Cleaving to the Unchanging Name

בפסוק הצור תמים פעלו כו'

Regarding the verse, "The Rock, His work is perfect" (Devarim 32:4), and so forth.

The Sfas Emes opens with the verse describing Hashem's work as perfect, setting up the theme of completeness.

כי הכל נברא בתורה

For everything was created through the Torah.

He establishes that the entire creation came into being through the Torah.

וכ' תורת ה' תמימה ז"ש תמים פעלו

And it is written, "The Torah of Hashem is perfect" (Tehillim 19:8) — this is the meaning of "His work is perfect."

He links the verse praising the Torah as "perfect" to the verse calling Hashem's work "perfect," since the Torah is the blueprint of creation.

ופי' תמימה שיש בה כל הבחינות

And the explanation of "perfect" (temimah) is that it contains all the dimensions and aspects.

"Perfect" means the Torah is all-encompassing, holding within it every possible dimension and aspect.

והתורה נקראת אש דת ותורת חסד ותורת אמת וכל המדות

And the Torah is called "a fiery law" (Devarim 33:2), and "a Torah of kindness" (Mishlei 31:26), and a Torah of emes, and it contains all the middos.

The Torah is described with many names and middos — fire, kindness, emes — showing it embraces every quality.

ולכן כמו דאיתא בגמ' כי המים שנפסק בר"ה אם משתנים [בנ"י] לטובה או לרעה ח"ו כך יורד אח"כ המים לטוב ובמקום הראוי ובשעה הראוי' וכמו כן ח"ו להיפוך

And therefore, just as is brought in the Gemara that the waters — which are decreed on Rosh Hashanah — if Bnei Yisrael change for the better or, chas v'shalom, for the worse, accordingly the rains afterward come down for good and in the fitting place and at the fitting time, and likewise, chas v'shalom, the reverse,

Just as the rains decreed on Rosh Hashanah fall in a manner that matches the deeds of Bnei Yisrael, for good or, chas v'shalom, otherwise, the flow is shaped by the recipients.

כמו כן התורה נקראת מים

so too the Torah is called "water."

He draws the parallel: the Torah is likened to water, which adapts to where it flows.

וכפי הכנת המקבלים כך מתפרש להם התורה

And according to the preparation of those who receive it, so is the Torah expounded for them.

The Torah reveals itself to a person according to how he has prepared himself to receive it.

ויש בה בחי' עם חסיד תתחסד עם עקש תתפתל שזה בחי' תמימות

And it contains the dimension of "With the devoted one You act devotedly... with the crooked one You act with cunning" (Tehillim 18:26-27) — this is the aspect of temimus, completeness.

Because the Torah is complete, it responds measure-for-measure: kindness to the devoted, cunning to the crooked — and this very flexibility is its perfection.

ולכן נאמר ג"כ יערף תזל כל הלשונות

And therefore it also says, "My teaching shall drip down" (Devarim 32:2) — all the languages and modes of expression.

The verse "My teaching shall drip down" alludes to the Torah expressing itself through all manners of speech.

ואמר הלה' תגמלו זאת

And he said, "Is this how you repay Hashem?" (Devarim 32:6).

He cites the rebuke, "Is this how you repay Hashem?", turning toward the theme of the relationship between Bnei Yisrael and Hashem.

דכתיב חלק ה' עמו דבעשרה מאמרות נברא העולם והם עשרה שמות

For it is written, "Hashem's portion is His people" (Devarim 32:9) — for with ten utterances the world was created, and these correspond to ten Names.

Bnei Yisrael are Hashem's portion; the world was made with ten utterances corresponding to ten Names of Hashem.

אכן שם הוי' על כולם

However, the Name of Havayah is above them all.

Above all the various Names stands the Name of Havayah, the highest and most essential.

וכ' אני ה' לא שניתי

And it is written, "I am Hashem, I have not changed" (Malachi 3:6).

The verse "I have not changed" expresses that this Name represents that which is utterly unchanging.

כידוע דכל השמות יש להם כמה הפוכים וצירופים

As is known, all the Names have several inversions and permutations of their letters.

All the other Names can be rearranged into different letter-combinations, hinting at change and variability.

ושם הוי' ב"ה בכל הצרופים הוא הוי'

But the Name of Havayah, Blessed is He, in all its permutations remains Havayah.

But the four-letter Name of Havayah, no matter how its letters are permuted, always remains itself — the embodiment of constancy.

ובנ"י יש להם חלק בזה השם רק ע"י החטאים כתיב אסתירה פני מהם

And Bnei Yisrael have a portion in this Name; only through the sins it is written, "I shall hide My face from them" (Devarim 32:20).

Bnei Yisrael are bound to this unchanging Name; only sin causes Hashem to hide His face, obscuring that connection.

לפי שדור תהפוכות המה

Because "they are a generation of reversals" (Devarim 32:20).

The reason for the hiddenness is that they became "a generation of reversals" — subject to change and inconstancy.

וע"ז הוסד כל השירה כי הקב"ה רצה להעלות בנ"י להיות דבקים בשם הוי' שלא יהי' בהם השתנות

And upon this the entire shirah was founded, for the Holy One, Blessed is He, wished to elevate Bnei Yisrael to be cleaving to the Name of Havayah, so that there should be no change within them.

The whole shirah of Haazinu was composed to lift Bnei Yisrael to cleave to the Name of Havayah, where no change can take hold.

ולכן הביאם לארץ ישראל דכתיב ירכיבהו על במתי ארץ פי' חז"ל מכאן שארץ ישראל גבוה מכל הארצות

And therefore He brought them to Eretz Yisrael, as it is written, "He made him ride upon the high places of the earth" (Devarim 32:13) — Chazal explained: from here we learn that Eretz Yisrael is higher than all the lands.

Hashem therefore brought them into Eretz Yisrael, the land Chazal teach is higher than all other lands.

הרמז כי היא מוכנת לקבל השפע בקדושה

The hint is that it is prepared to receive the Divine flow in kedushah.

Its loftiness hints that Eretz Yisrael is uniquely prepared to receive the Divine flow in a state of kedushah.

וכמ"ש בברכת שבת והרכבתיך על במתי ארץ פי' למעלה מהטבע שלא לקבל השתנות ע"י הגשמיות

And as it is stated in the blessing of Shabbos, "And I shall make you ride upon the high places of the earth" (Yeshayahu 58:14) — the explanation is: above nature, so as not to be subject to change through physicality.

The Shabbos blessing of riding upon the high places of the earth means rising above nature, beyond the reach of change brought by physicality.

היפוך וישמן ישורון ויבעט

This is the opposite of "Yeshurun grew fat and kicked" (Devarim 32:15).

This elevated state is the very opposite of Yeshurun growing fat and kicking — sinking into materiality.

כי בנ"י נקראו ישורון ע"ש זה החלק שיש בהם נקודה ישרה שאינה יכולה להשתנות חלק ה' עמו

For Bnei Yisrael are called Yeshurun on account of this portion that is within them — a straight point (nekudah yesharah) that cannot change, "Hashem's portion is His people."

Bnei Yisrael are called Yeshurun because of the straight, unchangeable point within them, which is their portion in Hashem.

וע"י החטא ניטל מאתנו זה השם

And through the sin, this Name was taken from us.

When they sin, this Name and its constancy are taken from them.

ועתיד הקב"ה להחזיר לנו זה הכח ויחזירנו בתשובה שלימה לפניו:

And in the future the Holy One, Blessed is He, will return this power to us, and will restore us in complete teshuvah before Him.

The Sfas Emes closes with the promise that Hashem will one day restore this power and bring us back in complete teshuvah.

Summary: The Sfas Emes builds on the verse "The Rock, His work is perfect" to teach that the Torah, through which all was created, is "perfect" precisely because it contains every dimension and middah. Like water and like the rains decreed on Rosh Hashanah, the Torah's flow is shaped by the preparation of those who receive it — kindness to the devoted, cunning to the crooked — and this responsiveness is itself its completeness. He then turns to the Name of Havayah, which alone among the Divine Names remains unchanged through all its letter-permutations, and explains that Bnei Yisrael, as "Hashem's portion," are bound to this unchanging Name; only sin, making them "a generation of reversals," causes Hashem to hide His face. The entire shirah of Haazinu, and the gift of Eretz Yisrael which stands above nature, aim to elevate Bnei Yisrael to cleave to that constant Name and rise above the change wrought by physicality. The Sfas Emes concludes with the assurance that Hashem will ultimately restore this power and bring us back in complete teshuvah.