Desire to Fulfill Divine Will
באבן עזרא הקשה על לא תחמוד.
“The Ibn Ezra raised a difficulty regarding ‘You shall not covet.’”
The Sefat Emet begins by noting that the Ibn Ezra struggled to explain how the Torah can command an emotion like coveting.
ותי'.
“And he answered.”
The Ibn Ezra offers his own resolution, which the Sefat Emet references briefly.
ע"ש.
“See there.”
The reader is directed to consult the Ibn Ezra’s full discussion for details.
אבל באמת נראה כי אף שיש חמדה לעניני עוה"ז.
“But in truth it appears that although there is desire for matters of this world…”
The Sefat Emet explains that worldly desires are natural and inherent to human life.
אך התשוקה צריך להיות באדם לקיים מאמר ה'.
“Yet a person’s longing should be directed toward fulfilling the word of God.”
The real spiritual task is to redirect desire itself toward divine service.
וזאת החמדה תגבור נגד כל החמדות שבעולם.
“And this desire will overpower all the other desires in the world.”
When the desire for God becomes primary, it naturally subdues competing worldly cravings.
ועל זה נאמר בטל רצונך מפני רצונו.
“And about this it is said: nullify your will before His will.”
The Mishnah’s teaching is understood here as the alignment of one’s inner longing with divine purpose.
ואפשר זה בא אחר קיום מ"ע באהבה.
“And it is possible that this comes after fulfilling positive commandments with love.”
Through loving performance of mitzvot, a person develops the capacity to desire what God desires.
אך מקודם כ' סור מרע כפשוטו מגזירת המלך כדברי א"ע הנ"ל והבן:
“But beforehand it is written: ‘Turn from evil,’ in its literal sense, as the decree of the King, as the aforementioned Ibn Ezra stated—understand this.”
The initial stage of spiritual growth is simple obedience—restraining oneself from wrongdoing—before developing transformed inner desire.
Summary: The Sefat Emet teaches that the command ‘You shall not covet’ is fulfilled not by suppressing desire but by redirecting it toward God, a transformation that follows loving performance of mitzvot, while first one must simply restrain harm in obedience to God.