Prophecy From Collective Wholeness

בפסוק תמים תהי' כו' כי הגוים כו' נביא מקרבך כו' כמוני כו' כאשר שאלת כו'

On the verse, "You shall be wholehearted (tamim) with Hashem your God... for these nations... a prophet from your midst... like myself... according to all that you asked" (Devarim 18:13-16).

The Sfas Emes opens with the Torah's command to be wholehearted with Hashem, set against the prohibited practices of the nations, and the promise of a prophet "from your midst."

הענין ע"פ מ"ש ממנו פנה ממנו יתד כו'

The matter can be understood according to what is said, "From him comes the cornerstone, from him comes the tent-peg" (Zechariah 10:4).

He brings the prophet Zechariah's image that both the cornerstone and the tent-peg of the world come forth from Yisrael, signaling their inner self-sufficiency.

שבנ"י יש להם כל השלימות

For Bnei Yisrael possess all completeness and wholeness.

Bnei Yisrael contain within themselves all the wholeness they need.

כביכול דומין לבוראן

As it were, they resemble their Creator.

In their completeness, they bear a resemblance to Hashem who created them.

כמ"ש במ"א שנק' השולמית כמו שנק' הקב"ה מלך שהשלום שלו

As is explained elsewhere, that they are called "the Shulamis" (the one of peace) just as the Holy One, Blessed is He, is called "King" to whom peace belongs.

He cites the teaching that Yisrael is called "Shulamis," rooted in shalom (peace), mirroring Hashem the King to whom peace belongs.

וז"ש תמים תהי' כביכול עם ה"א

And this is the meaning of "You shall be wholehearted" — as it were, together with Hashem.

Being "wholehearted with Hashem" means standing whole alongside Hashem, lacking nothing external.

לא כמו הגוים שצריכין לבקש תחבולות מדבר שחוץ להן

Not like the nations, who must seek out devices and stratagems from something outside of themselves.

Unlike the nations, who must reach outside themselves for tricks and devices, Yisrael draws everything from within.

נביא מקרבך כלומר שבאמת כח הנביא הוא מכללות (שישראל) [* שבישראל] והוא כח הדיבור של כלל ישראל

"A prophet from your midst" — that is to say, in truth the power of the prophet is drawn from the collective whole that is within Yisrael, and it is the power of speech of Klal Yisrael.

The prophet's power is not personal but is drawn from the collective whole of Klal Yisrael; he is their power of speech.

כי כחן של ישראל בפה

For the strength of Bnei Yisrael lies in the mouth.

The unique strength of Bnei Yisrael is concentrated in the faculty of speech.

וכמו שהיו מוכנים בהר סיני גם בפרטות כ"א מהם לנבואה

And just as they were prepared at Har Sinai, even individually each one of them, for prophecy,

At Har Sinai every individual Jew was, in himself, prepared and fit for prophecy.

כמו כן ביקשו שיהי' כח של הכלל אל הנביאים

so too they requested that the power of the collective whole be channeled to the prophets.

When the people asked Moshe for a prophet, they were asking that the collective's prophetic power be focused and channeled through chosen prophets.

נמצא שהנביא הוא כח הדיבור של כללות ישראל

It emerges that the prophet is the power of speech of the collective whole of Yisrael.

Thus the prophet functions as the mouthpiece, the speaking power, of all of Klal Yisrael together.

וכפי התמימות והשלימות שנמצא בכלל ישראל כן יש כח לנביאיהם

And according to the wholeheartedness and completeness found within Klal Yisrael, so too is the power that their prophets possess.

The greatness of the prophets is directly proportional to the wholeheartedness and unity present in the nation as a whole.

ולכן ע"י שנאת חנם אבדנו הכל: אליו תשמעון

Therefore, through baseless hatred (sinas chinam) we lost everything: "to him shall you hearken" (Devarim 18:15).

Because sinas chinam shattered that collective wholeness, we forfeited prophecy and everything bound up with the verse "to him shall you hearken."

ע"פ מ"ש חז"ל דברים היוצאים מן הלב נכנסים ללב

This follows what Chazal said, that words which emerge from the heart enter into the heart.

He invokes Chazal's principle that words spoken sincerely from the heart penetrate the heart of the listener.

וכח הנביא שיוצא מכללות לבן של ישראל לכן דבריו נכנסין ללבות בנ"י

And the power of the prophet emerges from the collective heart of Yisrael, and therefore his words enter into the hearts of Bnei Yisrael.

Since the prophet's words rise from the unified heart of Klal Yisrael, they naturally enter the hearts of Bnei Yisrael.

וכמו כן בפרט כל איש ישראל ע"י התמימות שנמצא בו שמאסף כל הכחות לרצון א' לקבל עול מ"ש

And similarly with regard to each individual man of Yisrael — through the wholeheartedness found within him, whereby he gathers all his powers toward one will, to accept the yoke of the Kingship of Heaven,

The same principle applies to the individual: through inner wholeness, gathering all his faculties toward the single will of accepting the yoke of Heaven,

כמו כן יכול להוציא דבורים בתורה ותפלה

so too can he bring forth words in Torah and tefillah.

he too can produce true words of Torah and tefillah.

שע"י שהדבורים יוצאים מלבו באמת לכן יכול לשמוע ולקבל בעצמו מאותן הדבורים הארות עליונות

For since the words emerge from his heart in truth, therefore he is able to hear and to receive within himself, from those very words, supernal illuminations.

Because those words come genuinely from his heart, he himself receives back from them lofty, supernal illuminations.

[והמשכיל יבין ע"פ מ"ש האר"י ז"ל שכח הנבואה הוא בהתעוררות הבל ודיבור שהוציא הנביא כבר בתורה ועבודה

And the discerning one will understand, according to what the Arizal of blessed memory said, that the power of prophecy lies in the arousal of the breath and speech which the prophet has already brought forth through Torah and avodah,

He adds the Arizal's teaching that prophecy works by reawakening the breath and speech a person has already invested in his Torah and avodah.

והיינו דברים היוצאים כו' נכנסין אל הלב ועי' בשער היחודים מזה] כנ"ל:

and this is the meaning of "words which emerge [from the heart] enter into the heart"; and see in Shaar HaYichudim concerning this — as explained above.

This is precisely "words that emerge from the heart enter the heart," and he directs the reader to Shaar HaYichudim for further depth.

Summary: The Sfas Emes teaches that Bnei Yisrael possess all completeness within themselves and thereby resemble their Creator, being called "Shulamis" from the root of shalom just as Hashem is the King to whom peace belongs. For this reason the Torah commands us to be wholehearted with Hashem, drawing everything from within, unlike the nations who must grasp at devices outside themselves. The prophet, he explains, is not an isolated individual but the very power of speech of Klal Yisrael as a collective; the strength of his prophecy rises and falls with the wholeheartedness and unity of the nation, which is why sinas chinam cost us prophecy entirely. The same dynamic governs every individual Jew: when he unifies all his powers toward accepting the yoke of Heaven, his sincere words of Torah and tefillah emerge from his heart and return to him as supernal illuminations. Citing the Arizal, the Sfas Emes shows that prophecy itself is the rearousal of the breath and speech a person has already given over to Hashem in Torah and avodah.