Covenant Sealed In Flesh
הנני נותן כו' בריתי שלום במד' גדול השלום שעולם מתנהג בו כו' כלי מחזיק ברכה כו'
"Behold, I give him My covenant of peace" (Bamidbar 25:12) — the Midrash teaches that peace is great, for the world is conducted through it, and "the only vessel that holds blessing is peace" (Mishnah Uktzin 3:12).
The pasuk grants Pinchas a covenant of peace, and Chazal tie peace to being the vessel that holds blessing and the means by which the world runs.
ברית הוא הפנימיות ויסוד הנקודה שהכל עומד עלי'
The covenant is the inner dimension and the foundational point upon which everything stands.
The covenant represents the innermost point that serves as the foundation for all of existence.
ויש ברית בעולם שנה נפש
There is a covenant in olam (space/world), in shanah (time/year), and in nefesh (soul/person).
This foundational covenant manifests in three realms: space, time, and the soul.
וכ' וכרות עמו הברית לתת כו'
And it is written, "and He made a covenant with him to give..." (Nechemiah 9:8).
A pasuk in Nechemiah describes Hashem making a covenant with Avraham 'to give' the Land.
לתת
"To give."
The Sfas Emes isolates the phrase 'to give' for analysis.
מאי ב"פ לתת
Why does it say "to give" twice?
He notes that the word 'to give' appears twice in the passage and asks why.
אך כי יש נקודה שכל העולם תלוי בו ובזה חתם הקב"ה שמו
Rather, there is a point upon which the entire world depends, and upon it the Holy One, Blessed is He, sealed His Name.
He answers that there is a single point on which the whole world rests, and Hashem stamped His Name upon it.
וא"י וירושלים וביהמ"ק הוא ברית העולם ולכן נק' ירושלים
Eretz Yisrael, Yerushalayim, and the Beis HaMikdash are the covenant of olam (space), and therefore it is called Yerushalayim.
In the realm of space, that point is Eretz Yisrael, Yerushalayim, and the Beis HaMikdash.
ונק' שמו עליו כמ"ש ששמו ית' חקוק על אבן שתיה
And His Name is called upon it, as it is taught that His blessed Name is engraved upon the Even Shesiyah (the Foundation Stone).
Hashem's Name rests on this place, hinted at by His Name being engraved on the Foundation Stone.
וכ"א על הבית שנקרא שמך עליו
And so it is written regarding the House, "upon which Your Name is called" (see Melachim I 8).
Scripture confirms this regarding the Beis HaMikdash, the House upon which Hashem's Name is called.
אכן כ"ז שהאומות היו בתוך ארץ ישראל לא הי' נגלה הברית רק בהסיר הקליפה
Indeed, as long as the nations were within Eretz Yisrael, the covenant was not revealed — only through removing the kelipah (the husk) was it revealed.
While the nations occupied the Land, the covenant stayed hidden; only by clearing away the husk of impurity did it emerge.
וכמו כן בימי בראשית כתיב מקודם תהו ובהו וחושך אח"כ יום הששי ויכולו חתם השי"ת שמו על גמר הבריאה שהי' בש"ק כמ"ש במד' ויכולו כשנעקר תהו ובוהו נראית מלאכת שמים וארץ
So too in the days of Creation: first it is written tohu va'vohu (chaos and void) and darkness, and afterward the sixth day and "and they were completed" (Bereishis 2:1), when Hashem sealed His Name upon the completion of the Creation that took place on the holy Shabbos — as the Midrash teaches on "vayechulu (and they were completed)," that when the tohu va'vohu was uprooted, the handiwork of heaven and earth became visible.
Creation followed the same pattern: chaos and darkness came first, then Shabbos, when Hashem sealed His Name on the finished world and its order became visible.
לכן נקרא שבת ברית ונק' שלום ע"י דמתעברין מיני' כל סט"א ונגלה הברית בזמן
Therefore Shabbos is called a covenant and is called peace, because through it all the side of impurity (sitra achra) passes away, and the covenant is revealed in zman (time).
Shabbos is therefore a covenant and called peace, since impurity departs and the covenant shows itself within time.
וכמו כן בנפש יש ערלה שהוא תהו ובהו ובהסיר הערלה נגלה הברית ונק' שלום
So too in the nefesh there is an orlah (foreskin), which is tohu va'vohu, and upon removing the orlah the covenant is revealed and is called peace.
In the soul too there is an orlah of inner chaos, and removing it reveals the covenant called peace.
וחתם שמו ית' באות ברית קודש כמ"ש ועל בריתך שחתמת בבשרנו
And His blessed Name is sealed in the os bris kodesh (sign of the holy covenant), as we say, "and for Your covenant which You sealed in our flesh" (from the bris milah liturgy).
Hashem seals His Name in the sign of the bris, as expressed in the bris milah liturgy thanking Him for the covenant sealed in our flesh.
וכמו כן בא"י הי' מקודם תהו ובוהו ואח"כ זכו בנ"י להוריש אלה האומות ונגלה להם ברית שלום
So too in Eretz Yisrael there was first tohu va'vohu, and afterward Bnei Yisrael merited to dispossess these nations, and the covenant of peace was revealed to them.
The same sequence applied in the Land: initial chaos, then Bnei Yisrael's conquest, then the revelation of the covenant of peace.
ולכן מזכירין בברכת הארץ ברית בבהמ"ז כי ע"י הברית נכנסו לארץ
Therefore we mention the covenant in the blessing over the Land in Birkas HaMazon, for it was through the covenant that they entered the Land.
We invoke the covenant in the blessing over the Land in Birkas HaMazon because it was the covenant that brought us into Eretz Yisrael.
ז"ש וכרות עמו הברית
This is the meaning of "and He made a covenant with him" (Nechemiah 9:8).
This explains the pasuk's phrase that Hashem made the covenant with Avraham.
פירוש ברית המיוחד שכולל עולם שנה נפש
The explanation is: the unique covenant that includes olam, shanah, nefesh (space, time, soul).
That covenant is the singular one uniting all three realms of space, time, and soul.
לתת כו' ארץ הכנעני כו'
"To give... the land of the Canaanite..." (Nechemiah 9:8).
The first 'to give' refers to giving the physical land of the Canaanite.
ועי"ז לתת לזרעו הברית שנסתר בעולם כנ"ל
And through this, "to give" to his offspring the covenant that is hidden within olam (the world), as explained above.
The second 'to give' refers to bestowing on Avraham's descendants the covenant hidden within the world itself.
ובזה הברית שורה הברכה כמ"ש בשבת ויברך כו' יום השביעי
And upon this covenant the blessing rests, as it is written regarding Shabbos, "and He blessed... the seventh day" (Bereishis 2:3).
Blessing rests specifically upon this covenant, as Shabbos is the day Hashem blessed.
וכולהו ברכאין בשבתא תליין
And all the blessings depend upon Shabbos (Zohar).
The Zohar teaches that every blessing draws its source from Shabbos.
וכן בציון שם צוה ה' את הברכה
And so too in Tzion: "for there Hashem commanded the blessing" (Tehillim 133:3).
Tzion likewise is the place where Hashem commanded blessing to dwell.
וכן בנפש הברכה באות ברית דעביד תולדין וע"י הברית זוכין להמשיך נשמות מעולם העליון ונק' שלום כדאיתא לא נקרא אברהם אבינו תמים עד שנימול
And so too in the nefesh, the blessing is in the os bris (sign of the covenant) which produces offspring; and through the bris one merits to draw down neshamos from the upper world, and it is called peace — as is brought, that Avraham Avinu was not called tamim (complete) until he was circumcised.
In the soul, blessing flows through the bris that produces offspring and draws down neshamos; Avraham only became 'complete' once circumcised.
ובמד' בדין הוא שיטול שכרו
And the Midrash says: it is fitting that he receive his reward.
The Midrash states it is fitting that one who keeps this covenant receive his reward.
דאיתא בעשרה מאמרות נברא העולם כו' להפרע מן הרשעים וליתן שכר טוב לצדיקים שמקיימים העולם שנברא בעשרה מאמרות הוא העדות שבנ"י מעידין ומבררין כי לה' הארץ ומלואה ועי"ז זוכין לשכר טוב שהוא ברית שלום והוא עדות שהקב"ה מעיד על בנ"י כמ"ש שם י"ה עדות לישראל י' באיש שהוא רומז לעוה"ב שנברא בי'
As is brought: the world was created with ten utterances... in order to exact punishment from the wicked and to give good reward to the tzaddikim who sustain the world that was created with ten utterances. This is the testimony that Bnei Yisrael bear witness and clarify that "the earth is Hashem's and all that fills it" (Tehillim 24:1), and through this they merit good reward, which is the covenant of peace; and it is the testimony that the Holy One, Blessed is He, testifies about Bnei Yisrael, as it is written, "the tribes of Kah, a testimony for Yisrael" (Tehillim 122:4) — the yud in the word ish (man) alludes to Olam Haba, which was created with a yud.
The world was made with ten utterances; the righteous who sustain it testify that the world is Hashem's, earning the reward of the covenant of peace, while Hashem in turn testifies about Bnei Yisrael, the yud hinting at Olam Haba created with a yud.
וברית מילה הוא הי' שהוא עדות שיש לישראל חלק בעוה"ב כמ"ש חז"ל כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעוה"ב כו' ועמך כולם צדיקים כו'
And bris milah is the yud, which is the testimony that Yisrael have a portion in Olam Haba, as Chazal said, "All of Yisrael have a portion in Olam Haba... and your people are all tzaddikim..." (Sanhedrin 90a; Yeshayahu 60:21).
Bris milah is that yud, the testimony that Yisrael have a share in Olam Haba, since all of Yisrael are righteous and have a portion there.
וזה עצמו ענין הברית שהוא התקשרות עולם עליון בעולם הזה
And this itself is the matter of the covenant — that it is the binding of the upper world to this world.
This is the essence of the covenant: it binds the upper world to this lower world.
וזה ניתן לבנ"י ע"י שמעידין כי הקב"ה מלכותו בכל משלה והוא המנהיג ומחי' כל
And this was given to Bnei Yisrael because they testify that the Holy One, Blessed is He, His kingship rules over all, and He is the One who conducts and gives life to all.
It was given to Bnei Yisrael because they testify that Hashem's kingship governs and enlivens everything.
כמו כן הקב"ה מעיד עליהם שיש להם חלק בעוה"ב ויש להם כח להמשיך נשמות קדושות
So too the Holy One, Blessed is He, testifies about them that they have a portion in Olam Haba, and that they have the power to draw down holy neshamos.
In return, Hashem testifies that they have a share in Olam Haba and the power to draw down holy neshamos.
וזו הי' רומז לעשרה מאמרות ועשרת הדברות
And this alludes to the ten utterances and the Ten Commandments.
This mutual testimony corresponds to the ten utterances of Creation and the Ten Commandments.
והנה דור המדבר היו הכנה לתקן כל הקומה לכל הדורות וניתן להם ברית הלשון בקבלת התורה בהר סיני במדבר
Now, the generation of the wilderness were a preparation to perfect the entire structure for all the generations, and they were given the covenant of the tongue (bris halashon) through the receiving of the Torah at Har Sinai in the wilderness.
The wilderness generation prepared the spiritual structure for all generations and received the covenant of the tongue through the giving of the Torah at Sinai.
ועתה בסוף המ' שנה שהתחיל כניסתם לארץ ישראל הי' גמר התיקון בברית המעור שזה יסוד א"י וביהמ"ק כדאיתא יראה כל זכורך כו'
And now, at the end of the forty years, when their entry into Eretz Yisrael began, the completion of the rectification was in the bris hama'or (the covenant of the place of circumcision), which is the foundation of Eretz Yisrael and the Beis HaMikdash — as is brought, "all your males shall appear" (Shemos 23:17).
At the forty years' end, as entry to the Land began, the rectification was completed through the bris hama'or, the foundation of Eretz Yisrael and the Mikdash where all males appear before Hashem.
ולכן הי' כאן נסיון גדול בשטים שזה הברית הוא גמר הקומה
Therefore there was here a great test at Shittim, for this covenant is the completion of the structure.
Hence the severe test at Shittim, since this covenant marks the completion of the whole structure.
והכל הולך אחר החיתום
And everything follows the sealing (the conclusion).
Everything is judged by its final sealing, so this last covenant is decisive.
ובאמת ע"י שבמקום הזה גוברת הקליפה וסט"א לכן חתם בו הקב"ה בריתו בבשרנו שיהי' לנו כח בזה לגבור הסט"א
And in truth, because in this place the kelipah and the sitra achra grow strong, therefore the Holy One, Blessed is He, sealed His covenant in our flesh, so that we would have power in this to overcome the sitra achra.
Precisely because impurity is strongest at this point, Hashem sealed His covenant in our flesh to give us power to overcome the sitra achra.
וכ' מגדל עוז שם ה' בו ירוץ צדיק וזהו רומז על המילה שהוא שמו ית' ובני ישראל צריכין להתאחז בזאת הברית והחתימה
And it is written, "the Name of Hashem is a tower of strength; the tzaddik runs into it" (Mishlei 18:10) — and this alludes to the milah, which is His blessed Name; and Bnei Yisrael must grasp hold of this covenant and seal.
The pasuk in Mishlei calling Hashem's Name a tower of strength alludes to the milah, His Name, which Bnei Yisrael must grasp.
וכפי רוב השמחה והשתוקקות שיש לאדם בבריתו אשר חתם בבשרנו כך יוכל לשמור אות ברית קודש
And according to the abundance of joy and yearning that a person has in his covenant, which He sealed in our flesh, so will he be able to guard the os bris kodesh (sign of the holy covenant).
The more joy and yearning a person feels toward his bris, the better he can guard the sign of the holy covenant.
ובו אחז פינחס הצדיק דרכו כמ"ש ויקח רומח בידו הוא ו' זעירא שכל הרמ"ח איברים תלוין בו
And in this Pinchas the tzaddik held his way, as it is written, "and he took a spear (romach) in his hand" — this is the small vav, for all 248 (ramach) limbs depend upon it.
Pinchas embodied this when he took the spear (romach), hinting at the small vav and the 248 limbs that depend on the covenant.
וכמו כן כל איש ישראל כפי שמעלה בדעתו שחתם הקב"ה שמו ית' בבשרנו
And so too every Jew, according to how he raises in his mind that the Holy One, Blessed is He, sealed His blessed Name in our flesh.
Every Jew shares this according to how deeply he internalizes that Hashem stamped His Name in our flesh.
ולכן צריכין לשמור אותו כמ"ש לא תשא כו' שם ה' אלקיך לשוא
And therefore one must guard it, as it is written, "You shall not take the Name of Hashem your God in vain" (Shemos 20:7).
One must therefore guard the bris just as one guards against taking Hashem's Name in vain.
כמו שצריכין לשמור הפה ע"י שכחן של ישראל בפה
Just as one must guard the mouth, through the strength of Yisrael which is in the mouth,
Just as one must guard the mouth, the source of Yisrael's spiritual strength,
כמו כן צריכין לשמור ברית המעור
so too one must guard the bris hama'or.
so too one must guard the bris hama'or.
וזה הברית מסייע לכל איש ישראל
And this covenant assists every Jew.
This covenant lends assistance to every Jew.
ואיתא בילקוט אם אמרתי מטה רגלי חסדך ה' יסעדני ע"ש שדורש על מעשה שיטים שנכשלו בנ"י וניצולו ע"י פינחס והוא כנ"ל שבסוף הקומה בבחי' רגלים נמצא הסט"א
And it is brought in the Yalkut: "If I said, my foot slips, Your kindness, Hashem, supports me" (Tehillim 94:18) — see there, that it is expounded upon the incident at Shittim, where Bnei Yisrael stumbled and were saved through Pinchas; and this is as explained above, that at the end of the structure, in the aspect of the "feet," the sitra achra is found.
The Yalkut on 'my foot slips, Your kindness supports me' applies it to Shittim, where Bnei Yisrael stumbled and were saved by Pinchas, since impurity lurks at the 'feet,' the end of the structure.
והקב"ה חתם בנו בריתו של אאע"ה
And the Holy One, Blessed is He, sealed within us the covenant of Avraham Avinu, peace be upon him.
Hashem sealed within us the covenant of Avraham Avinu.
והוא חוט של חסד שכל מי ששומר בריתו נמשך עליו חוט של חסד של אאע"ה
And it is the thread of kindness (chut shel chesed), for whoever guards his covenant, the thread of kindness of Avraham Avinu is drawn upon him.
It is a thread of chesed; whoever guards his covenant draws upon himself Avraham's thread of kindness.
וכמ"ש חז"ל שאברהם אע"ה מציל בנ"י מגיהנם והוא חוט של חסד הנ"ל
And as Chazal said, that Avraham Avinu saves Bnei Yisrael from Gehinnom — and this is the aforementioned thread of kindness.
Chazal teach that Avraham rescues Bnei Yisrael from Gehinnom, which is this very thread of kindness.
וע"ז כתיב גם כי אלך בגיא צלמות כו' כי אתה עמדי
And regarding this it is written, "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death... for You are with me" (Tehillim 23:4).
This is why Dovid HaMelech could say that even walking through the valley of death's shadow, Hashem is with him.
פי' ברית מילה שהוא שמו ית' וחוט של חסד שע"ז רומז שם אתה כידוע
The explanation: bris milah, which is His blessed Name, and the thread of kindness — to which the word "atah (You)" alludes, as is known.
'Atah (You)' alludes to bris milah, Hashem's Name, and the accompanying thread of chesed.
והמשכיל יבין דברים אלו ביותר כי עיקר כח המילה להמשיך בחי' חסד למטה
And the one with understanding (maskil) will understand these matters all the more, for the essential power of milah is to draw down the aspect of chesed below.
One of understanding will grasp further that milah's essential power is to draw chesed down into this world.
ולכן השומר בריתו נקרא חסיד
Therefore the one who guards his covenant is called a chassid.
That is why one who guards his covenant earns the title chassid.
וזה הי' שבט לוי
And this was the tribe of Levi.
This describes the tribe of Levi.
לאיש חסידיך כמ"ש שימו איש חרבו על ירכו
"For the man of Your devoted ones (chassidecha)" (Devarim 33:8), as it is written, "set each man his sword upon his thigh" (Shemos 32:27).
The Torah calls Levi the man of Hashem's devoted ones, the same tribe that took up the sword in zeal for Hashem.
מגדל עוז שם ה' הוא שבת מילה
"The Name of Hashem is a tower of strength" — this is Shabbos and milah.
The 'tower of strength' that is Hashem's Name refers to Shabbos and milah together.
עדות בנ"י על הקב"ה בשבת
The testimony of Bnei Yisrael about the Holy One, Blessed is He, is on Shabbos.
On Shabbos, Bnei Yisrael testify about the Holy One, Blessed is He.
ועדות הקב"ה עלינו במילה
And the testimony of the Holy One, Blessed is He, about us is in milah.
Through milah, the Holy One, Blessed is He, testifies about us.
וכ' צופה רשע לצדיק ומבקש להמיתו ה' לא יעזבנו
And it is written, "the wicked one watches for the tzaddik and seeks to slay him; Hashem will not abandon him into his hand" (Tehillim 37:32-33).
The pasuk states that the wicked watches the tzaddik to kill him, yet Hashem will not abandon him.
ודרשו חז"ל מכאן שיצרו של אדם מתגבר עליו בכל יום
And Chazal expounded: from here we learn that a person's yetzer hara grows strong against him every day.
Chazal derive that the yetzer hara strengthens against a person daily.
ואלולי שהקב"ה עוזרו אינו יכול לו
And were it not that the Holy One, Blessed is He, helps him, he could not prevail against it (Kiddushin 30b).
Without Hashem's help, a person could never overcome the yetzer hara.
וזה העזר הוא בבריתו שחתם בבשרנו כי הרשע מכתיר את הצדיק והרמז לעור משכא דחויא התלבשות הגשמיות
And this help is in His covenant which He sealed in our flesh, for the wicked one crowns (surrounds) the tzaddik — and the allusion is to the skin, the "hide of the serpent," the garbing of physicality.
That help lies in the covenant sealed in our flesh, since the wicked 'crowns' or surrounds the tzaddik like the serpent's hide of physicality.
וזהו צופה מלשון ציפה כי הערלה היא קליפה הסובבת הגוף
And this is "tzofeh (watches)" from the language of "tzipui (a covering)," for the orlah is a kelipah that surrounds the body.
'Tzofeh' is read as 'covering,' since the orlah is a husk that envelops the body.
אך הקב"ה נתן לו כח להסיר הערלה במקום אות ברית קודש
But the Holy One, Blessed is He, gave him the power to remove the orlah at the place of the os bris kodesh.
But Hashem gave the power to strip away that orlah at the very place of the holy covenant.
ובזה לא יעזבנו בידו
And through this, He will not abandon him into its hand,
Through this covenant, Hashem will not abandon the tzaddik to the yetzer hara's hand,
כמ"ש חסדך ה' יסעדני
as it is written, "Your kindness, Hashem, supports me" (Tehillim 94:18).
as the pasuk says, 'Your kindness, Hashem, supports me.'
כי אתה עמדי
"For You are with me" (Tehillim 23:4),
'For You are with me,'
כמ"ש לעיל:
as written above.
as explained above.
Summary: This piece of the Sfas Emes builds on the covenant of peace given to Pinchas, identifying the covenant as the innermost foundational point upon which all existence rests, manifesting across the three realms of olam (space), shanah (time), and nefesh (soul). In space it is Eretz Yisrael and the Beis HaMikdash, in time it is Shabbos, and in the soul it is bris milah — and in each, the covenant emerges only once the husk of impurity (the orlah, the tohu va'vohu) is removed, revealing the peace through which blessing rests. The covenant is a mutual testimony: on Shabbos Bnei Yisrael testify that Hashem rules and enlivens all, while through milah Hashem testifies that they possess a share in Olam Haba and the power to draw down holy neshamos, binding the upper world to this one. Because impurity grows strongest at the completion of the structure — the 'feet,' as seen in the test at Shittim — Hashem sealed His Name in our flesh to grant us power to overcome the sitra achra, which is the very zeal Pinchas displayed with his spear. Guarding this covenant draws upon a person the thread of chesed of Avraham Avinu, earning him the title chassid and the assurance that, even in the valley of death's shadow, Hashem is with him and will not abandon him to the yetzer hara.