Bnei Yisrael as witnesses sanctifying Hashem's Name

בפסוק ולא תחללו את שם קדשי ונקדשתי כו'.

On the verse, "And you shall not profane My holy Name, and I shall be sanctified …" (Vayikra 22:32).

The piece begins from the command not to desecrate Hashem's Name but rather to sanctify it.

כתי' כל הנקרא בשמי כו' בראתיו יצרתיו אף עשיתיו.

It is written, "All that is called by My Name … I created it, I formed it, indeed I made it" (Yeshayahu 43:7).

This verse contains the language of the four worlds — Beriah (created), Yetzirah (formed), and Asiyah (made) — all bound up with Hashem's Name.

שמו יתברך חל על כל הד' עולמות ובנ"י מעידין ע"ז כמ"ש אתם עדי נאום ה'.

His blessed Name rests upon all four worlds, and Bnei Yisrael bear witness to this, as it says, "You are My witnesses, says Hashem" (Yeshayahu 43:10).

Hashem's Name pervades all four spiritual worlds, and the role of Bnei Yisrael is to testify to this truth — they are His witnesses.

פי' שמעידין ששמו ית' מחי' ומהוה כל העולמות ושהכל נאום ה'.

The meaning is that they testify that His blessed Name enlivens and brings into being all the worlds, and that everything is "the word of Hashem."

Their testimony is that Hashem's Name is the constant, living source giving existence to every world — that all that exists is His ongoing utterance.

והוא ושמו ית' אחד.

And He and His blessed Name are one.

Hashem and His Name are an absolute unity; the Name is not separate from Him.

וכפי בירור זה העדות מתייחד ומתקדש שמו ית'.

And in accordance with the clarifying of this testimony, His blessed Name becomes unified and sanctified.

The clearer and stronger Bnei Yisrael's testimony, the more Hashem's Name is unified and sanctified in the world — this is the sanctification of the Name the verse calls for.

והרי הכתוב אומר כי קדושת שמו ית' תלי' בנפשות בנ"י.

And behold, the verse states that the sanctification of His blessed Name depends on the souls of Bnei Yisrael.

Remarkably, the Torah makes the sanctity of Hashem's Name dependent on the souls of His people.

כי בשמים למעלה הכל רואין קדושת שמו ית'.

For in the heavens above, all see the holiness of His blessed Name.

In the upper worlds Hashem's holiness is openly visible to all; no testimony is needed there.

ובעוה"ז נסתר הכל ע"י הטבע ולכן נשתלחו נפשות בנ"י בעוה"ז להעיד עליו.

But in this world everything is hidden by nature; therefore the souls of Bnei Yisrael were sent into this world to testify about Him.

Down here, nature conceals Hashem entirely. That is the very purpose for which Jewish souls descend into this world: to bear witness to the hidden G-dliness behind nature.

ובמד' שור או כשב כו'.

And in the Midrash on "an ox or a sheep …" (Vayikra 22:27).

The Sefas Emes now turns to a Midrash on the animals fit for offerings.

והאלקים יבקש את נרדף שור נרדף מארי כבש מנמר ובחר הקב"ה בנרדפין כמו בנ"י נרדפין ובחר הקב"ה בהם ע"ש.

"And G-d seeks the pursued" (Koheles 3:15) — the ox is pursued by the lion, the sheep by the leopard, and Hashem chose the pursued; just as Bnei Yisrael are pursued, and Hashem chose them. (See there.)

The Midrash teaches that Hashem favors the pursued: He chose the hunted animals for the altar, and likewise chose Bnei Yisrael, who are constantly pursued among the nations.

הגם כי כך הוא בטבע הארי להיות רודף השור.

Even though it is the nature of the lion to pursue the ox.

One might think the pursuit is merely natural — the predator chasing its prey — yet the Sefas Emes finds a deeper reason.

אבל הענין הוא כי עוה"ז הטבע מסתיר הפנימיות וכל הדבוק יותר בטבע יש לו כח חזק בהטבע.

But the matter is that this world of nature conceals the penimiyus (inner dimension), and whatever is more attached to nature has stronger power within nature.

Because the natural world conceals inner holiness, the creatures most rooted in raw nature wield the most natural power — like the predatory lion and leopard.

והשור ושה שהם נרדפין מפני שיש בהם יותר פנימיות לכן הטבע מתנגד עליהם.

And the ox and the sheep, which are pursued, are pursued because they contain more penimiyus; therefore nature opposes them.

The very reason the ox and sheep are hunted is that they carry more inner spiritual content; the world of nature instinctively resists what is more inward and holy.

מכ"ש בנפשות בנ"י שהם בני עוה"ב.

How much more so with the souls of Bnei Yisrael, who are "children of the World to Come."

If this holds for animals, it is all the more true of Bnei Yisrael, whose souls belong to the World to Come — the most inward and holy of all.

עוה"ז מתנגד להם ביותר.

This world opposes them most of all.

Precisely because of their elevated inner nature, this world resists Bnei Yisrael more than anyone — hence they are the most pursued.

וכמו כן בפרט כל איש ישראל כעין שאמרו הגדול מחבירו יצרו גדול ממנו.

And likewise, regarding each individual Jew — as they said, "Whoever is greater than his fellow, his yetzer (inclination) is greater than his."

The same principle operates within each person: the greater one's spiritual stature, the fiercer the yetzer hara that opposes him.

ולכן אל יפול לב אדם עליו במה שהיצה"ר רודף אותו תמיד כי הוא אות על חלק הקדושה שיש בו.

Therefore a person should not let his heart fall over the fact that the yetzer hara constantly pursues him, for this is a sign of the portion of holiness within him.

One should not despair when relentlessly pursued by the yetzer hara. On the contrary, that very pursuit is evidence of the holiness one possesses — the inner light that nature instinctively opposes.

ולכן המצוה מסור עצמך וקדש שמי להילחם מלחמת ה' ולברך כבוד מלכותו בעולם:

Therefore the mitzvah is: give yourself over and sanctify My Name — to wage the battle of Hashem and to proclaim the honor of His kingship in the world.

The conclusion returns to the opening verse's call to sanctify Hashem's Name: each Jew is to devote himself, fight the yetzer's pursuit as "the battle of Hashem," and thereby reveal and bless Hashem's sovereignty in the world.

Summary: Hashem's Name pervades all four worlds, and Bnei Yisrael were sent into this world — where nature conceals G-dliness — to bear witness that His Name enlivens all existence; the sanctification of His Name thus depends on their testimony. The Midrash that "Hashem seeks the pursued" reveals a principle: nature opposes whatever holds more penimiyus, so the inwardly holy ox and sheep, and all the more so Bnei Yisrael, are the ones pursued. This explains why the greater person faces a greater yetzer hara — the very pursuit testifies to one's holiness. One should therefore not despair, but give himself over to sanctify Hashem's Name and reveal His kingship.