Man as the unifying root of creation

איתא בר"ה כל באי עולם עוברים לפניו כו' ובגמ' כולן נסקרין בסקירה אחת דכתיב היוצר יחד לבם כו'.

It is taught regarding Rosh Hashanah: "All who enter the world pass before Him…" and in the Gemara: they are all surveyed in a single glance, as it is written, "He who fashions their hearts together…"

The Mishnah states that on Rosh Hashanah all creatures pass before Hashem in judgment, and the Gemara adds that He surveys them all in one glance — for He "fashions their hearts together," grasping all of creation as a single unity.

הענין הוא האדם כולל כל הבריאה ונקרא עולם קטן והשגחת הבורא ית' על האדם כולל כל הבריאה ועיקר האדם הוא ישראל דכ' אדם אתם אתם קרויין אדם [*] וכתי' ויצר ה' אלקים מן האדמה כל חית כו' ויבא אל האדם לראות מה יקרא לו.

The matter is that man encompasses all of creation and is called a "small world" (olam katan); and the hashgachah (providence) of the Creator, may He be blessed, upon man encompasses all of creation; and the essence of man is Yisrael, as it is written, "You are called adam (man)" — you are called adam; and it is written, "And Hashem God formed from the earth every beast… and brought it to man to see what he would call it."

Man is a "small world" containing all of creation in microcosm, so Hashem's providence over man is in effect providence over everything. The true "man" is Yisrael, of whom Chazal say "you are called adam." This is why Hashem brought all the animals to Adam to name them — to be connected to and ordered by man.

ומה זה לראות.

And what is meant by "to see"?

The Sefas Emes asks: what does the verse mean that Hashem brought the animals "to see" what Adam would call them — does Hashem not already know?

אך הפי' כנ"ל ויבא אל האדם הוא ההתקשרות שיהי' כל העולם מקושר אליו וזה הוא ענין קריאת שמות שקרא האדם לכולם שנתן לכל אחד מקומו וסידר כל אחד על ענינו.

Rather, the explanation is as above: "and He brought it to man" is the binding — that the entire world should be bound to him; and this is the matter of the naming, that man gave names to them all, that he assigned each one its place and ordered each according to its purpose.

"Bringing" the creatures to Adam means binding all of creation to him. The naming was not arbitrary labeling but an act of revealing each creature's inner essence — assigning it its proper place and ordering it toward its true purpose within the unified whole.

ולכן ע"י האדם חל השגחת הבורא ית' על כל הבריאה.

And therefore, through man, the providence of the Creator, may He be blessed, rests upon all of creation.

Because man binds and orders all of creation, he becomes the conduit through which Hashem's hashgachah extends to every created thing.

לכן בהשלמת הבריאה שהוא נעשה אדם נאמר אח"כ וירא אלקים כו' כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאוד והוא ע"י האדם מאד זה אדם שהוא כולל ומשלים כל הבריאה לכן נברא בסוף הכל

Therefore, at the completion of creation, when man was made, it is then said, "And God saw… all that He had made, and behold it was very good" — and the "very" is through man; this "very" (me'od) is man, who encompasses and completes all of creation; therefore he was created last of all.

Only after man was created did the Torah declare creation "very good." The added word "me'od" (very) refers to man himself, who completes and unifies all of creation. For this reason he was created last — as the crown that brings everything to its fulfillment.

וזהו אומרו לראות כלומר שיראה הקב"ה ע"י האדם כל הבריאה כנ"ל.

And this is the meaning of "to see" — namely, that the Holy One should "see" all of creation through man, as above.

"To see" thus means that Hashem's providential "seeing" and oversight of all creation flows through man: when He regards man, He thereby regards the entire world bound up within him.

והנה בריה שכל הבריאה מקבל חיות מחדש.

And behold, [Rosh Hashanah is the day of] re-creation, when all of creation receives vitality anew.

Rosh Hashanah is the anniversary of creation, the day on which the entire world is renewed and receives its life-force afresh from Hashem.

לכן מתאספים כולם אל האדם שהוא שופרא דכולא כנ"ל.

Therefore they all gather to man, who is the "beauty of all" (shufra de-chola), as above.

Since the new vitality flows through man, on Rosh Hashanah all of creation "gathers" to him — he is the shufra de-chola, the finest and most beautiful element through which all the rest is renewed.

והאדם צריך להתבטל אל הבורא ית'.

And man must nullify himself to the Creator, may He be blessed.

Man's role as the channel of vitality carries an obligation: he must nullify himself (bittul) before Hashem, so that he transmits the divine life-force rather than claiming it as his own.

וזהו פי' בכסה.

And this is the meaning of "ba-keseh" (on the concealed [day]).

The Sefas Emes connects this bittul to the verse "Blow the shofar… ba-keseh" — Rosh Hashanah is the "concealed" festival, and the concealment expresses man's self-effacement before Hashem.

והנה ר"ה ועשי"ת הוא מימות עולם.

And behold, Rosh Hashanah and the Ten Days of Teshuvah are from the days of the world [i.e., rooted in creation itself].

Rosh Hashanah and the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah are woven into the very fabric of creation; even by nature, this is a season of judgment and renewal for the whole world.

אבל לבנ"י נעשה הכל עפ"י התורה ומקודם הי' בכח עשרה מאמרות.

But for Bnei Yisrael, everything is accomplished by way of the Torah; whereas before, it was through the power of the Ten Utterances [of creation].

The world was originally created and sustained through the Asarah Ma'amaros — the ten divine utterances of Bereishis. But for Bnei Yisrael, the renewal of Rosh Hashanah operates on a higher plane: through the Torah.

ולבנ"י הוא בכח עשרת הדברות והתורה.

And for Bnei Yisrael it is through the power of the Ten Commandments and the Torah.

For Bnei Yisrael the day's renewal is empowered by the Aseres HaDibros and the Torah — the inner, higher counterpart to the ten utterances of creation.

וז"ש אמרו לפני מלכיות כו' זכרונות כו' שיעלה זכרוניכם לפני לטובה ובמה בשופר.

And this is the meaning of [Chazal's teaching], "Recite before Me Malchuyos… Zichronos…" — that your remembrance should ascend before Me for good; and through what? Through the shofar.

The Sages instituted Malchuyos, Zichronos, and Shofaros so that Bnei Yisrael's remembrance ascends favorably before Hashem. The instrument of this ascent is the shofar — and, as he will explain, the shofar represents the Torah.

כלומר שיהי' נעשה כל התקונים ביום הזה עפ"י התורה.

That is to say, that all the rectifications (tikkunim) of this day should be accomplished by way of the Torah.

The aim is that all the spiritual repairs effected on Rosh Hashanah be channeled specifically through the Torah, the inner dimension, rather than merely through the natural order.

אם כי גם מצד הטבע ביום הזה כולם מבקשים זאת.

Even though, by nature too, on this day all [creatures] seek this.

Even on the natural plane, all creatures instinctively turn to Hashem seeking renewal and life on this day; the impulse is universal.

אבל שופרא דכולא התורה שהיא פנימיות הכל.

But the "beauty of all" (shufra de-chola) is the Torah, which is the penimiyus (inner essence) of everything.

The Torah is the shufra de-chola — the finest, innermost core of all that exists. The word play links shufra (beauty) with shofar: the true shofar of Rosh Hashanah is the Torah, the inner essence of all creation.

ודו"ק כי קצרתי.

And examine this closely, for I have been brief.

The Sefas Emes notes that he has stated the idea concisely and invites the reader to contemplate its depth.

וביום הזה כל הברואים כפופים לבנ"י שהם שורש הכל כמ"ש בשביל ישראל שנקראו ראשית שהם השורש.

And on this day all creatures are subordinate to Bnei Yisrael, who are the root of everything, as it is said, "for the sake of Yisrael, who are called reishis (the beginning)" — for they are the root.

On Rosh Hashanah all creatures are subordinate to Bnei Yisrael, who are the root and purpose of creation. The world was created "for the sake of Yisrael, called reishis" — they are the source from which everything else draws.

ועליהם חל השגחת הבורא ית' כמ"ש עיני ה' אלקיך בה מראשית השנה כו'

And upon them rests the providence of the Creator, may He be blessed, as it is written, "the eyes of Hashem your God are upon it [the land] from the beginning of the year…"

Hashem's hashgachah rests primarily upon Bnei Yisrael, and through them upon the land and the world, as the verse says His eyes are upon the land "from the beginning of the year" — from Rosh Hashanah onward.

ובני ישראל מתבטלין אל הקב"ה וצריכין להכניס כחם בכלל כל הבריאה כדי להחיות כולם.

And Bnei Yisrael nullify themselves to the Holy One, and they must bring their power into the totality of creation in order to give life to them all.

Through their bittul to Hashem, Bnei Yisrael become a channel of divine vitality; they must then extend that power into all of creation, enlivening the entire world. Their self-nullification is precisely what makes them able to give life to everything.

וז"ש בכסה ליום חגינו.

And this is the meaning of "ba-keseh (on the concealed day) for the day of our festival."

The verse "Blow the shofar ba-keseh for the day of our festival" hints that Rosh Hashanah's avodah is one of concealment — the hiding away of Bnei Yisrael's own power, as he now explains.

אם כי באמת בנ"י עיקר הכל.

Even though, in truth, Bnei Yisrael are the essence of everything —

Although Bnei Yisrael are genuinely the central purpose and root of all creation…

צריכין לכסות כחם ביום הזה.

— they must conceal their power on this day.

…their avodah on Rosh Hashanah is paradoxically to conceal and efface their own greatness through bittul, hiding their power rather than asserting it. This is the "keseh" (concealment) of the day.

ועי"ז עצמו נזכרים לטובה ומתברכין כולם:

And through this very [concealment] they are remembered for good, and all are blessed.

Precisely through this self-concealment and bittul, Bnei Yisrael are remembered favorably before Hashem — and through them, by their channeling of vitality, all of creation is blessed and renewed.

Summary: Man is a "small world" who encompasses all of creation, and Yisrael is the true man — the root and crown through whom Hashem's providence and life-giving renewal flow to everything. On Rosh Hashanah, the day all creation is renewed, the renewal of Bnei Yisrael operates through the Torah, the inner essence of all (the true "shofar"). Though Bnei Yisrael are the essence of everything, their avodah is to conceal their power through bittul — and precisely through that self-effacement they are remembered for good and become the channel of blessing for all of creation.