Wholeness Through Divine Word

במדרש תנחומא תמים תהי' כו' כי הגוים כו' ואתה לא כן כו'

In the Midrash Tanchuma: "You shall be wholehearted [tamim]..." (Devarim 18:13), "for these nations [that you are dispossessing listen to soothsayers and diviners]..." (Devarim 18:14), "but as for you, Hashem your Elokim has not given you so..." (Devarim 18:14).

The Sfas Emes opens with the Midrash on the verse commanding wholehearted faith in Hashem, contrasting Bnei Yisrael with the nations who turn to soothsayers.

הה"ד והיית רק למעלה כו' ע"ש כל הענין

This is what the verse means: "And Hashem will set you above [all the nations]..." (Devarim 28:1) — see there the entire matter.

He links this to the verse promising that Bnei Yisrael will be set above all the nations.

כי שלימות כל הגוים הוא להשיג חכמת הטבע

For the perfection of all the nations is to grasp the wisdom of nature.

The nations reach their peak by mastering the wisdom of the natural world.

אבל בנ"י שלימותן הוא להשיג כח אלקות כדכתי' תמים תהי' עם ה"א דכתי' וייצר ב' יצירות וכתי' אחור וקדם צרתני במד' תזריע זכה אומרים לו אתה קדמת לא זכה יתוש קדמך שילשול קדמך

But Bnei Yisrael — their perfection is to grasp the power of Elokus (Divinity), as it is written, "You shall be wholehearted with Hashem your Elokim" (Devarim 18:13); and as it is written, "And He formed [vayitzer]" (Bereishis 2:7) with two yuds, hinting at two formations; and as it is written, "Behind and before You have formed me" (Tehillim 139:5) — explained in the Midrash on Tazria: if a person merits, they say to him, "You preceded [all of Creation]"; if he does not merit, [they say,] "A gnat preceded you, a worm preceded you."

Bnei Yisrael, by contrast, are meant to grasp Hashem Himself; the double formation and the phrase "behind and before" teach that one who merits is considered first in Creation, but one who does not is told even a gnat preceded him.

והם האומות שכל חכמות שלהם לשאול אוב מארץ

And they are the nations, whose every wisdom is to consult a necromancer from the earth.

The nations' wisdom looks downward, even consulting the dead through necromancy.

נמצא הם שפלים ודורשים במה שלמטה מהם

It emerges that they are lowly, seeking out that which is beneath them.

This makes them lowly, since they investigate what is below their own level.

אבל בנ"י הם נק' קדם וצריכין להשיג שורש חלק אלקי ממעל

But Bnei Yisrael are called "before [kedem]," and they are obligated to grasp the root of the portion of Elokus from above.

Bnei Yisrael are called "before," and their task is to reach upward to the Divine root of their neshamah.

וזה נביא מקרבך כו'

And this is, "A prophet from your midst..." (Devarim 18:15).

This is why the Torah gives Bnei Yisrael a prophet rather than diviners.

ככל אשר שאלת כו' בחורב

"...according to all that you asked... at Chorev" (Devarim 18:16).

The prophet answers the very request the people made at Chorev to receive Hashem's word through a human intermediary.

כי בקבלת התורה ניתן לבנ"י דרך התורה שהיא ההנהגה פנימיות כדכתיב בהפטרה מי את ותיראי מאנוש כו' ואנכי כו' ואשים דברי בפיך כו' וכמו כן כתי' בנביא ונתתי דברי בפיו

For with the receiving of the Torah, there was given to Bnei Yisrael the way of the Torah, which is the inner conduct, as it is written in the Haftarah: "Who are you that you should fear a mortal man... and I am [Hashem your Elokim]... and I have placed My words in your mouth..." (Yeshayahu 51:12-16); and likewise it is written regarding the prophet, "And I will place My words in his mouth" (Devarim 18:18).

At Matan Torah, Bnei Yisrael were given an inner path of Divine conduct, with Hashem placing His words directly in their mouths, just as He does with a prophet.

ובנביא הי' דבר קבוע

And with the prophet it was a fixed [revelation of the] word [of Hashem].

For an actual prophet, this revelation of Hashem's word was a permanent, established state.

ומ"מ לכל איש ישראל נמצא זמנים שמתגלה בו דבר ה'

Yet for every man of Yisrael there are times in which the word of Hashem is revealed within him.

But every Jew, too, experiences moments when the word of Hashem becomes revealed within him.

ואיתא בזוה"ק שלח שע"י מצות ציצית ותפילין זוכה לתמים תהי'

And it is brought in the Zohar HaKadosh, parshas Shelach, that through the mitzvah of tzitzis and tefillin one merits "You shall be wholehearted."

The Zohar teaches that through tzitzis and tefillin one attains the level of being "wholehearted."

והוא כנ"ל שכל המצות ע"ז ניתנו להמשיך על ידיהם הפנימיות של כל האיברים והגידין שתלוין במצות התורה רמ"ח ושס"ה ואז כשזוכין לדבק הכל בשורש העליון נק' תמים

And this is as above, that all the mitzvos were given for this purpose — to draw down through them the inner dimension of all the limbs and sinews, which are dependent upon the mitzvos of the Torah, [corresponding to] the two hundred and forty-eight [limbs] and three hundred and sixty-five [sinews]; and then, when one merits to cleave all of them to the supernal root, he is called "wholehearted [tamim]."

Every mitzvah draws the inner Divine vitality into the body's limbs and sinews, which correspond to the 248 positive and 365 negative mitzvos; cleaving all of them to their supernal root is what makes a person "tamim."

כי האדם שלמטה הוא פלג גופא וע"י התורה ומצות בא להיות תמים כנ"ל

For man here below is but half a body, and through the Torah and mitzvos he comes to become "wholehearted," as above.

On his own, a person is only "half a body"; the Torah and mitzvos complete him into a whole.

ובתפילין כתי' למען תהי' תורת ה' בפיך

And regarding tefillin it is written, "so that the Torah of Hashem shall be in your mouth" (Shemos 13:9).

Tefillin specifically bring the Torah of Hashem into one's mouth.

ובציצית הוא בצל ידי כסיתיך

And regarding tzitzis it is, "In the shadow of My hand I have covered you" (Yeshayahu 51:16).

Tzitzis correspond to being sheltered under the shadow of Hashem's hand.

וכן הוא בכל המצות

And so it is with all the mitzvos.

This pattern of drawing down inner Divine vitality holds true for every mitzvah.

ובש"ק שנק' שלום שבו יש התגלות נשמה יתירה מחלק אלקות ממעל וא"צ בו תפילין שהזמן מסייע אל השלימות כנ"ל

And on the holy Shabbos, which is called "peace [shalom]," within it there is a revelation of the extra neshamah (neshamah yeseirah) from the portion of Elokus above; and tefillin are not needed on it, for the time itself assists toward the perfection, as above.

Shabbos, called "peace," brings the extra neshamah from above, so tefillin are unnecessary because the holiness of the day itself supplies the wholeness.

והכל מאתו ית' כדכתי' ה' מתיר אסורים ה' פוקח עורים

And it is all from Him, may He be blessed, as it is written, "Hashem releases the bound, Hashem opens [the eyes of] the blind" (Tehillim 146:7-8).

All of this completion comes entirely from Hashem, who frees the bound and opens the eyes of the blind.

וזה נוהג תמיד ומתחדש באיש ישראל בכל יום

And this operates always and is renewed within the man of Yisrael every single day.

This liberation and illumination is not a one-time event but is renewed within every Jew daily.

וזה תש"י לזכרון זרוע הנטוי' שזוכין לחירות בכל יום

And this is [the meaning of] the tefillin of the hand, as a remembrance of the outstretched arm — that one merits freedom each and every day.

The hand-tefillin recall the outstretched arm of redemption, teaching that one merits freedom anew each day.

ועי"ז פוקח עינים עורות כמ"ש בתש"ר לזכרון בין עיניך כו' תורת ה' בפיך שזוכה לראות בנועם ה'

And through this He opens blind eyes, as is written regarding the tefillin of the head, "as a remembrance between your eyes..." (Shemos 13:9) [together with] "the Torah of Hashem in your mouth" — that one merits to behold the pleasantness of Hashem.

The head-tefillin, "between your eyes," together with the Torah in one's mouth, open the blind eyes so one merits to behold the pleasantness of Hashem.

[ובאמת גם בטבע נמצא הסיוע לאדם

[And in truth, even within nature one finds assistance for man.

Even within the natural order, Hashem provides assistance to man.

רק לבנ"י הכל בתורה ומהשי"ת

Only that for Bnei Yisrael, everything is through the Torah and from Hashem Yisbarach.

The difference is that for Bnei Yisrael this assistance comes entirely through the Torah and directly from Hashem Yisbarach.

כמשל שכ' במד' בפ' ה' יתן חכמה ולבנו מתוך פיו דעת ותבונה ע"ש

As in the parable written in the Midrash on the passage "Hashem grants wisdom, from His mouth come knowledge and understanding" (Mishlei 2:6) — see there.

He cites the Midrash's parable on the verse that wisdom, knowledge, and understanding come from the mouth of Hashem.

כמו כן יש חכמת הטבע מעוננים וקוסמים

So too there is the wisdom of nature — the soothsayers and the diviners.

There is indeed a natural wisdom that the nations access through soothsayers and diviners.

ואתה לא כן כו' נביא כו' הוא בחי' מפיו דעת ותבונה כמ"ש ואשים דברי בפיך]:

"But as for you, [Hashem has] not [given you] so..." — "a prophet..." — this is the aspect of "from His mouth knowledge and understanding," as it is written, "And I have placed My words in your mouth" (Yeshayahu 51:16).]

But Bnei Yisrael receive their wisdom "from His mouth" — through the prophet and through Hashem placing His words in their mouths, which is true Divine knowledge rather than natural divination.

Summary: The Sfas Emes contrasts the perfection of the nations, who attain their wisdom by mastering the natural world and even sink to consulting the dead through necromancy, with the perfection of Bnei Yisrael, who are called "before" and are meant to reach upward and grasp the very power of Elokus. This is the meaning of "You shall be wholehearted [tamim] with Hashem your Elokim": at Matan Torah, Bnei Yisrael received an inner path in which Hashem places His words directly in their mouths, the same gift given to a prophet, except that for every Jew it surfaces at particular times rather than permanently. The mitzvos, and especially tzitzis and tefillin, draw the inner Divine vitality into the 248 limbs and 365 sinews and cleave a person — who alone is but "half a body" — to his supernal root, making him whole. On Shabbos this wholeness comes through the extra neshamah and the holiness of the day itself, so tefillin are not needed. All of this completion flows entirely from Hashem, who frees the bound and opens the eyes of the blind, and it is renewed within every Jew each and every day — for unlike the nations, whose wisdom comes through natural divination, Bnei Yisrael receive knowledge and understanding straight "from His mouth."