Tetzaveh
תצוהThe Priestly Garments
30 translated essays · 52 total
תרל"א(1870)
Fragmentary editorial note· Essay 1
Tetzaveh and Parshas Zachor — I do not [have it recorded] as it ought to be. This is an editorial note indicating that the Sefas Emes's Torah on Parshas Tetzaveh and the related Parshas Zachor was not preserved in proper, complete form for …
The mitzvah's light comes only from Hashem· Essay 2
In the Midrash: "And does He [really] need its light?" etc. The Midrash asks rhetorically whether Hashem needs the light of the Menorah — surely not — and the Sefas Emes will draw out what the kindling truly accomplishes. But in any case it…
Honest measure, emunah, and erasing Amalek· Essay 3
In the Midrash, brought by Rashi [on Ki Seitzei]: "You shall not have… a weight and a weight (even va'aven)… Remember (zachor)…" (Devarim 25:13–17). The Torah juxtaposes the prohibition of false weights with the command to remember Amalek, …
Erasing Amalek through remembrance· Essay 4
My grandfather, my teacher and master (of blessed memory for the life of the World to Come), said on what is written: "You shall blot out… the remembrance (zecher) of Amalek" (Devarim 25:19). The Sefas Emes cites his grandfather, the Chiddu…
Tetzaveh תרל"א
תרל”א תצוה ופ’ זכור איני כראוי. בקיצור ולא נכתב כסדר במדרש וכי לאורה צריך כו’. The Midrash (Tanchuma Tezave 7) describes how the positioning of the menora was obviously not positioned to bring physical light to the area. R…
תרל"ב(1871)
Illuminating for Hashem through bittul and self-sacrifice· Essay 1
"And you shall command, etc." (Shemos 27:20) — the Midrash explains: "Not for its light do I need [the Menorah], but rather that you should give light to Me, etc." The Midrash points out that Hashem does not need the Menorah's physical ligh…
Guarding the inner Divine spark· Essay 2
The Midrash says that Bnei Yisrael are compared to the olive: just as oil does not mix [with other liquids] and floats above them, so too Bnei Yisrael. The Sefas Emes brings the Midrash that likens Bnei Yisrael to olive oil, which never ble…
Tetzave תרל"ב
תרל”ב ואתה תצוה כו’ פירש במדרש כי לא לאורה צריך רק שתאירו לי כו’. כי בודאי הרצון מבני ישראל אשר ימשכו כל הנבראים אחר שורשם בשמים. ועי”ז יאירו בעולם כי יש נקודה חיות מאירה בכל נברא. להעלות נר תמיד. פי’ תמיד הוא …
Tetzava תרל"ב
תרל”ב ואתה תצוה כו’ פירש במדרש כי לא לאורה צריך רק שתאירו לי כו’. The Midrash (Shemos Rabba 36:2) Says that HaShem did not need the light of the menora to illuminate for Him, rather Bnei Yisrael illuminate the world. כי בו…
תרל"ה(1874)
Becoming the mitzvah itself· Essay 1
In the Midrash: "A mitzvah is a lamp (ner mitzvah)…"; "My lamp is in your hand…"; "The lamp of Hashem is the soul of man (ner Hashem nishmas adam)…" The Sefas Emes opens with the Midrash that weaves together three verses about "lamps": the …
Mitzvos awaken an enduring inner flame· Essay 2
And in Rashi: "to kindle a continual lamp" — that one must light it so that the flame rises of itself. The Sefas Emes cites Rashi on the menorah: the kohen must kindle the lamp until the flame ascends on its own, without further assistance.…
Like olive oil: pure devotion enables refinement· Essay 3
In the Midrash: Bnei Yisrael are compared to the olive, which does not mix with other liquids — as it is written, "you shall not intermarry with them" (Devarim 7:3) — and even if it does mix, it nevertheless rises to the top — see there. Th…
Tetzave תרל"ה
תרל”ה במדרש נר מצוה כו’ נרי בידך כו’ נר ה’ נשמת אדם כו’. The Midrash (Shemos Rabba 36:3); HaShem says to Bnei Yisrael: “My candle (The Torah and Mitzvos) is in your hands and your candle (the neshama) is in my …
תרל"ז(1876)
Torah's light born from refinement· Essay 1
In the Midrash: "a fresh olive tree…" — they grind it… and bring stones… and place their oil; so too Yisrael… (Midrash on the olive crushed for oil). The Sefas Emes opens with the Midrash comparing Bnei Yisrael to the olive, which is crushe…
Yosef as the unifying root of the shevatim· Essay 2
On the eifod (apron of the Kohen Gadol) there were only shoham stones, and this is the stone of Yosef. The Sefas Emes notes that while the choshen had twelve different stones, the eifod carried only the shoham, which is the stone that repre…
Tetzave תרל"ז
במדרש זית רענן כו’ טוחנין כו’ ומביאין אבנים כו’ ונותנים שמנן כך ישראל כו’. ד”א מה שמן אינו מתערב בשאר משקין כו’ ונתנך עליון כו’. The Midrash (Shemos Rabbah 36:1) compares Bnei Yisrael to an olive. J…
תרל"ח(1877)
The hidden inner point of purity· Essay 1
In the Midrash: "And you shall command" etc. — "a fresh olive tree" etc. (Yirmiyahu 11:16). The Midrash links the command to kindle the menorah with the verse comparing Yisrael to a fresh, fruitful olive tree. The explanation of the matter:…
Menorah's hidden light sustains every galus· Essay 2
"To kindle a lamp continually" — Rashi explains that each and every night is called "tamid" (continual). Even though the menorah was lit only at night, Rashi says this regular nightly kindling is what the Torah calls "continual." And accord…
Tetzave תרל"ח
במדרש ואתה תצוה כו’ זית רענן כו’. The Midrash compares Bnei Yisrael to an olive. ביאור הענין שיש בנפשות בני ישראל נקודה טמונה אשר על זה נאמר אם תבקשנה כו’ וכמטמונים תחפשנה כו’. וע”י רוב יגיעות נפש ויגיעות בשר ל…
תרל"ט(1878)
תר"מ(1879)
תרמ"א(1880)
Tzaddikim safeguard the soul's holy sparks· Essay 1
"And they shall take to you pure olive oil… to kindle a continual lamp." The Sefas Emes opens with the command to bring pure oil for the menorah, focusing on the words "to you" (אליך) and on the goal of a lamp that burns continually. In the…
The three crowns draw Heavenly light· Essay 2
In the Gemara and the Midrash on [Parshas] Terumah. The Sefas Emes draws on the teaching of Chazal concerning the crowns of the Mishkan's vessels. There are three crowns [zeirim]: a crown upon the Aron (Ark), the Shulchan (Table), and the M…
Moshe and Aharon: voice, vessel, and the peace that holds blessing· Essay 3
In the Midrash: "And this is the thing that you shall do for them" — this is the meaning of the pasuk, "Forever, Hashem, Your word stands firm in the heavens"… "like the heavens"… see there. The Midrash links the consecration of the kohanim…
תרמ"ב(1881)
Mitzvos as vessels for hidden light· Essay 1
"And you shall command... and they shall take to you." The Sefas Emes opens with the pasuk in which Hashem tells Moshe Rabbeinu that Bnei Yisrael should "take to you" the oil for the menorah — a phrasing he will unpack as something Moshe dr…
Garments and Menorah: Body and Soul· Essay 2
The connection of the mitzvah of the bigdei kehunah (the priestly garments) to the oil of the Menorah. The Sefas Emes opens by asking why the Torah places the command of the priestly garments alongside the command regarding the oil for the …
תרמ"ג(1882)
Torah is light, mitzvah is its lamp· Essay 1
On the pasuk: "And you shall command... that they take to you..." (Shemos 27:20). The Sefas Emes opens with the command that the oil for the Menorah be brought "to you" — to Moshe Rabbeinu — and sets out to explain why the Torah singles out…
Da'as as soul-illumination through avodah· Essay 2
On the pasuk "And they shall know that I am Hashem etc." — they went out of Mitzrayim in order that I may dwell among them. The whole purpose of yetzias Mitzrayim was so that Hashem's Shechinah should rest within Bnei Yisrael; the "knowing"…
תרמ"ד(1883)
Undated
22 more essays from this section await translation.