Wholeheartedness Reveals Hidden Good

בפסוק תמים תהי'

Regarding the pasuk "You shall be wholehearted with Hashem, your God" (Devarim 18:13).

The Sfas Emes opens with the pasuk commanding us to be wholehearted with Hashem, setting it as the theme of the piece.

נביא מקרבך כו' כמוני כו'

It continues, "Hashem, your God, will establish for you a navi from your midst, from your brethren, like me" (Devarim 18:15), referring to a navi like Moshe Rabbeinu.

He links it to the very next pasuk, which promises a navi like Moshe Rabbeinu, hinting that wholeheartedness is what leads to nevuah.

דכתי' לא ימנע טוב להולכים בתמים

For it is written, "He will not withhold good from those who walk in wholeness" (Tehillim 84:12).

He brings a pasuk teaching that those who walk in wholeness are not denied "good" — a key word he will now unpack.

דבכל דבר יש פנימיות והוא חיות שבא בכח התורה שנק' טוב וע"ז נאמר מה רב טובך כו' צפנת כו' לחוסים בך נגד בנ"א

In every thing there is an inner dimension, and that is the life-force that comes through the power of the Torah, which is called "good." Concerning this it says, "How abundant is Your good that You have hidden away for those who fear You, that You have wrought for those who take refuge in You, before the sons of men" (Tehillim 31:20).

Every created thing has an inner life-force, drawn through the power of Torah, called "good"; this good is hidden away and revealed specifically to those who fear Hashem and take refuge in Him.

פי' שהקב"ה ברא עוה"ז בבחי' הטבעיות

The meaning is that the Holy One, Blessed is He, created this world along the lines of nature.

Hashem deliberately created the world to operate through nature, masking that inner life-force.

וזה חלק האומות שיש בטבע ג"כ כמה מיני חכמות וכישופים

And this is the portion of the nations, for within nature there are likewise various kinds of wisdoms and sorceries.

Within nature lie the wisdoms and sorceries that are the spiritual portion of the nations, who engage the world on its natural surface.

אבל תכלית בריאת כל אלה הענינים הי' שבנ"י ילכו בתמימות כמ"ש לא כן נתן לך ה"א פי' שגם שרואין ומבינים כל עצות האומות כמ"ש לא תלמד לעשות אבל אתה למד להבין ולהורות כו'

But the ultimate purpose of the creation of all these matters was that Bnei Yisrael should walk in wholehearted simplicity, as it is written, "Hashem, your God, has not given so to you" (Devarim 18:14) — meaning that even though they see and understand all the devices of the nations, as it is written, "You shall not learn to do" (Devarim 18:9), nevertheless you may learn in order to understand and to render rulings.

Yet the purpose of all this was that Bnei Yisrael rise above it in simple faith; they may study these matters to understand and rule on them, but not to practice them.

להניח כל אלה החכמות ולהיות תמים עם ה' ועי"ז זוכין להתגלות טוב הגנוז שהוא הפנימיות וכפי מה שהי' נמצא זאת התמימות והבטחון בו ית'

Rather, one is to set aside all these wisdoms and to be wholehearted with Hashem, and through this one merits the revelation of the hidden good, which is the inner dimension; and according to the measure in which this wholeheartedness and trust in Him, may He be blessed, was found,

True avodah is to lay aside reliance on those wisdoms and cling to Hashem in trust; the more wholehearted and trusting one is, the more the hidden inner good is revealed.

כך הי' נמצא נביאים בישראל כאשר דור המדבר היו בזה התמימות שנמשכו אחר הקב"ה למדבר

so too were nevi'im found among Yisrael — as the generation of the wilderness possessed this wholeheartedness, in that they followed after the Holy One, Blessed is He, into the wilderness.

This explains why nevi'im arose in Yisrael: the wilderness generation embodied this wholeheartedness by following Hashem into a barren desert with no natural security.

כמ"ש זכרתי לך כו' ועי"ז זכו לקבל התורה טוב הגנוז בחי' נבואת מרע"ה כנ"ל

As it is written, "I remember for you the kindness of your youth... your following after Me in the wilderness" (Yirmiyahu 2:2); and through this they merited to receive the Torah, the hidden good, the aspect of the nevuah of Moshe Rabbeinu, as explained above.

Their pure trust, praised by the pasuk in Yirmiyahu, earned them the Torah itself — the hidden good and the level of Moshe Rabbeinu's nevuah.

וזה הדרך נשאר לעולם

And this path remains forever.

This is not a one-time event; the path of wholeheartedness leading to revelation endures for every generation.

תמים תהי' ואז נביא כו' כמוני יקים לך כו'

"You shall be wholehearted," and then "Hashem, your God, will establish for you a navi... like me" (Devarim 18:13, 15).

He restates the two pesukim together to show the cause and effect: be wholehearted, and then Hashem establishes a navi like Moshe for you.

וכמו כן בש"ק שמבטלין כל המעשים והמלאכות בעבור מצות ה' הוא בחי' התמימות לכן יש בו הארת הנשמה יתירה שהוא מטוב הגנוז בחי' מרע"ה כדאיתא שמרע"ה מחזיר לבנ"י בש"ק הכתרים של נעשה ונשמע:

And likewise on Shabbos Kodesh, when one nullifies all the deeds and labors for the sake of the mitzvah of Hashem, this is the aspect of wholeheartedness; therefore there is in it the illumination of the neshamah yeseirah, which is from the hidden good, the aspect of Moshe Rabbeinu, as is brought that Moshe Rabbeinu restores to Bnei Yisrael on Shabbos Kodesh the crowns of "na'aseh v'nishma" ("we will do and we will hear").

Shabbos itself is an act of wholeheartedness, since we set aside all labor purely for Hashem's mitzvah; that is why it carries the neshamah yeseirah, an illumination of the hidden good, with Moshe Rabbeinu restoring the crowns of na'aseh v'nishma.

Summary: The Sfas Emes teaches that within every created thing lies a hidden inner life-force called "good," drawn through the power of Torah, which Hashem concealed beneath the surface of nature. The natural world, with its wisdoms and sorceries, is the portion of the nations; but Bnei Yisrael were meant to rise above it through tmimus — wholehearted simplicity and trust in Hashem — even while permitted to study such matters in order to understand and rule on them. The measure of this wholeheartedness determines how much of the hidden good is revealed, which is why nevi'im arose in Yisrael: the wilderness generation followed Hashem into the desert in pure trust and thereby merited the Torah and the nevuah of Moshe Rabbeinu. This path endures forever — be wholehearted, and Hashem establishes a navi like Moshe. Shabbos Kodesh is itself this very wholeheartedness, for we nullify all labor solely for the mitzvah of Hashem, and so it carries the neshamah yeseirah from the hidden good, the aspect of Moshe Rabbeinu restoring the crowns of na'aseh v'nishma.