Hashem's Name Refining Yisrael

וברש"י החנוכי הפלאי לפי שהיו האומות אומרים שלטו מצרים בנשותיהן כו' העיד השי"ת שבטי יה עדות כו'

Rashi cites the wondrous teaching of the Chanuki: because the nations of the world were saying that the Egyptians had dominated their wives, the Holy One, Blessed is He, gave testimony — He affixed the letters of His Name 'Yud-Hei' to the names of the Shevatim as testimony (that their lineage was pure).

Rashi explains that Hashem attached His Name to the names of the Shevatim to testify that Bnei Yisrael's lineage remained pure despite Egyptian slander.

ויל"ד למה לא נזכר זה במנין הראשון

And it requires explanation why this was not mentioned in the first census (in Sefer Bamidbar).

The Sfas Emes asks why this attaching of Hashem's Name to the tribal names appears only in this later census and not in the earlier one.

אכן ודאי אחר מעשה פנחס זכו לזה החותם

But surely it was only after the deed of Pinchas that they merited this seal (of Hashem's Name upon them).

He answers that this seal of Hashem's Name was earned specifically through the heroic act of Pinchas.

ולכן כ' ויהי אחרי המגפה שמתו התערובות מערב רב שהי' בשבטו של שמעון כמ"ש בזוה"ק

And therefore it is written, "And it was after the plague" (Bamidbar 26:1) — for the mixed elements of the Erev Rav that had been within the Shevet of Shimon died out, as is stated in the Zohar HaKadosh.

The Torah's phrase 'after the plague' hints that the Erev Rav mixed into Shevet Shimon perished, leaving Bnei Yisrael purified.

ובאמת זה החותם הוא אות ונסיון כמו השקאת סוטה דשמא קדישא מברר ע"ש בזוה"ק נשא

And in truth, this seal is a sign and a test, like the giving of the sotah waters to drink, for the holy Name brings clarity (and verification), as is explained there in the Zohar HaKadosh, Parshas Naso.

This seal functions like the sotah waters: Hashem's holy Name serves to verify and bring out the truth of one's purity.

כמו כן זה השם הי' אות וסימן

Likewise, this Name was a sign and a mark.

So too, the Name affixed to the Shevatim was a sign confirming their status.

מה שיכלו לקבל הארת זה השם הי' עדות שנתבררו מכל הפסולת שהי' מעורב בהם

The very fact that they were able to receive the illumination of this Name was itself the testimony — that they had been refined clean of all the impurity that had been mixed among them.

Their very capacity to absorb the light of this Name proved they had been cleansed of all foreign admixture.

ולכן בדור הראשון לא היו צריכין לזה כי לא הי' שום תערובות

And therefore in the first generation they had no need for this, for there was no admixture (of foreign elements) at all.

In the first generation no such testimony was needed, because there was no mixture of impure elements among them.

רק בדור הזה הי' מקום שצריך בירור ועדות

It was only in this generation that there was a place that required clarification and testimony.

Only in this later generation, after the influence of the Erev Rav, was clarification and testimony required.

וכ' זה שמי לעולם וזה זכרי לדור דור

And it is written, "This is My Name forever, and this is My remembrance for all generations" (Shemos 3:15).

The pasuk 'This is My Name forever' is brought to develop the theme of Hashem's Name across the generations.

דרשו חז"ל שמ"י עם י"ה שס"ה כו'

Chazal expounded that the word 'Shemi' ('My Name') together with 'Yud-Hei' equals three hundred and sixty-five (corresponding to the negative commandments), and so forth.

Chazal note numerically that 'Shemi' plus 'Yud-Hei' equals three hundred and sixty-five, the number of negative commandments.

הענין הוא כי יש דורות מיוחדים כמ"ש זכרי לדור דור וזה הי' דורו של מרע"ה שהיו מתוקנים לגמרי בכל היכולת עד מקום שאין כח אדם מגעת

The matter is thus: there are generations that are uniquely elevated, as it is written "My remembrance for all generations" — and this was the generation of Moshe Rabbeinu, who were completely rectified to the fullest extent of their capacity, up to the very limit that human strength can reach.

There are uniquely lofty generations, like that of Moshe Rabbeinu, who were perfectly rectified to the outer limit of human ability.

וזה ענין רמ"ח מ"ע שגדלה מעלתם כמ"ש עובד מאהבה זהיר במ"ע

And this is the idea of the two hundred and forty-eight positive commandments, whose level is exalted, as it is said, "One who serves out of love is scrupulous in the positive commandments."

This corresponds to the two hundred and forty-eight positive mitzvos, the higher service performed by one who serves Hashem out of love.

ודורות השפלים מזה הם הזהירין במל"ת עובדין מיראה ויש להם כח בעזר שמו ית'

And the lower generations beneath this are those who are scrupulous in the negative commandments, serving out of fear, and they have strength through the aid of His Name, may He be blessed.

Lower generations are careful mainly with the negative commandments, serving out of fear, yet they too draw strength through Hashem's Name.

וז"ש שמי לעולם אף שאינם מתוקנים לגמרי מושיע להם בשמו

And this is the meaning of "This is My Name forever" — that even though they are not completely rectified, He saves them through His Name.

'This is My Name forever' teaches that even those not fully rectified are saved by Hashem through His Name.

וחתימת זה השם היה סיוע להם להבירור כנ"ל

And the sealing of this Name (upon Bnei Yisrael) was an assistance to them toward this clarification, as explained above.

The seal of this Name upon Bnei Yisrael actively helped bring about their clarification and refinement.

ומצד זה שמושכין כח למעלה ממדריגת מעשיהם נרמז להם בשם י"ה אבל המדריגה הראשונה למעלה מזו

And because of this — that they draw down strength beyond the level of their own deeds — it was alluded to them through the Name 'Yud-Hei'; but the first, higher level is above even this.

Because they draw strength from above their own level of deeds, this is hinted in the Name 'Yud-Hei' — though the loftier level of the wholly righteous stands even higher.

וקצרתי:

And I have been brief.

The Sfas Emes closes by noting he has kept his words brief.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains why Hashem affixed His Name 'Yud-Hei' to the names of the Shevatim only in the second census, testifying to the purity of Bnei Yisrael's lineage. This seal was earned through the deed of Pinchas and through the death of the Erev Rav that had mixed into Shevet Shimon, so that the phrase 'after the plague' signals a purification — much as the sotah waters use Hashem's holy Name to bring out the truth. Their very ability to receive the light of this Name was itself the testimony that they had been cleansed of all impurity, a testimony unneeded in the unmixed first generation. Building on 'This is My Name forever, this is My remembrance for all generations,' he distinguishes the wholly rectified generation of Moshe Rabbeinu — who reached the two hundred and forty-eight positive mitzvos of one who serves out of love — from lower generations who serve out of fear through the negative commandments yet are still saved by Hashem's Name. Because such generations draw strength beyond the level of their own deeds, this support is alluded to in the Name 'Yud-Hei,' even as the highest level remains above it.