Redeeming Captive Sparks Through Teshuvah

כי תצא למלחמה כו' ונתנו ה"א כו' ושבית שביו

"When you go out to war" against your enemies, "and Hashem your God will deliver him into your hand," "and you will take his captives" (Devarim 21:10).

The piece opens by citing the opening verses of the parsha about going out to war, Hashem delivering the enemy, and taking captives — which the Sfas Emes will read on a deeper level.

בהקדים דברי המד' ע"פ כי לוית חן הם לראשך המצות מלוין אותך כו'

We begin with the words of the Midrash on the verse "For they are a garland of grace upon your head" (Mishlei 1:9) — that the mitzvos escort you.

He brings a Midrash teaching that the mitzvos act as an escort and a garland of grace upon a person.

פי' שבוודאי נמצא בכלל כל הבריאה וכן בכל פרט איזה נקודה המעלת חן לפני הקב"ה

The meaning is that surely there is found within the whole of creation, and likewise within every individual detail, some point that draws forth grace before the Holy One, Blessed is He.

He explains that every part of creation, both the whole and each detail, contains a point that finds favor before the Holy One, Blessed is He.

וכן כתיב וירא אלקים כו' כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאד

And so it is written, "And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good" (Bereishis 1:31).

He supports this from the verse where Hashem saw all He made and declared it very good.

והסתכלות זה שהוטב בעיניו מקיים כל העולם

And this gaze — that it was good in His eyes — is what sustains the entire world.

Hashem's seeing this good is precisely what keeps the world in existence.

וזה תכלית מעשה בראשית

And this is the very purpose of the act of creation.

This point of favor is the entire goal for which creation was made.

וזה החן הוא סוד השבת שכן כתיב והנה טוב מאד ויהי ערב כו' יום הששי כו'

And this grace is the secret of Shabbos, for so it is written, "and behold, it was very good; and it was evening... the sixth day" (Bereishis 1:31).

He links this grace to Shabbos, since the verse 'very good' is immediately followed by the words leading into the seventh day.

ולכן מצינו בכל מקום מצאתי חן בעיניך כו'

Therefore we find everywhere the expression "I have found grace in your eyes."

The recurring biblical phrase 'I found grace in your eyes' points to this same inner reality.

הוא שהצדיק הוא הנקודה שהוטב בעיני המקום והוא יסוד העולמות כולם

This refers to the fact that the tzaddik is the point that was made good in the eyes of the Omnipresent, and he is the foundation of all the worlds.

The tzaddik embodies this favored point and thereby serves as the foundation upon which all worlds stand.

והמצות הם עצות להתדבק במציאות חן הנ"ל

And the mitzvos are counsels by which to cleave to that aforementioned reality of grace.

The mitzvos are the practical advice for how to attach oneself to that point of grace.

והנה גם כל סט"א המתנגד לקדושה וכל מעשה היצר ותחבולותיו וודאי יש גם בהם נקודה קטנה אשר בעבורה רצה הקב"ה לתת להם כח לכל מעשיהם כמ"ש טוב מאוד יצה"ר

And behold, even the entire sitra achra that opposes kedushah, and every act of the yetzer hara and its stratagems — surely there is in them too a small point on account of which the Holy One, Blessed is He, desired to grant them the power for all their deeds, as it is said, "'It was very good' — this is the yetzer hara" (Bereishis Rabbah 9:7).

Even the forces of impurity and the yetzer hara contain a hidden spark of good, which is why Hashem empowered them at all — the Midrash even reads 'very good' as referring to the yetzer hara.

ואמת כי בהתגברות האדם על היצה"ר אז נתברר הטובה הגנוזה

And it is true that when a person overpowers the yetzer hara, then the good that was hidden away is clarified and revealed.

When a person conquers his yetzer hara, that buried good is brought to light.

וזה ושבית שביו

And this is the meaning of "and you will take his captives."

This is what 'and you will take his captives' truly means — capturing and redeeming that hidden good.

כי קודם התגברות הצדיק הנקודה היא בשבי ואין ניכר בה כבוד מלכות שמים

For before the tzaddik prevails, the point is in captivity, and the glory of the kingship of Heaven is not recognizable within it.

Before the tzaddik prevails, the point of good is held captive within evil, with no visible sign of Hashem's kingship.

ואחר ונתנו ה"א בידך אז היא בחי' תשובה ושבת שהיא החזרת הדבר לשורשו ומקומו

And after "and Hashem your God will deliver him into your hand," then it is in the aspect of teshuvah and Shabbos, which is the returning of the matter to its root and its place.

Once Hashem grants victory, the point returns to its source — and this return is the essence of teshuvah and of Shabbos.

אמנם יש עוד לידע כי אחר שזוכין קצת לגבור היצה"ר אז צריכין שמירה ביותר

However, there is yet more to know: that after one merits somewhat to overpower the yetzer hara, then one requires guarding all the more.

He adds a crucial caution: after one begins to defeat the yetzer hara, even greater spiritual guarding is needed.

כי הכח שהי' בסט"א בא אל האדם והוא בא ממקום טמא שהי' בשבי' עד עתה

For the power that was in the sitra achra now comes to the person, and it comes from an impure place where it was in captivity until now.

The reason is that the power formerly belonging to the sitra achra now passes to the person, carrying with it a residue from the impure place where it had been imprisoned.

ולכן צריך האדם שמירה

And therefore the person requires guarding.

Therefore the person needs protection at this vulnerable stage.

וכן י"ל בשבת ג"כ שכתב בזוה"ק שצריך שמירה כמ"ש פורס סוכת שלום כו'

And likewise it may be said regarding Shabbos as well, for it is written in the Zohar HaKadosh that it requires guarding, as we say, "He spreads the shelter of peace."

The same applies to Shabbos: the Zohar HaKadosh teaches it needs guarding, as reflected in the words 'He spreads the shelter of peace.'

שג"כ הטעם כנ"ל שכל הדברים יש להן עלי' בשבת לכן צריך שמירה

For this too is for the reason stated above — that all things experience an elevation on Shabbos, therefore they require guarding.

The reason is identical — because everything rises and is elevated on Shabbos, that elevation itself calls for guarding.

והעצה ע"י תשובה פי' שבהיות כל אלה הדברים שנתרחקה נקודה הנ"ל להיותה בשבי

And the counsel is through teshuvah; the meaning being that since all these matters by which the aforementioned point became distanced, through its being in captivity,

The remedy is teshuvah; he explains that all this distancing of the inner point through captivity has a root cause.

הכל בא מחטא הקדום וגם חטא אדם הראשון שיש לכל איש חלק בו כנודע

all of it comes from the primordial sin, and also from the sin of Adam HaRishon, in which every man has a portion, as is known.

It all traces back to the primordial sin and the sin of Adam HaRishon, in which every individual shares a portion.

וצריך אדם לשוב לתקן הכל וזה נק' ושבית שביו פי' שזאת התשובה הוא בעבור השבי ששב עתה בהתגברו על היצה"ר וזכה בזו הנקודה צריך לנקותו מכל דביקות טומאה והוא ע"י התשובה

And a person must return to rectify it all, and this is called "and you will take his captives" — meaning that this teshuvah is on behalf of the captive that has now returned through his overpowering the yetzer hara; and having merited this point, he must cleanse it from every attachment of tumah, and this is through teshuvah.

A person must do teshuvah to rectify everything; 'and you will take his captives' means that this teshuvah redeems the captive point won through defeating the yetzer hara, cleansing it of all clinging tumah.

ואז קיימת לעד ואינו מביא אותו עוד לידי חטא

And then it endures forever, and it no longer brings him to sin.

Only then does the rescued good endure permanently and no longer drag the person back into sin.

והבן כ"ז:

And understand all of this.

He closes by urging the reader to contemplate and grasp the entire idea.

Summary: The Sfas Emes reads the parsha's war, victory, and taking of captives as the inner avodah of redeeming the hidden point of good that Hashem implanted within all of creation. Every detail of the world — and even the forces of the sitra achra and the yetzer hara — contains a spark of favor before the Holy One, Blessed is He, which is the very purpose of creation and the secret of Shabbos; the tzaddik is that favored point and the foundation of all worlds, while the mitzvos are the counsels for cleaving to it. When a person overpowers his yetzer hara, the good once held captive within evil is clarified and returned to its root, which is the essence of teshuvah and Shabbos. Yet precisely at this moment of victory greater guarding is needed, for the power drawn out of the impure place still carries a residue of tumah — paralleled by the Zohar's teaching that Shabbos, when all things ascend, likewise requires guarding. The counsel is teshuvah, which traces the captivity back to the primordial sin and the sin of Adam HaRishon and cleanses the redeemed point of every attachment of tumah, so that the recovered good endures forever and no longer leads a person back to sin.