Binding Deeds to Torah

בפסוק ונגש הכהן כו' ואמר שמע ישראל

Regarding the verse, "And the Kohen shall approach... and say, 'Hear, O Yisrael'" (Devarim 20:2-3).

The piece opens with the verse describing the Kohen who addresses Bnei Yisrael before they go out to war, beginning with the words "Hear, O Yisrael."

ודרשו חז"ל אפי' אין בכם אלא זכות שמע ישראל כו'

And Chazal expounded: "Even if you have nothing to your merit other than the recital of 'Shema Yisrael' (Hear, O Yisrael)..." (Sotah 42a).

Chazal teach that the merit of reciting Shema alone is enough to protect Bnei Yisrael in battle, even when they have no other merit.

הרמז כי באמת כל המלחמות באו אחר החטא שקלקלנו נעשה שמקודם הי' חירות לגמרי

The hint here is that in truth all the wars came about only after the sin, for once we ruined things it came to be; but originally there was complete freedom.

The Sfas Emes explains that wars only entered the world as a consequence of sin; before the sin there was complete freedom and no battle at all.

אבל עתה צריך להיות התיקון בבחי' נשמע בלבד

Now, however, the rectification must come about specifically through the aspect of "hearing" alone.

After the sin, the way to repair the damage is specifically through the dimension of "hearing"—accepting the yoke of Torah—rather than through deed.

וזה הרמז הירא מעבירות שבידו

And this is the hint of "the one who is afraid because of the aveiros in his hand" (Sotah 44a).

This connects to the soldier who is sent home because he fears the aveiros in his hands, since action is where vulnerability lies.

כדאיתא הקול קול יעקב

As it is stated, "The voice is the voice of Yaakov" (Bereishis 27:22).

He brings the verse contrasting the "voice of Yaakov" with the hands, showing that Yaakov's strength is in the realm of sound and Torah rather than physical action.

ובתורה אין שם מגע סט"א רק במעשה שולט הסט"א ע"י החטא אבל המתדבק בתורה א"צ להיות ירא מכח הידים ידי עשו

And in Torah there is no place where the Sitra Achra can take hold; it is only in deed that the Sitra Achra rules by means of sin. But one who cleaves to the Torah need not be afraid of the power of the hands, "the hands of Esav" (Bereishis 27:22).

Torah is untouchable by the forces of impurity; the Sitra Achra gains its grip only through sinful deeds, so one who clings to Torah need not fear Esav's physical might.

רק שצריכין לבטל כל המעשים אל התורה ובכח השמיעה שמוכנים (למשוך) [*להמשך] ולהמשיך כל המעשים אחר התורה גוברין כל הסט"א

Rather, one must nullify all his deeds to the Torah, and through the power of "hearing"—for they are prepared to be drawn after, and to draw, all their deeds after the Torah—they overpower the entire Sitra Achra.

The avodah is to nullify one's deeds to the Torah; through the readiness of "hearing" to draw all one's actions after the Torah, a person overcomes all the forces of the Sitra Achra.

וזה הרמז שח בין תפלה לתפלה חוזר מעורכי מלחמה

And this is the hint that "one who spoke between one tefillah and another tefillah" must return from among those arrayed for battle (Sotah 44b, regarding the tefillin).

This explains why the soldier who interrupts between putting on the hand-tefillin and the head-tefillin must leave the battlefield, since he has broken the proper connection.

כי תש"י היא בחי' עשי' וקשרתם לאות על ידך

For the tefillah shel yad (the tefillin of the hand) is the aspect of deed, "And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand" (Devarim 6:8).

The hand-tefillin represent the realm of action, as the verse speaks of binding them upon the hand.

ותש"ר תורת ה' בפיך

And the tefillah shel rosh (the tefillin of the head) is "that the Torah of Hashem shall be in your mouth" (Shemos 13:9).

The head-tefillin represent Torah in the mouth, the realm of speech and learning, as that verse states.

וצריכין להיות מחברין כל המעשים אל התורה

And one must join all the deeds to the Torah.

The essential service is to join all one's deeds, represented by the hand, to the Torah, represented by the head and mouth.

וזה עצמו פי' שמע ישראל להיות מאספין כל הכחות אל התורה ובזה נוצחין המלחמה וע"ז נאמר בתחבולות תעשה כו' מלחמה

And this itself is the meaning of "Shema Yisrael" (Hear, O Yisrael)—to gather in all the powers to the Torah, and through this one is victorious in the war. And concerning this it is stated, "With strategies you shall wage... war" (Mishlei 24:6).

This is the very meaning of "Shema Yisrael": gathering all one's powers and directing them to the Torah, which is how the war is won, as the verse about waging war with strategies teaches.

תחבולות הוא התקשרות:

"Strategies" (tachbulos) means connection (hiskashrus).

The Sfas Emes concludes that "strategies" really means hiskashrus—the binding and connection of all one's actions to the Torah.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains that war itself entered the world only as a consequence of sin; originally there was complete freedom. Since the breakdown came through deed, the rectification must come specifically through "hearing"—the recital of Shema and clinging to the Torah—because the Sitra Achra can take hold only in the realm of action, never in Torah itself, just as the "voice of Yaakov" stands opposite the "hands of Esav." One who cleaves to Torah need not fear Esav's physical power; rather, he nullifies all his deeds to the Torah and, through the readiness of "hearing" to draw every action after the Torah, he overpowers all the forces of impurity. This is mirrored in the tefillin—the hand-tefillin being the aspect of deed and the head-tefillin being Torah in the mouth—which must remain bound together, just as the soldier who interrupts between them is sent home. The whole avodah of "Shema Yisrael" is to gather all one's powers to the Torah, and this hiskashrus is the true "strategy" by which the war is won.