Living from God's Every Word
בפרשת המן לחם מן השמים.
In the section of the manna, “bread from heaven.”
The Sefat Emet begins by noting that the manna represents heavenly sustenance, not rooted in the physical world.
וכתיב למען הודיעך כו' על כל מוצא פ"ה יחי' האדם.
And it is written: “In order to make you know … that man lives by everything that comes from the mouth of God.”
The Torah teaches that true life-force comes from divine speech itself, not from physical food.
דהנה הקב"ה בטובו זן את הכל.
For behold, the Holy One, in His goodness, nourishes all.
All sustenance in creation flows from God’s benevolence.
פי' טובו ית' מתחדש בכל יום.
Meaning: His goodness, blessed be He, is renewed every day.
Divine vitality is constantly refreshed, not static.
ומזון לכולא בי'.
And nourishment for all is within Him.
All sustenance originates in God’s inner divine abundance.
אך השפע מתחלק לפי ערך המקבלים.
But the flow is divided according to the level of the recipients.
The form in which sustenance appears depends on the spiritual capacity of the receiving beings.
כל עולם ועולם במקומו.
Each world according to its place.
Every spiritual realm receives nourishment appropriate to its level.
עד שמזין גם לאדם ובהמה.
Until it reaches even humans and animals.
The divine flow descends all the way to the physical realm.
וז"ש ומשביע לכל חי רצון.
And this is what is written: “He satisfies every living being with favor.”
This verse describes the universality of divine sustenance.
פי' לפי הרצון וכח המקבל.
Meaning: according to the will and capacity of the recipient.
The degree of nourishment one receives depends on one’s inner openness and capability.
יש לו צינור ושביל באותו מצב שמשם מקבל המזון.
Each has a channel and a path in that state through which it receives its nourishment.
Every being possesses a unique conduit through which divine abundance reaches it.
ולכן לתחתונים בא המזון בהתלבשות בצומח ושאר דברים.
Therefore, for the lower beings, sustenance comes clothed in vegetation and other things.
Physical beings receive divine energy only after it becomes materialized.
לכן יש בו פסולת במאכל.
Therefore, there is waste in food.
The material form introduces impurity or unusable matter.
אבל באמת האדם כולל כל המדרגות אפי' למעלה מן המלאכים כידוע.
But in truth, the human being includes all levels, even above the angels, as is known.
Humanity contains a uniquely comprehensive spiritual structure.
וז"ש לא על הלחם כו' על כל מוצא פי ה'.
And this is what it says: “Not by bread … but by every utterance of the mouth of God.”
Humans can draw sustenance directly from divine speech, beyond physical intermediaries.
פי' שכל המדרגות הכלולים במוצא פי ה'.
Meaning: all the levels included in the utterance of God.
Divine speech encompasses all spiritual strata.
יכול האדם לחיות בהם.
The human being can live from them.
Humans can be nourished directly by spirituality.
כאשר הי' קודם החטא דכתיב אני אמרתי אלקים אתם כו'.
As it was before the sin, as it is written: “I said: You are gods …”
Before the fall, the human condition allowed for direct divine nourishment.
ולכן היו ניזונים מן המן שלא נתלבש במזון גשמיי.
Therefore they were sustained by the manna, which did not clothe itself in physical food.
Manna restored a taste of pre-sin sustenance directly from the divine realm.
ולכן לא הי' צריך בירור שלא הי' בו פסולת כנ"ל.
Therefore it did not require refinement, for it contained no waste, as said above.
Because manna came without physical intermediaries, it contained no impurity or excess.
Summary: The Sefat Emet teaches that all sustenance originates in divine goodness, descending through channels according to each being’s capacity. Physical food contains waste because divine energy becomes materialized, but humans can, in essence, live from pure divine speech. The manna represented this higher form of nourishment, free of physical impurity.