Man elevates the physical above the angels

בפסוק ה' מסיני בא כו' כבר פרשנו במ"א כי התורה כוללת כל העולמות והברואים.

On the pasuk "Hashem came from Sinai…" we have already explained elsewhere that the Torah encompasses all the worlds and all created beings.

The Sefas Emes opens by reminding us that the Torah is not merely the words on the page; it is the all-inclusive root of every world and every creature.

וכמו שמלאכי השרת נתאוו לקבל התורה הי' בודאי באופן אחר היותר עליון מפשוטי התיבות שלפנינו שהוא רק לבוש לאור התורה שכולה שמותיו של הקב"ה.

And just as the malachei hashareis (ministering angels) yearned to receive the Torah, it was surely in a different, far loftier form than the plain words before us — which are only a garment for the light of the Torah, which is entirely the Names of HaKadosh Baruch Hu.

The angels grasp the Torah on a much higher plane; the literal letters we have are just an outer garment clothing the inner light, which is wholly composed of Hashem's holy Names.

כמו כן החזרת הקב"ה לאומות לקבל התורה הי' ג"כ באופן היותר למטה מכמו שהוא לפנינו כו' כמ"ש שם באורך בפ' בראשית.

So too, when HaKadosh Baruch Hu offered the Torah to the nations to accept it, that too was in a form lower than the one before us, as we explained there at length in Parshas Bereishis.

Just as there is an elevated form of Torah for the angels above, there is also a "lower" form in which it was presented to the nations — proof that the Torah has many levels reaching upward and downward.

אולם אם אמנם הפי' שניתן בשמים למלאכי השרת. עליון על פי' התורה שלפנינו.

However, even though the meaning that was given in Heaven to the ministering angels is higher than the meaning of the Torah before us,

The Sefas Emes concedes that the angelic level of Torah is indeed loftier than the plain text in our hands.

עכ"ז גדלה מעלת בנ"י אשר ניתן להם כל התורה מתחלתה ועד סופה עם כל הפי' שניתנים למלאכי השרת ועד פי' התחתון.

nevertheless the greatness of Bnei Yisrael is immense, for the whole Torah was given to them — from beginning to end — together with all the meanings that were given to the ministering angels, down to the lowest meaning.

Bnei Yisrael's advantage is that they were given the entire range of Torah at once: the highest angelic levels and the lowest earthly levels, the full ladder rather than a single rung.

ולכן נאמר ואתה מרבבות קודש בלשון תרגום שלא יקטרגו עלינו בשבח זה שיש לנו עליהם.

That is why it says "and You came from among the myriads of holiness" in the language of Targum (Aramaic) — so that they should not prosecute against us over this praise that we have over them.

The verse is phrased in Aramaic, a language the angels do not relish, so that they not lodge a complaint about the unique advantage Bnei Yisrael hold over them.

כי יתרון המלאך שהוא למעלה מהגשמיות. ואין להם התקשרות כלל בגשמיות.

For the advantage of the angel is that he is above the physical, and they have no connection at all to the physical.

An angel's superiority lies in being wholly detached from the material world.

ויתרון האדם שמגבי' ועולה עם כל התלוין בו עד למעלה ממלאכי השרת:

But the advantage of man is that he lifts and elevates himself together with everything dependent upon him, rising even higher than the ministering angels.

Man's greatness is precisely the opposite of the angel's: he takes the physical world that depends on him and raises it all up with him, ascending past the angels themselves.

Summary: The Torah spans every level of reality, from the loftiest angelic light down to the plain letters before us. The angel's superiority is its detachment from the physical, but Bnei Yisrael's far greater advantage is that they received the entire Torah at once and, through avodah, elevate the whole physical world along with themselves — rising even above the malachim.