Desire, wisdom, and self-nullification to Hashem

הג' משניות באבות בעשרה מאמרות נברא כדי להפרע כו' עשרה דורות מאדם עד נח כו'.

The three mishnayos in Avos: "With ten utterances the world was created … in order to exact punishment …"; "There were ten generations from Adam to Noach …" (Avos 5:1-2).

The Sefas Emes groups three consecutive Mishnayos in Pirkei Avos — the Ten Utterances and the two sets of ten generations — and will explain them as one continuous theme.

עשרה דורות מנח עד אברהם כו' שבא אברהם וקיבל שכר כולן.

"There were ten generations from Noach to Avraham …" — that Avraham came and received the reward of them all (Avos 5:2).

The third Mishnah teaches that Avraham gathered up the reward owed for all ten generations that preceded him, a point the Sefas Emes will dwell on.

הענין הוא בכל אלה הסיפורים שנתבארו בתורה שהי' מקודם תהו ודור המבול שנמשכו אחר תאוות הגופניות שעליהם נאמר התאוה מוציאה את האדם מן העולם שהם היו חומריים ממש כבהמות.

The matter is, in all these accounts explained in the Torah, that there was first tohu (chaos) and the generation of the Flood, who were drawn after bodily desires — of whom it is said, "desire removes a person from the world" (Avos 4:21) — for they were truly material, like beasts.

The early history of the world was one of chaos and the Flood generation, who sank entirely into physical cravings and lived on a purely animalistic, material plane.

אח"כ נתקן העולם ונאמר ויברך אלקים את נח כו' פרו ורבו כו' פירוש שבזמן המבול ניטל כח הבריאה והי' צריך אח"כ לתת מחדש חיות לכל הברואים וניתן אח"כ במאמר אחד לכן אח"כ התיר הב"ח לבני אדם שנתקן בסדר האחדות להיות הכל בטל לשרשו עד שהאדם מאסף כל הברואים.

Afterward the world was repaired, and it says, "And God blessed Noach … be fruitful and multiply …" (Bereishis 9:1) — meaning that at the time of the Flood the power of creation was taken away, and afterward it was necessary to give new vitality to all creatures; and it was then given in a single utterance. Therefore afterward [Hashem] permitted living creatures (i.e., meat) to mankind, for [the world] was reordered in the order of achdus (unity), so that everything is nullified to its root, until man gathers in all the creatures.

After the Flood the world was rebuilt: its creative force, lost in the Flood, was renewed through a single divine utterance — a structure of unity in which all creatures are nullified back to their source. Because man now gathers all creatures up into that unity, he was permitted to eat meat, elevating the animal to its root through him.

וע"ז הקשו חז"ל כי הי' יכול מקודם להיות הבריאה במאמר אחד ורק רצה השי"ת להיות נמצא ב' הבחי' עשרה מאמרות ומאמר א' כנ"ל.

And on this Chazal raised the question — that the creation could have been with a single utterance from the start; only Hashem wished that both aspects exist: ten utterances and one utterance, as above.

The Mishnah's own question ("could it not have been created with one utterance?") is answered: Hashem deliberately wanted both modes — the multiplicity of the Ten Utterances and the unity of the single utterance — to coexist in the world.

והנה אח"כ דור הפלגה קלקלו גם בחי' האחדות כמ"ש שפה א' ודברים אחדים כו' וחטאו בזה ג"כ אכן חטאם הי' בחכמה כמ"ש בזוה"ק.

Now afterward, the generation of the Dispersion (Haflagah) corrupted even the aspect of unity (achdus), as it says, "one language and unified words" (Bereishis 11:1), and they sinned in this as well — however, their sin was through chochmah (wisdom), as is written in the Zohar.

If the Flood generation sinned through coarse desire, the Tower-builders corrupted the higher aspect of unity itself — they had a real "oneness," but turned it to rebellion through a misused wisdom, as the Zohar indicates.

לכן בעשרה דורות ראשונים נאמר עד שהביא עליהם מי המבול כנ"ל שהי' כבהמות ונאמר ימותו ולא בחכמה.

Therefore, regarding the first ten generations it is said, "until He brought upon them the waters of the Flood" — as above, that they were like beasts, and it is said [of them], "they die, but not with wisdom" (Iyov 4:21).

The first ten generations are summed up by the Flood: being animal-like, they perished "without wisdom," leaving nothing of lasting spiritual value behind.

אבל בדור הפלגה איתא שבא אברהם וקיבל שכר כולן נראה שהי' בהם הכנות טובות בחכמה ונשאר זה לאברהם ולבנ"י.

But regarding the generation of the Dispersion, it is brought that Avraham came and received the reward of them all — it appears that there were within them good preparations in wisdom, and this remained for Avraham and for Bnei Yisrael.

The second set of ten generations differs: because their misdirected "wisdom" still contained genuine good potential, that latent good was not lost but preserved, to be gathered up later by Avraham and his descendants.

ובאמת כל אלה המדריגות צריך כל אדם לעבור עליהם ולהשמר מכל זה כי מתחלה מעשה אדם כבהמה ואח"כ כשזוכה להשגת הדעת קצת. צריך מאוד לזכור לבטל עצמו וכל הדעת שלו אל הבורא ית' ולידע כי מאתו הכל.

And in truth, every person must pass through all these levels and guard himself from all of this: for at first a person's conduct is like a beast, and afterward, when he merits to attain some daas (understanding), he must take great care to remember to nullify himself and all his daas to the Creator, may He be blessed, and to know that everything is from Him.

These two failures map onto every person's inner development: first one must master raw animal desire, and then — the harder test — once one gains some wisdom, one must nullify even that wisdom to Hashem and recognize that all of it comes from Him.

וזהו ענין הש"ק הבא אחר ימי המעשה וצוה השי"ת לשבות בו ממלאכה.

And this is the matter of the holy Shabbos, which comes after the days of work, and Hashem commanded to rest on it from labor.

Shabbos embodies this very lesson: after the active labor of the week, one ceases all work, expressing that one's accomplishments are not self-generated but given by Hashem.

ואותן הרשעים של דור המבול היו רחוקים מבחי' השבת.

And those wicked ones of the generation of the Flood were far from the aspect of Shabbos.

The Flood generation, mired in physical desire, had no connection at all to the resting and bittul that Shabbos represents.

ואנשי דור הפלגה כבר הי' להם אחיזה בשורש השבת שהוא בחי' תולדות נח כמ"ש לעיל רק מרדו בהשי"ת וסמכו על חכמתם ורצו לבנות בנין.

And the people of the generation of the Dispersion already had a grasp on the root of Shabbos — which is the aspect of "the generations of Noach," as above — only they rebelled against Hashem and relied on their own wisdom and wished to build a structure.

The Tower-builders, by contrast, did possess a foothold in the unity that is Shabbos' root (the post-Flood order of Noach), but they perverted it: instead of nullifying their wisdom to Hashem, they trusted in it and used it to build in rebellion.

אבל כתיב אם ה' לא יבנה בית שוא עמלו כו' אם ה' לא ישמור עיר כו' וכ' וירד ה' לראות כו' אשר בנו בני האדם.

But it is written, "If Hashem will not build a house, in vain do its builders labor … if Hashem will not guard a city …" (Tehillim 127:1), and it is written, "And Hashem descended to see … which the sons of man had built" (Bereishis 11:5).

Their error is exposed by the verse: any building not founded on Hashem is built "in vain." The Torah pointedly calls it what "the sons of man had built" — a purely human construction, lacking the indispensable Divine partnership.

נראה שהי' איזה בנין בהשכל וכמ"ש בזוה"ק.

It appears that there was some structure [built] with intellect, as is written in the Zohar.

The phrasing implies their tower did embody a genuine intellectual or spiritual design, as the Zohar indicates — their failure lay not in the structure but in its self-reliance.

רק באמת א"א לעשות זה הבנין רק בעזר עליון [וכמ"ש בזוה"ק והבית בהבנותו כו' שמאליו נבנה בעזר השי"ת ובנ"י הי' רק הכנה במעשה להתבטל אל עזר השי"ת משמים כנ"ל].

But in truth, this building can only be accomplished with supernal help [and as is written in the Zohar regarding "and the house, in its being built …" (I Melachim 6:7) — that it was built of itself, with the help of Hashem, and Bnei Yisrael's part was only a preparation in deed, to nullify themselves to the help of Hashem from Heaven, as above].

A true "building" can only be completed by Heaven's assistance. Even the Bais Hamikdash "built itself" with Hashem's help; the human role was merely to prepare and to nullify oneself to that supernal aid — the very opposite of the Tower-builders' self-reliance.

ובנ"י בנו באמת הבנין אח"כ במשכן ובביהמ"ק בכח זה האחדות רק שהי' כוונתם לש"ש להתבטל אליו יתברך.

And Bnei Yisrael truly built the structure afterward — in the Mishkan and in the Bais Hamikdash — by the power of this same unity, only that their intention was for the sake of Heaven, to nullify themselves to Him, may He be blessed.

What the Tower generation attempted wrongly, Bnei Yisrael achieved rightly: they built using the very same power of achdus, but with the intention to nullify themselves before Hashem rather than to exalt themselves.

והרשעים של דור הפלגה מרדו בהשי"ת ונק' חילול שבת שכשמשיגין בחי' הדעת שהיא הארה העליונה בש"ק צריכין להתבטל מכל מלאכה.

And the wicked ones of the generation of the Dispersion rebelled against Hashem, and this is called chillul Shabbos (desecration of Shabbos) — for when one attains the aspect of daas, which is the supernal illumination of the holy Shabbos, one must cease from all labor.

Their sin is essentially a "desecration of Shabbos": having reached the high daas that is Shabbos' light, the proper response was to rest and nullify their activity — yet they did the reverse.

והם אדרבא הרבו לבנות ולעשות ושכחו בה' וסמכו על מעשיהם ודי למבינים.

And they, on the contrary, increased in building and doing, and forgot Hashem and relied on their own deeds — and this is enough for those who understand.

Instead of resting in recognition of Hashem, they redoubled their building and self-effort, forgetting Him entirely; the Sefas Emes leaves the deeper point for the discerning reader.

וז"ש באברהם שקיבל שכר כולן כו' וע"ז כתיב זכור ימות עולם כו' יצב גבולות עמים למבנ"י וכמ"ש במ"א וע' בזהר ותבין יותר:

And this is what is said about Avraham, that he received the reward of them all; and on this it is written, "Remember the days of old … He set the boundaries of the peoples according to the number of Bnei Yisrael" (Devarim 32:7-8); and as I have written elsewhere — and see in the Zohar, and you will understand further.

Avraham gathered the latent good of those ten generations, which is why the boundaries of the nations were set "according to the number of Bnei Yisrael" — the good preparations of mankind were preserved precisely for Avraham and his children to redeem and fulfill.

Summary: Reading the three Mishnayos of Avos together, the Sefas Emes contrasts two corruptions: the Flood generation, sunk in animal desire (the multiplicity of the Ten Utterances gone astray), and the Dispersion generation, who corrupted the higher unity through a misused wisdom yet left genuine good preparations behind. Every person must pass both stages — first conquering bodily desire, then nullifying even his own wisdom to Hashem, the very avodah of Shabbos. The Tower-builders' "building" failed because true building requires self-nullification to Heaven's help; Bnei Yisrael accomplished it rightly in the Mishkan and Bais Hamikdash, and Avraham gathered up the preserved good of all ten generations.