Hidden holiness revealed by refining the physical

במד' אמרות ה' כו' אמרות ב"ו אינן מאמרות למחר ישן והולך לו היכן הוא והיכן אמרותיו.

In the Midrash: "The sayings of Hashem are pure sayings" (Tehillim 12:7) — the sayings of flesh and blood are not [enduring] sayings; tomorrow he sleeps and is gone — where is he, and where are his sayings?

The Midrash contrasts Hashem's word with a human's: a mortal's promises lack permanence, for the person himself passes away, and his words vanish with him.

פי' אמו"ז ז"ל שהכוונה שבמאמר אין בו כלום אפי' שלפעמים מקיים מאמרו אבל מאחר שאין בידו לקיים אין מאמרו מאמר כנ"ל.

My grandfather, of blessed memory, explained that the intent is that a human's saying has no substance in itself; even though he sometimes fulfills his word, since it is not [truly] in his power to fulfill it, his saying is not a [real] saying, as above.

A mortal's word carries no inherent power; any fulfillment is incidental, because he has no real control over outcomes — so his "saying" is empty at its core.

וכמו כן נראה הכוונה באמרות ה' אמרות שהוא אלקים חיים ומלך עולם פי' אפי' שלפעמים נראה לעיני בשר שאין מאמרו מתקיים אבל באמת ה' אומר ועושה וכל מאמריו מתקיימין אך שלפעמים הם בהסתר כמ"ש כסף צרוף כו' מזוקק.

And likewise it seems the intent regarding "the sayings of Hashem" — sayings of the One who is "the living God and King of the universe" (Yirmiyahu 10:10): even though it sometimes appears to eyes of flesh that His saying is not fulfilled, in truth Hashem "speaks and acts," and all His sayings are fulfilled — only that sometimes they are in concealment, as it says, "refined silver... purified" (Tehillim 12:7).

By contrast, Hashem's every word is inherently real and is always fulfilled, even when, to physical eyes, it seems unfulfilled. The "refining" hints that the fulfillment may be hidden, requiring the dross to be removed before it shows.

שצריכין לברר התערובות ואז מתגלה מאמרו ית' בהתגלות.

For one must clarify away the admixture, and then His saying, may He be blessed, is revealed openly.

Once the "dross" — the confusing mixture of this world — is refined away, Hashem's word stands plainly revealed as fulfilled.

וזהו ענין אמור ואמרת.

And this is the matter of "say (emor) and you shall say (ve'amarta)" (Vayikra 21:1).

The doubled language of "saying" in the parsha reflects these two levels — the supernal "saying" and its expression below.

כי מצותיו ית' הם גזירות בשורשם העליון ולמטה מתקיימין בגשמיות.

For His mitzvos, may He be blessed, are decrees at their supernal root, and below they are fulfilled in physicality.

Every mitzvah exists first as a supernal decree at its root, and then descends to be carried out in the physical world.

וז"ש אשר קדשנו במצותיו הוא בשורש.

And this is the meaning of "Who has sanctified us with His mitzvos" — that is at the root.

"Who sanctified us with His mitzvos" refers to the supernal root, where the mitzvah's holiness originates.

וצונו הוא בפועל גשמיי בעוה"ז.

And "and commanded us" is the physical performance in this world.

"And commanded us" refers to the actual physical fulfillment of the mitzvah here below.

וכמו כן הגזירה לנפש לא יטמא נמצא שורש הכהונה אין בו מגע טומאה.

And likewise the decree, "he shall not become impure for a [dead] soul" (Vayikra 21:1) — the root of the kehunah has no contact with tumah (impurity).

The prohibition against a Kohen contracting tumah reflects that the very root of the priesthood is utterly untouched by impurity.

ואמרת אליהם הוא שיזהרו שלא לטמא בגשמיות.

And "and you shall say to them" is that they should take care not to defile themselves in the physical [realm].

The second "saying" addresses the practical level: the Kohanim must guard against physical contact with impurity, so that the lower reality matches its pure root.

ובוודאי אם איזה כהן מטמא עצמו הקדושה פורחת ממנו.

And surely, if some Kohen defiles himself, the kedushah flies away from him.

When a Kohen does defile himself, his holiness departs — the physical breach disrupts the connection to the pure root.

וכן הוא ענין כל מצותיו ית' וכמו כן הקדושה שכ' אני ה' מקדישכם בוודאי נמצאת בתוך בנ"י.

And so it is with the matter of all His mitzvos; and likewise the kedushah of which it is written, "I am Hashem who sanctifies you" (Vayikra 22:32) — it is surely present within Bnei Yisrael.

This two-level pattern applies to all mitzvos. The holiness Hashem grants is genuinely present within every Jew at his root.

וכפי עבודת האדם מתגלה בו בפועל ממש.

And according to a person's avodah, it becomes revealed within him in actual practice.

How much of that inner holiness becomes manifest depends on a person's avodah — his spiritual effort.

לכן במסירת נפש כתיב ונקדשתי בתוך בנ"י.

Therefore, regarding mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice), it is written, "and I shall be sanctified among Bnei Yisrael" (Vayikra 22:32).

The mitzvah of Kiddush Hashem through self-sacrifice is the supreme way of revealing the holiness latent "among Bnei Yisrael."

כי החומר מסתיר הקדושה.

For the materiality (chomer) conceals the kedushah.

The body and physical matter act as a veil that hides the inner holiness.

ומי שמס"נ בפועל ממש מסיר כל הסתרות החומר ומתגלה בו החדושה ונעשה ממש קדוש בגוף ג"כ.

And one who actually gives over his life removes all the concealments of the material, and the holiness is revealed within him, and he becomes truly holy in his body as well.

By literally sacrificing himself for Hashem, a person strips away the body's concealment entirely, so that holiness shines forth and even his physical body becomes sanctified.

וכמו כן הוא תמיד כפי הזדככות החומר מתגלה הקדושה.

And so it is always: according to the refinement of the material, the kedushah is revealed.

Even short of martyrdom, the principle holds: the more one purifies the physical, the more holiness emerges.

וכן יש זמנים שמתגלה בהם הקדושה ע"י הסתלקות ההסתר הגשמיי.

And so there are times in which the kedushah is revealed through the removal of the physical concealment.

There are also special times when the material veil lifts on its own, allowing holiness to shine forth.

ובמד' והי' ז' ימים תחת אמו וכן באדם ביום השמיני ימול שיעבור עליו שבת שיראה פני מטרונא תחלה כו'.

And in the Midrash: "and it shall be seven days under its mother" (Vayikra 22:27), and likewise regarding a person, "on the eighth day he shall be circumcised" (Vayikra 12:3) — so that a Shabbos should pass over him, that he first behold the face of the "Queen" (Matrona), etc.

An animal and a newborn must wait until at least one Shabbos passes before being offered or circumcised — they must first "encounter" the Shabbos, the revealed holiness ("the Queen").

והענין הוא כי כל ברי' כשבאה לעוה"ז החומריי מסתתר חיות הפנימיות שבה.

And the matter is that every creature, when it comes into this material world, the inner vitality within it becomes concealed.

Entering the physical world causes a creature's inner life-force, its penimiyus, to be hidden.

אכן כשבא השבת קודש אז סט"א בורחת והזמן מתעלה.

However, when the holy Shabbos comes, then the sitra achra (the "other side") flees and the time is elevated.

Shabbos drives away the forces of impurity and lifts time itself to a higher plane.

ואז מתגלה הפנימיות.

And then the penimiyus (inner essence) is revealed.

With the "other side" gone, the hidden inner vitality of every creature comes to light on Shabbos.

וזה ענין באה שבת באה מנוחה.

And this is the matter of "Shabbos has come, rest has come."

The "rest" that arrives with Shabbos is precisely this revelation of inner peace and holiness once the concealment lifts.

וכמו שהי' בשבת בראשית כן הוא תמיד שכל מה שמתהוה בימי המעשה חסר השלימות.

And just as it was at the Shabbos of creation, so it is always: that everything which comes into being during the weekdays lacks completeness.

As at the first Shabbos of creation, whatever is formed during the workweek remains incomplete.

כי עולם הטבעי הוא חסר.

For the natural world is deficient.

The world of nature, by itself, is inherently lacking and unfinished.

וכשבא שבת חל השלימות על הכל ונעשין כלים להיות מוכן להקדושה כנ"ל:

And when Shabbos comes, completeness rests upon everything, and they become vessels prepared to receive the kedushah, as above.

Shabbos brings the completion that nature lacks, transforming all created things into fit vessels ready to receive and reveal holiness.

Summary: Unlike a mortal's hollow words, Hashem's every saying is real and always fulfilled — though sometimes hidden until the "dross" of this world is refined away. This mirrors the double "emor / ve'amarta": mitzvos exist as pure decrees at their supernal root and are then fulfilled in the physical world. Holiness is genuinely planted within Bnei Yisrael, but materiality conceals it; it is revealed in proportion to one's avodah — most fully through mesirus nefesh — and through special times like Shabbos, when the "other side" flees, the inner penimiyus shines, and the deficient natural world is completed and made a fit vessel for kedushah.