Stripping concealment to reveal light

כמעשה א"מ כו' ל"ת וכמעשה א"כ כו' ל"ת כו' ושמרתם כו' אשר יעשה אותם האדם וחי בהם אני ה'.

"Like the deeds of the land of Mitzrayim… you shall not do, and like the deeds of the land of Canaan… you shall not do… and you shall keep [My statutes]… which a man shall do and live by them, I am Hashem" (Vayikra 18:3-5).

The Sefas Emes opens with the verses forbidding the practices of Egypt and Canaan, and commanding the mitzvos "which a man shall do and live by them."

ובמדרש כשושנה בין החוחים ע"ש.

And in the Midrash: "like a rose among the thorns" (Shir HaShirim 2:2).

The Midrash applies the image of a rose among thorns — beauty surrounded by what would obscure it — to the theme that follows.

כמו שברא הקב"ה העולם מתלבש כ"ד בטבע ויש בו פנימיות נסתר כמ"ש ה' בחכמה יסד ארץ.

Just as HaKadosh Baruch Hu created the world clothed (mislabesh) in nature, yet there is within it a hidden inner dimension (penimiyus nistar), as it is written, "Hashem founded the earth with wisdom" (Mishlei 3:19).

The world wears an outer garment of nature, but concealed within it is an inner divine wisdom — the penimiyus that gives nature its real life.

כמו כן בנפשות.

So too in souls.

The same structure of outer garment and hidden inner light exists within human souls.

ובכ"מ שיש אור יש עליו מתלבש קליפה מסתרת האור.

And in every place where there is light, there is a "shell" (klipah) clothed over it, concealing the light.

It is a universal principle: wherever there is holy light, a concealing klipah covers it, hiding that light.

ואות ברית מילה יוכיח שהוא האור המאיר ומעלה את האדם עד לשמים ויש עליו ערלה.

And the sign of the bris milah proves this — for it is the light that shines and raises a person up to the heavens, yet there is an orlah (foreskin) upon it.

The bris milah is the clearest example: it is a luminous holiness that elevates a person heavenward, yet it too is covered by the orlah that must be removed.

ובהסיר הערלה בחיתוך ופריעה ואטופי דדמא מתגלה סוד ה' ליראיו.

And by removing the orlah — through chisuch (cutting), pri'ah (uncovering), and hatafas dam (drawing of blood) — "the secret of Hashem is revealed to those who fear Him" (Tehillim 25:14).

The three stages of milah — cutting, uncovering, and drawing blood — correspond to stripping away the concealments, after which Hashem's hidden secret is revealed to His yirei'im.

וכמו כן בכלל.

And likewise on the collective level.

This same threefold removal of concealment operates on a national, cosmic scale.

וג' ערלות הנ"ל הם עצמם בחי' ע"ז ג"ע וש"ד שהם ג' עבירות החמורות.

And the three orlos mentioned are themselves the aspect of avodah zarah (idolatry), gilui arayos (forbidden relations), and shefichus damim (bloodshed), which are the three cardinal sins.

The three layers of concealment removed at milah correspond to the three cardinal sins — idolatry, immorality, and bloodshed — the three great "shells" hiding the divine light.

וכמו כן היה הגאולה ממצרים שהוא ראש לכל ע"ז שבעולם והוא ערלת החיתוך שמשליכין לעפר.

And likewise the redemption from Mitzrayim, which is the head of all idolatry in the world, was the orlah of the chisuch (the cut foreskin) that is cast to the dust.

Egypt, the fountainhead of idolatry, corresponds to the foreskin of the "cutting" that is discarded — the redemption from Egypt removed the klipah of avodah zarah.

וארץ כנען שהיה מיוחד לקדושה רק שהכנענים הסתירו אור הצפון שם ובנ"י איבדו אותם שהוא בחי' ג"ע והוא עור הפריעה שצריכין להסירו כדי לגלות העטרה.

And the land of Canaan, which was designated for holiness, only that the Canaanites concealed the hidden light (or hatzafun) there, and Bnei Yisrael destroyed them — this is the aspect of gilui arayos, and it is the skin of the pri'ah that must be removed in order to reveal the "crown" (atarah).

Canaan was inherently holy, but the Canaanites — steeped in immorality — concealed its hidden light; their destruction corresponds to the pri'ah, peeling back the inner membrane to expose the radiant "crown" beneath.

ולכן איתא כי מצות פריעה ניתן ליהושע.

Therefore it is taught that the mitzvah of pri'ah was given to Yehoshua.

Fittingly, the mitzvah of pri'ah is associated with Yehoshua, who led the conquest of Canaan — the very "uncovering" of the Land's hidden holiness.

ומולים היו העם היוצאים ממצרים בחיתוך.

And the people who left Mitzrayim were circumcised with chisuch (cutting).

The Exodus generation underwent the "cutting" stage of milah, corresponding to leaving idolatrous Egypt.

ואפילו למ"ד שניתן מצות פריעה מקודם מ"מ אלו ואלו ד"א חיים שיסוד מצות פריעה ניתן ליהושע כנ"ל.

And even according to the opinion that the mitzvah of pri'ah was given earlier, nevertheless "these and these are the words of the living God" (Eruvin 13b) — for the foundation of the mitzvah of pri'ah was given to Yehoshua, as above.

Even if pri'ah was commanded before Yehoshua, both views hold true: its essential realization belongs to Yehoshua and the conquest of Canaan.

ולעתיד שימסור לנו קיני קניזי וקדמוני חלקו של עשו הוא אדום יהי' תיקון ש"ד בחי' אטופי דדמא.

And in the future, when [Hashem] will hand over to us [the lands of] Keini, Kenizi, and Kadmoni — the portion of Esav, which is Edom — there will be the rectification of shefichus damim, the aspect of hatafas dam (drawing of blood).

The final stage, hatafas dam, corresponds to the future inheritance of Esav/Edom's lands and the rectification of bloodshed — the last concealment to be removed.

והכל רמז באות ברית קודש.

And all of this is hinted at in the sign of the holy bris.

The entire historical arc of redemption — past, present, and future — is encoded in the three stages of the bris milah.

וע"ז כתיב ה"א מתהלך בקרב מחניך.

And concerning this it is written, "Hashem your God walks in the midst of your camp" (Devarim 23:15).

The verse about Hashem walking within the camp alludes to this process of revealing the hidden light.

להצילך הוא יצ"מ.

"To save you" — this is Yetzias Mitzrayim.

The phrase "to save you" corresponds to the redemption from Egypt — the first removal of concealment.

ולתת אויביך לפניך היא ירושת א"י לאבד הז' אומות.

"And to deliver your enemies before you" is the inheritance of Eretz Yisrael, to destroy the seven nations.

The phrase "to deliver your enemies" corresponds to conquering Canaan and destroying its seven nations — the second removal of concealment.

ובאיבוד הרשעים ומעשיהם מתגלה אח"כ אור הצפון לצדיקים.

And through the destruction of the wicked and their deeds, the hidden light (or hatzafun) is afterward revealed to the tzaddikim.

Eliminating the wicked and their corrupting deeds clears away the klipah, allowing the concealed light to shine forth to the righteous.

ושמרתם כו' להיות משתוקקין ומצפין להתגלות הפנימיות והוא אשר יעשה אותם האדם וחי.

"And you shall keep [My statutes]" — to be longing and yearning for the revelation of the penimiyus (inner dimension), and this is "which a man shall do and live."

Keeping the mitzvos means yearning for the inner light to be revealed; doing them and "living by them" is precisely this drawing out of hidden vitality.

דאיתא קוב"ה ואורייתא וישראל כולהו חד.

For it is taught: HaKadosh Baruch Hu, the Torah, and Yisrael are all one (kulhu chad).

The Zohar's principle that Hashem, the Torah, and Israel are a single unity underlies the next idea.

ובאמת בנ"י הם כלים וכלי אומנות שלהם הוא תורה ומצות ובאמצעיותם חל נועם ה' ובכלל שלש הכוחות נגלה חיות הפנימי.

And in truth Bnei Yisrael are the vessels (keilim), and their "tools of craft" are Torah and mitzvos, and through them the "pleasantness of Hashem" (no'am Hashem) rests, and in the combination of these three powers the inner vitality (chiyus penimi) is revealed.

Bnei Yisrael are the vessels, the Torah and mitzvos are their instruments, and Hashem's pleasantness is the light; when all three unite, the hidden inner life is revealed.

וזהו אשר יעשה אותם המצות.

And this is "which [a man] shall do them" — the mitzvos.

"Which a man shall do them" refers to the mitzvos — one of the three components.

האדם הוא כח הנפש דכתיב ויהי האדם לנפש חי' שנעשה כלי לעורר החיות שגנוז ונסתר.

"The man (ha'adam)" is the power of the soul, as it is written, "and man became a living soul" (Bereishis 2:7) — that he becomes a vessel to arouse the vitality that is stored away and hidden.

"The man" represents the human soul, which serves as the vessel that awakens the concealed divine vitality.

וחי בהם אני ה' שכח הש"י שורה בעשיות המצוה.

"And he shall live by them, I am Hashem" — that the power of Hashem rests within the doing of the mitzvah.

"Live by them, I am Hashem" means that Hashem's own power dwells within the performance of the mitzvah — the third component, the light itself.

ועל אלה הג' מבקשים ויהי נועם ה' כח ה'.

And concerning these three we request, "may the pleasantness of Hashem [our God] be upon us" (Tehillim 90:17) — the power of Hashem.

The verse "may the no'am of Hashem be upon us" is a prayer for these three to unite; "no'am Hashem" is the divine light itself.

ומעשה ידינו הוא כח המצות.

"And the work of our hands" is the power of the mitzvos.

"The work of our hands" in the verse corresponds to the mitzvos.

ומעשה ידינו כוננהו הוא הכנת האדם העושה המצוה.

"The work of our hands, establish it (konenehu)" is the preparation of the man who performs the mitzvah.

The repeated "the work of our hands, establish it" corresponds to the third element — the person himself who must be prepared and "established" to perform the mitzvah.

וכתיב יעשה לשון עתיד.

And it is written "ya'aseh" (he shall do) — in the future tense.

The Torah's use of the future tense, "shall do," points to a completion yet to come.

כשיהיה הכל מתוקן אז יהי' נגלה החיות שיהי' אחדות אחת לקוב"ה ותורה וישראל כנ"ל.

When everything will be rectified, then the vitality will be revealed, that there will be a single unity of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, the Torah, and Yisrael, as above.

The future tense hints that only when all is rectified will the inner vitality be fully revealed, in the complete oneness of Hashem, Torah, and Israel.

ועתה צריכין לשמור להשתוקק להיות נכלל בזה היחוד שעתיד להיות בשלימות.

And now we must "keep" — to long to be included in this unity (yichud) that is destined to be in completeness.

For now, our avodah is to yearn and prepare to be part of that future perfect unity.

וזה שרמזו במשנה א"ת כעבדים המשמשין כו' לקבל פרס.

And this is what they hinted in the Mishnah: "Do not be like servants who serve [the master] in order to receive a reward (peras)" (Avos 1:3).

The Sefas Emes connects this to the mishnah warning against serving for the sake of reward.

פרס הוא חלק.

"Peras" means a portion (chelek).

The word "peras" denotes a separate, partial "piece" — a reward set apart from oneself.

אבל האדם צריך לעשות המצוה להיות בטל ומדובק בשורש אלה השלשה הנ"ל:

But a person must perform the mitzvah in order to be nullified (battel) and attached (mudbak) to the root of these three [— Hashem, Torah, and Yisrael].

One should not serve for a detached "portion" of reward, but to achieve bittul and deveikus — to be absorbed into the unified root of Hashem, Torah, and Israel.

Summary: Just as Hashem created the world clothed in a garment of nature with a hidden inner light, every holy light is covered by a concealing klipah — exemplified by the bris milah, whose three stages (cutting, uncovering, drawing blood) strip away the concealments to reveal "the secret of Hashem." These three correspond to the three cardinal sins and to three stages of redemption: the Exodus from idolatrous Egypt (the cut foreskin), the conquest of immoral Canaan (the uncovering, given to Yehoshua), and the future inheritance of Edom (the drawing of blood, rectifying bloodshed). Keeping the mitzvos means yearning to reveal this inner penimiyus. Since Hashem, the Torah, and Israel are one, the inner vitality shines when the three "powers" unite — the person (soul), the mitzvah (tool), and the no'am Hashem (light). Therefore one should serve not for a detached reward (peras) but to achieve bittul and deveikus, becoming absorbed into the future perfect unity of Hashem, Torah, and Israel.