Shlach
שלחThe Spies
46 translated essays · 90 total
תרל"א(1870)
Mitzvos as Divine Mission· Essay 1
תרל”א In the following essay the Sfas Emes shows how the spies should have used the commandment that HaShem gave them to spy out the land, to actually push away their own selfish desire of spying and rather do it just for HaShem’s sak…
Faith Beyond Outward Seeing· Essay 2
In the following piece the Sefas Emes explains how to overcome feelings of unworthiness. When a person focuses on the way things appear to be, then he can indeed feel that he is not worthy of the service of HaShem. However when a person cha…
Lowliness Revealing the Lofty Soul· Essay 3
ובמשנה עקביא ב”מ. הסתכל בשלשה דברים כו’ מאין באת מטיפה סרוחה. The Mishnah (Avos 3:1) Akavya ben Mehalalel says: Look at 3 things and you shall not come to sin. Know where you come from…from a putrid drop…” והלא נשמת האדם גבוה וכ…
תרל"ב(1871)
Every Jew is an emissary of mitzvos· Essay 1
In the Midrash: nothing is more beloved before the Holy One, Blessed is He, than a messenger who is sent to perform a mitzvah and gives over his soul to succeed in his shlichus (mission), etc. The Midrash teaches that Hashem treasures above…
Seeing the hidden Shechinah through tzitzis and bittul· Essay 2
Chazal expounded "and you shall see it (u-re'isem oso)" (Bamidbar 15:39) as referring to the Shechinah — that one who fulfills the mitzvah of tzitzis merits to behold the face of the Shechinah… Chazal read the verse's "and you shall see it"…
Shlach תרל"ב
במדרש אין חביב לפני הקב”ה כשליח שנשתלח לעשות מצוה ונותן נפשו שיצליח בשליחותו כו’. The Midrash (Tanchuma Shlach 1) states: There is nothing more dear to HaShem than a messenger who is sent to perform a mitzvah, and forsakes his o…
תרל"ג(1872)
Man as Hashem's agent in the world· Essay 2
In the Midrash: one does not set out to sea within three days before Shabbos; for a matter of mitzvah it is permitted; beloved is the agent of a mitzvah (shliach mitzvah), and he gives over his soul (nosein nafsho) that he should succeed in…
The body as a vessel for holiness· Essay 3
And in the Midrash: "cheresh (earthenware)" — that they made themselves like potters — see there. The Midrash plays on the spies' connection to clay vessels, opening a discussion about the nature of an earthenware kli and what it represents…
A failed mission that paved the way· Essay 4
In the Midrash: "He cuts off the feet…" The Midrash applies the verse "He cuts off the feet" (Mishlei 26:6) to the sending of the meraglim (spies); the Sefas Emes will explain how their mission nonetheless served a purpose. It appears that …
Physical mitzvos sanctify the material· Essay 5
In the Midrash, Moshe Rabbeinu said that the wood-gatherer sinned for this reason: on a weekday there are tefillin, but on Shabbos he had nothing through which to remember — and so Hashem gave the mitzvah of tzitzis. On weekdays a Jew wears…
Shlach תרל"ג
Introduction: In the following piece the Sfas Emes explains to us how we can transform our lives of mundane activity, to a life that is filled with meaning in every simple task. We learn how in every action there are two polar forces, and a…
תרל"ה(1874)
Bittul as the shliach's protection· Essay 1
In the Midrash: Beloved before the Holy One are those sent on a mitzvah, for [such a mission] overrides the Shabbos... The Sefas Emes opens with the Midrash that those engaged in a shlichus (mission) for a mitzvah are so precious that their…
Trusting Divine help over self-reliance· Essay 2
And in the Midrash: "The grass withers…" (Yeshayahu 40:8) — a parable of a king who promised a gift to someone, and he died, and the king gave it to his son, etc. The Midrash compares the Land's promise to a king who pledged a gift; though …
Inner leaders bound within the collective· Essay 3
"Every one a prince among them" (Bamidbar 13:2). The Torah commands that the spies sent to scout Eretz Yisrael each be a "nasi" — a prince or leader. The Sefas Emes notes a grammatical nuance in the phrasing. It should have said "of them" (…
The straight and crooked path back to Hashem· Essay 4
The Midrash: "Come and see the difference between a tzaddik, a rasha, and one who serves Elokim…" — the parable of the noblewoman — "Let morning come and we shall see whom the king loves." The Midrash distinguishes between the wicked, the r…
Tzitzis and the inner point of remembrance· Essay 5
In the Midrash on "and you shall see it": "Light is sown for the tzaddik…" — seeing brings one to remembering; a parable of one drowning in the sea who grasps a rope… "for it is not an empty thing…" — see there. The Sefas Emes cites the Mid…
Shlach תרל"ה
במדרש חביב לפני הקב”ה שלוחי מצוה שדוחה השבת כו’. The Midrash (Tanchuma Shlach 1) says that one who is on a mission to perform a mitzvah (shaliach mitzvah) is very dear to HaShem, and it can even override Shabbos, etc. בא לומר כי…
תרל"ו(1875)
Life as a dangerous mitzvah-mission· Essay 2
In the Midrash: one does not set sail on a ship within the three days before Shabbos. The Sefas Emes begins from the halachic teaching that one should not embark on a sea voyage in the three days preceding Shabbos, and reads it as a hint ab…
Calev's reward of mesirus nefesh· Essay 3
On the verse "But My servant Calev, because [he had another spirit], etc." It is difficult: why is a reason needed for his reward? For since he did not sin, why should he not enter [the Land] anyway? The Torah gives a special justification …
Tzitzis binding externals to the inner point· Essay 4
"And they shall make for themselves tzitzis" (Bamidbar 15:38) — in the Midrash: "Light is sown for the tzaddik" (Tehillim 97:11) … "the Kadosh Baruch Hu sowed," and so on. The Sefas Emes opens with the Midrash that connects tzitzis to the p…
Shlach תרל"ו
במדרש אין מפליגין בספינה ג’ ימים קודם השבת. הפלגה בדרך הוא דרך חדש שרוצה אדם להלוך בו בעבודת הבורא עפ”י מ”ש חז”ל כל הדרכים בחזקת סכנה. ג’ ימים קודם לשבת פי’ ג’ בחי’ כמ”ש בספרים שכל תוך ג…
תרל"ז(1876)
Pure mission nullifies self-will· Essay 1
In the Midrash: Beloved before HaMakom (the Omnipresent) is one who is sent to perform a mitzvah and gives over his nefesh (soul/self) to his shlichus (mission), etc. The Sefas Emes opens with the Midrash that one who is dispatched on a mis…
The spies' test of hidden merit· Essay 2
In the Midrash: "The grass withers… but the word of our God stands forever" — a parable of a king who promised his beloved friend a gift, and the friend died, so he gives it to his son… see there. The Midrash compares Hashem's promise to a …
Shlach תרל"ז
במדרש חביב לפני המקום מי שנשתלח לעשות מצוה ונותן נפשו בשליחותו כו’. פי’ נותן נפשו לבטל כל הרצונות כשבא לעשות רצון הבורא ית’ כמ”ש בטל רצונך מפני רצונו ע”י שיש לאדם רצון אמת להשי”ת יותר מלהבלי עולם נמצא כשע…
תרל"ח(1877)
The eternal inner point and mitzvos as Torah's messengers· Essay 1
In the Midrash: those sent on a mitzvah override the Shabbos… The Sefas Emes opens with the principle that messengers carrying out a mitzvah may set aside certain Shabbos restrictions. For one does not set sail on a ship within three days b…
Evil is an illusory shadow; cleave to the tzaddik· Essay 2
On the pasuk: "Do not fear the people of the land, for they are our bread etc." (Bamidbar 14:9) The Sefas Emes opens with Yehoshua and Kalev's plea to Bnei Yisrael not to fear the inhabitants of Canaan, for "they are our bread." For the exi…
Mitzvos weave the soul's higher garment· Essay 3
On the parsha of tzitzis: the Midrash says, "Light is sown for the tzaddik" (Tehillim 97:11) — the Holy One sowed Torah and mitzvos within Yisrael, etc. It is difficult to understand how, through the physical act of a mitzvah, the souls are…
Shlach תרל"ח
במדרש שליחי מצוה דוחין השבת כו’. דאין מפליגין בספינה ג’ ימים קודם השבת שלא לבטל מנוחת השבת. אמנם בכל מצוה בעת קיום המצוה היא בחי’ שבת רק שבת הוא השביתה בכלל החזרת כל הבריאה לשורש. ובכל מצוה היא בפרט לדבר זה ולאדם זה המקיימ…
תרל"ט(1878)
Divine will above nature and the spies' failure of emunah· Essay 2
One must understand the matter of the sending of the spies (meraglim). The Sefas Emes opens by raising the difficulty of the entire episode of the spies — why it happened and what its deeper purpose was. And in truth we find in the homilies…
Descending for the sake of avodah· Essay 3
It is brought in the holy Zohar that the spies (meraglim) reasoned: "Here we are heads (leaders), but in the Land we will not merit to be heads." The Zohar explains the meraglim's true motive: in the wilderness they held the rank of leaders…
Tzitzis binds the soul's inner powers· Essay 4
In the passage of tzitzis: "And it shall be for you as tzitzis..." (Bamidbar 15:39). The Sefas Emes notes the wording "for you," which he will show carries a deeper meaning. And in the Midrash, "Light is sown for the tzaddik" (Tehillim 97:1…
Shlach תרל"ט
יש להבין ענין שליחות המרגלים. ובאמת מצינו בדרשות חז”ל כמה טעמים על שאיחרן המקום ב”ה במדבר ארבעים שנה ע”ש א”כ מה הוי ס”ד מעיקרא. וכתיב לכל זמן ועת כו’ שהי’ עת מיוחד להכניסם לארץ ישראל. אבל כתיב תחת ה…
תר"מ(1879)
The spies and reliance on Hashem· Essay 1
In the Midrash: "One does not set sail on a ship within three days before Shabbos... emissaries of a mitzvah..." (cf. Shabbos 19a). The Sefas Emes brings the halacha that one should not embark on a sea voyage in the three days before Shabbo…
Self-perception shapes outer reality· Essay 2
On the pasuk "for they are our bread" — as Rashi brings, "and so were we in their eyes," that they would say, "there are ants in the vineyards," and so on. The meraglim (spies) reported that the inhabitants of the land saw Bnei Yisrael as t…
Tzitzis binding the outer edge to its inner root· Essay 3
On the passage of tzitzis I have written elsewhere, with a small addition to the teaching: "And it shall be for you as tzitzis" — specifically "for you," for the body is the garment of the neshamah, and the hint of tzitzis is to bind every …
Shlach תר"מ
במדרש אין מפליגין בספינה ג’ ימים קודם לשבת כו’ שלוחי מצוה כו’. כי הבלי עוה”ז דומין למים רבים כמ”ש מים רבים לא יוכלו לכבות כו’ האהבה. וע”ז רומז הספינה על הדביקות שעי”ז יכולין להתקיים גם בעוה…
תרמ"א(1880)
Spies failed a mission requiring angelic bittul· Essay 1
In the Midrash: there are those whose names are ugly and whose deeds are ugly — these are the spies (meraglim). The Midrash classifies the meraglim as people whose very names and deeds were ugly, and the Sefas Emes will probe what this sign…
Elevating the physical through challah and Torah· Essay 2
On the verse, "And it shall be, when you eat from the bread of the land, you shall set aside a terumah (portion)." The Sefas Emes opens with the mitzvah of challah — separating a portion from one's dough when eating the bread of Eretz Yisra…
תרמ"ב(1881)
The spies' error: self-reliance over Divine chesed· Essay 1
Regarding the sin of the meraglim (spies), I have written elsewhere that they wanted to grasp everything with their own daas (understanding), to be prepared for it themselves. The root of the spies' error was their wish to comprehend and ma…
Tzitzis refines the body as vessel· Essay 2
For the passage of tzitzis, in the Midrash: "Light is sown for the righteous" (Tehillim 97:11) — Hashem sowed mitzvos, for there is nothing in which He did not place a mitzvah. The Midrash teaches that Hashem "sowed" mitzvos throughout crea…
תרמ"ג(1882)
Doing Hashem's will above spiritual comfort· Essay 1
In the Midrash: those sent on a mitzvah (shluchei mitzvah) override Shabbos, and likewise they are exempt from the sukkah. The Sefas Emes begins with the halachic principle that emissaries dispatched to perform a mitzvah are released from c…
Longing for Hashem transcends time and nature· Essay 2
On the pasuk: "If Hashem desires us, then He will bring us [to this land]..." (Bamidbar 14:8). The Sefas Emes opens with the words of Yehoshua and Calev: entry into the land depends on Hashem's desire for us. For surely the meraglim (spies)…
Tzitzis as root of all mitzvos· Essay 3
In the parshah of tzitzis, Chazal said that the mitzvah of tzitzis is equal to all 613 mitzvos, as it is written, "and you shall remember all the mitzvos of Hashem etc." The mitzvah of tzitzis is weighed against the entire body of 613 mitzv…
White and techeiles as body and soul· Essay 4
It is taught in [Maseches] Menachos: greater is the punishment for [neglecting] the white [threads] than for [neglecting] the techeiles — [as a parable of] a seal of clay versus a seal of gold (see there). The Sefas Emes opens with the Gema…
תרמ"ד(1883)
Undated
44 more essays from this section await translation.