Body And Neshamah In War

בפסוק כ"ת למלחמה כו' סוס ורכב כו' המעלך מא"מ כו'

On the pasuk, "When you go out to war... a horse and a chariot..." (Devarim 20:1), the Torah adds, "...for Hashem your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Mitzrayim."

The Torah's command to go out to war is immediately tied to Hashem having taken us out of Mitzrayim, hinting that the redemption itself is the source of our strength in battle.

ובמד' תנחומא מביא הפסוק סוס מוכן ליום מלחמה ולה' התשועה ודורש הפסוק לסוסתי ברכבי פרעה כו'

And the Midrash Tanchuma brings the pasuk, "A horse is prepared for the day of battle, but the victory is Hashem's" (Mishlei 21:31), and it expounds the pasuk, "To my mare among the chariots of Pharaoh I have likened you, My beloved" (Shir HaShirim 1:9).

The Tanchuma links the verse that victory belongs to Hashem with the verse comparing Bnei Yisrael to a mare set against Pharaoh's chariots, setting up the theme that Hashem prepares the means of salvation.

פי' כמו כביכול במלך ב"ו סוס מוכן למלחמה

The explanation is that this is comparable, so to speak, to a king of flesh and blood who has a horse prepared for war.

Just as a mortal king readies a horse before war, so does Hashem ready the means of victory in advance.

כמו כן הכין הקב"ה הישועה ביצ"מ כמ"ש ויושע ה' ביום ההוא כו' שהי' יצ"מ הכנה לכל מלחמות בנ"י

In the same way, the Holy One, Blessed is He, prepared the salvation at Yetzias Mitzrayim, as it is written, "And Hashem saved on that day..." (Shemos 14:30), for Yetzias Mitzrayim was the preparation for all the wars of Bnei Yisrael.

Yetzias Mitzrayim was Hashem's prepared salvation, serving as the foundation and readiness for every future battle of Bnei Yisrael.

כמ"ש במכילתא בפסוק ה' ילחם לכם לעתיד אפי' כשאתם תחרישון ע"ש

As it is stated in the Mechilta on the pasuk, "Hashem will wage war for you" (Shemos 14:14), that in the future He will fight even when you remain silent; see there.

The Mechilta teaches that ultimately Hashem fights on our behalf even when we ourselves are silent and do nothing.

וז"ש לסוסתי כו' דמיתיך רעיתי כו'

And this is the meaning of "To my mare... I have likened you, My beloved" (Shir HaShirim 1:9).

The verse comparing the beloved to a mare expresses this idea that Bnei Yisrael are Hashem's prepared instrument of war.

ומצרים הוא ראש לסוסים שהם כלי מלחמה לכן הקדים לנו הקב"ה יצ"מ שהוא הכנה למלחמות בנ"י עם כל האומות

And Mitzrayim was foremost in horses, which are the implements of war; therefore the Holy One, Blessed is He, brought us Yetzias Mitzrayim first, for it is the preparation for the wars of Bnei Yisrael with all the nations.

Since Mitzrayim led the world in war-horses, Hashem deliberately took us out from there first, making the Exodus the preparation for all our future wars against the nations.

ובספרי כשם שהם יוצאים בסוס ורכב אף אתה צא עליהם בסוס ורכב

And in the Sifrei it says: just as they go out with horse and chariot, so too you go out against them with horse and chariot.

The Sifrei teaches that we may meet the enemy on equal terms, going out with horse and chariot just as they do.

הרמז הוא כי כל הדברים למטה הם רמזים למה שלמעלה

The hint here is that all things below are hints to that which is above.

Everything in the physical world below is a hint and a mirror to spiritual realities above.

וכמו שסוס מוכן ליום מלחמה כי הסוס רב כחו למלחמה אבל מחוסר דעת

And just as "a horse is prepared for the day of battle" (Mishlei 21:31), for the horse's strength for war is great but it lacks understanding,

A horse has enormous physical power for war but no understanding of its own to direct that power.

והרוכב עליו לוחם בכח הסוס

while the one who rides upon it wages war through the strength of the horse,

It is the rider who actually wages the war, channeling and directing the raw strength of the horse.

כמו כן הוא באדם הנפש והגוף רוכב על הסוס לכן האדם הוא איש מלחמה

so too it is with man: the neshamah and the body, which rides upon the horse; therefore man is a man of war.

So too within a person: the neshamah is the rider and the body is the horse it directs, and this combination is what makes a person a fighter.

ונק' צבאות ה' שהוא יכול להלחם בסט"א בהרכבות נפש וגוף דוקא

And they are called the legions of Hashem, for he is able to wage war against the Sitra Achra specifically through the combination of neshamah and body.

Bnei Yisrael are called the legions of Hashem because it is specifically through joining neshamah and body that one can wage war against the Sitra Achra.

וכמו כן הכין הקב"ה למעלה מרכבה שמיוחד למלחמה כמ"ש ה' איש מלחמה

And in the same way, the Holy One, Blessed is He, prepared above a chariot that is designated for war, as it is written, "Hashem is a man of war" (Shemos 15:3).

Hashem likewise established a corresponding chariot above that is designated for war, as expressed in "Hashem is a man of war."

ובנ"י הם אוסרי המרכבה זו כמ"ש בזוה"ק תש"י וש"ר לקשרא הסט"א ולכבוש אותם ע"ש

And Bnei Yisrael are the ones who harness this chariot, as it is stated in the Zohar HaKadosh that the tefillin of the hand and the tefillin of the head serve to bind the Sitra Achra and to subdue them; see there.

Bnei Yisrael are the ones who harness this Heavenly chariot; the Zohar teaches that the tefillin of the hand and head bind and subdue the Sitra Achra.

ולכן השח בין תפלה לתפלה חוזר מעורכי מלחמה כי מעכב את היחוד

And therefore one who converses between one tefillin and the other is sent back from the ranks of those arrayed for battle, for he disrupts the unification.

One who talks between donning the two sets of tefillin is treated like a soldier sent home from the battle lines, because his speech breaks the unification those tefillin accomplish.

ולכן אמרו שמע ישראל אפי' אין בכם אלא זכות שמע ישראל כדאי להושיע לכם

And therefore Chazal said regarding "Shema Yisrael" that even if you possess no other merit than the reading of "Shema Yisrael," it is sufficient to bring you salvation,

Chazal taught that the merit of reading Shema Yisrael alone is enough to bring salvation, since it effects the very unification that wins the war.

שע"י זה היחוד היו נוצחין המלחמה

for through this unification they would be victorious in the war.

It is precisely this unification, brought about through Shema and tefillin, that secured victory in battle.

וזו הישועה שהכין הקב"ה לבנ"י כמ"ש כי תרכב על סוסיך מרכבותיך ישועה:

And this is the salvation that the Holy One, Blessed is He, prepared for Bnei Yisrael, as it is written, "When You ride upon Your horses, Your chariots are salvation" (Chavakuk 3:8).

This prepared salvation for Bnei Yisrael is captured in the pasuk that when Hashem rides upon His horses, His chariots themselves are salvation.

Summary: The Sfas Emes opens from the Torah's command to go out to war, which is immediately linked to Yetzias Mitzrayim, teaching that the Exodus was Hashem's prepared salvation and the foundation for every future battle of Bnei Yisrael against the nations. Drawing on the image of horse and rider, he explains that just as a horse carries great power but lacks understanding while its rider directs that strength, so too the body is the horse and the neshamah is the rider, and it is precisely the union of body and neshamah that makes a person a fighter against the Sitra Achra. Bnei Yisrael are the legions of Hashem who harness the Heavenly chariot through the tefillin of hand and head, which bind and subdue the forces of evil. This is why one who interrupts between the two tefillin is sent back from the ranks of battle, for he disrupts the unification, while the mere reading of Shema Yisrael suffices to bring salvation by effecting that same unification. This is the salvation Hashem prepared for Bnei Yisrael, as the pasuk says, "When You ride upon Your horses, Your chariots are salvation."