Unity of Israel’s Souls

בפסוק כל הנפש כו' שבעים.

“In the verse ‘all the souls… seventy.’”

The Sefat Emet begins with the Torah’s count of seventy souls who descended to Egypt.

כתב רש"י ז"ל בעשו כתיב נפשות.

“Rashi wrote: Regarding Esau it is written ‘souls.’”

Rashi notes that Esau’s household is described in the plural, reflecting fragmentation.

וביעקב שבעים נפש שעובדין לאל אחד.

“But concerning Jacob it says ‘seventy soul,’ for they serve one God.”

The unity of Jacob’s family is expressed through the singular form, pointing to shared divine purpose.

נראה כי זה יסוד כל הגלות והגאולה מה שהיו יורדין באחדות אחד.

“It appears that this is the foundation of all exile and redemption—that they descended in a single unity.”

The Sefat Emet teaches that unity at the moment of descent determines the nature of exile and later redemption.

כי כל הגלות הוא התפשטות הי"ב שבטים עד שבעים וששים ריבוא והכינו יעקב ויוסף להיות הריבוי בהתקשרות האחדות.

“For all exile is the expansion of the twelve tribes into seventy and into six hundred thousand, and Jacob and Joseph prepared this increase so that it remain bound in unity.”

The multiplication of Israel is only positive when anchored in the spiritual unification established by Jacob and Joseph.

וכן כתיב בשבעים נפש ירדו כו'.

“Thus it is written: ‘With seventy soul they descended…’”

The singular ‘soul’ emphasizes that their descent preserved inner connection.

ועתה שמך כו' ככוכבי השמים לרוב.

“And now, ‘your seed… like the stars of the heavens in multitude.’”

Even immense growth can retain unity, just as stars are many yet part of one ordered cosmos.

שירדו באחדות.

“For they descended in unity.”

The key merit of Israel is that expansion emerges from oneness.

והגאולה כמו כן ס' ריבוא וכוכבי השמים כתיב בהם לכולם שמות יקרא ופעם כתיב לכולם בשם יקרא לרמוז כי הגם שיש לכל אחד שליחות מיוחד. ומ"מ הם באחדות אחד.

“And redemption likewise involves the six hundred thousand; regarding the stars it says, ‘He calls them all by names,’ and elsewhere ‘He calls them all by name,’ to hint that although each has a unique mission, nevertheless they are in one unity.”

Multiplicity does not negate unity; individual missions are harmonized by divine naming.

וכן הוא בבנ"י שנמשלו לכוכבים דכתיב כה יהי' זרעך.

“So it is with Israel, who are compared to the stars, as it is written: ‘So shall your seed be.’”

Israel’s comparison to stars signals individuality within cosmic unity.

וכן הגאולה בפרט איש ישראל שכל הרצונות שבו יתבטלו לרצון אחד לעשות רצון אביו שבשמים.

“And so in redemption, for each individual Israelite, all desires within him will be nullified into one desire—to do the will of his Father in heaven.”

Personal redemption is the inner alignment of all impulses toward a single divine purpose.

זהו בחי' שבעים נפש לשון יחיד כנ"ל.

“This is the aspect of ‘seventy soul’ in the singular, as explained above.”

The singular expression symbolizes the ideal: many individuals unified in one spiritual essence.

Summary: The Sefat Emet interprets the singular “seventy soul” as the foundation of both exile and redemption. Israel’s multiplication—like the stars—remains rooted in unity, where each person’s unique mission converges in a single desire to fulfill the divine will.