Uncovering Essential Love Through Bittul
בפרשת שמע
Regarding the parshah of Shema.
The Sfas Emes opens by turning to the section of Shema in the parshah.
במד' מהיכן זכו ישראל לק"ש בקבלת התורה ע"ש
The Midrash asks: from where did Bnei Yisrael merit the recitation of Krias Shema at the giving of the Torah? See there.
He cites the Midrash's question of how Bnei Yisrael earned the mitzvah of Krias Shema specifically through receiving the Torah.
דהנה אנכי ולא יהי' לך מפי הגבורה שמענו ולכן נשארו אלו ב' המצות לעולם בבנ"י והוא ק"ש
For "Anochi" ("I am Hashem your God") and "Lo yihyeh lecha" ("You shall have no other gods") we heard directly from the mouth of the Almighty, and therefore these two mitzvos remained forever within Bnei Yisrael, and this is Krias Shema.
Because the first two Dibros were heard directly from Hashem, their content endured permanently in Bnei Yisrael, taking the form of Krias Shema.
ה' אלקינו בחי' אנכי
"Hashem Elokeinu" ("Hashem is our God") corresponds to the aspect of "Anochi."
Declaring Hashem as our God parallels the opening Dibrah, "I am Hashem."
ה' אחד בחי' לא יהי' לך
"Hashem Echad" ("Hashem is One") corresponds to the aspect of "Lo yihyeh lecha."
Declaring Hashem's Oneness parallels the prohibition against other gods.
ואלו הדיברות יכול כל איש ישראל לקבל מהם חיות בכל יום ויום
And from these Dibros every Jew is able to draw life-force each and every day.
These two Dibros remain a living source from which every Jew can draw spiritual vitality daily.
וכתי' אח"כ ואהבת את ה"א כו' והחוקרים מקשים איך שייך ציווי על אהבה שהיא תלוי' בטבע האוהב
And it is written afterward, "And you shall love Hashem your God," and the philosophers raise a difficulty: how can there be a commandment to love, since love depends upon the nature of the one who loves?
The verse commands love of Hashem, yet thinkers ask how love can be commanded if it flows naturally and cannot be forced.
ובוודאי להנטבעים בטבע היא קושיא אבל בנ"י הם מוכנים למסור נפשם למעלה מן הטבע
And certainly for those who are sunk in nature this is a difficulty, but Bnei Yisrael are prepared to give over their very souls, which is above nature.
For people governed only by their nature the question stands, but Bnei Yisrael are ready for mesiras nefesh, which transcends nature.
ובאמת כפי מציאת מסירת נפש באיש ישראל כך גדר האהבה אצלו
And in truth, according to the measure of mesiras nefesh found within a Jew, so too is the dimension of love within him.
A Jew's capacity for self-sacrifice is the very measure of his capacity for true love.
ולכן אחר מס"נ באחד כתי' ואהבת
And therefore, after "mesiras nefesh" upon the word "Echad," it is written "and you shall love."
That is why the command to love follows immediately upon the readiness for mesiras nefesh expressed in the word "Echad."
ובאמת בעוה"ז יש אהבות רבות כ"א לפי טבעו
And in truth, in this world there are many loves, each person according to his nature.
In this world people experience many kinds of love, each shaped by his own nature.
אבל אהבה אמיתית בעצם צריך להיות בכל ברי' להיות נמשך אחר בוראו והיא אהבה בעצם
But true love in its essence must exist within every creature, to be drawn after its Creator, and this is love in its very essence.
But there is an essential love built into every creature, a pull toward its Creator, and that is love at its core.
אך הקב"ה הסתיר האמת ע"י התלבשות כ"ד בטבע
However, the Holy One, Blessed is He, concealed the truth through the garbing of His honor within nature.
Hashem hid this truth by clothing His glory within nature, so the essential love is obscured.
והרצונות המסתעפים ע"י הטבע מסתירין רצון האמת
And the desires that branch out by way of nature conceal the true ratzon.
The various desires that grow out of one's nature mask the true, underlying ratzon.
וע"ז אמרו בטל רצונך מפני רצונו פי' כדי שיתגלה לך רצון האמת אליו ית"ש
And concerning this they said, "Nullify your will before His will" (Avos 2:4), meaning, so that the true ratzon toward Him, may His Name be blessed, will be revealed to you.
This is why Chazal teach to nullify one's own will before Hashem's will, so that one's true inner will toward Him can surface.
וכן הפי' מסירת נפש
And likewise is the meaning of mesiras nefesh.
Mesiras nefesh carries this same meaning of nullifying the self.
נפש הוא רצון
"Nefesh" is ratzon (will).
The word "nefesh" here is understood as ratzon, one's will.
וע"י ביטול הרצונות שלא לה' המה
And through the nullification of the desires that are not for the sake of Hashem,
When a person nullifies the desires that are not directed toward Hashem,
אז זוכה להתגלות רצון האמת
then one merits the revelation of the true ratzon.
he thereby merits that his true inner ratzon becomes revealed.
והנה בקבלת התורה בהר סיני אז נזדככו הנפשות וכ' נפשי יצאה בדברו ואז הי' להם אהבה אמיתית בעצם אל השי"ת
And behold, at the giving of the Torah at Har Sinai, the souls were then purified, and it is written, "My soul departed when He spoke" (Shir HaShirim 5:6), and they then had true love in its very essence for Hashem Yisbarach.
At Har Sinai the souls were purified and departed at Hashem's word, and Bnei Yisrael attained this essential, true love of Hashem.
וז"ש שזכו לק"ש בקבלת התורה
And this is the meaning that they merited Krias Shema at the giving of the Torah.
This explains how they merited Krias Shema through receiving the Torah.
וע"ז אומרים בכל יום ק"ש והיא היא זכירת מתן תורה כמ"ש פן תשכח כו' הדברים אשר ראו עיניך
And concerning this we recite Krias Shema each day, and it is itself the remembrance of Mattan Torah, as it is written, "lest you forget... the things that your eyes saw" (Devarim 4:9).
Our daily Krias Shema is therefore a reenactment of remembering Mattan Torah, fulfilling the charge not to forget what was seen.
דכתי' היום הזה ראינו כו' ידבר אלקים את האדם וחי כו'
For it is written, "This day we have seen... that Hashem speaks with man, and he lives" (Devarim 5:21).
The verse testifies that they witnessed Hashem speaking with man and man surviving, a direct experience of Hashem.
פי' כי נגלה להם הנהגה פנימיות שהקב"ה מחי' ומנהיג הכל
The meaning is that there was revealed to them the inner conduct, that the Holy One, Blessed is He, gives life to and governs everything.
What was revealed was the inner reality that Hashem alone vivifies and directs all of existence.
והטבע הוא רק הסתר והעלם החיות הפנימי
And nature is only the concealment and hiding of the inner life-force.
Nature itself is merely a screen that conceals this inner life-force.
ובאמת כל רצון הקב"ה במתן תורה הי' שיכירו בנ"י זו ההנהגה הפנימיות לכן אמר הטיבו כו' אשר דברו מי יתן כו' כל הימים
And in truth, the entire ratzon of the Holy One, Blessed is He, at Mattan Torah was that Bnei Yisrael should recognize this inner conduct; therefore He said, "They have done well... that which they have spoken; would that... all the days" (Devarim 5:25-26).
The whole purpose of Mattan Torah was for Bnei Yisrael to recognize this inner conduct, which is why Hashem praised their words and wished it would last always.
ונשאר להם מצות ק"ש לזכור זה הפנימיות בכל יום ויום ועי"ז זוכין לאהבת ה' כמ"ש:
And there remained for them the mitzvah of Krias Shema, to remember this inner dimension each and every day, and through this they merit the love of Hashem, as it is written.
The mitzvah of Krias Shema remained as the daily means to recall this inner truth, and through it Bnei Yisrael attain the love of Hashem.
Summary: The Sfas Emes explains, based on the Midrash, that Bnei Yisrael merited the mitzvah of Krias Shema at Mattan Torah because the first two Dibros, "Anochi" and "Lo yihyeh lecha," were heard directly from Hashem and endure permanently as "Hashem Elokeinu" and "Hashem Echad." He resolves the philosophers' difficulty about a commandment to love by teaching that a Jew possesses an essential, inborn love drawn toward his Creator; this love is uncovered through mesiras nefesh, understood as the nullification of all desires that are not for Hashem's sake. At Har Sinai the souls were purified and this true, essential love was awakened, so that the daily recitation of Krias Shema is itself a remembrance of Mattan Torah. There Bnei Yisrael perceived the inner conduct by which Hashem alone gives life to and governs all of creation, with nature serving only as a concealment of that inner life-force. The mitzvah of Krias Shema endures as the daily means to recall this inner reality and thereby attain genuine love of Hashem.