Repairing Body and Wisdom Through Two Covenants

בענין דור המבול ודור הפלגה ומקודם הי' משונה האדם בגוף.

Concerning the generation of the Flood and the generation of the Dispersion: beforehand, man was distinguished in his body.

The Sefas Emes opens by noting that before these sinful generations, mankind possessed extraordinary physical stature and vitality.

ובחכמה.

And in wisdom.

Early man was also gifted with exceptional chochmah (wisdom).

ועל ידי חטא דור המבול בהתפשטות הגופניות והתאוות נתמעט כח הגוף ואריכות השנים בעוה"ז.

Through the sin of the generation of the Flood, in the spreading out of physicality and the desires, the power of the body and the length of years in this world were diminished.

The dor haMabul sinned by giving the body free rein and chasing after taavos (physical cravings). As a result, mankind's physical strength and lifespan were cut down.

ודור הפלגה חטאו בחכמה וניטל מהם החכמה עכ"ז נשאר זה הבחי' לבנ"י כמ"ש זכור ימות עולם כו'.

And the generation of the Dispersion sinned with wisdom, and the wisdom was taken from them. Even so, this aspect remained for Bnei Yisrael, as it says: "Remember the days of old," etc. (Devarim 32:7).

The dor haPlagah corrupted their God-given chochmah, so it was withdrawn from them. Yet the original gifts of body and wisdom were not lost to the world — they were preserved for Bnei Yisrael, who are charged to "remember the days of old."

ואור החכמה המוכן לאדם חופף עליו והמבקש החכמה לשמה זוכה בה.

And the light of wisdom that is prepared for a person hovers over him, and whoever seeks wisdom for its own sake merits it.

That original light of chochmah still hovers above every person, waiting to be drawn in. One who pursues wisdom lishmah (for its own sake) is the one who actually acquires it.

וע"ז ניתן לנו ב' הבריתות ברית מילה הסרת כח הגוף שלא יתפשט יותר מדאי.

For this we were given the two covenants: the bris milah — the removal of bodily power, so that it not spread out too much.

To repair the two failures, we received two covenants. Bris milah counteracts the sin of the dor haMabul: it curbs the body's runaway physicality so it does not overrun a person.

וברית הלשון ע"י תפילין ושבת זוכין להארת הנשמה והחכמה החופף על האדם כמ"ש למען תהי' תורת ה' בפיך:

And the covenant of the tongue, through tefillin and Shabbos, by which we merit the illumination of the neshamah and the wisdom that hovers over a person, as it says: "So that the Torah of Hashem may be in your mouth" (Shemos 13:9).

The second covenant — the "covenant of the tongue" — repairs the misuse of chochmah by the dor haPlagah. Through tefillin and Shabbos, a person draws down the hovering light of wisdom and the illumination of the neshamah, fulfilling "so that the Torah of Hashem may be in your mouth."

Summary: The dor haMabul corrupted the body and the dor haPlagah corrupted wisdom, diminishing both for the world; but these original gifts remain accessible to Bnei Yisrael, who repair the two failures through the two covenants — bris milah, which restrains the body, and the "covenant of the tongue" through tefillin and Shabbos, which draws down the hovering light of chochmah and the neshamah.