Torah Healing the Tongue

במדרש התורה מתיר את הלשון כו'

In the Midrash it is taught that the Torah 'releases the tongue,' and so on.

The Sfas Emes opens with a Midrash that the Torah 'releases the tongue,' setting up the theme of speech and its sanctification.

דאיתא המבשרות צבא רב

For it is stated, 'The heralds (mevasros) are a great host' (Tehillim 68:12).

He cites the verse about 'heralds' as a host, which he will reinterpret based on the root of the word.

כל דיבור שיצא מפי הקב"ה נחלק לע' לשונות כפטיש יפוצץ סלע ע"ש במס' שבת

Every utterance that issued forth from the mouth of the Holy One, Blessed is He, was divided into seventy languages, 'like a hammer that shatters a rock' (Yirmiyahu 23:29) — see this in Maseches Shabbos.

Drawing on Maseches Shabbos, he notes that each Divine utterance at Sinai split into seventy languages, like a hammer shattering rock into many sparks.

ופי' מבשרת משברת

And the explanation of 'mevasres' (herald) is 'mishaberes' (that which shatters).

He plays on the word 'mevasres' (herald), reading it as 'mishaberes' (shatterer), linking it to the shattering of Hashem's word into many tongues.

והכל א' כי בוודאי נמצא בכל הלשונות ניצוצי קדושה רק שהם כמו במאסר שהלשונות שמדברים בהם הבלים אין הקדושה יכולה להתגלות

And it is all one matter, for surely there are found within all the languages sparks of kedushah; it is only that they are, as it were, in confinement, since within the languages in which men speak vanities the kedushah cannot become revealed.

These two ideas are one: every language contains hidden sparks of kedushah, but they are imprisoned because those tongues are used for empty talk that hides the holiness.

ולשון הקודש הוא נבדל שזה פי' קדוש

But lashon hakodesh, the holy tongue, is set apart — and this is the meaning of 'kadosh' (holy).

Lashon hakodesh is unique because it is set apart and elevated, which is the very meaning of 'holy.'

ולא יוכל הלשון לקבל טומאה ח"ו

And that tongue cannot receive tumah, Heaven forbid.

Because it is intrinsically set apart, the holy tongue is incapable of becoming spiritually impure.

ושאר הלשונות נתגאלו בניבול פיהם של הרשעים

Whereas the other languages became defiled through the foul speech of the wicked.

The other languages, by contrast, were soiled by the corrupt and foul speech of wicked people.

אכן ע"י הארת הדברות שיצאו באש להבה מפי הקב"ה נשברו כל הלשונות ונתגלו הדרך הקודש שנמצא בהם

Nevertheless, through the illumination of the Dibros, which issued forth in a flaming fire from the mouth of the Holy One, Blessed is He, all the languages were shattered, and the way of kedushah that is found within them was revealed.

But the flaming utterances of the Ten Commandments shattered all these languages and exposed the path of kedushah buried within them.

וזה הכח נשאר לבנ"י ע"י שעוסקים בדברי תורה מתיר את הלשון כמ"ש מרפא לשון עץ חיים

And this power remained with Bnei Yisrael, for through their toiling in words of Torah it 'releases the tongue,' as it is written, 'a healing tongue is a tree of life' (Mishlei 15:4).

This redemptive power was given to Bnei Yisrael: by toiling in Torah they 'release the tongue,' for Torah is a healing tree of life.

פי' הדיבור אם נתקלקל מ"מ עי"ז שעוסק בו בתורה מתרפא

The meaning is that if speech has become damaged, nonetheless through one's occupying himself with it in Torah it is healed.

Concretely, even speech that has been corrupted can be healed when a person uses it to engage in Torah.

כי כן הוא דרך התורה שמציל העוסקין בו וכ"כ עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה פי' מי שמחזיק לומדי תורה שעל ידו הם עוסקים בתורה ניתוסף לו חיים

For such is the way of the Torah, that it rescues those who occupy themselves with it; and so it is written, 'It is a tree of life to those who hold fast to it' (Mishlei 3:18) — the meaning being that whoever supports those who learn Torah, such that through him they occupy themselves with Torah, has life added to him.

It is the nature of Torah to rescue those who engage in it; even one who merely supports Torah learners shares in that life, since through him they learn.

כמו כן הלשון שמסייע להוציא דברי תורה מתרפא

So too the tongue, which assists in bringing forth words of Torah, is healed.

Just as the supporter is given life, so too the tongue that helps produce words of Torah is itself healed.

ונחזור לדברינו שע"י שפי' התורה בע' לשונות נתרפאו הלשונות

And let us return to our subject: that through the Torah being explained in seventy languages, the languages were healed.

Returning to the main point: because the Torah was explained in all seventy languages, those languages themselves were healed and elevated.

וזהו ענין משנה תורה

And this is the matter of Mishneh Torah (the repetition of the Torah, Sefer Devarim).

This is the deeper meaning of Sefer Devarim, the 'Mishneh Torah,' which restates the Torah and thereby heals the tongues.

דהנה נראה בפסוק שזה הי' מן התוכחה ג"כ מה שאמר לו השי"ת רב לכם סוב ההר הזה כו' ולא ניתן להם רשות להלחם עם עשו

For behold, it appears in the verse that this too was part of the rebuke — that which Hashem said to him, 'You have circled this mountain long enough,' and so on, and they were not given permission to wage war against Eisav.

He shifts to the parsha: Hashem's command to stop circling Har Se'ir and not fight Eisav was itself a form of rebuke to Bnei Yisrael.

שהרי מקודם כתי' בואו ורשו כו'

For previously it is written, 'Come and take possession,' and so on (Devarim 1:8).

Earlier Hashem had told them to come and take possession of the land.

כל שכניו פרש"י קני קניזי קדמוני

'All its neighbors' — Rashi explains: the Keini, the Kenizi, and the Kadmoni.

Rashi identifies 'all its neighbors' as the lands of the Keini, Kenizi, and Kadmoni — peoples beyond the original seven.

א"כ היו ראוים לכבוש גם הר שעיר

If so, they were fit to conquer also Har Se'ir.

This implies they were entitled to conquer even Har Se'ir, Eisav's territory.

ופרשנו במ"א כי הגם שלא נתמלא סאתם עדיין

And we explained elsewhere that although their measure of sin was not yet full,

He references an earlier teaching: even though Eisav's sins had not yet reached their full measure,

מ"מ אם היו בנ"י מתוקנים כראוי הי' נתמלא סאתם כי כל החשבון תלוי כפי הנהגת בנ"י ע"ש באורך

nonetheless, had Bnei Yisrael been properly set in order, their measure would have been filled — for the entire reckoning depends upon the conduct of Bnei Yisrael; see this at length there.

had Bnei Yisrael been spiritually fit, that measure would have filled, because the whole heavenly reckoning hinges on the conduct of Bnei Yisrael.

ועתה פרשנו כי אם היו נכנסין בכחו של מרע"ה בכח התורה היו גוברין על הכל

And now we have explained that, had they entered with the power of Moshe Rabbeinu, with the power of the Torah, they would have prevailed over everything.

His new point: had they relied on Moshe Rabbeinu's power, the power of Torah, they would have overcome all their enemies.

דכתי' עלה רש פירש"י ז"ל אילו לא שלחו מרגלים לא היו צריכין לכלי זיין

For it is written, 'Rise up, take possession' — Rashi, of blessed memory, explains: had they not sent spies, they would not have needed weapons of war.

Rashi on 'Rise up, take possession' teaches that had they not sent spies, they would have conquered without any weapons.

ויש לתמוה וכי אח"כ גברו בכלי זיין הלא כתיב לא בחרבם ירשו ארץ כו' אך הפי' דיש גם בקדושה ב' דרכים כמ"ש במד' לאסור מלכיהם שלמטה ונכבדיהם שלמעלה ע"ש בפסוק ראה החילותי

And one may wonder: did they then afterward prevail through weapons of war? Surely it is written, 'Not with their sword did they inherit the land,' and so on (Tehillim 44:4). Rather, the explanation is that even within kedushah there are two ways, as is stated in the Midrash, 'to bind their kings below and their honored ones above' — see this on the verse 'See, I have begun' (Devarim 2:31).

He raises a difficulty — did they later conquer by the sword, when Tehillim says they did not? He answers that even within kedushah there are two modes, as the Midrash speaks of binding both the earthly kings and their heavenly counterparts.

דקשה למדרש דכבר כתי' נתתי בידך כו' סיחון מלך כו' ואח"כ כתי' החלותי תת כו' סיחון

For it was difficult for the Midrash: it is already written, 'I have given into your hand... Sichon the king,' and afterward it is written, 'I have begun to give over... Sichon.'

The Midrash was troubled that the verse first says Sichon was already given into their hand, yet later says Hashem only 'began' to give him over.

ומפרש דמקודם כתי' מלך שלמטה ואח"כ השורש למעלה

And it explains that first it is written of the king below, and afterward of the root above.

It resolves this by saying the first verse refers to defeating the king on the earthly plane, and the later one to his spiritual root above.

והנה מקודם כתי' רוממות אל בגרונם וחרב פיפיות בידם

And behold, earlier it is written, 'The exaltations of Hashem are in their throats, and a double-edged sword is in their hand' (Tehillim 149:6).

He brings the verse describing the praises of Hashem in the throat and the double-edged sword in the hand as a parallel.

כנראה שהוא ב' אלו הבחי'

As it appears, these are these two aspects.

These two images correspond to the two aspects of conquest — the spiritual and the physical.

רוממות אל הוא לגבור השורש שלמעלה

'The exaltations of Hashem' is to overpower the root above.

The 'exaltations of Hashem' in the throat, meaning the voice of Torah and praise, serves to overpower the spiritual root above.

וחרב פיפיות הוא לעקור המלכים שלמטה וכתי' בזה בידם

And 'a double-edged sword' is to uproot the kings below, and concerning this it is written 'in their hand.'

The 'double-edged sword in their hand' serves to uproot the earthly kings, which is why the verse specifies it is held 'in their hand.'

ומדרגת מרע"ה הי' בלי שום כלי זיין וחרב רק בקול תורה בלבד

And the level of Moshe Rabbeinu was without any weapon of war or sword, but rather through the voice of Torah alone.

Moshe Rabbeinu's level operated purely through the voice of Torah, needing no physical sword at all.

ומדרגה שני' היא חרב פיפיות שהיא התורה שנתפרשה בע' לשונות ונק' פיפיות ומשנה תורה ובזה החרב גברו על המלכים שלמטה ולכן עשו דכתי' בי' ועל חרבך והידים ידי עשו לא היו יכולין להלחם עמו

And the second level is the 'double-edged sword,' which is the Torah that was explained in seventy languages and is called 'pifiyos' (two-mouthed/double-edged) and Mishneh Torah; and with this sword they prevailed over the kings below — and therefore Eisav, of whom it is written, 'and by your sword' and 'the hands are the hands of Eisav,' could not wage war against him.

The second, lower level is the 'double-edged sword' — the Torah explained in seventy languages, called 'pifiyos' and Mishneh Torah; with it they defeated the earthly kings, but Eisav, whose strength is the literal sword, could not be fought this way directly.

וגם בעבודת כל עובד ה' כן הוא כי מי שזוכה להיות לומד תורת ה' לשמה א"צ שום מלחמה

And so too in the avodah of every servant of Hashem it is thus: for one who merits to be a learner of the Torah of Hashem for its own sake needs no war at all.

This applies to every servant of Hashem: one who learns Torah purely for its own sake needs no spiritual battle at all.

אבל אפילו אם יורד האדם מזו המדרגה מ"מ אמרו הפוך בה והפוך כו' מינה לא תזוע כו' וכל התיקונים ע"י היגיעה בתורה רק שאינו בהתגלות כמו לצדיק גמור

But even if a person descends from this level, nonetheless they said, 'Turn it over and over... and from it do not budge' (Avos 5:22), and all the rectifications come through toil in Torah — only that it is not in a revealed manner as it is for the perfectly righteous tzaddik.

Even one who falls from that lofty level can still rectify everything through persistent toil in Torah, only without the open revelation enjoyed by the complete tzaddik.

וזה רמז משנה תורה:

And this is the allusion of Mishneh Torah.

All of this is the hidden allusion contained in the name Mishneh Torah.

Summary: The Sfas Emes builds on the Midrash that Torah 'releases the tongue.' At Sinai each Divine utterance shattered into seventy languages, exposing the sparks of kedushah imprisoned within every tongue; while lashon hakodesh remains intrinsically pure, the other languages, defiled by foul speech, are healed precisely when used to engage in Torah, just as Torah is a tree of life to those who toil in it or support its learners. This, he explains, is the inner meaning of Mishneh Torah, the Torah restated in seventy languages so as to heal them. He then ties this to the parsha: had Bnei Yisrael entered the land through the power of Moshe Rabbeinu and Torah, they would have conquered everything without weapons, distinguishing two modes of victory within kedushah — the pure voice of Torah that overpowers the spiritual root above, embodied by Moshe Rabbeinu, and the 'double-edged sword' of Torah-in-seventy-languages that subdues the earthly kings below. The avodah of every Jew mirrors this: one who learns purely lishmah needs no battle, while one who has fallen can still rectify all things through unceasing toil in Torah, though without the open revelation of the complete tzaddik.