Inner Judgment Sustains Creation

ובמדרש אם אתה מטה הדין דע שמזדעזע העולם שהוא א' מרגליו כו'

In the Midrash it is taught: If you pervert justice, know that you cause the world to tremble, for justice is one of its legs, and so on.

The Sfas Emes opens with a Midrash teaching that perverting justice shakes the world, since justice is one of the legs upon which the world stands.

לכאורה מה שמטה הדין הוא דבר רע יותר

On the surface, this seems puzzling, since perverting justice would seem to be the worse offense.

He raises the difficulty: it seems strange to single out perverting justice as so severe a sin.

שהרי הדין הוא מקיים העולם א"כ הוא עיקר יותר והפשוט דאיתא כשיש דין למטה אין דין למעלה

For justice is what sustains the world, so it would appear to be even more fundamental, and the simple meaning is based on what is taught: when there is justice below, there is no need for judgment above.

Justice sustains the world and seems primary; the simple reading rests on the principle that justice carried out below removes the need for judgment from Above.

ואיתא ראה הקב"ה שאין העולם מתקיים בדין שיתף מדת הרחמים

And it is taught that the Holy One, Blessed is He, saw that the world could not endure on the strict measure of justice alone, so He joined to it the measure of mercy.

Hashem foresaw that the world could not survive on strict justice alone, so He blended in the measure of mercy.

ונמצא ע"י שיש דין למטה מתעורר למעלה מדת הרחמים ומתבסם העולם

It emerges, then, that through there being justice below, the measure of mercy is aroused above, and the world is sweetened and made bearable.

Therefore when people administer justice below, mercy is awakened above and the world is sweetened.

ופי' המשפט והדין אינו לדיין בפרט

And the explanation is that this 'judgment' and 'justice' does not refer to the judge in particular,

He now reframes 'justice' as applying not only to a formal judge.

רק לכל איש ישראל ע"פ מ"ש הוי מרבה לחקור העדים שיצ"ט ויצ"ר הם עדים שכל א' אומר שהאמת כדבריו

but to every member of Bnei Yisrael, in accordance with what is taught, 'Be deliberate in interrogating the witnesses' (Avos 1:9) — for the yetzer tov and the yetzer hara are the witnesses, each of them claiming that the truth lies with his own words.

Every Jew is a 'judge,' for the yetzer tov and yetzer hara are like two witnesses, each insisting that truth is on his side.

וכל מעשה שבא לפני האדם צריך לשופטו ולהבחין האמת ע"י ישוב הדעת שמהפך כ"ד עד שנתברר האמת

And every matter that comes before a person he must judge, and discern the truth through settled-minded deliberation, turning the matter over from every angle until the truth becomes clarified.

A person must judge every situation that arises, calmly weighing it from all sides until the truth emerges.

כי עדות ודעת הוא דבר א' שע"י הדעת מתברר עדות אמת

For testimony and discernment are one and the same thing, for it is through the power of discernment that true testimony becomes clarified —

Testimony and clear-minded discernment are bound together; honest deliberation is what brings true testimony to light.

ע"י שאינו ממהר לעשות מה שלבו חפץ

through a person not rushing to do whatever his heart desires,

This clarity comes only when one does not rush after the desires of his heart.

עד שנותן דעתו אל ההיפוך

until he gives his attention to the opposite possibility,

It requires pausing to consider the opposite of what one wants.

כי שמא טוב להיפוך עי"ז מתברר האמת

for perhaps the opposite is in fact good; through this the truth becomes clarified.

Since the opposite may well be the right course, weighing it reveals the truth.

וכשאדם שוקל ושופט כל דבר

And when a person weighs and judges every matter,

When a person genuinely weighs and judges each matter,

זה נק' שיש דין למטה

this is what is called 'there being justice below.'

that act of inner judgment is what 'justice below' truly means.

ובנ"י בכלל נקראים עדים שנבראו להעיד על הש"י

And Bnei Yisrael as a whole are called witnesses, for they were created to bear testimony concerning Hashem,

He shifts to Bnei Yisrael's role as witnesses, created to testify to Hashem's existence and mastery.

כמו דאיתא ששבת ובנ"י והתורה מעידין זה ע"ז

as it is taught that Shabbos, Bnei Yisrael, and the Torah each bear testimony for one another.

He cites that Shabbos, Bnei Yisrael, and the Torah mutually testify to one another.

וכן איתא ה' קנינים קנה הקב"ה שמים וארץ ישראל כו'

And likewise it is taught: Five acquisitions did the Holy One, Blessed is He, acquire in His world — heaven and earth, Yisrael, and so on (Avos 6:10).

He brings the teaching that Hashem made five 'acquisitions,' including heaven and earth and Yisrael.

ובנ"י מעידין כי לה' העולם ומלואו

And Bnei Yisrael bear witness that to Hashem belongs the world and all that fills it,

Bnei Yisrael testify that the entire world and its fullness belong to Hashem.

ומקנין להשי"ת כל הבריאה

and they make over the entire creation as an acquisition unto Hashem,

By this testimony they hand over all of creation as Hashem's possession.

ועי"ז נקראו קנין

and through this they themselves are called an 'acquisition.'

Because they make creation over to Hashem, they themselves earn the title 'acquisition.'

ולכך איתא כל האומר ויכלו נעשה שותף למ"ב

And therefore it is taught: Whoever recites 'Vayechulu' (Bereishis 2:1) becomes a partner with the Holy One, Blessed is He, in the act of creation —

Hence reciting Vayechulu makes one a partner with Hashem in creation.

שבנ"י מעידין בשבת קודש על בריאת שמים וארץ

for Bnei Yisrael, on the holy Shabbos, bear testimony concerning the creation of heaven and earth.

On Shabbos, Bnei Yisrael testify to Hashem's creation of heaven and earth.

וגם כנ"ל שע"י המשפט צדק שיש בבנ"י לשפוט כ"ד עד שנתברר להם כי הכל מהקב"ה

And further, as explained above, through the just judgment that lies within Bnei Yisrael — to judge every matter until it becomes clarified to them that everything comes from the Holy One, Blessed is He —

Tying back to the earlier theme, their just discernment leads them to recognize that everything stems from Hashem.

עי"ז מעוררים מדת הרחמים ומתקיים העולם

through this they arouse the measure of mercy, and the world endures.

This recognition arouses mercy above and keeps the world in existence.

וזה עצמו הפי' שיתף עמו מדת הרחמים היא עבודת בנ"י שעלו במחשבה

And this itself is the meaning of 'He joined to Himself the measure of mercy': it is the avodah of Bnei Yisrael, who arose in the Divine thought.

The 'joining of mercy' is itself the avodah of Bnei Yisrael, who were envisioned in the Divine thought before creation.

וזה האומר ויכלו שמבין ששבת היא קיום העולם כמ"ש תכלית מעשה שמים וארץ

And this is the one who recites 'Vayechulu,' who understands that Shabbos is the endurance of the world, as it is said, 'the purpose of the work of heaven and earth' —

One who recites Vayechulu grasps that Shabbos is the world's sustaining purpose, the goal of all creation.

שסוף רצון הבריאה הי' ע"ז

that the ultimate intent of creation was for this.

The whole intent of creation was directed toward this Shabbos purpose.

וקיום הכל הוא בחי' שבת

And the endurance of everything is the aspect of Shabbos —

The continued existence of everything is rooted in the dimension of Shabbos.

לידע כי הכל מהשי"ת כנ"ל

to know that everything comes from Hashem, as explained above.

That dimension is the awareness that everything flows from Hashem.

גם פי' תכלית שבשבת מתבטל הגשמיות והמעשים כולם פונים ומשתוקקין להתדבק למעלה במקור החיים מלשון כלתה נפשי

There is also this explanation of 'purpose': that on Shabbos the physicality is nullified, and all the deeds turn and yearn to cleave above to the Source of life, from the expression 'My soul longs' (Tehillim 84:3).

A further meaning of 'purpose': on Shabbos physicality is nullified, and all things yearn to cleave back to their Source, the wellspring of life.

והאומר ויכלו שמבין ומעיד כי תכלית כל המעשים הוא

And the one who recites 'Vayechulu,' who understands and bears testimony that this is the purpose of all the deeds —

One who recites Vayechulu understands and testifies that this cleaving is the goal of all action.

הוא נעשה שותף

he becomes a partner,

Through this testimony he becomes a partner with Hashem.

שעי"ז יש דין למטה ואין דין למעלה

for through this there is justice below and no judgment above,

His inner judgment establishes justice below, removing the need for judgment Above.

שמתעורר מדת הרחמים ומתקיים העולם

since the measure of mercy is aroused and the world endures.

As a result mercy is aroused and the world is sustained.

ובמד' כי לזה המשפט צריך האדם לראות שלא יהי' קרוב ונוגע כענין שוחד יעור שע"י שחשובים בעיניו חמדות עוה"ז

And in the Midrash: that for this very judgment a person must take care that he not be a close relative or have a personal stake, in the manner of 'a bribe blinds' (Shemos 23:8) — for when the desires of this world are held precious in his eyes,

Returning to the Midrash, a judge must avoid bias and personal stake, since the 'bribe' of valuing worldly desires blinds him.

אינו יכול לראות האמת

he is unable to see the truth.

Such attachment makes it impossible to perceive the truth.

ולכן כפי מה שמרחק עצמו מגשמיות יוכל לראות האמת:

And therefore, to the extent that a person distances himself from physicality, he becomes able to see the truth.

Therefore, the more one distances himself from physicality, the clearer his vision of the truth becomes.

Summary: The Sfas Emes begins with a Midrash that perverting justice shakes the world, since justice is one of its legs, and explains that justice administered below spares the world from judgment Above, drawing down the measure of mercy that Hashem blended into creation. He broadens 'justice' beyond the courtroom: every Jew is a judge who must weigh each matter with settled-minded deliberation, hearing out both the yetzer tov and yetzer hara as witnesses until the truth becomes clear, refusing to rush after the heart's desires. This inner judgment connects to the role of Bnei Yisrael as witnesses who testify that the whole world belongs to Hashem, thereby making over creation to Him and earning the title 'acquisition,' which is why one who recites Vayechulu on Shabbos becomes a partner with Hashem in creation. Shabbos is the purpose and endurance of the world, the dimension in which physicality is nullified and all things yearn to cleave back to the Source of life. Finally, he returns to the judge: just as worldly desires are a bribe that blinds, the more a person distances himself from physicality, the more clearly he can perceive the truth.