Seeking Hashem In Galus
בפסוק ובקשתם משם את ה"א ומצאת כו'
On the pasuk, "And from there you will seek out Hashem your God and you shall find Him" (Devarim 4:29).
The Sfas Emes opens with the pasuk that promises that even from the depths of galus, Bnei Yisrael can search for Hashem and will indeed find Him.
השמע עם כו' או הנסה אלקים כו' אתה הראת לדעת כו'
"Did ever a people hear... or has any god ventured..." (Devarim 4:33-34) — "You have been shown, in order to know" (Devarim 4:35).
He cites the surrounding pesukim that recall the great revelations: the nation hearing Hashem's voice and Hashem taking a nation out from within another nation, all so that we should know there is none besides Him.
פירש"י שפתח להם כל הרקיעים וכמו כן פתח למטה ע"ש
Rashi explains that Hashem opened up for them all the heavens, and likewise He opened up below — see there.
Rashi teaches that at Matan Torah Hashem tore open all the upper and lower worlds, revealing that there is nothing but Him.
כל זה נכתב לנו בתורה שנדע שגם בגלות נוכל לבקש אלקותו ית"ש ולכן פתח לנו הקב"ה הרקיע וזכינו לשמוע קול אלקים חיים זה עדות על כחן של בנ"י הדבקים בה'
All of this was written for us in the Torah so that we should know that even in galus we are able to seek out the Godliness of Hashem, may He be blessed; and therefore the Holy One, Blessed is He, opened up the heaven for us, and we merited to hear the voice of the living God — this is testimony to the power of Bnei Yisrael who cling to Hashem.
These revelations were recorded in the Torah specifically so we would know that even in exile we can seek Hashem; our hearing His living voice testifies to the spiritual strength of Bnei Yisrael who remain attached to Him.
או הנסה אלקים הוא עדות על התקרבות שמצד הקב"ה שירד למצרים והוציאנו משערי טומאה
"Or has any god ventured" is testimony to the drawing close that came from the side of the Holy One, Blessed is He, who descended into Mitzrayim and took us out from the gates of impurity.
The phrase "or has any god ventured" points to the other direction of closeness — Hashem Himself descending into Mitzrayim to draw us out of the deepest impurity.
ומצד ב' הכחות אלו נבקש גם בכל מקומות פזורנו בין הטמאים את אלקותו ית"ש וימצא לנו בבקשתינו בכל לב ונפש
And by virtue of these two powers, we may seek out the Godliness of Hashem, may He be blessed, even in all the places of our dispersion among the impure ones; and He will be found by us through our seeking with all our heart and soul.
These two forces — our reaching up and Hashem reaching down — empower us to search for Him wholeheartedly even when scattered among impure nations, and He assures us we will find Him.
וזה הנסיון של בנ"י בגלות
And this is the test of Bnei Yisrael in galus.
This is precisely the nisayon that Bnei Yisrael face throughout galus.
אחר כל העובר עליהם יבקשו רק להתדבק בו ית"ש ולמצא אלקותו ית"ש גם בגלות
That after all that passes over them, they should desire only to cling to Him, may He be blessed, and to find the Godliness of Hashem, may He be blessed, even in galus.
Despite everything they endure, their sole desire should remain to cling to Hashem and to uncover His Godliness even within the exile itself.
ולכן קורין ק"ש פעמים וקבעו חז"ל פ' ציצית ויצ"מ בק"ש שבכח יצ"מ נוכל לקבל עול מ"ש גם בגלות
Therefore we recite Krias Shema twice, and Chazal established the parshah of Tzitzis and Yetzias Mitzrayim within Krias Shema — for through the power of Yetzias Mitzrayim we are able to accept the yoke of the Kingship of Heaven even in galus.
This is why Shema is said morning and evening, with the parshah of Tzitzis and the mention of leaving Mitzrayim included — because the power of Yetzias Mitzrayim enables us to accept Hashem's Kingship even in galus.
ובקשתם משם אין הכוונה על בקשות הגאולה רק לבקש פני ה' גם בגלות כמ"ש בקשו פני תמיד
"And from there you shall seek" — the intent is not regarding requests for the geulah, but rather to seek out the Presence of Hashem even in galus, as it is written, "Seek His Presence always" (Tehillim 105:4).
He clarifies that "seeking from there" does not mean praying for the geulah, but seeking Hashem's very Presence while still in exile, as Dovid HaMelech says to seek His Presence constantly.
וכ' ובקשתם לשון רבים ומצאת לשון יחיד כי בעת שמתעורר הרצון והתשוקה של בנ"י אל השי"ת נעשין אחדות א' שזה הרצון לה' מאחד ומחבר נפשות בנ"י כמ"ש במ"א מזה:
And it is written "and you shall seek" in the plural, yet "and you shall find" in the singular — for at the time when the will and the yearning of Bnei Yisrael toward Hashem, may He be blessed, is aroused, they become one single unity; for this will toward Hashem unifies and joins together the souls of Bnei Yisrael, as is explained elsewhere regarding this matter.
He notes the shift from plural "seek" to singular "find": when the yearning of Bnei Yisrael for Hashem is aroused, that shared longing fuses their many souls into one, for desire for Hashem itself unifies the neshamos of Bnei Yisrael.
Summary: The Sfas Emes expounds the pasuk "And from there you will seek out Hashem your God and you shall find Him," teaching that even in the darkness of galus Bnei Yisrael retain the ability to search for and attain the Godliness of Hashem. He builds this on two forces revealed at Yetzias Mitzrayim and Matan Torah: the power of Bnei Yisrael who cling upward to Hashem, and the closeness of the Holy One, Blessed is He, who descended into Mitzrayim to draw them out from the gates of impurity. By virtue of both, the very test of galus becomes the opportunity to desire only dveikus with Hashem and to find His Presence even while scattered among the nations — which is why Krias Shema, anchored in Yetzias Mitzrayim, lets us accept the yoke of His Kingship in exile. Finally, he reads the shift from the plural "and you shall seek" to the singular "and you shall find" as a teaching that the aroused yearning of Bnei Yisrael for Hashem unifies all their souls into one.