Moshe, Torah, and Hashem's kingship are one

ויהי בישורון מלך.

"And He became King in Yeshurun" (Devarim 33:5).

The Sefas Emes examines this verse, which the commentators read in two different ways, and shows that both meanings are ultimately one.

יש מפרשים על משה רבינו.

Some explain it as referring to Moshe Rabbeinu.

One reading takes "He became king in Yeshurun" as describing Moshe's leadership over Israel.

ויש מפרשים על התורה.

And some explain it as referring to the Torah.

Another reading understands the verse as speaking of the Torah's reign over Bnei Yisrael.

והכל אחד כי מרע"ה הוא כח התורה והדעת של כלל ישראל.

And it is all one, for Moshe Rabbeinu is the power of the Torah and the daas (knowledge) of the entire community of Israel.

The two readings converge: Moshe embodies the Torah itself — he is the collective daas of all Israel, so "Moshe" and "Torah" point to the same reality.

והפסוק תורה צוה כו' משה מורשה קהלת יעקב.

And the verse "Moshe commanded us the Torah, a heritage (morashah) for the congregation of Yaakov" (Devarim 33:4).

This adjacent verse links Moshe, the Torah, and the inheritance given to the congregation of Yaakov.

מתפרש לכאן ולכאן.

It can be interpreted in both directions.

The verse works both ways — Moshe gave us the Torah, and the Torah gave us Moshe.

שמרע"ה נתן לנו התורה בירושה לכלל ישראל.

That Moshe Rabbeinu gave us the Torah as an inheritance for the whole of Israel.

In one direction: Moshe is the one who transmitted the Torah to Bnei Yisrael as their eternal morashah.

וכמו כן התורה נתנה לנו את מרע"ה למורשה.

And likewise, the Torah gave us Moshe Rabbeinu as an inheritance.

In the other direction: through the Torah, the power of Moshe himself becomes a permanent inheritance within Israel.

כידוע שבכל התאספות בני ישראל נמצא כחו של מרע"ה בכללות בנ"י.

As is known, that in every gathering of Bnei Yisrael, the power of Moshe Rabbeinu is found within the collective of Bnei Yisrael.

Whenever Jews come together as a tzibbur, the spiritual power of Moshe — the collective daas of Torah — becomes present among them.

וממילא נתעורר השראת השכינה ג"כ בישראל.

And consequently the resting of the Shechinah is also aroused within Israel.

Once Moshe's Torah-power is present in the gathered community, the Shechinah's indwelling is awakened among them as a natural result.

שזהו עיקר הפי' ויהי בישורון מלך על הקב"ה.

For this is the essential meaning of "And He became King in Yeshurun" — referring to the Holy One, blessed be He.

Ultimately the verse speaks of Hashem's kingship: when Moshe's Torah-power gathers Israel, Hashem Himself "reigns" among them.

והכל אחד דאיתא בס' תהלות ישראל מהמגיד ז"ל בשם הרב ר"ב ז"ל על הפסוק אשרי אדם עוז לו בך.

And it is all one, as is brought in the sefer Tehillos Yisrael from the Maggid, of blessed memory, in the name of Rav Ber, of blessed memory, on the verse: "Fortunate is the man whose strength (oz) is in You" (Tehillim 84:6).

He brings a teaching from the Maggid that "oz" (strength) refers to Torah, and connects a person's strength to clinging to Hashem through it.

שצריכין להגות בתורה שנקראת עוז בדביקות אל הבורא ית' שיהיו הדברי תורה מושרשים בו ית' ע"ש דברים מתוקים.

That one must toil in the Torah — which is called "oz" — with deveikus (cleaving) to the Creator, so that the words of Torah are rooted in Him; see there, sweet words.

Learning Torah is not an end in itself; one must learn it while cleaving to Hashem, so that the very words remain rooted in their Divine source.

כי התורה אין לה סוף וכמ"ש שכל התורה שמותיו של הקב"ה.

For the Torah has no end, as it is said that the entire Torah is the Names of the Holy One, blessed be He.

Torah is infinite because it is, in essence, the Names of Hashem — it is an expression of His very Self and therefore boundless.

וכידוע שכ"ב אותיות התורה נקראים לבושו של הקב"ה כמ"ש בזוהר בהעלותך.

And as is known, the twenty-two letters of the Torah are called the garment of the Holy One, blessed be He, as stated in the Zohar (Beha'aloscha).

The letters of the Torah serve as Hashem's "garment" — the means by which the Infinite clothes Himself and becomes accessible to us.

ובודאי לבושו של המלך הוא קדוש.

And surely the garment of the King is holy.

Even merely as a "garment," the letters of Torah are sacred, since they clothe the King Himself.

אבל אין דומה מי שאוחז בהלבוש בעת שהמלך מתלבש בו.

But there is no comparison to one who grasps the garment at the moment when the King is wearing it.

This is the crux: there is an immeasurable difference between holding the empty garment and grasping it while the King Himself is clothed within — i.e., learning Torah with deveikus, while Hashem is "present" in the words.

ועי' מ"ש לעיל בפרשת האזינו בפסוק כי לא דבר רק הוא כו'.

And see what was written above on Parashas Ha'azinu, on the verse "For it is not an empty thing for you" (Devarim 32:47).

He refers the reader to his earlier teaching that Torah is "not empty" — when learned with deveikus it is filled with the living Presence of Hashem.

ונמצא ע"י התורה מורשה לקהלת יעקב ויהי בישורון מלך ממש כנ"ל:

And it emerges that through the Torah being an inheritance for the congregation of Yaakov, "And He became King in Yeshurun" is fulfilled literally, as explained above.

When Israel inherits and clings to the Torah with deveikus, Hashem the King is truly "clothed" within His people — and His kingship in Yeshurun is realized in actuality.

Summary: "He became King in Yeshurun" is read by some as Moshe and by some as the Torah — but these are one, since Moshe is the very power of Torah and the collective daas of Israel. When Jews gather, that Moshe-Torah power summons the Shechinah, and Hashem reigns among them. The Torah is the Names and "garment" of Hashem; learning it with deveikus is like grasping the garment while the King is wearing it — so that the inherited Torah literally makes Hashem King within Yeshurun.