Refining Bounty Through Maaser
בפסוק עשר תעשר כו' ואכלת לפני ה"א כו' למען תלמד ליראה כו'
On the verse "You shall surely tithe... and you shall eat before Hashem your God... so that you will learn to fear (Hashem)..." (Devarim 14:22-23).
The Sfas Emes opens with the verse commanding maaser, eating before Hashem, and the goal of learning to fear Hashem. He will explore how tithing leads to yiras Shamayim.
כבר כ' בשם <b>מו"ז ז"ל</b> כי יש ללמוד מזה שמאכילת מצוה באין ליראה את ה' וביאר כי המאכל כשהוא מבורר מפסולת מביא יראה
I have already written in the name of my grandfather, of blessed memory, that one may learn from this that through eating that is connected to a mitzvah one comes to fear of Hashem; and he explained that food, when it is refined and separated from its dross, brings a person to yiras Shamayim.
He cites his grandfather: eating tied to a mitzvah brings a person to fear of Hashem, because food cleansed of its dross has the power to instill yiras Shamayim.
וע"י המעשר שניתן הראשית לשמו ית' נשאר קדושה גם בהשיריים ומתברר
And through the maaser, in which the first portion is given over to His Name, may He be blessed, kedushah remains even in the remainder, and it becomes refined.
When the first portion is set aside for Hashem through maaser, the kedushah of that gift extends to what remains, refining the rest of the produce.
וכמו כן בשבת א"צ בירור עכ"ד ז"ל
And likewise on Shabbos there is no need for such refinement. These are the words of my grandfather, of blessed memory.
Shabbos achieves the same refinement without any need for a separating act like maaser. This concludes his grandfather's teaching.
ומצאתי שדבר אמת בפיו וכדבריו מפורש במד' תנחומא בפ' זו בזכות שני דברים בנ"י מתחטאין לפני המקום בזכות המעשר דכתי' ושמחת כו' ובזכות שבת דכתי' והתענג על ה'
And I found that there was truth in his mouth, for as he said is stated explicitly in the Midrash Tanchuma on this parsha: in the merit of two things Bnei Yisrael find favor before the Omnipresent, in the merit of maaser, as it is written "And you shall rejoice...," and in the merit of Shabbos, as it is written "And you shall delight upon Hashem" (Yeshayah 58:14).
He confirms the teaching from the Midrash Tanchuma, which states that Bnei Yisrael find favor before Hashem through two things: maaser and Shabbos.
וכמו כן בגמ' דשבת עשירים שבא"י במה הם זוכין בזכות המעשר
And likewise in the Gemara of Shabbos: through what do the wealthy of Eretz Yisrael merit their wealth? In the merit of maaser.
The Gemara in Shabbos asks how the wealthy of Eretz Yisrael earn their wealth and answers: through the merit of maaser.
ובח"ל בזכות השבת ע"ש
And those in chutz la'aretz, in the merit of Shabbos; see there.
And those living outside Eretz Yisrael earn their wealth through the merit of Shabbos.
והענין הוא דהשפע הבאה מלמעלה הוא קודש רק כשמתלבש בדרך הטבע ניתוסף בו פסולת
And the matter is this: the bounty that comes from Above is holy; only when it clothes itself in the way of nature is dross added to it.
The core principle: divine bounty is intrinsically holy, and dross only enters it once it descends and clothes itself in the natural order.
וזה רמז הפסוק היוצא השדה שנה שנה
And this is the allusion of the verse "that which goes out to the field year by year" (Devarim 14:22).
He finds this hinted in the verse's phrase "that which goes out to the field year by year."
ולא כתי' היוצא מן השדה לרמוז כי עיקר הבירור צריכין ע"י שהשפע יוצא אל השדה ומשם אל בני אדם
And it is not written "that which goes out from the field," to allude that the essential refinement is required by means of the bounty going out to the field, and from there to human beings.
The verse says "to the field" rather than "from the field," hinting that the refinement is needed precisely because the bounty must pass out into the physical field and from there to people.
ולכן המן שהי' לחם מן השמים לא הי' בו פסולת
And therefore the mahn, which was bread from the heavens, had no dross within it.
Proof: the mahn was bread directly from heaven, so it contained no dross at all.
אבל לחם מן הארץ השפע מתלבש בטבע ובזמן לכן צריך בירור
But bread from the earth—the bounty clothes itself in nature and in time, and therefore it requires refinement.
Ordinary bread from the earth, by contrast, has bounty clothed in nature and time, so it requires refinement.
ורמזו חז"ל כשם שא"א לבר בלי תבן כך א"א לחלום בלי דברים בטלים
And Chazal alluded to this: just as it is impossible to have grain without straw, so too it is impossible to have a dream without idle matters (Berachos 55a).
Chazal's statement that grain cannot exist without straw, and a dream cannot exist without idle matters, illustrates this same principle of dross attaching to something pure.
ושניהם ענין א' הם כי החלום ג"כ בא ע"י מלאך
And both are one matter, for a dream too comes by means of an angel.
These two cases are really one idea, because a dream too is delivered through an angel.
ועד שבא אל האדם מתערבין בו דברים בטלים כמ"ש בזוה"ק
And until it reaches a person, idle matters become mixed into it, as is stated in the holy Zohar.
By the time the dream reaches the person, idle and worthless elements have mixed into it, as the Zohar teaches.
וכמו כן הנהגת הטבע הוא ע"י מלאך
And likewise the conduct of nature is by means of an angel.
So too, the entire running of nature is carried out through an angel as intermediary.
ורמז כי ה"ש"ד"ה גי' שד"י כמ"ש חז"ל ע"ש שאמר לעולמו די
And there is an allusion that "ha'sadeh" (the field) has the numerical value of "Shakai," as Chazal said, called so because He said to His world "Enough!" (Chagigah 12a).
He notes that the word "ha'sadeh" (the field) equals the gematria of the Name "Shakai," the Name that signifies Hashem telling His world "Enough."
והוא שפע הבאה בגבול וצימצום ע"י המלאך
And this is bounty that comes within boundary and contraction by means of the angel.
This Name represents bounty that arrives in a limited, contracted form through the angel.
אכן ע"י המעשר זוכין לקבל שפע פנימיות בלי פסולת כמ"ש ובחנוני נא כו' והריקותי לכם ברכה עד בלי די
However, through maaser one merits to receive inner bounty without dross, as it is written "And test Me now... and I shall pour out for you blessing until there is more than enough" (Malachi 3:10).
Maaser, however, lets a person receive inner bounty free of dross, as Malachi promises a blessing poured out "until there is more than enough."
פי' שלא יהי' בהתלבשות הטבע והצימצום
Its meaning is that it will not be within the clothing of nature and contraction.
"More than enough" means the blessing is no longer confined within the clothing of nature and contraction.
וכמו כן בשבת ההנהגה ע"י הקב"ה בעצמו למעלה מהטבע והזמן
And likewise on Shabbos the conduct is by means of the Holy One, Blessed is He, Himself, above nature and above time.
Shabbos likewise brings bounty conducted directly by the Holy One, Blessed is He, beyond the limits of nature and time.
וזה רמז היום לא תמצאוהו בשדה
And this is the allusion of "today you shall not find it in the field" (Shemos 16:25).
This is hinted in the mahn verse "today you shall not find it in the field"—on Shabbos the bounty bypasses the field of nature.
וזה שרמזו חז"ל בזכות ב' דברים מתחטאים כו' להיות מתעלין מן הטבע ומקבלין משלחן גבוה בלי תערובת פסולת
And this is what Chazal alluded to, that in the merit of two things Bnei Yisrael find favor: to be elevated above nature and to receive from the table of the Most High without an admixture of dross.
Chazal's two things—maaser and Shabbos—both elevate a person above nature so he receives directly from Hashem's table without any dross mixed in.
וכמו כן בגמ' הנ"ל עשירים במה זוכין דהעשירות צריך בירור דכתי' ברכת ה' כו' תעשיר ולא יוסיף עצב עמה
And likewise in the aforementioned Gemara: through what do the wealthy merit their wealth—for wealth requires refinement, as it is written "The blessing of Hashem... it enriches, and toil adds nothing alongside it" (Mishlei 10:22).
The Gemara about the wealthy also fits: wealth needs refinement, as Mishlei says Hashem's blessing enriches without adding toil alongside it.
משמע דבעשירות מתערב פסולת וצריך זכות להיות זך בלי פסולת מסט"א שהוא העצבון
This implies that within wealth there is mixed in dross, and one needs merit in order for it to be pure, without the dross of the Sitra Achra, which is the toil and sorrow.
This implies wealth ordinarily carries dross, and one needs merit to keep it pure, free of the Sitra Achra's sorrow.
וע"ז אמרו בזכות המעשר ובזכות השבת זוכין לקבל ברכת ה' בלי עצב
And concerning this they said: in the merit of maaser and in the merit of Shabbos one merits to receive the blessing of Hashem without sorrow.
Therefore the merit of maaser and Shabbos enables one to receive Hashem's blessing without the accompanying sorrow.
וז"ש ויברך א' את יום השביעי פי' שיהי' יום השבת כלי שעל ידו יהי' הברכה בעולם
And this is the meaning of "And God blessed the seventh day" (Bereishis 2:3)—that the day of Shabbos should be a vessel through which the blessing comes into the world.
This explains "And God blessed the seventh day": Shabbos becomes the vessel through which blessing flows into the world.
וכשמקבלין הברכה ע"י השבת הוא בקדושה בלי עצב
And when one receives the blessing by means of Shabbos, it is in kedushah, without sorrow.
Blessing received through Shabbos arrives wrapped in kedushah, with no sorrow attached.
וזהו השמח בחלקו פי' למעט חלק הסט"א שהיא העצבון רק כמ"ש והתענג על ה'
And this is "one who is happy with his portion" (Avos 4:1)—its meaning is to diminish the portion of the Sitra Achra, which is the sorrow, but rather as it is written "And you shall delight upon Hashem."
This is the meaning of being "happy with one's portion": minimizing the Sitra Achra's portion, which is sorrow, and instead delighting upon Hashem.
וז"ש בזוה"ק יתרו כיון דלא אשתכח בי' מנא מה ברכתא כו' אלא כולהו ברכאין בשביעאה תליין פי' שמפרש הפסוק כנ"ל שהשי"ת נותן הברכה על ידי השבת
And this is what is stated in the holy Zohar on Yisro: since no mahn was found on it, what blessing is there... rather all the blessings are dependent upon the seventh—its meaning being that it explains the verse as above, that Hashem, may He be blessed, gives the blessing by means of Shabbos.
The Zohar on Yisro teaches that all blessings depend on the seventh day, explaining the verse as above—that Hashem channels blessing through Shabbos.
ומעין זה הוא בכל המצות שהם לברר ולתקן כל המעשים מתערובת הפסולת כמ"ש ז"ל רצה הקב"ה לזכות את ישראל הרבה להם תו"מ
And something of this is found in all the mitzvos, which serve to refine and rectify all of one's deeds from the admixture of dross, as Chazal said: the Holy One, Blessed is He, wished to give merit to Bnei Yisrael, therefore He gave them abundant Torah and mitzvos (Makkos 23b).
This same dynamic operates in all the mitzvos, whose purpose is to refine and rectify our deeds from their dross, which is why Hashem gave Bnei Yisrael abundant Torah and mitzvos.
וז"ש הברכה אשר תשמעו
And this is the meaning of "the blessing, that you shall hearken" (Devarim 11:27).
This is the meaning of the verse's "the blessing, that you shall hearken"—blessing flowing through obedience to the mitzvos.
[מ"ש לעיל פי' והריקותי כו' בלי די מצאתי אח"ז בס' מאור עינים בשם הר' ר' זושא ז"ל ע"ש פ' ואתחנן]:
[What I wrote above explaining "And I shall pour out... until there is more than enough"—I found afterward in the sefer Me'or Einayim in the name of Rebbe Reb Zusha, of blessed memory, on Parshas Va'eschanan.]
He adds a note that he later found his explanation of Malachi's "until there is more than enough" in the Me'or Einayim, in the name of Rebbe Reb Zusha, on Parshas Va'eschanan.
Summary: The Sfas Emes teaches that all bounty descending from Hashem is intrinsically holy, and dross only attaches to it once it clothes itself in the natural order, in time, and through the agency of an angel—hinted in the gematria of "the field" equaling the Name Shakai, the Name of limitation and contraction. Two avodos break through this: maaser, by which the first portion is consecrated to Hashem so that kedushah refines the remainder, and Shabbos, on which the Holy One, Blessed is He, conducts the world directly, above nature and time. Through both, Bnei Yisrael find favor before Hashem and receive inner bounty free of dross—blessing "until there is more than enough," without the sorrow of the Sitra Achra that ordinarily clings to wealth. Shabbos itself becomes the vessel through which blessing enters the world, and being "happy with one's portion" means diminishing that portion of sorrow by delighting upon Hashem. This is the function of all mitzvos: to refine and rectify a person's deeds from their admixture of dross, which is why Hashem granted Bnei Yisrael abundant Torah and mitzvos.