Unchanging Inner Point

אתם נצבים היום כו'

"You are standing today, all of you, before Hashem your God..." (Devarim 29:9).

The piece opens with the verse from the parsha, where Moshe Rabbeinu gathers all of Bnei Yisrael to stand before Hashem to enter the covenant.

במד' תנחומא אני ה' לא שניתי כו' בנ"י לא כליתם

In the Midrash Tanchuma it is brought: "I am Hashem, I have not changed" (Malachi 3:6) — and "you, the children of Yaakov, have not been consumed."

The Midrash links Hashem's own unchanging nature to the unchanging endurance of Bnei Yisrael, who can never be utterly consumed.

כי הנה חלק ה' עמו ולכן כנס"י אין להם השתנות ויש להם בחי' השתנות בין בזמן הברכה והקללה מ"מ פנימיות הנקודה של כנס"י לא ישתנה לעולם

For "the portion of Hashem is His people" (Devarim 32:9), and therefore Klal Yisrael has no change; yet there is an aspect of change among them, whether in the time of the blessing or the curse — even so, the innermost point of Klal Yisrael will never change forever.

Because Bnei Yisrael are Hashem's own portion, their inner essence is as unchanging as He is, even though their outward state shifts between blessing and curse.

וע"ז נכרת ברית

And it is upon this that the covenant was sealed.

It is precisely this unchanging inner point that the covenant is built upon and seals.

אכן עבודת כל פרט להכניס עצמו בכלל ישראל להיות לו חלק בנקודה פנימיות של כללות בנ"י

Indeed, the avodah of every individual is to bring himself into the collective whole of Bnei Yisrael, so that he should have a share in that innermost point of the totality of Bnei Yisrael.

Each individual's avodah is to attach himself to the collective whole, thereby gaining a share in that unchanging inner point that belongs to all of Bnei Yisrael together.

ומצד זו הנקודה נק' בנ"י עומדים כמלאכי השרת שנק' עומדים מטעם שאין בהם השתנות

And by virtue of this point, Bnei Yisrael are called "standing," like the ministering angels who are called "standing ones" — for the reason that there is no change in them.

Through that point, Bnei Yisrael earn the title "standing," the same term used for the angels, signaling a state that does not change.

ולכן מביא המד' בכאן זמני תפלות

And therefore the Midrash brings here the times of the tefillos.

This is why the Midrash here connects the discussion to the fixed times of daily tefillah.

כי בזמן השלש תפלות נפתח זאת הנקודה שבתפילת עמידה באין לזה ההתקשרות

For at the time of the three tefillos this point is opened, that in tefillas Amidah one comes to this connection.

At the three daily tefillos, and especially in the Amidah (literally "standing"), this inner unchanging point is opened and one connects to it.

אכן ע"י התשובה יכולין לעולם לחזור ולהתדבק בזו הבחי' שזה שורש ענין התשובה

Indeed, by means of teshuvah one is always able to return and become attached again to this aspect — for this is the very root of the matter of teshuvah.

Even when a person has fallen away, teshuvah lets him return and re-attach to this enduring inner point, which is the very essence of what teshuvah accomplishes.

כמ"ש אחר הברית הזה והי' כי יבאו ע' הברכה והקללה והשבות א' לבבך כו':

As it is written after this covenant, "And it shall be, when all these things come upon you" — see there the blessing and the curse — "and you shall return it to your heart..." (Devarim 30:1).

The Sfas Emes anchors this in the verse that follows the covenant, where the Torah promises that after experiencing both blessing and curse, a person will take it to heart and return.

Summary: The Sfas Emes teaches that just as Hashem never changes, so too the innermost point of Klal Yisrael can never change, even though their outward condition shifts between blessing and curse. It is upon this unchanging inner point that the covenant of "You are standing today" is sealed, and the avodah of every individual is to bind himself to the collective whole of Bnei Yisrael so as to share in it. This is why Bnei Yisrael are called "standing," like the ministering angels who are unchanging, and why the Midrash links this to the three daily tefillos, since the Amidah is the moment when this inner point is opened and reached. Through teshuvah a person can always return and re-attach himself to this enduring point, which is the very root of teshuvah, as the Torah promises that after the blessing and the curse one will take it to heart and return.