The inner point that sanctifies every deed

כמעשה א"מ כו' וכמעשה ארץ כנען כו' לא תעשו ובחקותיהם לא תלכו את משפטי תעשו כו' אשר יעשה אותם כו' וחי בהם.

"Like the practice of the land of Mitzrayim... and like the practice of the land of Canaan... you shall not do, and in their statutes you shall not walk; My ordinances you shall do... which a man shall do and live by them" (Vayikra 18:3-5).

The Sefas Emes cites the opening verses of Acharei Mos, juxtaposing the forbidden practices of Egypt and Canaan with the command to keep Hashem's mishpatim and "live by them."

קשה אי מכוון הפסוק על עריות המפורשין למה תלה אותם הכתוב במעשה מצרים וכנען.

This is difficult: if the verse refers to the forbidden relations (arayos) that are spelled out [later in the parshah], why does Scripture link them to the practices of Mitzrayim and Canaan?

The Sefas Emes raises a question: the parshah goes on to detail the laws of arayos, so why preface them by framing them as "the practices of Egypt and Canaan" rather than simply as their own prohibitions?

אבל נראה כי המכוון.

But it appears that the intent is [as follows].

The Sefas Emes offers his resolution: the verse is making a broader point than the specific arayos.

בכל המעשים לא נעשה אותם כמו שעושין אותם בא"מ וכנען.

In all our deeds, we should not do them the way they are done in the land of Mitzrayim and Canaan.

The verse is not limited to forbidden relations; it speaks of how Bnei Yisrael perform all their activities. We must not carry them out in the manner of Egypt and Canaan.

כי בכל המעשים יש בהם פנימיות וחיצוניות ובוודאי שורש כל המעשים הוא בקדושה.

For in all deeds there is a penimiyus (inner dimension) and a chitzoniyus (outer dimension), and surely the root of all deeds is in holiness.

Every action has an outer, physical surface and an inner, hidden core. And the true source-root of all actions lies in kedushah — every deed ultimately stems from a holy place.

כי הכל לכבודו ברא ונקודה הפנימיות ניתן לבנ"י וזה כל מעשיך יהיו לש"ש.

For "He created everything for His glory," and the inner point (nekudah penimiyus) was given to Bnei Yisrael — and this is "all your deeds should be for the sake of Heaven."

Since all was created for Hashem's honor, there is a holy "inner point" within every act, and this inner point was entrusted to Bnei Yisrael. Their mission is to access it — which is the meaning of "all your deeds should be lesheim Shomayim," reaching the holy core within each action.

לכן נק' מעשה הגוים חוקות כמ"ש ובחקותיהם ל"ת.

Therefore the practices of the nations are called "statutes" (chukos), as it says, "and in their statutes you shall not walk."

The deeds of the nations are termed "chukos" — and the Sefas Emes will explain that this very word reveals their deficiency.

כי אין להם שייכות לפנימיות הטעמים של כל המעשים ודבקים רק בחצוניות.

For they have no connection to the inner reasons (penimiyus hatya'amim) of all the deeds, and they cling only to the externality (chitzoniyus).

The nations' actions are mere "chukos" — decrees stripped of inner meaning — because they engage only the outer husk of deeds and have no access to their inner purpose. Bnei Yisrael, by contrast, reach the penimiyus.

ובאמת בנ"י יכולין לעשות כל המעשים בקדושה ע"י המצות.

And in truth, Bnei Yisrael are able to perform all deeds in holiness through the mitzvos.

The vehicle by which Bnei Yisrael sanctify even ordinary actions is the mitzvos — through them, every deed can be elevated and done within kedushah.

וז"ש את משפטי תעשו כו'.

And this is the meaning of "My ordinances you shall do."

"You shall do My mishpatim" is the means: by keeping Hashem's commandments, Bnei Yisrael gain the power to sanctify all their conduct.

עי"ז תוכלו לעשות כל המעשים שלא כמעשה א"מ וכנען.

Through this you will be able to perform all your deeds unlike the practice of Mitzrayim and Canaan.

It is by doing Hashem's mishpatim that Bnei Yisrael are empowered to perform all of life's activities in a holy way, accessing their inner point, rather than in the empty external manner of the nations.

וז"ש ללכת בהם.

And this is the meaning of "to walk in them."

"To walk in them" implies a continual way of living — carrying the holiness of the mitzvos into the ongoing "walk" of all one's deeds.

אשר יעשה כו' האדם וחי בהם.

"Which a man shall do... and live by them."

The Sefas Emes now turns to the phrase "and live by them," to extract a further meaning.

פרשנו ג"כ שע"י המצות ימשך החיות לכל הדברים.

We have also explained that through the mitzvos the life-force (chiyus) is drawn into all things.

"Live by them" means more than reward; it teaches that performing mitzvos draws down vitality and chiyus into everything — the mitzvos are channels of divine life into the world.

פשוט כמ"ש ז"ל כל מ"ע נגד אבר מיוחד.

This is straightforward, as Chazal said: each positive mitzvah corresponds to a particular limb [of the body].

Chazal teach that the 248 positive mitzvos correspond to the 248 limbs of the body — each mitzvah is bound up with a specific organ.

וכפי מה שמבטל חיות כל האבר אל המצוה חוזר וממשיך חיות מהמצוה אל האבר ועי"ז יכול לעשות כל המעשים בקדושה כמ"ש קדשנו במצותיו.

And to the extent that one nullifies the life-force of each limb to the mitzvah, the chiyus is in turn drawn from the mitzvah back into the limb — and through this one is able to perform all deeds in holiness, as it is said, "[Who] sanctified us with His mitzvos."

When a person subordinates the vitality of a given limb to its corresponding mitzvah — performing the mitzvah with bittul — fresh divine chiyus flows back from the mitzvah into that limb. This sanctifies the limb itself, so that all of one's subsequent actions can be done in kedushah. This is "He sanctified us with His mitzvos": the mitzvos infuse our very bodies with holiness.

והוא באמת ענין שבת קודש שניתן לבנ"י כי בששת ימים עשה השמים וארץ כו'.

And this is truly the matter of the holy Shabbos that was given to Bnei Yisrael, for "in six days He made the heavens and the earth..."

The Sefas Emes connects this to Shabbos: just as the mitzvos draw the inner chiyus into deeds, Shabbos embodies the inner point of all creation, which was completed in the six days.

אעפ"כ שבת הוא השלמת כל המעשים כמ"ש רש"י ז"ל על ויכל כו' ביום השביעי כו'

Even so, Shabbos is the completion of all the deeds [of creation], as Rashi explains on "and He finished... on the seventh day."

Although the physical work was done in six days, the world was not "complete" until Shabbos. Rashi notes that something — menuchah, rest — was still added on the seventh day to finish creation; Shabbos is the consummation of everything that was made.

ופי' שיש נקודה קדושה תוך הבריאה שהיא למעלה מהעשי' והיא בחי' שבת שנותנת שלימות וחיות לכל הנבראים.

And the meaning is that there is a holy point within creation that is above the realm of "doing" (asiyah), and this is the aspect of Shabbos, which gives completion and life-force to all the created beings.

Within creation there is a hidden holy point that transcends physical activity — the inner dimension of Shabbos. It is this point that grants wholeness and chiyus to everything; without it the "doing" of the six days would remain incomplete and lifeless.

לכן נק' שלום.

Therefore it is called "peace" (shalom).

Shabbos is called shalom — from "shaleim," complete — because it is the principle that brings everything to wholeness and unifies all of creation around its inner point.

וכמ"ש תכלית שמים וארץ.

And as it is written, "[these are] the culmination (tachlis) of the heavens and the earth."

Shabbos is the tachlis — the ultimate purpose and goal — toward which heaven and earth were created; the inner point of Shabbos is the very aim of all existence.

ששורש מעשה בראשית הוא בחי' שבת וניתן לבנ"י שמעשיהם בקדושה כנ"ל:

For the root of the work of creation (ma'aseh bereishis) is the aspect of Shabbos, and it was given to Bnei Yisrael, whose deeds are [thereby] in holiness, as explained above.

The very root of all creation is the "Shabbos" point — the inner, holy core. This was entrusted to Bnei Yisrael, who, through the mitzvos and Shabbos, can perform all their deeds in kedushah, reaching the inner point within every action just as the piece began.

Summary: The Torah's warning not to act "like the practice of Mitzrayim and Canaan" extends to all of life, not only the arayos: every deed has an outer husk and an inner point, and its true root is in kedushah. The nations' deeds are mere "chukos" because they cling only to externality, while Bnei Yisrael were given the inner point — and through the mitzvos they can perform all actions in holiness ("all your deeds for the sake of Heaven"). "And live by them" teaches that mitzvos draw divine chiyus into the very limbs of the body; by nullifying a limb's vitality to its corresponding mitzvah, holiness flows back into it. This is the essence of Shabbos — the holy inner point above "doing" that completes and enlivens all creation, called shalom and the tachlis of heaven and earth — the root of creation entrusted to Bnei Yisrael so their deeds may be holy.