Torah as strength gathers holy sparks

במדרש ה' עוזי ומעוזי ומנוסי ביום צרה אליך גוים יבאו.

In the Midrash: "Hashem, my strength and my stronghold and my refuge in the day of trouble; to You the nations shall come." (Yirmiyahu 16:19)

The Sefas Emes opens with a posuk that the Midrash unpacks as a sequence of moments in which Hashem revealed Himself as the strength of Bnei Yisrael, until ultimately even the nations are drawn to Him.

כשקרעת לנו הים ואמרנו עזי וזמרת שמעה רחב.

When You split the sea for us and we said "My strength (oz) and song" — Rachav heard.

The first revelation of "oz" (strength) was at Krias Yam Suf, and its effect reached even to Rachav, an outsider who was drawn to recognize Hashem.

כשנתת לנו התורה שנק' עוז בא יתרו.

When You gave us the Torah, which is called "oz" (strength), Yisro came.

The Torah itself is called "oz," and the power of Mattan Torah drew in Yisro, the convert for whom this parsha is named.

כשמלך שלמה ויתן עוז למלכו באת מ"ש.

When Shlomo reigned — "And He gave strength (oz) to His king" — the Queen of Sheba came.

The same pattern repeated in the kingship of Shlomo: the "oz" of his malchus drew the Queen of Sheba to come and recognize Hashem's wisdom.

דאיתא באוה"ח בפסוק והייתם לי סגולה.

For it is brought in the Ohr HaChaim on the posuk "And you shall be to Me a treasure (segulah)." (Shemos 19:5)

The Sefas Emes now cites the Ohr HaChaim to explain the inner mechanism behind why the nations are drawn to Bnei Yisrael.

כי בנ"י צריכין לקרב כל הניצוצי קדושה שנתערב בעולם אל הקדושה.

For Bnei Yisrael must draw close all the nitzotzei kedushah (holy sparks) that became mixed into the world, back to holiness.

The mission of Bnei Yisrael is to gather the scattered holy sparks dispersed throughout creation and return them to their source in kedushah.

וכשעוסקין בתורה יכולין להתקרב אפי' מרחוק וא"צ להיות בגלות.

And when they are engaged in Torah, they are able to bring them close even from afar, and they need not be in galus.

Toiling in Torah accomplishes this ingathering of sparks remotely, sparing Bnei Yisrael the need to descend into galus in order to reach those distant sparks.

ע"ש בדבריו.

See there in his words (the Ohr HaChaim).

The Sefas Emes refers the reader back to the Ohr HaChaim's fuller discussion.

והם עצמם דברי המדרש.

And these are the very words of the Midrash.

This idea of the Ohr HaChaim, he says, is precisely what the Midrash above was teaching.

כי הן ע"י תורה שבכתב ושבע"פ שנק' עוז.

For these come about through Torah Shebiksav and Torah Sheb'al Peh (the Written and Oral Torah), which are called "oz."

The ingathering of the sparks happens through both dimensions of Torah, the Written and the Oral, both designated by the term "oz."

ומעוזי התורה ומלכות שלמה.

And "my stronghold (uma'uzi)" alludes to the Torah and the kingship of Shlomo.

The word "ma'uzi" in the posuk corresponds to Torah and to the malchus of Shlomo, the second stage in the Midrash's list.

והן ע"י הצרה כשנגאלין ממנה.

And these also come about through the trouble (tzarah), when they are redeemed from it.

The phrase "in the day of trouble" hints that even the suffering itself, when one is redeemed from it, becomes a means of drawing in the sparks.

מכל זה אליך גוים יבאו.

From all of this — "to You the nations shall come."

The culmination of all these revelations of "oz" is that even the nations are ultimately drawn to Hashem.

וכמו שהדברים בכלל ישראל.

And just as these matters apply to Klal Yisrael as a whole,

The Sefas Emes now shifts from the national, collective dimension to the individual.

כמו כן בפרט כל איש ישראל נברא לתקן הדברים השייכים אליו.

so too, in the particular, every individual of Yisrael was created to rectify the matters that pertain specifically to him.

Each person has his own portion of holy sparks to redeem — the specific tikkun that belongs to his soul alone.

וכל הצרות שבאין לאדם הכל לתקן ולקרב אותן הני"ק השייכים אליו.

And all the troubles that come upon a person are entirely for the sake of rectifying and drawing close those holy sparks (nitzotzei kedushah) that pertain to him.

Personal hardships are not random; they are the means by which a person reaches and elevates the specific sparks tied to his own avodah.

וכשעוסק בתורה זוכה לקרבם בלי יסורים.

And when he is engaged in Torah, he merits to draw them close without suffering.

Just as with the nation, Torah study allows the individual to accomplish his tikkun without having to endure painful trials.

ולכן אחז"ל אין לך ב"ח אלא העוסק בתורה שא"צ להיות בגלות וצרה כמ"ש עץ חיים כו' למחזיקים בה.

Therefore Chazal said: "There is no free man (ben chorin) except one who is engaged in Torah" — for he need not be in galus and trouble, as it is written, "It is a tree of life… to those who grasp it." (Mishlei 3:18)

The one immersed in Torah is truly free, because Torah itself accomplishes his refinement, exempting him from the bondage of galus and affliction.

כשאדם אוחז בכל כוחו בתורה.

When a person grasps the Torah with all his strength,

The Sefas Emes explains the posuk "to those who grasp it" — it speaks of holding onto Torah with one's full power.

אז התורה שנק' עוז.

then the Torah, which is called "oz" (strength),

The Torah lives up to its name as "oz" in response to one who clings to it wholeheartedly.

נותנת לו כח וחיזוק.

gives him power and reinforcement.

The very Torah he grasps returns to him as strength and fortification.

והסט"א מתכנעת תחתיו.

And the sitra achra (the "other side," the forces of impurity) is subdued beneath him.

With the strength of Torah, the forces opposing holiness are bent and humbled before him.

וזה ענין שביתת שבת שנק' יום מנוחה כי כל המלאכות בימי המעשה הכל להוציא הני"ק שבתוך העשי'.

And this is the matter of resting on Shabbos, which is called "a day of rest" (yom menuchah) — for all the labors of the weekdays are entirely to extract the holy sparks that are within the deed (asiyah).

The Sefas Emes connects this to Shabbos. During the workweek, the very purpose of one's labors is to draw out the holy sparks embedded in the physical actions of the world.

וכשאדם עוסק בהם מתדבקין בו.

And when a person engages in them, they cling to him.

As one works during the week, the sparks within the labor attach themselves to him.

ויש להם עלי' והוא בדרך יגיעה.

And they have an elevation, but it comes by way of toil (yegiah).

The weekday refinement of sparks is real, but it is achieved through effort and exertion.

אבל בשבת כ' אל יצא איש ממקומו.

But regarding Shabbos it is written, "Let no man go out from his place." (Shemos 16:29)

Shabbos operates differently: one is commanded to stay in his place, not to go out and labor.

ממילא משמע דבימי המעשה צריך לצאת ממקומו לעסוק במלאכות.

It is thereby implied that on the weekdays one must go out from his place to engage in labors,

The contrast teaches that during the week one must "go out" — exert himself outward — to gather the sparks through work.

ובשבת יום מנוחה שאדם במקומו וממילא מתקרבין הני"ק השייכים אליו.

but on Shabbos, the day of rest, a person remains in his place, and the holy sparks that pertain to him are drawn close of themselves.

On Shabbos the ingathering happens effortlessly — by simply resting in his proper place, the sparks belonging to him come to him on their own, like the Torah-path described above.

וכן איתא בגמ' ריש ברכות בפסוק ושמתי מקום לעמי כו' ולא יוסיפו בני עולה לענותו.

And so it is brought in the Gemara at the beginning of Berachos on the posuk "And I will appoint a place for My people… and the children of wickedness shall no longer afflict them." (Shmuel II 7:10)

He brings a Gemara that ties the theme of a fixed "place" to protection from affliction.

כל הקובע מקום לתורתו.

"Whoever fixes a set place for his Torah,

The Gemara praises one who establishes a fixed place for his Torah study.

לתפילתו.

and for his tefillah,

And likewise a fixed place for his davening.

אויביו נופלים תחתיו ע"ש.

his enemies fall beneath him." See there.

One who is rooted in a fixed place of Torah and tefillah causes his enemies to fall — paralleling how the sitra achra is subdued beneath the one who grasps Torah.

וכן הוא בשבת יעשה כולו תורה בקביעות.

And so it is on Shabbos: one should make it entirely Torah, with fixedness (kevius).

Shabbos is the time to be wholly settled in Torah, fixed and rooted in one's place.

כמ"ש אל יצא כו' ממקומו בחי' עוזי ומעוזי כנ"ל:

As it is written, "Let no man go out… from his place" — this is the aspect of "my strength and my stronghold (uzi uma'uzi)," as above.

Remaining fixed in one's place on Shabbos, immersed in Torah, is the very fulfillment of "Hashem, my strength and my stronghold" with which the piece began — the sparks come close without toil or galus.

Summary: The Torah is called "oz" (strength), and the mission of Bnei Yisrael — both nationally and individually — is to draw the scattered holy sparks back to kedushah. One who grasps Torah with all his strength accomplishes this refinement without the suffering of galus, for the Torah empowers him and subdues the forces of impurity. Shabbos embodies this ideal: by remaining fixed in his place, immersed in Torah, a person draws his portion of holy sparks close effortlessly, fulfilling "Hashem, my strength and my stronghold and my refuge."