Divine Conduct Through Deeds

תמים תהי' כו' כי הגוים כו' לא כן נתן לך כו' נביא מקרבך כו' ככל אשר שאלת כו' בחורב כו'

"You shall be wholehearted [with Hashem your God]... For these nations [that you are to dispossess listen to soothsayers and diviners]... but as for you, Hashem your God has not given you such... A prophet from among you, from your brethren... according to all that you asked of Hashem your God at Chorev..." (Devarim 18:13-16).

The Sfas Emes opens with the verses commanding Bnei Yisrael to be wholehearted with Hashem and not to follow the diviners of the nations, but instead to follow a prophet, as they themselves requested at Har Sinai (Chorev).

פי' כי הקב"ה העלה בנ"י למעלה מן הטבע

The explanation: For the Holy One, Blessed is He, raised up Bnei Yisrael above the natural order.

He explains that Hashem lifted Bnei Yisrael above the laws of nature, so they stand on a higher plane than the natural world.

ולכן אין להם להשגיח על סימני המזלות כו' רק תהלוכתו עם בנ"י הוא רק כפי מעשיהם

Therefore they have no business heeding the signs of the constellations and the like; rather, Hashem's conduct with Bnei Yisrael is solely in accordance with their deeds.

Since they are above nature, they should not look to astrological signs; instead, Hashem deals with them strictly according to how they conduct themselves through their mitzvos and deeds.

וז"ש נביא מקרבך כו'

And this is the meaning of "A prophet from among you..."

This is why the Torah speaks of a prophet arising from within Bnei Yisrael themselves.

כי באמרם דבר אתה עמנו ונשמעה כו'

For when they said, "You speak with us, and we will hear [the word of Hashem]" (Shemos 20:16) -

He connects this to the moment at Har Sinai when the people asked Moshe Rabbeinu to be the intermediary, saying that Moshe should hear Hashem's word and relay it to them.

אף כי בוודאי טוב לשמוע מפי הרב

even though it is surely better to hear directly from the mouth of the Master Himself,

He concedes that, on its face, it would seem better to receive the word of Hashem directly rather than through a human intermediary.

אך לאשר בנ"י הבינו כי אין זוכין לזה מצד מעשיהם

nonetheless, since Bnei Yisrael understood that they do not merit this on account of their own deeds,

Yet Bnei Yisrael recognized that they were not worthy, by virtue of their own deeds, to receive the divine word directly.

ולכן לא רצו בזה

they therefore did not desire this,

Because of this honest self-recognition, they did not want to hear directly and asked for a prophet instead.

כי כן בחרו להם להיות הנהגתו ית' עמהם ע"פ מעשיהם

for in this way they chose for themselves that the conduct of Hashem, Blessed is He, with them should be according to their deeds.

By choosing the prophet, they were in effect choosing that Hashem's relationship with them be governed by and tied to their own deeds.

וניתן להם כן

And it was given to them just so.

Hashem granted them precisely this mode of conduct, just as they had chosen.

וזה סימן שאמרו דברים באמת

And this is a sign that they spoke words of truth,

Their request was a sign that what they spoke was rooted in truth and genuine self-knowledge.

ולכן הוטב בעיני ה'

and therefore it was good in the eyes of Hashem.

For this reason their words found favor in the eyes of Hashem, who praised their request.

וזה צריך כל איש ישראל לידע כי כל הנהגתו ית' עמנו תלוי במעשינו כנ"ל והבן כ"ז:

And this is what every man of Yisrael must know: that all of Hashem's conduct with us, Blessed is He, depends upon our deeds, as explained above - and understand all of this well.

The Sfas Emes concludes with the lesson for every Jew: all of Hashem's dealings with us hinge upon our deeds, and one must internalize this truth deeply.

Summary: The Sfas Emes teaches that Hashem elevated Bnei Yisrael above the natural order, so they are not to look to astrological signs and the constellations; rather, Hashem conducts Himself with them solely according to their deeds. He ties this to the request of Bnei Yisrael at Chorev that Moshe Rabbeinu serve as intermediary, asking for a prophet from among themselves rather than hearing Hashem's word directly. Although hearing directly would seem preferable, Bnei Yisrael honestly recognized that they were not worthy of it by their own merits, and so they chose that Hashem's conduct with them be bound to their deeds. This truthful self-recognition is why their request was good in the eyes of Hashem. The lesson for every Jew is to know that all of Hashem's dealings with us depend entirely upon our deeds.