sworn anew each day to serve Him.

אך זה תלוי בהתעוררות התחתונים כדכ' את ה' האמרת וה' האמירך

However, this depends upon the arousal of those below, as it is written, "You have proclaimed Hashem, and Hashem has proclaimed you" (Devarim 26:17-18).

But this heavenly assistance is unlocked only by a person's own arousal from below, as the verse links our proclaiming Hashem with His proclaiming us.

וז"ש ידור נדר השבע שבועה לאסור איסר כי ע"י הקבלה מלמטה משביעין אותו נמי מלמעלה כנ"ל

And this is the meaning of "if a man takes a vow, or swears an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation" (Bamidbar 30:3); for through the acceptance from below, they administer an oath to him also from Above, as explained above.

Thus the verse about taking a vow or oath hints that when a person accepts upon himself from below, Heaven administers a corresponding oath to him from Above.

אכן כפי מה שכל אחד עובד בפה בתורה ותפלה כן צריך להמשיך כל המעשים לזה דיש עבודה בעובדא ובמלולא כדאיתא בזוה"ק

Indeed, according to the measure in which each person serves with his mouth in Torah and tefillah, so must he draw down all his deeds toward this, for there is avodah in action and in speech, as is brought in the Zohar HaKadosh.

To the degree a person serves verbally in Torah and tefillah, he must extend that into all his deeds, since avodah is performed both in action and in speech, as the Zohar teaches.

וז"ש ככל היוצא מפיו יעשה

And this is the meaning of "according to all that issues from his mouth he shall do" (Bamidbar 30:3).

This is the meaning of the verse that a person must do according to all that issues from his mouth.

ואמר היוצא ולא אשר הוציא הוא הדבר אשר דברנו כי העובד ה' שגורה תפלתו בפיו היינו כפי מה שמכין עצמו משפיעין לו דעת להוציא מילין בתורה ותפלה

And it says "that which issues forth" and not "that which he brought forth" — this is the matter of which we have spoken: that for one who serves Hashem, his tefillah is fluent in his mouth, meaning that according to the measure in which he prepares himself, they bestow upon him understanding to bring forth words in Torah and tefillah.

The Torah says "that which issues forth" rather than "that which he brought forth" to teach that the words flow on their own: as a person prepares himself, Heaven grants him the understanding to produce words of Torah and tefillah.

וכמו כן צריך לקיים אחר כך כל היום במעשה

And likewise he must fulfill it afterward throughout the entire day through action.

And just as he produces holy words, he must then carry them into action throughout the whole day.

[ואמר ככל ולא כל כי אי אפשר להתקדש כ"כ במעשה ממש כמו בפה רק להיות דומה לזה] ואם לאו חלילה גם הדיבור הוחל וז"ש לא יחל דברו

[And it says "according to all" and not "all," because it is impossible to become sanctified through actual deed to such a degree as through the mouth, but only to resemble it.] And if not, Heaven forbid, even the speech becomes profaned, and this is the meaning of "he shall not profane his word" (Bamidbar 30:3).

The verse says "according to all" rather than "all" because deeds can never reach the full kedushah of speech, only approximate it; and if a person fails to follow through in action, even his holy speech is profaned, which is the meaning of "he shall not profane his word."

מכלל שאמר לא יחל לא יעשה דבריו חולין משמע שיש קדושה בדיבור איש ישראל רק ששמירת הדיבור ע"י תיקון המעשים כנ"ל:

From the fact that it says "he shall not profane," meaning he shall not make his words into something profane, it is implied that there is kedushah in the speech of a Yid; it is only that the safeguarding of the speech comes about through the rectification of one's deeds, as explained above.

The very phrasing "he shall not profane" implies that a Yid's speech inherently possesses kedushah; preserving that kedushah depends on backing it up with proper deeds.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains that swearing truthfully in Hashem's Name is meant to strengthen a Yid in his avodah, serving as a tower of refuge into which the tzaddik runs. Engaging in Torah and tefillah grants kedushah to every Yid, from the simplest to the greatest, paralleling the upper worlds where the crown is sworn and ascends to the King. He teaches that the daily acceptance of the yoke of Heaven through Krias Shema is itself a kind of oath, which draws down heavenly assistance corresponding to a person's own arousal from below. Avodah, however, must be carried out both in speech and in deed: the holy words a person merits to bring forth in Torah and tefillah must then be sustained through his actions all day long. For while deeds cannot fully attain the kedushah of speech, failing to follow through profanes even the holy words, since the kedushah inherent in a Yid's speech is safeguarded only through the rectification of his deeds.