Hashem Torah And Yisrael United

בפסוק ה' האמרת וה' האמירך

Regarding the pasuk: "You have proclaimed Hashem this day... and Hashem has proclaimed you this day" (Devarim 26:17-18).

The Sfas Emes opens with the pasuk in which there is a mutual proclamation: Bnei Yisrael declare Hashem to be their God, and Hashem in turn declares Bnei Yisrael to be His treasured nation.

עיין באבן עזרא

See the Ibn Ezra there.

He directs us first to the plain explanation of the Ibn Ezra on this verse.

ויש להעמיק יותר זה הפי' ע"פ הידוע כי אורייתא וקוב"ה וישראל חד

But one must delve deeper into this explanation based on the well-known teaching that the Torah, the Holy One, Blessed is He, and Bnei Yisrael are one.

He now wants to add a deeper layer, drawing on the famous teaching that Torah, the Ribono shel Olam, and Bnei Yisrael are all bound together as a single unity.

וז"ש במד' אנכי אנא נפשאי כתבית יהבית

And this is what the Midrash means when it expounds [on the word] "Anochi" — "I wrote down and gave over My very Self."

He brings the Midrash that reads "Anochi" (the first word of the Aseres HaDibros) as Hashem's declaration that in giving the Torah He gave over His own essence — His very Self is invested within it.

כי התורה אלקית ממש ובנ"י עשו כביכול מקוב"ה אורייתא וכן בנ"י נעשו בחי' תורה ודו"ק היטב:

For the Torah is literally Divine, and as it were Bnei Yisrael fashioned the Torah from the Holy One, Blessed is He, and likewise Bnei Yisrael themselves became a manifestation of Torah — and contemplate this well.

Because the Torah is literally Divine, when Bnei Yisrael receive and live the Torah they 'draw out' the Torah from Hashem, and in doing so they themselves become a living expression of Torah — and he urges us to think this through carefully.

Summary: The Sfas Emes takes up the pasuk in Ki Tavo describing the mutual proclamation between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael, where each declares the other to be uniquely theirs. After pointing to the Ibn Ezra's plain reading, he deepens it through the well-known teaching that the Torah, the Holy One, Blessed is He, and Bnei Yisrael form a single unity. Citing the Midrash on "Anochi" — "I wrote down and gave over My very Self" — he explains that the Torah is literally Divine, carrying Hashem's own essence. Therefore, when Bnei Yisrael receive the Torah they as it were draw it forth from the Ribono shel Olam, and through their bond with it they themselves are transformed into a living manifestation of Torah. The mutual proclamation of the pasuk thus reflects this deepest of unities binding Hashem, His Torah, and His nation.