Bnei Yisrael reveal Hashem's honor in all creation

בנוסח התפלה ברוך אלקינו שבראנו לכבודו.

In the text of the tefillah: "Blessed is our God, who created us for His honor."

The Sefas Emes examines the wording of the berachah that says Hashem created us — Bnei Yisrael — specifically "for His honor."

ולכאורה קשה דהא תנן כל מה שברא הקב"ה לא ברא אלא לכבודו.

And at first glance this is difficult, for we have learned in the Mishnah: "Everything that the Holy One, blessed be He, created, He created only for His honor" (Avos 6:11).

If all of creation was made for Hashem's honor, why single out Bnei Yisrael as created "for His honor" — what is unique about us?

אבל התירוץ הוא כי כל הבריאה בכלל בודאי לכבודו ברא כמ"ש שהכל ברא לכבודו וכ' וירא אלקים כו' כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאוד.

But the answer is that all of creation in general was certainly created for His honor, as it says that He created everything for His honor, and as it is written: "And God saw… all that He had made, and behold it was very good" (Bereishis 1:31).

It is true that the entire creation as a general whole was made for Hashem's glory and declared "very good" — so in that broad sense everything serves His honor.

אבל בנ"י נבראו בפרטות לכבודו.

But Bnei Yisrael were created in particular for His honor.

The distinction is that creation as a whole serves Hashem's honor only in a general way, whereas Bnei Yisrael were each created individually and specifically to manifest His honor.

ובאמת עי"ז שנבררו בנ"י נתקן כל הבריאה להתגלות כבוד שמו ית' בעולם.

And in truth, through Bnei Yisrael being singled out, all of creation is rectified, so that the honor of His Name, may He be blessed, is revealed in the world.

By Bnei Yisrael being selected out from the rest, the entire creation is repaired through them — they are the channel through which the latent honor of Hashem hidden in all things becomes openly revealed.

וכ' זכור ימות עולם כו' כי מקודם הי' כל הלשונות נכללין בלשון הקודש כמ"ש שפה אחת אם כי עתה אין יכולין להבין זאת.

And it is written: "Remember the days of old," etc. (Devarim 32:7) — for originally all the languages were included within Lashon HaKodesh (the Holy Tongue), as it is written, "one language" (Bereishis 11:1), even though now we cannot comprehend this.

In the beginning there was a single, holy language that contained all others within it; the diverse tongues of the world all had their root in Lashon HaKodesh, though after the dispersion this underlying unity became hidden from us.

אח"כ מרדו.

Afterward they rebelled.

The generation of the Dispersion (Dor Haflagah) rebelled against Hashem, and as a result the unified holy language fractured into seventy tongues.

ורק בנ"י נשארו בהאחדות וכן איתא בדברות שנתחלקו לשבעים לשונות כי לכולם יש שורש בלשון הקודש ואיתא כל דבר שהי' בכלל ויצא מן הכלל ללמד על הכלל כולו יצא.

And only Bnei Yisrael remained in the unity, and so it is taught that the Dibros (the Ten Commandments) were divided into seventy languages — for all of them have their root in Lashon HaKodesh. And it is taught: "anything that was included in a general statement but then emerged from the general statement to teach something, did not emerge to teach about itself alone, but to teach about the entire general category" (one of the thirteen hermeneutical principles).

Only Bnei Yisrael preserved the original unity of Lashon HaKodesh; this is why the giving of the Torah at Sinai went forth in all seventy languages, since every tongue ultimately traces back to the Holy Tongue. The Sefas Emes then invokes the rule of derashah that when something is singled out of a general category, it serves not just itself but to illuminate the whole category.

וכן הענין בבני ישראל שנבררו מכלל השבעים לשונות הי' ללמד על הכלל כולו ונמצא שהכל לכבודו ברא על ידי זה שהבדילנו מן התועים ונתן לנו תורת אמת כנ"ל:

And so it is with Bnei Yisrael, who were singled out from the totality of the seventy languages — this was in order to teach about the entire category. It thus emerges that He created everything for His honor through this: that He separated us from those who stray and gave us the Torah of truth, as above.

Bnei Yisrael, drawn out from among the seventy nations, function like that singled-out detail — they were set apart not for their own sake alone but to elevate and reveal the holiness latent in the entire creation. So the two teachings are reconciled: everything was indeed created for Hashem's honor, and that universal purpose is fulfilled precisely because He separated us from those who stray and gave us the Toras Emes.

Summary: The Sefas Emes reconciles the berachah "who created us for His honor" with the Mishnah that all creation was made for Hashem's honor: creation as a whole serves His honor only generally, while Bnei Yisrael were created individually for it and, like a detail singled out from a general rule, were set apart to reveal the honor latent in all things. Just as all seventy languages have their root in Lashon HaKodesh and only Yisrael preserved that unity, so by separating us from the straying nations and giving us the Toras Emes, Hashem fulfills the purpose that all of creation be for His honor.