Torah's pure words purify through bittul

במד' אמרות ה' א"ט כו' תינוקות שלא טעמו ט"ח יודעין לדרוש התורה במ"ט פנים ביקש דהע"ה אתה ה' תשמרם.

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 HaMelech requested, "You, Hashem, shall guard them" (ibid. 12:8).

The Midrash describes pure, sinless children who could expound the Torah in forty-nine facets; Dovid HaMelech prayed that Hashem protect them. The Sefas Emes will explain that purity comes from how one relates to the words of Torah.

דורש אמרות ה' על התינוקות שעמלו בתורה נק' התורה על שמם כמ"ש חז"ל בפסוק ובתורתו יהגה יומם ולילה.

He expounds "the sayings of Hashem" as referring to the children who toiled in the Torah, [for] the Torah is called by their name, as Chazal said on the pasuk, "and in his [own] Torah he meditates day and night" (Tehillim 1:2).

The Torah becomes "theirs" — called by their name — once they toil in it. Chazal note the pasuk shifts from "the Torah of Hashem" to "his Torah," because through toil it becomes his own.

דמקודם כתי' יכרת ה' כו' שפתי חלקות כו' אשר אמרו ללשוננו נגביר שפתינו אתנו.

For beforehand it is written, "May Hashem cut off... all smooth lips (sifsei chalakos)... those who said, 'With our tongue we will prevail; our lips are with us [who is master over us?]'" (Tehillim 12:4-5).

The earlier verses condemn the arrogant, who use their power of speech to dominate, claiming mastery through their own tongue.

אבל הצדיקים מידתם בהיפוך שמבטלין עצמן לדברי התורה שיוצא מפיהם.

But the trait of the tzaddikim is the opposite: they nullify themselves (mevatlin atzman) to the words of Torah that come forth from their mouths.

Unlike the arrogant who exalt their own speech, the tzaddikim practice bittul — they subordinate themselves entirely to the Torah they speak.

ועי"ז זוכין לטהרה כמ"ש אמרות טהורות שדברי תורה מטהרין להעוסק בהם.

And through this they merit purity (taharah), as it says, "pure sayings" — that the words of Torah purify the one who engages in them.

This self-nullification brings purity, for the words of Torah themselves cleanse the one who toils in them — hence "pure sayings."

וזה אמור ואמרת אליהם להכניס המאמר לעצמותם ועי"ז יהיו טהורים.

And this is "Say (emor)... and you shall say (ve'amarta) to them" (Vayikra 21:1) — to bring the saying (ma'amar) into their very essence, and through this they will be pure.

The doubled "say... and say" alludes to internalizing the Torah's words into one's very being; by absorbing the "saying" inwardly, one becomes pure — fitting for the Kohanim, who must remain in taharah.

ומסיים המד' שהעליונים די להם באמירה א' ותחתונים ב' אמירות.

And the Midrash concludes that for the upper ones (the angels) a single "saying" suffices, while the lower ones (humans) require two "sayings."

The Midrash notes that the malachim need only one "amirah," whereas earthly beings need the doubled "emor... ve'amarta" — two utterances.

כי בעשרה מאמרות נברא עולם והעליונים די להם בזה.

For the world was created with Ten Utterances (asarah ma'amaros), and for the upper ones this suffices.

The angels, beings of the upper world, remain sustained by the original Ten Utterances of creation alone.

וע"י החטא הוצרכו התחתונים לחדש להם כח עשרת הדיברות.

And because of the sin, the lower ones needed the power of the Ten Commandments (Aseres HaDibros) to be renewed for them.

After the sin of Adam, earthly beings could no longer be sustained by the creative Utterances alone; they needed a second set — the Ten Commandments at Sinai.

כי המאמרות היו בכלל.

For the Utterances were in a general [undifferentiated] state.

The original Ten Utterances were broad and all-encompassing, not broken into particulars.

וע"י התערובות הוצרך הדיברות לפרטות בנ"י שנבחרו לחלק ה' ובכח הדיברות צריכין לתקן החטא ולהתדבק בכח המאמרות שקודם החטא שהיו אמרות טהורות וזהו הרמז אמור ואמרת אליהם כנ"ל:

And because of the intermingling [of good and evil caused by the sin], the [Ten] Commandments were needed for the particularization of Bnei Yisrael, who were chosen as Hashem's portion; and with the power of the Commandments they must rectify the sin and cleave to the power of the Utterances that preceded the sin, which were "pure sayings" — and this is the allusion of "say and you shall say to them," as above.

The sin mixed good with evil, so the Ten Commandments came as the "particular" tool for Bnei Yisrael, Hashem's chosen portion, to repair that admixture and recleave to the pristine, pre-sin Utterances — the "pure sayings." This is the inner meaning of the doubled "emor... ve'amarta": the second "saying" (the Dibros, internalized) restores us to the first.

Summary: The "pure sayings of Hashem" purify those who toil in Torah, for the tzaddikim — unlike the arrogant who exalt their own speech — nullify themselves to the words of Torah they speak and internalize them into their very essence. While the angels are sustained by the single set of Ten Utterances of creation, mankind, after the sin intermingled good and evil, needed a renewed, particularized power — the Ten Commandments given to Bnei Yisrael, Hashem's chosen portion — through which we rectify the sin and recleave to the pure, pre-sin Utterances. This is the inner meaning of the doubled "emor ve'amarta."