Torah And Tefillah Powers

ואתחנן כו'

"Va'eschanan" (And I beseeched), etc.

This is the opening word of the parsha, "And I beseeched," describing Moshe Rabbeinu's plea to enter the Land.

כי מרע"ה הי' בחי' תורה וא"י היא בחי' תפלה ב' הכחות המיוחדים לבנ"י

For Moshe Rabbeinu embodied the aspect of Torah, while Eretz Yisrael is the aspect of tefillah — the two distinct powers that belong uniquely to Bnei Yisrael.

Moshe Rabbeinu represents the power of Torah, and Eretz Yisrael represents the power of tefillah; these are the two unique spiritual strengths of Bnei Yisrael.

ועל ב' אלו נאמר מי ג"ג אשר לו כו' קרובים בחי' תפלה כמ"ש קרוב ה' לכל קוראיו כו' [באמת היינו שצריך להיות התפלה בכח התורה כמ"ש במ"א לכלול ב' הבחי' בנים ועבדים]. ואשר לו חקים כו' היא התורה

Concerning these two it is said, "For what great nation is there that has Hashem so near to it" (Devarim 4:7) — "near" refers to the aspect of tefillah, as it is written, "Hashem is near to all who call upon Him" (Tehillim 145:18). [In truth this means that tefillah must be carried out with the power of Torah, as explained elsewhere, so as to combine the two aspects of "children" and "servants."] And "that has statutes," etc. (Devarim 4:8) — this is the Torah.

The Torah's praise of a nation that has Hashem near and that possesses His statutes corresponds to these two powers: tefillah is the nearness, Torah is the statutes. Ideally tefillah is infused with the strength of Torah, uniting the relationship of children and servants.

ועל ב' אלו כתי' אשרי תבחר ותקרב

Concerning these two it is written, "Praiseworthy is the one You choose and draw near" (Tehillim 65:5).

The verse in Tehillim likewise points to both powers with the words "choose" and "draw near."

בחירה שבחר בנו הקב"ה ונתן לנו התורה שהיא בחי' עצמות הטוב שיש בבנ"י

"Choose" refers to the choosing whereby the Holy One, Blessed is He, chose us and gave us the Torah, which is the aspect of the essential good that resides within Bnei Yisrael.

"Choose" refers to Hashem's selection of Bnei Yisrael and the gift of Torah, which expresses the deep good already inherent in them.

וע"י שתחתונים א"י לעמוד בתפקודיו

And because those below are unable to remain steadfast in His charges,

Because people below cannot perfectly keep all of Hashem's commands,

צריכין ג"כ לבחי' תקרב אחר החטא

they also require the aspect of "draw near" after the sin,

they also need the second power, "draw near," which restores closeness after sin.

והוא ע"י תשובה ותפלה

and this comes about through teshuvah and tefillah.

This restoration of closeness happens through teshuvah and tefillah.

וז"ש במד' ע"פ קרובים אליו

And this is what the Midrash says on the verse "near to Him" (Tehillim 148:14),

The Midrash on "near to Him" speaks to this very point.

שהקב"ה מקרב קרוביו פי' ע"י שיש בעצם בבנ"י דביקות וקירבות אליו לכן שומע הקב"ה תפלתם

that the Holy One, Blessed is He, draws near those close to Him — meaning, because there is in the very essence of Bnei Yisrael a dveikus and closeness to Him, therefore the Holy One, Blessed is He, hears their tefillah.

Hashem draws near those who are close to Him because Bnei Yisrael possess an essential, built-in attachment to Him; this is why their tefillos are heard.

וכלל ב' בחי' אלו הוא כמ"ש במ"א על פסוק לא מרובכם מכה"ע כו'

The combining of these two aspects is as explained elsewhere on the verse "Not because you are more numerous than all the peoples," etc. (Devarim 7:7).

These two powers are also illuminated by the teaching elsewhere on the verse that Hashem did not choose Bnei Yisrael for being the largest of nations.

כי אתם המעט פרש"י ז"ל ממעטין עצמכם

"For you are the fewest" (Devarim 7:7) — Rashi explains: you make yourselves few.

Rashi explains "the fewest" to mean that Bnei Yisrael make themselves small, humbling themselves before Hashem.

פי' שיש בבנ"י ב' המדרגות

The meaning is that there are within Bnei Yisrael two levels:

Bnei Yisrael contain two distinct levels within them.

שיש להם התרוממות אליו ית' יותר מכל הברואים כדכתי' הרבה אתכם

They possess an exaltedness toward Him, Blessed is He, greater than all created beings, as it is written, "He has multiplied you" (Devarim 1:10),

On one hand, they are exalted above all of creation, as the verse says Hashem multiplied and elevated them.

והוא כח התורה

and this is the power of Torah;

This exaltedness is the power of Torah.

ויש להם כח ההכנעה מה שאין בנמצא בשום אומה

and they possess a power of submissiveness that is not found in any nation,

On the other hand, they possess a capacity for humble submission found in no other nation.

וז"ש שהקב"ה בחר בהם מצד המיעוט

and this is what is meant by the Holy One, Blessed is He, choosing them by virtue of their fewness —

It is specifically this trait of smallness and humility that Hashem chose them for.

לא מצד הריבוי

not by virtue of their multitude.

Their being chosen was not on account of greatness or numbers.

ואפשר שבאמת לדור באי הארץ כן הי' זה מיוחד להם ובדור המדבר נאמר הרבה אתכם שהוא בחי' הריבוי

And it is possible that in truth, for the generation that entered the Land, this was their unique trait, whereas of the generation of the wilderness it was said, "He has multiplied you" (Devarim 1:10), which is the aspect of multitude.

The trait of humble fewness may have especially characterized the generation that entered the Land, while the wilderness generation was described with the language of "He has multiplied you," the trait of greatness.

ועל ב' בחי' אלו רמזו חכמים א' המרבה וא' הממעיט שב' בחי' עבודות הם לפעמים נאמר ויגבה לבו ולפעמים ע"י הכנעה

Upon these two aspects the Chachamim hinted, "one who does much and one who does little" (Berachos 17a) — for these are two aspects of avodah: sometimes it is said "and his heart was lifted up" (in the ways of Hashem), and sometimes it comes through submissiveness,

Chazal's statement about "one who does much and one who does little" reflects these two modes of serving Hashem: sometimes one serves with elevation and largeness of heart in His ways, and sometimes through humble submission.

רק שיהי' לשם שמים

only that it be for the sake of Heaven.

The essential condition is that whichever mode one serves through, it be for the sake of Heaven.

ולכן מרע"ה אחז בזו הבחי' כשרצה לכנוס לא"י

And therefore Moshe Rabbeinu took hold of this aspect when he wished to enter Eretz Yisrael,

Moshe Rabbeinu, wanting to enter the Land, grasped at this aspect of avodah.

אבל הקב"ה השיב לו רב לך כי בחי' מרע"ה הוא התורה בחי' הרבה אתכם כו'

but the Holy One, Blessed is He, answered him, "It is much for you" (Devarim 3:26) — for the aspect of Moshe Rabbeinu is the Torah, the aspect of "He has multiplied you," etc.,

But Hashem replied "It is much for you," since Moshe Rabbeinu's aspect was Torah and greatness, the aspect of "He has multiplied you," whereas the Land called for the aspect of tefillah and humility.

והקדים הכ' אשר לו אלקים קרובים ע"פ מאמר חז"ל במקום שבע"ת עומדין אצ"ג יכולין לעמוד לכן הקדים בחי' תשובה ותפלה:

and the verse placed first "that has Hashem near to it," in accordance with the words of Chazal, "In the place where baalei teshuvah stand, the perfectly righteous cannot stand" (Berachos 34b) — therefore it placed first the aspect of teshuvah and tefillah.

The Torah listed nearness (tefillah, teshuvah) before statutes (Torah) because, as Chazal teach, baalei teshuvah stand in a place even the perfectly righteous cannot reach; the lower path of teshuvah reaches higher.

Summary: The Sfas Emes teaches that Bnei Yisrael possess two unique powers: the power of Torah, embodied by Moshe Rabbeinu, and the power of tefillah, embodied by Eretz Yisrael. The Torah and Tehillim allude to both with the language of Hashem being "near" (tefillah, restoring closeness after sin through teshuvah) and possessing "statutes" (Torah, the essential good Hashem implanted in Bnei Yisrael). These correspond to two levels within Bnei Yisrael — an exaltedness above all creation, which is the power of Torah, and a unique capacity for humble submission, for which Hashem specifically chose them; both modes of avodah are valid as long as they are for the sake of Heaven. When Moshe Rabbeinu sought to enter the Land, Hashem answered "It is much for you," for Moshe's aspect was the greatness of Torah, while the Land demanded the humility of tefillah. The verse therefore mentions nearness before statutes, for the lowly path of teshuvah and tefillah reaches a height that even the perfectly righteous cannot attain.