Refining purity from the ten utterances

במד' אמרות ה' א"ט כו'.

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.

פי' שע"י כח מאמרות הבורא ית' יכולין למצוא הטהרה בכל מקום כי הכל בא מעשרה מאמרות ואמרות ה' טהורות כסף צרוף.

The explanation: that through the power of the Borei Yisbarach's (the Creator's) sayings one can find taharah (purity) in every place, for everything came into being through the asarah maamaros (ten utterances of Creation), and "the sayings of Hashem are pure, like refined silver."

Since the entire world was created through Hashem's pure utterances, a holy spark of that original purity is hidden in every place, and it can always be uncovered.

אמנם כשבא בעוה"ז נדבק בהנבראים תערובת טומאה וצריך בירור מ"ט פנים טהור מטמא.

However, when it descends into olam hazeh (this world), a tumah-mixture (admixture of impurity) clings to the created things, and there is need for birur (a process of sorting and clarifying) — "forty-nine ways to declare the pure from the impure."

In this lower world the original purity becomes covered over by a layer of impurity, and the task of avodah is to clarify and extract the pure from within the impure.

וז"ש בעליל לארץ מזוקק כו'.

And this is the meaning of "refined in a crucible upon the earth" etc. (Tehillim 12:7).

The very same verse hints that the purity must be "refined upon the earth" — purified specifically here in the physical world, through the work of refinement.

וכיון שניתן בחי' בירור זה לבנ"י.

And since this aspect of birur (clarification) was given over to Bnei Yisrael —

The privilege and the labor of extracting the pure from the impure was entrusted specifically to Bnei Yisrael.

לכן מבקש דהע"ה אתה ה' תשמרם לאשר המה מכניסין עצמם בעומק הזה לברר מאמרי הבורא ית'.

Therefore Dovid Hamelech (David the King) prays, "You, Hashem, will guard them" — on behalf of those who immerse themselves in this depth to clarify the sayings of the Borei Yisbarach.

Because those who descend into the depths of this world to do the work of refinement are exposed to danger, Dovid Hamelech asks Hashem to protect them.

וזאת עבודת האדם.

And this is the avodah (service) of man.

This task of clarification is the very purpose of a person's labor in this world.

ז"ש אמור ואמרת כי המאמרות נשתנו ממדרגה למדרגה.

This is the meaning of "Say (emor) ... and you shall say (ve'amarta)" — for the utterances changed from level to level.

The double language of the verse ("emor... ve'amarta") hints that the divine "saying" undergoes a transformation as it descends through different levels.

מבחי' הנותן להמקבל.

From the aspect of the Giver to the aspect of the receiver.

The utterance as it stands by the Giver (Hashem) is one reality; as it is received below it is something altered.

לכן ואמרת אליהם בבחי' אחרת.

Therefore, "and you shall say to them" — refers to a different aspect.

The second "saying" (ve'amarta) speaks of the utterance as it reaches the recipients below, which is a lower aspect than the first.

וגם שלא ליחס דבר מגונה למאמר עליון כפל ואמרת שבהתדבקות עליון במאמר ראשון אין טומאה כלל.

And also, so as not to attribute anything unseemly to the supernal utterance, the verse repeats "and you shall say" — for in the supernal source, in the first utterance, there is no tumah (impurity) at all.

The repetition teaches that the impurity belongs only to the lower, received level; at the supernal root, the divine word remains absolutely pure.

וע"י השתלשלות ממאמר למאמר כו' באים אלה הבחי'.

And through the hishtalshelus (chain of descent) from utterance to utterance, etc., these aspects come about.

It is only the step-by-step descent of the divine word through successive levels that gives rise to the admixture of impurity that must be clarified.

לכן איתא והלא במאמר א' יכול להבראות.

Therefore it is taught (Avos 5:1): "Could it not have been created with a single utterance?"

The Mishnah asks why Hashem created the world through ten utterances rather than one, since one would have sufficed.

ובא התשובה כדי להפרע כו' דבמאמר א' לא הי' סט"א כלל:

And the answer comes: "in order to exact punishment" etc. — for with a single utterance there would have been no sitra achra (the "other side," the realm of impurity) at all.

Had the world been made with one utterance there would be no descent through levels, hence no impurity and no possibility of reward or punishment; the ten utterances create the layered reality that makes the avodah of refinement — and its merit — possible.

Summary: The world was created through Hashem's ten pure utterances, but as the divine word descended level by level into this world it became enclothed in an admixture of impurity. The avodah of Bnei Yisrael is the birur — to descend into the depths and extract the original purity from within the impure — and it is precisely this layered descent through "utterance to utterance" that creates a world capable of refinement, reward, and meaning.