Emor
אמורThe Festivals
42 translated essays · 94 total
תרל"ב(1871)
Purity flows from cleaving to the divine utterance· Essay 1
In the Midrash: "pure sayings, etc." (cf. Tehillim 12:7, "the sayings of Hashem are pure sayings"). The Midrash on the parsha opens with the verse describing Hashem's "sayings" as pure, linking the theme of purity to the divine utterance. F…
Daily renewal and the second saying· Essay 2
And in the Midrash: "Day unto day expresses speech" (Tehillim 19:3) — the lower beings require two "sayings." The Sefas Emes opens with the Midrash on the pasuk in Tehillim, which distinguishes that the lower (earthly) realms need a doubled…
The yoke of Torah as total bittul· Essay 3
In Avos: "Whoever accepts upon himself the yoke of Torah, they remove from him the yoke of government and the yoke of worldly affairs" (Avos 3:5). The Sefas Emes opens with the Mishnah teaching that taking on ol Torah (the yoke of Torah) fr…
Emor תרל"ב
תרל”ב במד’ אמרות טהורות כו’. The Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 27:1) The words of HaShem are true, however the words of man are not true etc.* דקשה איך יכול ב”ו להתטהר כראוי. ורק כי הכל במאמר נברא כמ”ש בעשרה מאמרות נ…
תרל"ג(1872)
Torah's pure sayings draw all to taharah· Essay 1
In the Midrash: "The sayings of Hashem are pure sayings…" — "the living God and eternal King…" — children who know how to expound the Torah, forty-nine "faces" of purity and forty-nine "faces" of impurity… "You, Hashem, shall guard them" — …
Sefirah days that elevate toward Torah· Essay 2
The days of Sefirah assist a person. The Sefas Emes opens with the idea that the days of Sefiras HaOmer are not spiritually neutral — they actively help a person in his avodah. For in those very days our forefathers were transformed from th…
Uncovering the hidden light within the physical· Essay 3
This world is like an antechamber (prozdor) before the World to Come. The Mishnah's image: olam hazeh is merely a corridor leading to the great hall of olam haba; the Sefas Emes will probe what this means for our avodah. Even though it is a…
תרל"ג Emor
תרל”ג במד’ אמרות ה’ אמרות טהורות כו’ אלקים חיים ומלך עולם כו’ תינוקות שיודעין לדרוש התורה מ”ט פנים טהור ומט”פ טמא כו’ אתה ה’ תשמרם נטר אורייתא בלבהון כו’. (see Midrash below) The w…
תרל"ד(1873)
Refining the world through holy speech· Essay 2
In the Midrash: "The sayings of Hashem are pure sayings, refined silver…" (Tehillim 12:7) — the children in the days of David knew how to expound forty-nine "faces" (interpretations) of "pure"… (Vayikra Rabbah 19:2) The Midrash teaches that…
Emor תרל"ד
תרל”ד ב”ה אמור בקיצור במד’ אמרות ה’ אמרות טהורות כסף צרוף כו’ תינוקות בימי דוד יודעין לדרוש מ”ט פנים טהור כו’. (The Midrash Vayikra rabbah 27:1-2 see תרל”ג 1) The words of HaShem are pure fro …
תרל"ה(1874)
Torah refines creation, raising man above angels· Essay 1
In the Midrash: "The words of Hashem are pure words, like silver refined [in a furnace of earth, refined sevenfold]" (Tehillim 12:7). The Sefas Emes opens with the verse comparing Hashem's words to seven-times-refined silver, which the Midr…
Mesirus nefesh draws down miracles· Essay 2
"And I shall be sanctified among the Bnei Yisrael, I am Hashem… who brings you out of Mitzrayim…" The Sefas Emes opens with the mitzvah of kiddush Hashem (sanctifying Hashem's Name), which the Torah ties to Hashem being the One who took Bne…
Serving Hashem as man and beast· Essay 3
In the Midrash: "man and beast" (Tehillim 36:7) — those who are shrewd in knowledge like a man, yet make themselves like a beast. The Sefas Emes cites the Midrash on "man and beast You save, Hashem," which praises those who, though wise as …
Emor תרל"ה
תרל”ה במד’ אמרות ה’ א”ט כסף צרוף כו’. מלך ב”ו ערב לו קלוסין כו’. היכן הוא והיכן אמרותיו. הקב”ה אינו כן [*כו’ אלקים אמת] לפי שהוא אלקים (אמת) [*חיים] ומלך עולם כו’. The Midrash Vayi…
תרל"ו(1875)
Refining the soul to receive Torah· Essay 1
In the Midrash: "The sayings of Hashem are pure sayings" (Tehillim 12:7) — the sayings of flesh and blood are not pure. The Sefas Emes opens with the Midrash contrasting Hashem's pure "sayings" with the words of mortal man, which are not pu…
This world prepares the root of avodah in the next· Essay 2
In Avos, chapter 4, Rabbi Yaakov says: "This world is like an antechamber before the World to Come." The Sefas Emes builds on the Mishnah's image of olam hazeh as a corridor leading into olam haba, the inner chamber. Reason teaches us that,…
Yearning as the purpose of this world· Essay 3
It is further stated there: "Better one hour in this world spent in teshuvah and good deeds than all the life of the world to come." The Sefas Emes opens with the famous Mishnah (Avos 4:17) that prizes a single hour of avodah in this world …
Emor תרל"ו
במד’ אמרות ה’ אמרות טהורות אמרות ב”ו אינם טהורות. “The Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 26:1) “The words of HaShem are pure” (Tehillim 12:7), yet the words of mankind are not pure. פי’ אדוני מו”ז ז”ל כי אף ש…
תרל"ז(1876)
Light won through struggle in darkness· Essay 2
In the Midrash: "Day to day expresses speech, and night to night [declares knowledge]" (Tehillim 19:3). The Sefas Emes opens with the verse describing how day and night each "speak," continuously transmitting Hashem's wisdom. "The day borro…
Kiddush Hashem through bittul to the collective· Essay 3
"And I shall be sanctified in the midst of Bnei Yisrael." The pasuk teaches that the sanctification of Hashem's Name takes place specifically "in the midst of" Bnei Yisrael. Chazal explained this as referring to giving oneself over (mesiras…
Kohen's holiness drawn from the people· Essay 4
On the verse "And you shall sanctify him" (Vayikra 21:8), etc. The Torah commands that Bnei Yisrael are to sanctify the kohen; the Sefas Emes asks what this sanctifying really means. The meaning is that the holiness of the kohanim depends o…
Emor תרל"ז
ב”ה אמור בקיצור במד’ יום ליום יביע אומר ולילה ללילה כו’. היום לוה מן הלילה כו’. The Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 26:4) explains the pasuk (Tehillim 19:3) “Day to day makes utterances”, that during the summer and winter mo…
תרל"ח(1877)
Refining purity from the ten utterances· Essay 1
In the Midrash: "The sayings of Hashem are pure sayings" etc. (Tehillim 12:7). The Sefas Emes opens with the verse describing the absolute purity of Hashem's "sayings" — the divine utterances through which the world was spoken into being. T…
Inner mesiras nefesh sanctifies the Name· Essay 2
On the pasuk "And you shall not desecrate [My holy name]," etc., the holy name, "and I shall be sanctified in the midst of Bnei Yisrael," etc. The Sefas Emes takes up the verse that forbids desecrating Hashem's name and commands its sanctif…
Emor תרל"ח
במד’ אמרות ה’ א”ט כו’. פי’ שע”י כח מאמרות הבורא ית’ יכולין למצוא הטהרה בכל מקום כי הכל בא מעשרה מאמרות ואמרות ה’ טהורות כסף צרוף. אמנם כשבא בעוה”ז נדבק בהנבראים תערובת טומאה וצריך בירור …
תרל"ט(1878)
תר"מ(1879)
Enduring purity within Klal Yisrael· Essay 1
In the Midrash: "The sayings of Hashem are pure sayings" (Tehillim 12:7)... A king of flesh and blood — where is he and where are his decrees? ... The Midrash contrasts a human king, whose decrees outlive him and lose their force once he is…
Mesirus nefesh prepares for the holiness of the festivals· Essay 2
I understood from the holy words of my grandfather, of blessed memory, regarding the juxtaposition of the mitzvah of "And I shall be sanctified among Bnei Yisrael" (Vayikra 22:32) to the parsha of the Moadim (festivals). The Sefas Emes note…
Emor תר"מ
תר”מ במד’ אמרות ה’ א”ט כו’ מלך ב”ו היכן הוא והיכן אמרותיו כו’. הענין הוא כי השי”ת נתן הטהרה לבנ”י ומאמרו קיים לעד. ואף שנפלו בנ”י אח”כ ממדרגתם. מ”מ נשאר הטהרה בכלל ישרא…
תרמ"א(1880)
Purity as the key to Torah· Essay 1
In the Midrash: "The words of Hashem are pure words" (Tehillim 12:7)… The Sefas Emes opens with the verse describing Hashem's words as utterly pure, the theme of the entire piece. For the Torah was given to Bnei Yisrael to rectify through i…
Guarding the Name reveals His holiness· Essay 2
On the verse, "And you shall not profane [My holy Name]… and I shall be sanctified [among Bnei Yisrael]" (Vayikra 22:32). The Sefas Emes takes up the twin commands of the pasuk: the prohibition of chillul Hashem (profaning the Name) and the…
Shabbos as the gateway to the festivals· Essay 3
Concerning the placing of Shabbos before the festivals. The Sefas Emes asks why the parsha lists Shabbos at the head of the festivals, and what this ordering teaches. As it is written, it is "the first of the holy convocations." Shabbos sta…
Emor תרמ"א
במד’ א”ה א’ טהורות כו’. כי התורה ניתנה לבנ”י לתקן על ידה כל המעשים. לכן אין ד”ת מקבלין טומאה. וזה הרבותא טהורות בכל המקומות שמכניסין שם דברי תורה אין בהם מגע נכרי. ולכן אין אדם זוכה לתורה רק כפי הטהרה שנמ…
תרמ"ב(1881)
Two divine utterances joined by the Kohanim· Essay 1
In the Midrash on "day to day utters speech, etc." (Tehillim 19:3). The Sefas Emes builds this piece on the verse "day to day expresses speech, and night to night relates knowledge." I have already written elsewhere about the two "utterance…
Sefirah Days as a Gift for Purity· Essay 2
The days of Sefirah are mentioned among the festivals, for they are like good days — like Chol HaMoed — for they have kedushah before them and after them, from Yetzias Mitzrayim until Kabbalas HaTorah. The Sefas Emes notes that the Torah li…
Emor תרמ"ב
במד’ יום ליום י”א כו’. כבר כ’ במ”א ב’ האמירות כח הצימצום להתפשט מאמר הש”י לתחתונים כמ”ש למעלה אין אומר כו’. שהוא בלי השגה והוא בחי’ תורה שבכתב שהש”י בטובו גנז אורות עליונות ב…
תרמ"ג(1882)
Torah's pure words purify through bittul· Essay 1
In the Midrash: "The sayings of Hashem are pure sayings (amaros Hashem amaros tehoros)" (Tehillim 12:7) — [there were] young children who had not [yet] tasted the taste of sin, who knew how to expound the Torah in forty-nine ways; David HaM…
Bittul through martyrdom versus a lifetime· Essay 2
Regarding the mitzvah of "And I shall be sanctified amidst Bnei Yisrael": "Surrender yourself and sanctify My Name." The mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem includes mesirus nefesh — the readiness to give over one's very life to sanctify Hashem's Nam…
Showbread as channel of blessing· Essay 3
Regarding the passage of the lamps and the lechem hapanim (showbread) [which comes] after the festivals — as it is written in the Zohar that through the festivals "the lights were kindled" (see there) — and they draw light into the world th…
Emor תרמ"ג
במד’ אמרות ה’ א”ט כו’ תינוקות שלא טעמו ט”ח יודעין לדרוש התורה במ”ט פנים ביקש דהע”ה אתה ה’ תשמרם. דורש אמרות ה’ על התינוקות שעמלו בתורה נק’ התורה על שמם כמ”ש חז”ל בפסוק …
תרמ"ד(1883)
Undated
52 more essays from this section await translation.