Two Levels of Faith
ויאמינו בה' ובמשה כו' אף דגם במצרים כ' ויאמן העם כו'.
“And they believed in the Lord and in Moses…,” although it also says in Egypt, “And the people believed…”
The Sefat Emet asks why belief after the splitting of the sea is emphasized, since belief had already appeared in Egypt.
רק שיש ב' אמונות.
But there are two kinds of faith.
The Rebbe introduces a distinction between two different modes of emunah.
א' אף שאין האדם יודע כלום. ועכ"ז מאמין בהקב"ה. וזה מביאו שיוכל להשיג ג"כ.
One: even when a person knows nothing, he nonetheless believes in God, and this enables him eventually to attain understanding.
The first faith is prereflective trust that opens the door to spiritual comprehension.
ואח"כ צריך להאמין ע"י ההשגה עצמו שידע שא"א להשיגו כלל.
And afterward one must believe through the very understanding he has gained, realizing that God cannot be grasped at all.
The second faith arises from insight itself, culminating in the awareness of the divine’s ultimate unknowability.
וזהו ובמשה שכ' ז"ל באספקלריא דנהרא.
This is the meaning of “and in Moses,” for Moses perceived through a clear speculum.
Moses embodies faith emerging from enlightened perception.
כי מה שאדם מאמין ע"י הריחוק כנ"ל נק' אס' דלא נהרא.
For the faith that comes from distance is called a non-luminous speculum.
The first faith is dim, born from lack of clarity.
ובחי' מרע"ה אס' דנהרא. שהי' ביטול ע"י הדעת והשכל כו'.
But Moses’ level is the luminous speculum, a nullification through knowledge and intellect.
Moses’ faith flows from profound comprehension that dissolves ego.
ונק' ג"כ אספקלריא שהיא מחיצה ע"י האור עצמו כנ"ל.
It is also called a speculum, for it is a partition formed by the light itself.
Even lofty perception contains a veil created by its own brilliance.
וכמו כן יש ב' מיני גלות והסתרות.
Similarly, there are two kinds of exile and concealment.
The two levels of faith correspond to two layers of spiritual hiddenness.
והוא בחי' עוה"ז ועוה"ב. ב' העלמות.
These are the aspects of this world and the world to come—two concealments.
Each realm contains its own form of obscurity.
שיש העלם והסתר בעוה"ז. החושך יכסה ארץ.
There is concealment in this world: “darkness will cover the earth.”
This-worldly concealment is the coarse obscurity of spiritual darkness.
וכפי תגבורת האדם על היצה"ר זוכה לצאת מהחשיכה.
As a person overcomes the evil inclination, he merits to emerge from the darkness.
One breaks through the first concealment by inner struggle.
ואך בזה עצמו לא יבוא אל השלימות. כי מרע לא יבוא טוב.
But through this alone he cannot reach perfection, for good cannot emerge from evil.
Victory over evil does not itself produce the fullness of holiness.
ורק ע"י סיוע מהבורא ית"ש שעשה כן שע"י עבודת האדם וגובר נגד יצרו. עי"ז זוכה שמושיע לו הקב"ה אח"כ בבחי' עשה טוב.
Only with the Creator’s help—granted after man exerts himself against his inclination—does he merit that God then brings him to the level of “do good.”
Divine aid elevates a person into positive holiness after he conquers negativity.
והוא העלם הב' שיש בבחי' עשה טוב ע"י האמת.
This is the second concealment, present in the realm of “do good,” rooted in truth.
The higher concealment is subtle: holiness too is hidden.
שמעשה הטוב גבוה עד מאוד ואין בשכל האדם להתקרב שם רק ע"י הקדמת עבודת האדם בהעלם ראשון.
Good deeds are exceedingly lofty, beyond human intellect, accessible only after one first works through the first concealment.
Only by overcoming coarse darkness can one approach refined light.
מזכה אותו הקב"ה בהעלם השני.
Then God grants him merit in the second concealment.
Divine grace lifts a person into higher hiddenness.
וזה ענין עוה"ז מכין לעוה"ב.
This is the meaning of “this world prepares for the world to come.”
The first concealment sets the stage for the second.
וכן ענין ימי המעשה הכנה לשבת קודש.
Likewise, the weekdays prepare for the holy Sabbath.
The pattern repeats in time: labor precedes revelation.
וי"ל שזה ענין יצ"מ וקריעת ים סוף.
We may say this is the relationship between the Exodus and the splitting of the sea.
The two events mirror the two kinds of concealment and revelation.
כי למה צוה הש"י וישובו כו'.
For why did God command them to return?
The detour hints at the second concealment.
וכ' ויהי בשלח.
And it says, “And when Pharaoh sent out the people…”
The verse signals an incomplete redemption.
וי"ל שהי' חסרון מה שנצמח יצ"מ ע"י פרעה הרשע שהוא העלם הראשון.
We may say there was a deficiency because the Exodus sprouted through Pharaoh’s oppression—the first concealment.
The redemption grew out of darkness, so its completion required further revelation.
עבודת חומר ולבנים כו'.
The labor of mortar and bricks, etc.
The exile’s physical toil symbolizes coarse concealment.
והי' נצרך אח"כ להיות ישועה בהעלם הב'.
A salvation in the second concealment was then necessary.
The splitting of the sea brought a higher, purely divine revelation.
וזה שהי' ע"י בנ"י עצמם וישובו.
This occurred through Israel themselves, in their turning back.
Their conscious movement initiated the higher revelation.
ולא הי' ע"י פרעה ומצרים כלל.
And it was not through Pharaoh or Egypt at all.
The second level is independent of oppressive forces.
והי' הצרה ג"כ ע"י הדעת שהרי חזרתם הי' בדעת והשכל.
And the distress was also through knowledge, for their return was guided by awareness and thought.
This concealment is subtle, born of heightened consciousness.
והוא העלם הב' כנ"ל.
And this is the second concealment, as mentioned.
The higher obscurity manifests through intellect.
ואח"כ ויאמינו בה' ובמשה כנ"ל.
And afterward: “They believed in the Lord and in Moses,” as above.
This belief reflects both levels of emunah reuniting.
וכן איתא שקי"ס הי' ביום הז' כדמיון שבת אחרי ימי המעשה.
And it is stated that the splitting of the sea was on the seventh day, like the Sabbath after the weekdays.
The seventh day symbolizes the higher revelation following human struggle.
Summary: The Sefat Emet teaches two levels of faith and two kinds of concealment, paralleling the Exodus (first concealment) and the splitting of the sea (second concealment), just as weekdays prepare for Shabbat and this world for the next.