The Root In Galus

בפסוק אם יהי' נדחך בקצה השמים כו'

Regarding the pasuk, "If your dispersed ones will be at the edge of the heavens..." (Devarim 30:4).

The pasuk speaks of Bnei Yisrael being scattered to the "edge of the heavens," and the Sfas Emes opens by quoting this unusual phrasing.

וקשה דהל"ל בקצה הארץ

This requires explanation, for it should have said "at the edge of the earth."

The difficulty is that one would expect the verse to describe exile as reaching the edge of the earth, not the heavens.

אבל הרמז הוא על השורש של בנ"י בשמים שגם הוא בגלות בקצה השמים

Rather, the allusion is to the root of Bnei Yisrael that is in the heavens, that even it is in galus, at the edge of the heavens.

He answers that the verse hints at the spiritual root of Bnei Yisrael, which dwells in the heavens, and that this very root descends with them into galus.

ולרמוז כי השורש הולך עמנו בגלות

And this is to allude that the root goes with us into galus.

The point is that even our heavenly source is, as it were, in exile together with us, so we are never truly cut off from it.

וז"ש משם יקבצך שגם בתוך הגלות יש נקודה שתצמח ממנה הישועה כמ"ש מן המצר קראתי ואיתא בשם הבעש"ט כי צריך להיות הקריאה מתוך המצר עצמו לא לברוח מן המצר

And this is the meaning of "from there Hashem will gather you" (Devarim 30:4) — that even within the galus itself there is a point from which the yeshuah will sprout, as it is written, "From the straits I called out" (Tehillim 118:5); and it is brought in the name of the Baal Shem Tov that the calling out must come from within the straits themselves, not by fleeing from the straits.

Therefore the very same place of exile becomes the source of redemption: the cry from within the straits, as the Baal Shem Tov teaches, must rise out of the distress itself rather than be an attempt to escape it.

[ועי' בתיקונים ד' נ"ג דבעת הגלות כ' ותגל מרגלותיו ובאמת עיקר מקומה באמצע הלב ע"ש]:

[And see in the Tikkunim, daf 53, that at the time of the galus it is written, "and she uncovered his feet" (Rus 3:7), yet in truth her essential place is in the middle of the heart; see there.]

The bracketed note brings the Tikkunei Zohar, where the Shechinah is described as being at the "feet" during galus, while her true place is at the center of the heart — reinforcing that her real station remains in the innermost point.

Summary: The Sfas Emes asks why the pasuk describes the exile of Bnei Yisrael as reaching the "edge of the heavens" rather than the edge of the earth. He explains that the verse alludes to the heavenly root of Bnei Yisrael, which itself goes down into galus together with them, so that even our spiritual source shares in the exile. Precisely because of this, the place of galus contains a hidden point from which the yeshuah will sprout — "from there Hashem will gather you." He brings the Baal Shem Tov's teaching that the cry of "from the straits I called" must come from within the distress itself, not by fleeing it, and concludes with the Tikkunim that the Shechinah's true place remains at the center of the heart even in exile.