Awakening The Hidden Light
בפרשת היראה הן לה"א השמים כו' רק באבותיך כו' ומלתם כו'
In the section dealing with yiras Shamayim, the Torah says, "Behold, to Hashem your God belong the heavens etc." — yet "only in your forefathers etc." did Hashem desire, and therefore "you shall circumcise etc."
The Sfas Emes opens with the verses in Parshas Eikev that speak of yiras Shamayim, noting that Hashem owns all the heavens yet desired specifically the forefathers, and therefore commands Bnei Yisrael to circumcise their hearts.
לכאורה זה הענין הוא להתלהב באהבה והפסוק מביא זה ליראה
At first glance this matter would seem to be one of being aroused with love, yet the verse brings it to teach about fear and awe.
He raises a difficulty: the idea that Hashem chose us out of love would seem to inspire ahavah, closeness and warmth, yet the verse uses it to demand fear and awe.
אך באמת צריך ליפול אימה ויראה על האדם בחשבו כי הניח הקב"ה וב"ש שרפים ואופנים וחיות הקודש ובחר בעבודת האדם ט"ס רמה ותולעה ומלך גדול שמקרב שפל נבזה צריך להיות ירא וחרד בהתקרבות זה
But in truth a person ought to be overcome with dread and awe when he reflects that the Holy One, Blessed is He, set aside the Serafim and Ofanim and the holy Chayos, and chose instead the avodah of man — a despised drop, a worm and maggot; and when a great King draws near one who is lowly and contemptible, that one must surely be filled with fear and trembling at this drawing close.
He answers that the very knowledge of being chosen should awaken awe: that the Ribono shel Olam passed over the loftiest angels and chose the avodah of lowly man, and when a great King draws a lowly person close, that closeness itself demands trembling and fear.
וגם זה אמת כי בוודאי כשבחר הקב"ה בנו נמצא בנו דברים יקרים יותר מבכל הנבראים כאשר חכמים הגידו בפסוק כעת יאמר כו' מה פעל
And this too is true: that surely when the Holy One, Blessed is He, chose us, it is because there are found in us things more precious than in all the created beings, as Chazal expounded on the verse "At this time it shall be said... what has Hashem wrought" (Bamidbar 23:23).
He adds that being chosen is also genuinely true to who we are, for there must be something in Bnei Yisrael more precious than in all creation, as Chazal derived from the verse about "what Hashem has wrought."
וגדול כח בנ"י יותר ממלאכי עליון
And the power of Bnei Yisrael is greater than that of the supernal angels.
He states plainly that the spiritual power of Bnei Yisrael exceeds even that of the highest angels.
אך מי מכסה אור הגנוז בנפשות בנ"י ע"ז כתי' ומלתם כו' ערלת כו' וע"ז ניתן כל המצות לעורר על ידן זה האור הגנוז
But who conceals the hidden light within the neshamos of Bnei Yisrael? Concerning this it is written, "and you shall circumcise the foreskin etc." — and for this reason all the mitzvos were given, so that through them this hidden light should be awakened.
He asks what hides this precious hidden light within our neshamos, and answers that it is the "foreskin" of the heart; the mitzvos were all given as the means to awaken and reveal that buried light.
והקב"ה נתן לנו מצות תפילין של יד נגד הלב למול ערלת הלב להתגלות פנימיות הלב
And the Holy One, Blessed is He, gave us the mitzvah of the tefillin of the hand, set opposite the heart, to circumcise the foreskin of the heart so that the innermost depth of the heart should be revealed.
He explains that the hand-tefillin, placed opposite the heart, serve to circumcise the foreskin of the heart so that its innermost pnimius can come to light.
ותש"ר להסיר הקישוי עורף שמכסה האור של הנשמה שבראש
And the tefillin of the head are to remove the stiffness of the neck that covers over the light of the neshamah which is in the head.
He explains that the head-tefillin remove the stiff-neckedness that covers the light of the neshamah residing in the head.
ופי' לא תקשו עוד כי מה שניתן בטבע להיות עורף מול פנים כמו כן להיות ב' לבבות הוא במדה שיכול הטוב לגבור על הרע אך שלא יוסיף עכ"פ האדם להקשות עורף בתוספות
And the meaning of "you shall no longer stiffen your neck" is this: that just as it was placed in nature for there to be a back of the neck opposite the face, so too the existence of two hearts — the yetzer tov and the yetzer hara — is set in such a measure that the good is able to overpower the evil; only that a person should not, at any rate, add further to stiffen his neck beyond that.
He reinterprets "you shall no longer stiffen your neck": just as nature places a neck opposite the face, nature also placed two inclinations in man, calibrated so the good can overcome the evil; the warning is only not to add stubbornness beyond what nature gave.
והגם כי פשט הכתוב על חטאי דור המדבר שלא יוסיפו עוד
And although the plain meaning of the verse refers to the sins of the generation of the wilderness, that they should not do so again,
He acknowledges that the simple reading of the verse addresses the specific sins of the dor hamidbar, warning them not to repeat them.
אבל בוודאי דור המדבר היו בני אדם גדולים ביותר
nevertheless the generation of the wilderness were surely exceedingly great men.
He insists, however, that the generation of the wilderness were truly very great people, so the rebuke cannot be taken at face value.
ומ"ש עם קשה עורף אתה הוא באמת זה הקישוי שהוא בתולדה ובעצם
And that which is written, "you are a stiff-necked people," refers in truth to this very stiffness which is inborn and inherent in one's very nature.
He explains that calling them "a stiff-necked people" refers to the inborn, essential stiffness woven into human nature itself, not to a moral failing.
אך מרע"ה נתעלה ויצא מן הטבע לגמרי
But Moshe Rabbeinu was elevated and departed entirely from nature,
He notes that Moshe Rabbeinu rose above this entirely, leaving the bounds of nature.
וכל הדור נמצא בהם הטבע
while the whole generation still had this natural element found within them.
But the rest of the generation still possessed this natural, inborn element like all people.
אבל לא תקשו עוד הוא כנ"ל שלא ליתן תוספת לרע ח"ו כנ"ל:
Yet "you shall no longer stiffen your neck" means, as above, that one should not add anything further to the side of evil, chas v'shalom, as explained above.
Therefore "you shall no longer stiffen your neck" means only that one must not add anything further to the side of evil, chas v'shalom — working with one's nature rather than worsening it.
Summary: The Sfas Emes asks why the Torah uses Hashem's loving choice of the Avos to demand yiras Shamayim rather than ahavah. He answers that the awareness of being chosen should itself produce awe: the Ribono shel Olam set aside the loftiest angels and drew lowly man close, and such closeness from so great a King demands trembling. This choice reflects a precious hidden light within the neshamos of Bnei Yisrael, greater even than the supernal angels, and the mitzvos — especially tefillin — were given to reveal it, the hand-tefillin circumcising the foreskin of the heart and the head-tefillin removing the stiffness of the neck that covers the light. Finally, he explains that "stiff-necked" describes an inborn natural trait, not merely the sin of the dor hamidbar, who were truly great; while Moshe Rabbeinu transcended nature entirely, the rest of the generation still carried it, and the command "you shall no longer stiffen your neck" warns only against adding to the side of evil rather than working to let the good overcome it.