End of Torah joined to its beginning

המשך סוף התורה לתחלתה.

The connection of the end of the Torah to its beginning.

On Simchas Torah we complete the Torah and immediately begin it anew, so the Sefas Emes seeks the link between its final words and its first.

ולכל היד החזקה כו' אשר עשה משה כו' בראשית.

"And for all the mighty hand… that Moshe wrought…" (Devarim 34:12) — and then "In the beginning (Bereishis)…" (Bereishis 1:1).

The Torah ends with the deeds of Moshe and immediately loops back to "Bereishis," and the Sefas Emes will show how these two are bound together.

דאיתא בשביל ישראל שנק' ראשית.

As it is taught: [the world was created] "for the sake of Yisrael," who are called "reishis" (the beginning).

Rashi cites the Midrash that "Bereishis" means the world was created for the sake of Yisrael, who are called "reishis," the first and foremost.

פי' בשביל אותו הדור של מרע"ה שהם נק' ראשית.

This means: for the sake of that generation of Moshe Rabbeinu, who are called "reishis."

The Sefas Emes specifies that "Yisrael who are called reishis" refers in particular to the generation of Moshe Rabbeinu, the dor de'ah.

כדכ' זכרתי לך כו' לכתך אחרי כו' קודש ישראל לה' ראשית תבואתה.

As it is written: "I remember for you… your following after Me [in the wilderness]… Yisrael is holy to Hashem, the first of His harvest" (Yirmiyahu 2:2–3).

The generation that followed Hashem into the desert is called "the first of His harvest" — the reishis — for their devotion placed them at the very root of creation.

כי בודאי הדור שהקב"ה עשה להם נסים ונפלאות ושינה הטבע בעבורם היו באמת דבקים למעלה מן הטבע.

For surely the generation for whom the Holy One performed miracles and wonders, and for whose sake He altered nature, were truly attached to that which is above nature.

Nature was changed for them precisely because they themselves clung to a level above nature; the miracles reflected their own supernatural devekus.

וזהו עיקר פי' בראשית ברא להיות קיום כל הבריאה בכח הראשית והשורש שלמעלה מן הטבע.

This is the essential meaning of "In the beginning He created" — that the entire creation endures by the power of the "reishis," the root that is above nature.

All of creation is sustained through this "reishis" — the generation, and the level, that transcends nature and anchors the world in its supernal root.

והשי"ת ראה שעתיד מרע"ה לעשות אלה הנסים בזכותן של ישראל ולשנות כל הטבע.

Hashem foresaw that Moshe Rabbeinu would one day perform these miracles in the merit of Yisrael and would alter all of nature.

From the very moment of creation, Hashem looked ahead to the wonders Moshe would perform for Yisrael, which transcended the natural order.

וזה קיום כל הטבע כמ"ש בכמה מקומות מזה.

And this is what sustains all of nature, as we have written about this in several places.

The capacity to rise above nature is itself what gives nature its very existence and endurance.

לכן עיקר ישראל שנקראו ראשית הם הדור של משה רע"ה.

Therefore the essential "Yisrael who are called reishis" are the generation of Moshe Rabbeinu.

The primary bearers of the title "reishis" are that exalted generation of the wilderness.

ודורות השפלים נק' לשארית נחלתו.

And the lowly generations are called "the remnant (she'eris) of His inheritance" (Michah 7:18).

Later, humbler generations are not "reishis" but "she'eris" — a remnant — yet they too belong to Hashem's inheritance.

וע"י שמשימין עצמם כשיריים ויודעין לבטל עצמם אל דורות הראשונים הם ג"כ בכלל ראשית.

And by making themselves a "remnant" and knowing how to nullify themselves before the earlier generations, they too are included in "reishis."

Through bittul — humbly regarding themselves as a mere remnant and subordinating themselves to the earlier generations — the lowly generations become connected to the supernal root as well.

וכן היא המדה מן מדריגה למדריגה כפי הביטול אל מדריגה הקודמת יש לה חלק בשורש הראשון.

And so it is at every level, from one rung to the next: in accordance with one's nullification to the preceding level, one has a portion in the first root.

This principle operates throughout the spiritual order — the more a person nullifies himself to the level above him, the more he shares in the original root of creation.

וע"ז נאמר טוב אחרית דבר מראשיתו.

Of this it is said: "Better is the end of a matter than its beginning" (Koheles 7:8).

The Sefas Emes reads this to mean that the "end" — the final, lowly stage — has the potential to surpass the beginning when it is raised back up to its root.

אחרית דבר הוא עולם הזה השפל שהיא הנהגה האחרונה ושפלה.

"The end of a matter" is this lowly world, which is the final and lowly mode of governance.

Our world is the "end" — the last and most concealed stage of Hashem's governance, far from the original light.

וצריכין להעלותה אל הראשית בכח התורה והמצות שנתן לנו הקב"ה:

And we must raise it up to the "reishis" through the power of the Torah and mitzvos that the Holy One has given us.

Our task is to elevate this lowly world back to its supernal root, and the tools to do so are the Torah and mitzvos Hashem has placed in our hands.

Summary: The Sefas Emes connects the Torah's end to its beginning: the Torah closes with the wonders of Moshe Rabbeinu and reopens with "Bereishis," which Chazal read as "for the sake of Yisrael who are called reishis." That generation, for whom nature itself was altered, clung to a level above nature and became the "root" by which all creation endures. Later, lowly generations are only a "remnant," yet through bittul — nullifying themselves to the earlier generations — they too share in this supernal root. Thus "the end of a matter is better than its beginning": our lowly world, the final stage of Divine governance, can be raised back to its reishis through the power of Torah and mitzvos.