Gates Opened Through Humility

אא"ז מו"ר ז"ל הגיד ע"פ שופטים כו' בכ"ש אשר ה"א נותן כו'

My grandfather, my master and teacher, of blessed memory, taught on the verse "Judges and officers shall you appoint for yourself in all your gates which Hashem your God gives you" (Devarim 16:18).

The Sfas Emes opens by citing his grandfather's teaching on the verse about appointing judges and officers in all your gates, hinting that the "gates" carry a deeper, inner meaning.

דכתיב פתחו לי שערי כו' זה השער כו' אודך כו' לי לישועה

For it is written, "Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter through them, I will give thanks to Hashem" (Tehillim 118:19), and "This is the gate of Hashem; the righteous shall enter through it" (Tehillim 118:20), and "I thank You, for You have answered me, and You have become my salvation" (Tehillim 118:21).

He brings the verses from Hallel describing the gates of righteousness through which one enters to give thanks to Hashem, who becomes one's salvation.

ופי' כי ע"י שהאדם דופק על שערי בינה ורואה שא"י לבא בהם

And he explained that it comes about through a person knocking upon the gates of binah (understanding) and seeing that he is unable to enter into them.

A person presses and knocks at the gates of understanding, striving to grasp Hashem's ways, yet realizes on his own he cannot truly enter them.

ועי"ז שב בתשובה ועי"ז נפתחים לו

Through this he returns in teshuvah, and through that very teshuvah they are opened up for him.

Precisely this recognition of his own inadequacy drives him to teshuvah, and it is that very teshuvah that causes the gates to swing open for him.

ונותן הודאה על זה שע"י השפלות שהי' לו נעשה הישועה כו'

And he gives thanks for this, that through the lowliness which he experienced, the salvation was brought about.

He then gives thanks, recognizing that it was specifically through the lowliness and humbling he experienced that the salvation came to be.

וז"ש שישפוט האדם שכל השערים שנפתחים בלב האדם הוא אשר ה"א נותן כו':

And this is the meaning of the verse, that a person should judge himself and recognize that all the gates which are opened within a person's heart are that which "Hashem your God gives you."

This is the inner sense of the verse: a person must judge himself honestly and acknowledge that every gate that opens in his heart is a gift that Hashem your God grants him.

Summary: The Sfas Emes, citing his grandfather, reads the verse of appointing judges and officers "in all your gates" as a teaching about the inner gates of understanding within a person's heart. When a person knocks at these gates of binah and honestly recognizes that he cannot enter them by his own strength, that very awareness of his lowliness moves him to teshuvah. Through that teshuvah the gates are opened to him, and he gives thanks, realizing that the salvation came about precisely through his humbling. The verse thus calls upon a person to judge himself and acknowledge that every gate which opens in his heart is a gift granted by Hashem.