Tribes Justice And Endurance

במדרש אל תהי' מלגלג בדין שהוא א' מעמודי עולם על ג' דברים העולם עומד על הדין אמת ושלום

In the Midrash: Do not be scornful of judgment, for it is one of the pillars of the world; upon three things the world stands — upon din (justice), emes (truth), and shalom (peace).

The Sfas Emes opens with the Midrash's warning not to belittle judgment, since din, emes, and shalom are the three pillars upon which the entire world stands.

כי הנה מאחר שעל אלו הג' העולם עומד בוודאי הם חוץ ולמעלה מן העולם

For behold, since the world stands upon these three, they are certainly outside of and above the world itself.

Because these three uphold the world, they cannot be part of the world itself; they must derive from a place higher than and beyond it.

כדאיתא כולא שקרא כולא קטטא

As it is brought down: everything is falsehood, everything is strife.

He cites the principle that the natural world, left to itself, is full of falsehood and strife — proof that din, emes, and shalom come from above.

וכן המשפט לאלקים הוא

And so too "the judgment is Hashem's" (Devarim 1:17).

He brings the verse that judgment belongs to Hashem, showing that true justice has its source in Him, not in the world.

רק שהקב"ה נתן אלה הג' לבנ"י בכח התורה

It is only that the Holy One, Blessed is He, granted these three to Bnei Yisrael through the power of the Torah.

The Holy One, Blessed is He, entrusted these three lofty pillars to Bnei Yisrael, and the channel through which they receive them is the Torah.

כי בחי' אמת היא דבר שאין לו הפסק ועוה"ז שהוא בטבע ויש לו תכלית אינו אמת

For the aspect of emes is something that has no cessation, whereas this world, which is bound to nature and has an end, is not emes.

Emes means that which is everlasting and never stops; this temporal world, governed by nature and destined to end, lacks that quality of true emes.

רק לבנ"י ניתן האמת כמ"ש תתן אמת ליעקב לכן הוא עדות שהם בני עוה"ב ושאין להם הפסק

It is only to Bnei Yisrael that emes was given, as it is written, "You shall grant truth to Yaakov" (Michah 7:20); therefore this is testimony that they are sons of Olam Haba and that they have no cessation.

Bnei Yisrael were granted emes itself, as the verse promises emes to Yaakov, and this is proof that they belong to the eternal Olam Haba and never cease.

וכן השלום של הקב"ה שהשלום שלו אבל לבנ"י ניתן להם חלק בזה השלימות לכן נקראו השולמית שיש בהם כח השלום

And so too the shalom of the Holy One, Blessed is He, for the shalom is His, yet to Bnei Yisrael a portion in this wholeness was given; therefore they are called "the Shulamite," for there is in them the power of shalom.

Likewise shalom essentially belongs to Hashem, yet Bnei Yisrael were given a share in that wholeness, which is why they are called the Shulamite — bearers of the power of peace.

ובמד' כי תקרב אל עיר כו' וקראת אלי' לשלום הה"ד ותגזר אומר כו' שמשה רבינו ע"ה פתח בשלום ע"ש

And in the Midrash: "When you draw near to a city... you shall call out to it for peace" (Devarim 20:10) — this is the meaning of "You decreed a matter..." (Iyov 22:28), that Moshe Rabbeinu opened with shalom; see there.

The Midrash links the command to call a city to peace before war with the verse that Moshe Rabbeinu opened with shalom, showing the centrality of peace.

והענין הוא הגם שהיא מצוה ממצות התורה לקרוא בשלום אבל הוא המצוה שבנ"י מצדם יקראו אל השלום כמ"ש וקראת אלי' לשלום כי יש להם כח לקרב אומה כמ"ש בורא ניב שפתים כו' שלום לרחוק ולקרוב

And the matter is this: although it is one of the mitzvos of the Torah to call out with shalom, it is the mitzvah that Bnei Yisrael, from their own side, should call out toward shalom, as it is written, "You shall call out to it for peace" — for they have the power to draw a nation near, as it is written, "He who creates the speech of the lips... peace to the far and to the near" (Yeshayahu 57:19).

Even though calling out for peace is a Torah obligation, the deeper point is that Bnei Yisrael themselves possess the power to reach out and draw even distant nations near through shalom.

ובכח התורה שניתן לבנ"י ותגזר אומר ויקם לכן נק' השולמית כנ"ל

And through the power of the Torah that was given to Bnei Yisrael, "You decreed a matter and it was fulfilled" (Iyov 22:28); therefore they are called "the Shulamite," as above.

It is the power of the Torah given to Bnei Yisrael that makes their word effective — "you decree and it is fulfilled" — which is again why they are called the Shulamite.

וכן המשפט ניתן במתנה לבנ"י כמ"ש ואה"מ אשר תשים לפניהם

And so too mishpat (justice) was given as a gift to Bnei Yisrael, as it is written, "And these are the ordinances which you shall place before them" (Shemos 21:1).

Mishpat too was given to Bnei Yisrael as a gift, as seen in the verse introducing the ordinances placed before them.

והנה כתי' כאן בכל שעריך כו' לשבטיך

And behold, it is written here, "In all your gates... according to your tribes" (Devarim 16:18).

The Sfas Emes notes the wording in our parsha that judges are appointed "in all your gates, according to your tribes."

מה ענין לשבטיך

What is the meaning of "according to your tribes"?

He pauses to ask why the verse specifically ties the appointment of judges to the tribes.

ויתכן לרמוז כי המשפטים הם בכח השבטים דיש תורה ומצות חקים ומשפטים

And it may be hinted that the mishpatim (ordinances) are through the power of the tribes, for there is Torah, mitzvos, chukim, and mishpatim.

His answer: the mishpatim operate through the power of the Shevatim, and he distinguishes the categories of Torah, mitzvos, chukim, and mishpatim.

תורה מצות חקים הם בין אדם למקום

Torah, mitzvos, and chukim are between man and the Omnipresent.

Torah, mitzvos, and chukim belong to the realm between man and the Omnipresent.

והם בחי' הג' אבות

And these are the aspect of the three Avos.

These three correspond to the three Avos — Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov.

ומשפטים שבין אדם לחבירו הוא בחי' השבטים

And the mishpatim, which are between man and his fellow, are the aspect of the Shevatim (tribes).

The mishpatim, which govern relations between a person and his fellow, correspond instead to the Shevatim.

ולכן בחושן המשפט היו חקוקים שמות השבטים ונשא אהרן כו' משפט בנ"י כו'

And therefore on the Choshen Mishpat (the breastplate of judgment) the names of the Shevatim were engraved, "and Aharon shall bear... the judgment of Bnei Yisrael..." (Shemos 28:30).

This is why the names of the Shevatim were engraved on the Choshen Mishpat, the breastplate of judgment that Aharon bore.

וזה בכל שעריך כי הי"ב שערים בכח הי"ב שבטים י"ב גבולין הם שערים הקרובים ביותר לבנ"י

And this is "in all your gates," for the twelve gates are through the power of the twelve Shevatim — twelve boundaries — they are the gates closest of all to Bnei Yisrael.

The twelve gates of "in all your gates" draw their power from the twelve Shevatim and their twelve boundaries; these are the gates nearest to Bnei Yisrael.

וזהו סמיכות הפרשה ג"פ יראה בכח האבות שנתראו לפנים

And this is the juxtaposition of the parsha: three times "he shall be seen" (the festivals) is through the power of the Avos, who appeared in earlier times.

The thrice-mentioned obligation to appear before Hashem on the festivals draws on the power of the Avos, who were granted appearances of the Divine in earlier generations.

אבל שערי השבטים הם בכל א"י

But the gates of the Shevatim are in all of Eretz Yisrael.

By contrast, the gates of the Shevatim are spread throughout all of Eretz Yisrael, not confined to one place.

לכן היו י"ב שערים בהר הבית שאלה הי"ב מתרחבין והולכים ומאירין לכל א"י

Therefore there were twelve gates in Har HaBayis, for these twelve broaden and go forth and illuminate all of Eretz Yisrael.

This is reflected in the twelve gates of Har HaBayis, which expand outward and radiate light across all of Eretz Yisrael.

[ויתכן לומר במ"ש במדרש שהמשפטים נבחר מזבח שהוא רק בזמן שמקדש קיים ע"ש

[And it may be said, regarding what is brought in the Midrash, that of the mishpatim the altar was chosen, which exists only at the time when the Beis HaMikdash stands; see there.

In a bracketed addition he cites the Midrash that the altar was chosen for the mishpatim, yet the altar functions only while the Beis HaMikdash stands.

והמשפטים לעולם והוא כמ"ש שאע"פ שתמו זכות אבות זכות שבטים לא תמו כי הארות האבות א"י להתגלות רק בכח המקדש

And the mishpatim are forever — and this is as it is said, that even though the merit of the Avos has ceased, the merit of the Shevatim has not ceased, for the illuminations of the Avos cannot be revealed except through the power of the Beis HaMikdash.

The mishpatim themselves, however, are eternal: even after the merit of the Avos has been exhausted, the merit of the Shevatim endures, because the Avos' light can only shine through the Beis HaMikdash.

אבל הארות השבטים בכל שעריך כנ"ל]:

But the illuminations of the Shevatim are "in all your gates," as above.]

The light of the Shevatim, by contrast, is accessible "in all your gates" everywhere, and so it never ceases.

Summary: The Sfas Emes begins with the Midrash that the world rests on three pillars — din, emes, and shalom — and explains that because these uphold the world, they originate above and beyond it, in Hashem Himself, yet were entrusted to Bnei Yisrael through the power of the Torah. Emes is the everlasting quality that marks Bnei Yisrael as sons of Olam Haba, and shalom is the Divine wholeness in which they share, earning them the title of the Shulamite who can draw even distant nations near. He then turns to the verse appointing judges "in all your gates, according to your tribes," explaining that whereas Torah, mitzvos, and chukim (between man and the Omnipresent) correspond to the three Avos, the mishpatim (between man and his fellow) correspond to the twelve Shevatim. This is why the Shevatim's names were engraved on the Choshen Mishpat, and why the twelve gates of Har HaBayis radiate their light throughout all of Eretz Yisrael. Finally, he notes that while the Avos' illumination depends on the standing Beis HaMikdash, the merit and light of the Shevatim endure forever, accessible "in all your gates" in every place.