Binding Torah To Hashem

במדרש כי המצוה הזאת כו' הפותח והחותם בתורה מברך כו' עד לא לרעתכם נתתי לכם התורה כו'

In the Midrash: "For this mitzvah" etc. — the one who opens and the one who closes the reading of the Torah recites a blessing, etc., up until: "I did not give you the Torah for your detriment" etc.

The Sfas Emes opens by citing the Midrash on the blessings recited at the Torah reading — both by the one who opens and the one who closes — which teaches that Hashem gave the Torah for our benefit, not our detriment.

כבר כתבתי במ"א בזה

I have already written about this elsewhere.

He notes that he has discussed this theme in another place.

והענין בקצרה דקוב"ה ואורייתא וישראל כולא חד

The matter in brief: the Holy One, Blessed is He, the Torah, and Bnei Yisrael are all one.

He states the foundational principle that Hashem, the Torah, and Bnei Yisrael are all bound together as one.

נמצא התורה הממוצע ובנ"י צריכין לחבר התורה לקוב"ה

It emerges that the Torah is the intermediary, and Bnei Yisrael must bind the Torah to the Holy One, Blessed is He.

Since the Torah stands as the intermediary between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael, our task is to use the Torah to connect ourselves back to Hashem.

וזה ברכה הראשונה של הפותח

And this is the first blessing of the one who opens the reading.

This act of binding the Torah upward to its Source is the meaning of the first blessing recited before the Torah reading.

כי התורה למעלה

For the Torah is above.

The reason this binding is needed is that the true root of the Torah is above, in the heavenly realm.

ומ"ש לא בשמים היא מסיים הפסוק לאמר מי יעלה כו'

And as for what is said, "It is not in heaven" (Devarim 30:12), the verse concludes, "saying, who will ascend" etc.

He addresses the verse "It is not in heaven," pointing out that the verse continues by speaking of who would ascend to bring it down.

לענין זה אינו בשמים להיות נפלאת ממך כי בכח בנ"י להמשיך אור התורה משמים

In this respect it is not in heaven so as to be too wondrous for you, for it is within the power of Bnei Yisrael to draw down the light of the Torah from heaven.

The Torah is "not in heaven" in the sense that it is not beyond reach, because Bnei Yisrael have the power to draw its light down from above.

כמ"ש בזוה"ק וירדו בדגת הים כו' שת"ח יכולין למצוא בתורה דברים הצפונים מעבר לים

As it is written in the Zohar HaKadosh on "and they shall rule over the fish of the sea" (Bereishis 1:28) — that talmidei chachamim are able to find in the Torah hidden matters from beyond the sea.

He brings the Zohar's reading of "rule over the fish of the sea" to show that talmidei chachamim can uncover in Torah even matters concealed from beyond the sea.

ובעוף השמים

And "over the birds of the heaven" (Bereishis 1:28).

He adds the next phrase of that same verse, "the birds of the heaven," extending the same idea to the heavenly realm.

ע"ש בתיקונים ת' מ"ז

See there in the Tikkunim, Tikkun 47.

He gives the source reference in the Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 47.

והתורה והמצות הם אורחות ה' כמ"ש בגמ' שהתורה נק' פרשת דרכים כמ"ש חז"ל בראשית בשביל התורה שנק' ראשית דרכו

And the Torah and the mitzvos are the ways of Hashem, as is stated in the Gemara that the Torah is called "the parting of the ways," as Chazal expounded that "Bereishis" — "in the beginning" — means for the sake of the Torah, which is called "the beginning of His way" (Mishlei 8:22).

He explains that Torah and mitzvos are the ways of Hashem, citing the Gemara that calls Torah "the parting of the ways" and the teaching that the world was created for the sake of the Torah, called "the beginning of His way."

נמצא שיש בהבריאה דרכים גנוזים רק ע"י תערובת טו"ר א"י להתגלות

It emerges that within the creation there are concealed ways, only that on account of the admixture of good and evil they cannot be revealed.

Therefore the creation itself contains hidden divine pathways, but the mixture of good and evil in the world keeps them concealed.

ובנ"י ע"י שמבררין הטוב מן הרע זוכין להתגלות אורחת ה'

And Bnei Yisrael, through clarifying and separating the good from the evil, merit the revelation of the ways of Hashem.

When Bnei Yisrael do the work of separating good from evil, they earn the revelation of these concealed ways of Hashem.

וז"ש לטובתכם נתתי לכם כו' לכן בפיך ובלבבך כו' כפי הבירור ועבודת ה' שנמצא בישראל מתגלה להם שורש התורה

And this is what is said, "I have given it to you for your benefit" etc., "therefore it is in your mouth and in your heart" etc. — according to the clarification and the avodah of Hashem found within Bnei Yisrael, the root of the Torah is revealed to them.

This is why the Torah says it was given "for your benefit" and is "in your mouth and in your heart" — the measure of one's clarification and avodas Hashem determines how much of the Torah's root is revealed to him.

וזה הפתיחה שת"ח כ"א פותח דרך חדש בתורה שנק' דרך כמ"ש בגמ'

And this is the "opening" — that each talmid chacham opens a new way in the Torah, which is called a "way," as is stated in the Gemara.

The "opening" blessing corresponds to the way each talmid chacham opens a fresh path in Torah, which the Gemara itself terms a "way."

וכדאיתא לא הלכו בה שלא בירכו בתורה תחלה כנ"ל שכל המכוון לפתוח שורש התורת להיות דבקות בהקב"ה

And as it is brought, "they did not go in it" (referring to those) who did not first recite a blessing over the Torah, as above — that the entire intent is to open the root of the Torah so as to bring about dveikus with the Holy One, Blessed is He.

He cites the teaching that those who "did not go in it" were those who failed to recite the Torah blessing first, since the whole purpose of opening the Torah's root is to achieve dveikus with Hashem.

וברכה לאחרי' היא התקשרות בנ"י לאורייתא כמ"ש חיי עולם נטע בתוכנו

And the blessing recited afterward is the binding of Bnei Yisrael to the Torah, as it is written, "He implanted eternal life within us."

The closing blessing, by contrast, expresses the binding of Bnei Yisrael to the Torah, as in "He implanted eternal life within us."

וכ' לא תשכח מפי זרעו

And it is written, "it shall not be forgotten from the mouth of his offspring" (Devarim 31:21).

He brings the verse promising that the Torah "shall not be forgotten from the mouth of his offspring."

פי' שיש כח בפיהן של ישראל לעורר הארת התורה

The explanation is that there is a power in the mouths of Bnei Yisrael to awaken the illumination of the Torah.

This teaches that the mouths of Bnei Yisrael carry an inherent power to awaken and arouse the Torah's illumination.

ויש ברית הלשון וברית המעור ושניהם בכלל מפי זרעו

And there is the bris of the tongue and the bris of the place of circumcision, and both are included in "from the mouth of his offspring."

He connects this to the two covenants — the bris of the tongue and the bris of circumcision — both of which are alluded to in the phrase "from the mouth of his offspring."

כי ברית הוא כח החיות והתעוררת שנמצא בבנ"י כנ"ל:

For a bris is the power of vitality and awakening that is found within Bnei Yisrael, as above.

A bris, in essence, is the power of vitality and awakening implanted within Bnei Yisrael, which is what enables them to bind themselves and the Torah back to Hashem.

Summary: The Sfas Emes builds on the Midrash regarding the blessings over the Torah reading to develop the principle that Hashem, the Torah, and Bnei Yisrael are all one, with the Torah serving as the intermediary that Bnei Yisrael must bind back to Hashem. The opening blessing reflects this upward binding of the Torah to its heavenly root, while the verse "It is not in heaven" teaches that Bnei Yisrael nonetheless possess the power to draw the Torah's light down from above. Because the creation itself holds concealed divine pathways that the admixture of good and evil keeps hidden, it is precisely through clarifying good from evil and through avodas Hashem that Bnei Yisrael merit the revelation of the Torah's root — each talmid chacham thereby opening a new "way" in Torah. The closing blessing then expresses the reciprocal binding of Bnei Yisrael to the Torah, captured in "He implanted eternal life within us." Finally, the power of the mouth of Bnei Yisrael to awaken the Torah's illumination is rooted in the bris — the bris of the tongue and of circumcision alike — which is the very force of vitality and awakening implanted within them.