Reserving The Mind For Hashem
בערתי הקודש כו' הבית כו'
"I have removed the holy portion from the house" (Devarim 26:13).
The Sfas Emes opens with the words of viduy maaser, where one declares that he has cleared the sanctified tithes out of his house.
יש להבין דהא המצוה הנתינה לכהן ולוי ואין עיקר המצוה הביעור מהבית כמובן
We must understand this, for the mitzvah is the giving to the Kohen and the Levi, and the essence of the mitzvah is not the removal from the house, as is understood.
He raises a difficulty: the actual mitzvah is to give the gifts to the Kohen and Levi, so why does the Torah frame it as a removal from the house?
וי"ל כי הפרשת תרומה ומעשר להיות ניתן חלק לגבוה ומפריש הראשית להש"י ועי"ז נמשך הכל אחר נקודה הפנימיות, וכן בכלל האדם צריך לתת החכמה ומוח שבראש שהיא התרוממות והראשית שבאדם צריך להיות להש"י
We may explain that the separating of terumah and maaser is meant so that a portion be given to that which is on High, and one separates the first and best for Hashem; and through this everything is drawn after the inner point. So too within a person in general, one must give the wisdom and the mind that is in the head, which is the loftiest and the first within a person, over to Hashem.
He answers that separating terumah and maaser means dedicating the first and finest to Hashem, which then draws everything after its inner point; likewise a person must surrender his mind and wisdom, his loftiest faculty, to Hashem.
כמ"ש ז"ל פי' הנסתרות לה"א
As Chazal explained (regarding the verse) "The hidden things belong to Hashem our God" (Devarim 29:28).
He brings the teaching of Chazal that "the hidden things," the inner thought, belong to Hashem.
כי במעשה גשמיות אין להכניס בו החכמה והרצון וצריך להפריש המחשבה והשכל להשי"ת
For into a physical act one should not bring in his wisdom and his will; rather one must separate his thought and his intellect for Hashem.
One should not inject his own wisdom and will into a merely physical deed; instead he must set aside his thought and intellect for Hashem's sake.
ועי"ז עצמו שאינו מכניס החכמה לתוך מעשה גשמיי עי"ז יש חיבור ועלי' גם לגשמיות
And through this very thing, that he does not bring his wisdom into a physical act, through this there is a joining and an elevation even for the physical.
Precisely by withholding his wisdom from the physical act, he creates a bond that elevates even the physical.
וכענין זה כתב אא"ז מו"ר ז"ל בענין עליות שבת שאף שאין לחצוניות עלי' ממש מ"מ זה עליותו מה שמניח לפנימיות לעלות ע"ש
Something in this vein my grandfather, my teacher and master of blessed memory, wrote regarding the ascents of Shabbos: that even though the external dimension has no actual elevation, nevertheless this itself is its elevation, that it allows the inner dimension to rise; see there.
He cites his grandfather's teaching on Shabbos: the outer, physical dimension does not itself rise, yet the very fact that it steps aside and lets the inner dimension ascend is its own form of elevation.
וזה י"ל בערתי הקודש ביעור הוא ג"כ לשון הבערה שעי"ז שיודע שמעשיו בגשמיות רחוקין ועומד מרחוק ומפריש המחשבה קודש לה'
And this may be the meaning of "I have removed (biarti) the holy portion" - biur is also a term of kindling (havarah), for through one's knowing that his deeds in the physical are distant, and his standing at a distance and separating the thought as holy for Hashem,
He now reads "biarti hakodesh" through the root of kindling: by recognizing that his physical deeds are distant, standing back from them, and consecrating his thought to Hashem,
עי"ז עצמו מוסיף כח בהקדושה כנ"ל
through this very thing he adds strength to the kedushah, as above.
this self-removal itself adds power and fuel to the kedushah.
ועי"ז שאינו מכניס החכמה למעשה גשמיי
And through this, that he does not bring his wisdom into a physical act,
By not forcing his wisdom into the physical act,
עי"ז החכמה במקומה ומאירה גם לכל מעשיו כנ"ל:
through this the wisdom remains in its place and shines as well upon all his deeds, as above.
the wisdom stays intact in its proper place and from there illuminates all of his deeds.
Summary: The Sfas Emes asks why the Torah describes the mitzvah of tithes as "removing the holy from the house" when the essence is giving the gifts to the Kohen and Levi. He explains that separating terumah and maaser models a deeper avodah: dedicating one's first and finest, namely the mind and wisdom in the head, entirely to Hashem, in keeping with "the hidden things belong to Hashem." A person should not pour his wisdom and will into a merely physical act, but rather hold his thought back and consecrate it on High; this very withholding forges a bond that elevates even the physical. Drawing on his grandfather's teaching about the ascents of Shabbos, he shows that stepping aside so the inner dimension can rise is itself a form of elevation. Thus "biarti" also bears the sense of kindling: by recognizing the distance of his physical deeds and reserving his thought as holy, a person adds fuel to the kedushah, and his wisdom, left in its proper place, shines upon all his actions.