Sifting Good After Cheit
במדרש תנחומא ראה אנכי שבחרתי בטוב האיך אני משונה כו'
In the Midrash Tanchuma on the verse "Re'eh Anochi" ("See, I [set before you]"), the Midrash asks: since I have chosen the good, how am I [Hashem] different [in nature, that I should need to set good and evil before you]?
The Sfas Emes opens with the Midrash's question on the opening words of the parsha: since Hashem has already chosen the good, why does He present a choice of good and evil at all?
דכתי' נותן לפניכם היום בו"ק
As it is written, "I place before you this day a blessing and a curse" (Devarim 11:26).
He grounds the discussion in the verse where Hashem sets before Bnei Yisrael both a blessing and a curse.
היינו שבכל הארה היורדת משמים בכל יום יורד ג"כ איזה התנגדות מסט"א
That is to say, that within every illumination that descends from Heaven each and every day, there also descends together with it a certain opposition from the Sitra Achra (the side of impurity).
Every spiritual light that comes down from Heaven each day arrives bundled together with some measure of opposition from the side of impurity.
וזה ענין תערובת טו"ר שנעשה אחר החטא
And this is the matter of the admixture of good and evil that came about after the cheit (the sin of Adam HaRishon).
This bundling of good with evil is precisely the mixture that entered the world after the sin of Adam HaRishon.
שאין שום מדרגה שלא יהי' צריך בירור
For there is no level whatsoever that does not require birur (the work of sifting and clarifying the good out from the evil).
As a result, there is no spiritual level at all that is exempt from the avodah of sifting the good out of the evil.
ולכן מרע"ה שנשאר בכחן של ישראל של קודם החטא
And therefore Moshe Rabbeinu, who remained as the power of Bnei Yisrael as it was before the cheit,
Moshe Rabbeinu, however, embodied the power of Bnei Yisrael as it stood before the sin, untouched by that mixture.
והי' כולו טוב כמ"ש כי טוב הוא
and who was entirely good, as it is written, "for he was good" (Shemos 2:2),
The Torah testifies that Moshe was wholly good, the way he was at his very source.
לכן כתי' לפניכם
therefore it is written "before you" [in the plural].
This is why the verse says "before you" in the plural, hinting at how the light passes down through Moshe to each individual.
שכשיורד מבחי' מרע"ה לפרטי בנ"י יש בו תערובות
For when [the illumination] descends from the level of Moshe Rabbeinu down to the individual members of Bnei Yisrael, there is within it an admixture [of good and evil].
When that pure light flows down from Moshe's level to ordinary individual Yidden, it picks up an admixture of good and evil along the way.
אך גם זה עצמו התחזקות לבנ"י ע"י שבפעם הראשון הי' כולו טוב
Yet this very thing itself is a strengthening for Bnei Yisrael, in that the first time [at its source] it was entirely good.
Even so, this admixture becomes a source of strength, because in its original form the light was completely good.
וזה העדות שנשאר כך אצל מרע"ה כלל הדעת של בנ"י
And this is the testimony that the collective da'as (understanding) of Bnei Yisrael remained in this pure manner by Moshe Rabbeinu.
Moshe Rabbeinu serves as living testimony that the collective understanding of Bnei Yisrael remains pure and intact at its root.
ממילא יכולין גם אנו תוך התערובות להתדבק בטוב ובשורש הראשון
Consequently, even we are able, in the midst of the admixture, to cleave to the good and to the original root.
Because of that intact root, we too can reach through the mixture and attach ourselves to the good and to its original source.
וזה שכ' בברכה אשר תשמעו שזה בוודאי לעולם יש בכלל ישראל
And this is what is written regarding the blessing, "which you shall hearken" (Devarim 11:27) — that this [blessing] certainly exists forever within the klal of Bnei Yisrael,
The Torah states the blessing in the language of certainty, showing that the blessing is a permanent fixture within the klal of Bnei Yisrael.
רק הקללה היא בלשון ספק אם לא תשמעו שהיא רק תערובות של שקר שעי"ז צריכין לייגע בכל יום לברר האמת והאוכל מתוך השקר והפסולת:
whereas the curse is stated in a language of doubt, "if you shall not hearken" (Devarim 11:28) — for it is only an admixture of falsehood, on account of which we must toil each and every day to clarify the emes (the truth) and the food from within the falsehood and the refuse.
The curse, by contrast, is phrased conditionally, because it is merely an admixture of falsehood that obligates us to labor daily to separate the truth and the nourishment from the falsehood and the waste.
Summary: The Sfas Emes begins with the Midrash Tanchuma's question on "Re'eh Anochi": since Hashem has chosen the good, why does He set before Bnei Yisrael a choice of blessing and curse? He answers that every illumination descending from Heaven each day arrives together with some opposition from the side of impurity — the admixture of good and evil that entered the world after the sin of Adam HaRishon, leaving no level free from the avodah of birur. Moshe Rabbeinu, however, embodied the power of Bnei Yisrael as it was before the sin, entirely good, and serves as testimony that the collective da'as of Bnei Yisrael remains pure at its root. Because of that intact source, even when the light reaches individual Yidden mixed with evil, we are able to cleave through the mixture to the good and to the original root. This is why the blessing is stated with certainty as something permanent within Bnei Yisrael, while the curse is stated only as a doubtful admixture of falsehood, obligating us to toil daily to sift the emes and the nourishment out from the falsehood and the refuse.