Serving Hashem as both son and servant

בפסוק כי לי בנ"י עבדים כו' איתא בזוה"ק בר"מ כי צריך איש ישראל לעבוד הש"י בבחי' עבד ובן ע"ש.

On the verse, "For unto Me are Bnei Yisrael servants…" (Vayikra 25:55), it is brought in the Zohar HaKadosh, in the Ra'aya Mehemna, that a Jew must serve Hashem in the aspect of both eved (servant) and ben (son) — see there.

The Sefas Emes opens with the Zohar's teaching that avodas Hashem requires two complementary postures: that of a devoted son and that of a submissive servant.

כי הנה בנים אתם הוא בוודאי הנשמות שהם חלק אלקי ממעל.

For "you are sons" (Devarim 14:1) certainly refers to the neshamos, which are a portion of the Divine from above.

The "son" aspect lives in the neshamah — the soul that is literally a piece of the Divine, drawn from above and naturally close to its Source.

ובגוף צריכין להיות עבד להנשמה לכוף ולבטל הגוף והם ב' יצירות כדכתיב וייצר יצירה בעוה"ז ובעוה"ב.

And in the body one must be a servant to the neshamah, to subdue and nullify the body; and these are two formations, as it is written "vayyitzer" (and He formed) with two yuds (Bereishis 2:7) — a formation for this world and for the World to Come.

The "servant" aspect concerns the body, which must be subdued and nullified in bittul before the soul. Chazal derive from the doubled letter in "vayyitzer" that man was made with two formations — corresponding to this world and the next, or the two drives within him.

והוא בחי' יצ"ט ויצה"ר.

And this is the aspect of the yetzer tov (good inclination) and the yetzer hara (evil inclination).

These two formations express themselves as the two inclinations: the yetzer tov, aligned with the soul, and the yetzer hara, bound up with the body.

ולכן צריכין לעבוד הש"י בדחילו ורחימו.

Therefore one must serve Hashem with dechilu u'rechimu (fear and love).

Because man is made of these two, his service must combine two corresponding emotions: ahavah (love) and yirah (fear).

אהבה לבחי' הנשמה שנמשכת אחר (השורה) [*הצורה] באהבה ותשוקה.

Love — for the aspect of the neshamah, which is drawn after its form (tzurah) with love and longing.

Love belongs to the soul, which by nature yearns and is drawn toward its Divine "form" or source with desire — the posture of the loving son.

והיראה נצרך אל הגוף שהוא בחי' היצה"ר.

And fear is needed for the body, which is the aspect of the yetzer hara.

Fear is the tool for mastering the body and its yetzer hara — the posture of the servant who submits in awe.

ולכן מבקשין יחד לבבינו לאהבה וליראה.

Therefore we pray, "Unify our hearts to love and to fear [Your Name]."

The prayer to unite our heart for both love and fear asks that both postures — son and servant — work together as one.

להיות בכל לבבך בשני יצריך.

To be "with all your heart" (Devarim 6:5) — with both of your inclinations.

Chazal read "b'chol levavcha" (with all your heart, spelled with two beisin) as serving Hashem with both inclinations, harnessing the yetzer hara no less than the yetzer tov.

יצ"ט באהבה ויצה"ר ביראה.

The yetzer tov through love, and the yetzer hara through fear.

Each drive is engaged with its fitting emotion: the good inclination is elevated through love, and the evil inclination is conquered and turned to service through fear.

ובוודאי השיעבוד שיוכל איש ישראל להשתעבד הוא רק בגוף.

And certainly the servitude by which a Jew is able to enslave himself [to Hashem] is only in the body.

The "servant" posture applies only to the body; the soul, being a portion of the Divine, is never truly enslaved — it is the son.

וע"ז נאמר ג"כ עבדי הם אשר הוצאתי כו' מא"מ כי רק הגופות היו משועבדים לפרעה ואעפ"כ הוציאנו הש"י להיות עבדי ה' גם בגוף וגשמיות.

And concerning this it is also said, "they are My servants, whom I brought out… of the land of Mitzrayim" (Vayikra 25:42) — for only the bodies were enslaved to Pharaoh, and even so Hashem brought us out to be servants of Hashem even in body and physicality.

In Mitzrayim only the bodies of Bnei Yisrael were enslaved. Hashem redeemed those very bodies so that they would now serve Him — transforming bodily servitude to Pharaoh into bodily avodah for Hashem.

כי לבחי' בנים זכו בנ"י בקבלת התורה שניתן להם נשמה חדשה וביצ"מ היו רק בחי' עבדים.

For the aspect of "sons" Bnei Yisrael merited at the receiving of the Torah, when a new neshamah was given to them; but at the Exodus they were only in the aspect of servants.

The "son" status came later, at Mattan Torah, with the gift of a new, higher soul. At the moment of the Exodus they had attained only the "servant" status — the redemption of the body into Hashem's service.

וכתיב לי בנ"י עבדים.

And it is written, "Unto Me are Bnei Yisrael servants."

The Sefas Emes returns to the opening verse to draw out its precise wording.

לי לשמי.

"Unto Me" — for My Name's sake.

The word "li" (to Me) signals that the servitude must be directed lishmi — purely for the sake of Hashem's Name.

פי' אע"פ שבנ"י משועבדים בגלות אעפ"כ צריכין לקבל העבדות לשם שמים כי באמת הכל מאתו ית' וע"י שמקבלין העבדות לשמו ית' נעשה מזה עבדי הם וזה יוכל להיות מפתח לגאולה.

The explanation: even though Bnei Yisrael are enslaved in galus, nevertheless they must accept the servitude for the sake of Heaven; for in truth everything is from Him, and through accepting the servitude for the sake of His Name, it becomes "they are My servants," and this can be a key to the geulah.

Even in galus, when Bnei Yisrael suffer subjugation to the nations, they should receive that very servitude as if it were avodas Hashem — recognizing that all of it comes from Him. By accepting their burden "for the sake of Heaven," the servitude is transformed from bondage to the nations into being "Hashem's servants," and this transformation itself becomes a key that unlocks the redemption.

וכמו כן הוא בפרט כל עובד ה' הגם שנשתעבד ליצה"ר ויש לו יגיעות בבחי' עבד אם מקבל העבדות לש"ש זוכה להתעלות עי"ז.

And likewise it is so for each individual servant of Hashem: even though he is subjugated to the yetzer hara and has toils in the aspect of a servant, if he accepts the servitude for the sake of Heaven, he merits to be elevated through it.

The same principle applies to every individual's avodah. A person who struggles under the yetzer hara, laboring like a servant, can elevate himself through that very struggle — provided he accepts the toil "for the sake of Heaven" rather than resenting it.

וע"ז נאמר עבד משכיל ימשול בבן כי תיקון הגוף מעלה גם את הנפש:

And concerning this it is said, "a wise servant will rule over a son" (Mishlei 17:2), for the rectification of the body elevates the nefesh as well.

"A wise servant rules over a son" teaches that the "servant" work — subduing and refining the body — is so potent that it lifts even the higher soul. Tikkun haguf does not merely tame the body; it raises the whole person, so the servitude accepted for Heaven's sake becomes the engine of elevation and redemption.

Summary: From "unto Me are Bnei Yisrael servants," the Sefas Emes (via the Zohar) teaches that avodas Hashem requires two postures: the "son" of the neshamah, served through love, and the "servant" of the body, subdued through fear — uniting both inclinations in "with all your heart." Only the body can truly be "enslaved" to Hashem, which is why the Exodus first redeemed the bodies into His service (the "son" status came with the Torah's new soul). The lesson for galus and for every individual: accepting one's servitude — whether subjugation to the nations or struggle with the yetzer hara — "for the sake of Heaven" transforms it into being Hashem's servant, becoming a key to redemption, for "a wise servant rules over a son" — the rectification of the body elevates the soul itself.