Torah elevates the hidden good in creation

במדרש לקח טוב נתתי אל תעזובו את המקח כו' יש בו זהב כסף כו'.

The Midrash on "I have given you a good purchase (lekach tov); do not abandon the merchandise," etc. — "it contains gold, silver," etc.

The Midrash compares the Torah to a precious "purchase" containing gold and silver — a treasury one must not abandon.

פי' שע"י התורה יכולין ליקח הטוב ולהעלות כל הדברים שבעולם למצוא הטוב בהם.

The meaning is that through the Torah one is able to "take the good" and to elevate all the things in the world, finding the good within them.

The Torah is the tool that lets a person extract the latent good in every worldly thing and raise it up.

כי הלא כל מה שברא הקדוש ב"ה יש בו הטוב כמ"ש וירא אלקים כו' כל אשר עשה כו' טוב כו'.

For surely everything that Hashem created contains good, as it is written, "And Elokim saw... all that He had made... [and behold it was] very good."

Since all of creation was declared "very good," a kernel of good is embedded in everything Hashem made.

אך התורה היא המורה דרך איך למצוא בכ"ד הטוב.

But the Torah is what shows the way how to find the good in every matter.

The good is hidden; the Torah is the guide that teaches how to uncover it in each thing.

ולכן אחר קבה"ת אמר ויקחו לי תרומה כו' שבכח התורה ירימו כל המינים הללו כסף וזהב כו'.

Therefore, after the giving of the Torah, He said, "and they shall take for Me a terumah," etc. — that through the power of the Torah they would elevate all these kinds: silver and gold, etc.

The command to bring terumah follows Mattan Torah because only with the Torah's power can the various materials — silver, gold, and the rest — be raised up to holiness.

והתורה היא ראשית ושורש כל הברואים כמ"ש באורייתא ברא קוב"ה עלמא.

And the Torah is the beginning and root of all created things, as it says, "with the Torah Hashem created the world."

Torah is the very root of creation — Hashem used it as the blueprint to form the world.

ולכן בכח התורה יכולין להעלות כל הדברים לשורש העליון.

And therefore, through the power of the Torah, one is able to elevate all things to their supernal root.

Because Torah is the root of everything, it can return each thing to its source above.

ובאמת לקח טוב קאי על כל העולם ומלואו. אך בתנאי תורתי אל תעזובו.

And in truth, "a good purchase" refers to the entire world and its fullness — but on the condition, "do not abandon My Torah."

The "good purchase" is really the whole world, which becomes a treasure only on condition that one holds fast to the Torah.

כי הכל א'.

For it is all one.

The Torah and the world are ultimately a single unity, both rooted in Hashem.

כאשר ראינו שזכו בנ"י והעלו כל הדברים עד ששרתה שכינה במעשי ידיהם ונתברר שהכל מתאחד בשורש העליון והקב"ה והתורה הוא חיות כל הבריאה ונתקיים עתה מה שקיבלו אבותינו והקדימו נעשה לנשמע.

As we saw that Bnei Yisrael merited and elevated all things, until the Shechinah rested in the work of their hands, and it became clear that everything unites in the supernal root, and that Hashem and the Torah are the vitality of all creation; and now was fulfilled what our forefathers accepted when they placed "naaseh" before "nishma."

The Mishkan demonstrated this: by elevating physical materials, Bnei Yisrael drew the Shechinah into their handiwork, proving that all is unified in its root and that Hashem and Torah are the life of creation — the fulfillment of "naaseh venishma."

שתכלית מעשה המשכן הי' מ"ש ונועדתי לך שם כו'.

For the purpose of the work of the Mishkan was what is said, "and I will meet with you there," etc.

The whole goal of the Mishkan was for Hashem to "meet" and reveal His word there.

שע"י תיקון העשי' שהעלו כל המעשים אליו ית'. זכו לשמוע בהם קול דברו.

For through the refinement of the deed — that they elevated all their actions to Him — they merited to hear within them the voice of His word.

By elevating their physical deeds to Hashem, Bnei Yisrael merited that His voice would speak through those very deeds.

וזהו העדות דכ' משכן העדות שביררו הטוב הנגנז במעשה בראשית.

And this is the "testimony" — as it is written, "the Mishkan of Testimony" — that they clarified the good that was hidden away in the work of creation.

The "Mishkan of Testimony" testifies that Bnei Yisrael succeeded in revealing the good concealed within creation since the beginning.

דכ' מה רב טובך כו' צפנת ליראיך.

As it is written, "How abundant is Your good... that You have stored away for those who fear You" (Tehillim 31:20).

There is a hidden reservoir of "good" that Hashem has stored up for those with yiras Shomayim.

דאי' שמא דקוב"ה סתים וגליא. וכמו כן אורייתא סתים וגליא. וכמו כן ישראל סתים וגליא.

For it is taught: the Name of Hashem is concealed and revealed; and likewise the Torah is concealed and revealed; and likewise Yisrael is concealed and revealed.

A threefold parallel: Hashem's Name, the Torah, and Bnei Yisrael each have a hidden (sasim) and a revealed (galya) dimension — an inner and an outer aspect.

שיש בהם חלק נסתר שכ' עליו חלק ה' עמו.

For there is in them a hidden portion, of which it is written, "the portion of Hashem is His people."

Within Bnei Yisrael lies a concealed portion that is literally "Hashem's portion" — the inner Divine spark.

ושמעתי מפי מו"ז ז"ל עמ"ש בזוה"ק מי זאת הנשקפה דהם תרי עלמין דמתחברין.

And I heard from my grandfather, of blessed memory, regarding what is said in the Zohar HaKadosh on "Who (mi) is this (zos) that looks forth?" — that these are two worlds that join together.

Citing the Zohar via his grandfather (the Chiddushei HaRim), the Sefas Emes explains the verse as alluding to two worlds — the hidden and the revealed — joining as one.

פי' מי לשון נסתר. זאת לשון נגלה.

The explanation: "mi" (who) is the language of the concealed; "zos" (this) is the language of the revealed.

"Mi," an open-ended "who," denotes the hidden; "zos," a pointing "this," denotes the revealed — the two dimensions named in one phrase.

רק שבנ"י המה מאמינים בני מאמינים ויודעין היטב דגם עוה"ז הנגלה הוא מקושר ומתאחד לעולם העליון כו'.

Only that Bnei Yisrael are "believers, children of believers," and they know well that even this revealed world is bound and united to the upper world, etc.

Through their inherited emunah, Bnei Yisrael recognize that even the visible, lower world is intimately connected and unified with the upper, hidden world.

ולפי דברינו הנ"ל יתכן ביותר שבנ"י עצמם נק' מי זאת ע"ש שיש בהם בחי' סתים וגליא והמה עדים על הש"י שהכל רואין אם כי המה בני בשר כמוהם. יש בהם אור הצפון.

And according to our words above, it is all the more fitting that Bnei Yisrael themselves are called "mi zos," because they contain the aspect of concealed and revealed; and they are witnesses to Hashem, for all can see that, although they are flesh-and-blood like others, there is within them the hidden light.

Bnei Yisrael themselves embody "mi zos" — hidden and revealed together. They testify to Hashem precisely because, though outwardly ordinary humans, they carry an unmistakable inner Divine light.

וז"ש מה רב טובך שהוא חלק הנשמה כו'.

And this is "How abundant is Your good" — which is the portion of the neshamah, etc.

The "abundant good" stored away refers to the hidden soul-portion, the inner light within the Jew.

פעלת נגד בני אדם שרואין מתדמין להם ואינם יכולין לעמוד על עצמותם.

"[Which] You have wrought before the sons of men" — that those who see them think they resemble them, and cannot grasp their true essence.

To outside observers Bnei Yisrael appear just like everyone else; the onlookers cannot perceive the hidden essence concealed within them.

וללמד על הכלל כולו יצא.

And [this case] comes to teach about the entire general principle.

Bnei Yisrael's hidden-and-revealed nature is not an isolated case but a model for a universal truth.

שממילא כל חכם מבין מזה שבכל הברואים כך יש בהם חיות הבורא. ואין שום דבר נפרד משורש החיות.

For automatically every wise person understands from this that in all created things, likewise, there is the vitality of the Creator, and nothing is separate from the root of vitality.

From Bnei Yisrael the wise person learns the general rule: every created thing contains Hashem's chiyus within, and nothing is ever truly cut off from its source of life.

ובמעשה המשכן ביררו בנ"י זה העדות.

And in the work of the Mishkan, Bnei Yisrael clarified this testimony.

The Mishkan was where Bnei Yisrael demonstrated and made manifest this truth — that the Creator's life pervades all.

וכ' ויקחו כו' מאת כל כו' ידבנו לבו כו' אח"כ וזאת התרומה.

And it is written, "and they shall take... from every [person] whose heart moves him," and afterward, "and this is the terumah."

The Torah first speaks of the giver "whose heart moves him," and only then lists "this is the terumah" — the materials. The Sefas Emes will distinguish these two phases.

והמה ב' הענינים מי זאת כנ"ל.

And these are the two matters of "mi zos," as above.

These two phases correspond to the hidden ("mi") and revealed ("zos") aspects discussed earlier.

ענין הראשון בנפשות בנ"י בעצמם. לכן כ' לשון יחיד. וכתי' תרומתי.

The first matter is within the souls of Bnei Yisrael themselves; therefore it is written in the singular, "you shall take My terumah."

The first, hidden phase ("mi") concerns the inner souls of Bnei Yisrael — hence the singular "My terumah," the offering of the self.

ועי"ז אח"כ וזאת התרומה זהב כסף כו'. שיוכלו להעלות כל הדברים ג"כ. לכן כ' מאתם לשון רבים.

And through this, afterward, "and this is the terumah: gold, silver," etc. — that they could then also elevate all the [physical] things; therefore it is written "from them" in the plural.

Once the inner self is given, the second, revealed phase ("zos") follows: the physical materials, gold and silver, can be raised up too — hence the plural, referring to the many external objects.

וכתיב ככל אשר אני מראה אותך כו'.

And it is written, "according to all that I show you," etc.

Hashem showed Moshe a heavenly pattern for the Mishkan and its vessels.

פי' שהראה הקב"ה למרע"ה שורש המשכן וכל כליו בשמים.

The meaning is that Hashem showed Moshe Rabbeinu the root of the Mishkan and all its vessels in the heavens.

Moshe was shown the supernal "root" — the heavenly counterpart of the Mishkan and every vessel.

וכמו שיש חלק למעלה מכל מעשה התחתונים. כן מובן שיכולים התחתונים להשיג התדבקות בכל מעשי העליונים. וז"ש וכן תעשו:

And just as there is a portion above for every deed of the lower beings, so it is understood that the lower beings can attain attachment to all the deeds of the upper beings — and this is the meaning of "and so shall you do."

Every earthly act has a heavenly root, so the lower world can cleave to the upper. "So shall you do" means: build below in a way that connects to and mirrors the supernal pattern above.

Summary: The Torah is the "good purchase" — the tool through which one extracts the hidden good Hashem placed in every created thing and elevates it to its supernal root, since Torah is the root of creation itself. This was demonstrated in the Mishkan, where Bnei Yisrael raised physical materials until the Shechinah rested in their handiwork, fulfilling "naaseh venishma" and revealing the good "stored away" in creation. Drawing on the Zohar (heard from his grandfather), the Sefas Emes explains that Hashem's Name, the Torah, and Bnei Yisrael each have a hidden (mi) and revealed (zos) dimension; Bnei Yisrael themselves are "mi zos," outwardly ordinary yet carrying an inner Divine light, testifying that the Creator's vitality fills all things. The two phases of the terumah — first the inner self (singular, "My terumah") and then the physical materials (plural) — mirror this, and "so shall you do" teaches that every earthly deed can cleave to its heavenly root.