Restoring All Beginnings To Hashem

היום הזה ה"א מצוך

"This day Hashem your God commands you" (Devarim 26:16).

The Torah says that Hashem commands us "this day," and the wording stresses the present day specifically.

ברש"י ובמד' תנחומא להיות בכל יום חדשים כו'

Rashi, and the Midrash Tanchuma, explain that they should be new to you each day, and so on.

Rashi and the Midrash teach that the mitzvos should feel fresh and new to us every single day, not stale or routine.

פרשנו כבר שהתחדשות הימים הוא לפי עבודת האדם

We have already explained that the renewal of the days is in accordance with a person's avodah.

The Sfas Emes recalls his earlier teaching that whether a day truly feels new depends on the spiritual work a person invests in it.

והענין שיש ג' בחי' עולם שנה נפש והם תלוין זה בזה

The matter is that there are three dimensions, olam (space), shanah (time), and nefesh (soul), and they are dependent upon one another.

Reality has three interlocking dimensions, space (olam), time (shanah), and soul (nefesh), and each one influences the others.

וכפי מה שמתפשט כח הנשמה בגוף בא התחדשות החיות בנפש האדם וכמו כן מתחדש הזמן ובכלל הבריאה ג"כ

And according to the measure in which the power of the neshamah spreads through the body, a renewal of life comes into the nefesh of a person, and likewise time is renewed, and so too within the creation as a whole.

When a person lets his neshamah fill and animate his body, fresh life enters his soul, and that renewal flows outward into time and into all of creation.

ומצות ביכורים הי' על זה התחדשות ובמקום זה תיקנו תפלות כו'

The mitzvah of bikkurim was for the sake of this renewal, and in its place they instituted the tefillos, and so on.

The mitzvah of bringing the first fruits expresses this constant renewal, and the tefillos were later instituted to take its place.

והמצוה להזכיר יצ"מ היא ג"כ כנ"ל שכמו שבנ"י לא באו למקומם הראוי עד שירדו למצרים וביררו כל אותן המקומות

And the mitzvah to mention Yetzias Mitzrayim is likewise as stated above, for just as Bnei Yisrael did not come to their proper place until they descended to Mitzrayim and refined all those places,

The mitzvah of recalling the Exodus carries the same idea, since Bnei Yisrael only reached their true station by first descending into Mitzrayim and elevating the holy sparks scattered there.

וכמו כן נמצא דברים אלו לכל פרטי הבריאה וכענין ג"ש ערלה באילן

so too these very matters are found in every detail of the creation, similar to the gezeirah shavah of orlah upon a fruit tree.

This same pattern of descent and refinement is found in every part of creation, like the law of orlah that applies to a young fruit tree before its produce may be used.

ולכן ע"י מצות ביכורים והסיפור ביצ"מ יכול לפדות הפירות מסט"א להיות חל עליו הקדושה

Therefore, through the mitzvah of bikkurim and the recounting of Yetzias Mitzrayim, one is able to redeem the fruits from the sitra achra, so that kedushah may rest upon them.

Therefore the bikkurim and the telling of the Exodus give a person the power to reclaim physical produce from the forces of impurity so that holiness can settle upon it.

ונסמכה פרשת ביכורים למחית עמלק

And the parsha of bikkurim was placed adjacent to the wiping out of Amalek.

The Sfas Emes notes that the Torah places the bikkurim passage right next to the command to wipe out Amalek.

כי ביכורים היא לתת הראשית להקב"ה

For bikkurim is to give the first and choicest portion to the Holy One, Blessed is He.

Bikkurim means handing over the very first and best to the Holy One, Blessed is He, declaring that He is the source of everything.

ועמלק היא היפוך זה כדכ' ראשית גוים עמלק

And Amalek is the opposite of this, as it is written, "Amalek is the first among the nations" (Bamidbar 24:20).

Amalek embodies the reverse, as the verse calls Amalek "the first among the nations," claiming primacy for itself.

פי' שמקודם מלחמת עמלק היו בנ"י מתקנים כלל הבריאה להיות נכנעים תחת הקדושה

The explanation is that before the war with Amalek, Bnei Yisrael were rectifying the whole of creation so that it would be subdued beneath kedushah.

Before Amalek waged war, Bnei Yisrael had been bringing all of creation into submission to kedushah, recognizing Hashem as its origin.

אבל עמלק המציא לו ראשית אחר שאין לו אחרית כדכ' ואחריתו עדי אובד והיא חיות הרשעים שבא מסט"א שמדמה לרשעים כאילו יש להם ראשית לבד הקדושה

But Amalek invented for himself a different "first" that has no end, as it is written, "and his end is to perish forever" (Bamidbar 24:20), and this is the vitality of the resha'im that comes from the sitra achra, which makes it appear to the resha'im as though they possess a beginning apart from kedushah.

Amalek fabricated a false "first" for itself, a beginning with no lasting end, and this is the deceptive life-force of the wicked drawn from the sitra achra, fooling them into thinking they have a beginning of their own independent of kedushah.

וכל עבודת בנ"י רק לבטל זה ולברר כי כל הראשית היא להשי"ת בלבד:

And the entire avodah of Bnei Yisrael is only to nullify this and to clarify that all beginning belongs to Hashem Yisborach alone.

The whole task of Bnei Yisrael is to undo this illusion and to make clear that every beginning truly belongs to Hashem Yisborach alone.

Summary: The Sfas Emes opens from the verse "this day Hashem commands you," teaching that the mitzvos must feel new each day, and that this daily renewal depends on a person's avodah. Reality stands on three interdependent pillars, olam, shanah, and nefesh, and when the neshamah animates the body, fresh life flows into the soul, into time, and into all creation. The mitzvah of bikkurim and the recounting of Yetzias Mitzrayim both express this renewal, granting Bnei Yisrael the power to redeem physical produce from the sitra achra so that kedushah can rest upon it, just as their descent into Mitzrayim refined the sparks hidden there. This is why the bikkurim passage adjoins the command to wipe out Amalek, for bikkurim gives the first and best to the Holy One, Blessed is He, while Amalek falsely claims to be "the first among the nations," feeding the wicked the illusion of an independent beginning. The entire avodah of Bnei Yisrael is to nullify that lie and to reveal that all beginning belongs to Hashem Yisborach alone.