Guarding the inner self reveals holiness

במד' ואתה מרום לעולם כו' רוממות אתה כו' בעולמך.

In the Midrash, on "But You are exalted forever, Hashem" (Tehillim 92:9) — "You are exalted… in Your world…"

The Sefas Emes opens with the Midrash on the verse from Mizmor Shir L'Yom HaShabbos, which declares that Hashem remains exalted on high over all His world.

ידך בעליונה כו'.

"Your hand is uppermost…"

Hashem's "hand" is always above — His power and providence stand higher than all the forces of the world.

פי' כי ה' לא עזב את הארץ וכל הדברים השורש שלהם הוא למעלה.

The explanation: that Hashem has not abandoned the earth, and the root of all things is Above.

Hashem's being "exalted on high" does not mean He has withdrawn from the world. On the contrary, He sustains it, for everything that exists has its true root and source in the upper realm.

לכן כתי' על הרשעים מקודם.

Therefore it is written first concerning the resha'im.

The same mizmor speaks first of the wicked, and their fate flows from this principle about roots above.

יציצו כו' להשמדם עדי עד.

"[When the wicked] blossom… it is so that they may be destroyed forever" (Tehillim 92:8).

The flourishing of the resha'im is only temporary and is precisely what leads to their everlasting destruction.

שכל הגבהות שלהם בעוה"ז ואין להם שורש וכח למעלה.

For all their loftiness is in this world, and they have no root or power Above.

The resha'im's success is confined entirely to olam hazeh; it is rootless, drawing nothing from the upper world — which is why it cannot endure.

אבל בנ"י שדבקים בה' מסיים עליהם שתולים בבית ה' כו'.

But of Bnei Yisrael, who cleave to Hashem, the mizmor concludes, "Planted in the House of Hashem [they shall flourish]…" (Tehillim 92:14).

Bnei Yisrael, by their deveikus to Hashem, are "planted" — rooted Above in His House — and therefore their flourishing is enduring and real, unlike the rootless growth of the wicked.

וזה עצמו הפי' ישלח עזרך מקודש כמ"ש במ"א דקאי על הנשמה יתירה שניתוספת לבנ"י בש"ק שע"ז מיוסד כל המזמור ליום השבת כמ"ש בפ' תשא ע"ש.

And this itself is the meaning of "May He send your help from the Sanctuary" (Tehillim 20:3), as we explained elsewhere, that it refers to the neshamah yeseirah that is added to Bnei Yisrael on Shabbos Kodesh — upon which the entire mizmor "for the Shabbos day" is founded, as explained in Parshas Tisa, see there.

"Help from the Sanctuary" is the extra soul of Shabbos, which connects a person to his root Above. The whole Shabbos mizmor (Tehillim 92) is built on this theme of being rooted on high through the gift of the neshamah yeseirah.

עזרך מקודש הוא בזמן המקדש שהיו מרגישין הקדושה בפועל.

"Your help from the Sanctuary" was in the time of the Mikdash, when they felt the kedushah in actuality.

When the Bais Hamikdash stood, the help and holiness came directly from the Sanctuary, palpably experienced by all.

ועתה מציון יסעדך כמ"ש רש"י ז"ל בפסוק הציבי לך ציונים שאע"פ שאין המקדש קיים ע"י המצות מתעורר רמזים והארת הקדושה.

And now, "from Tziyon may He support you" (Tehillim 20:3), as Rashi explains on the verse "Set up markers (tziyunim) for yourself" (Yirmiyahu 31:20), that even though the Mikdash no longer stands, through the mitzvos the hints and the radiance of kedushah are awakened.

In our time, without the Mikdash, support comes "from Tziyon" — through the mitzvos, which serve as "markers" (tziyunim) that awaken hints and a glimmer of the lost holiness, keeping the connection alive.

ובמד' מקידוש מעשים ציון מעשים.

And in the Midrash: from "the sanctification of deeds" comes "the marking (tziyun) of deeds."

The Midrash links kiddush (sanctification) and tziyun (marking): the sanctifying of one's actions produces deeds that are "marked," distinguished as belonging to Hashem.

י"ל כי קידוש מעשים הוא הפרישה והרחקה מגשמיות כמ"ש רמב"ן בפי' קדושים.

It may be said that "the sanctification of deeds" is the separation and distancing from physicality, as the Ramban explains on [the command] "Kedoshim [tihyu]" (Vayikra 19:2).

Following the Ramban's famous interpretation of "You shall be holy," the Sefas Emes defines kiddush ma'asim as prishus — separating and holding oneself back from excessive indulgence in the physical.

וציון מעשים הם המצות המצוינים בנ"י בהם.

And "the marking of deeds" refers to the mitzvos by which Bnei Yisrael are distinguished (metzuyanim).

"Tziyun of deeds" is the positive side: the mitzvos that set Bnei Yisrael apart as marked and distinguished as Hashem's people.

וברש"י כ"מ שאתה מוצא גדר ערוה א"מ קדושה.

And in Rashi: wherever you find a fence against forbidden relations (gader ervah), there you find kedushah.

Rashi establishes that holiness is consistently linked to guarding against immorality — building a "fence" against ervah is the very arena of kedushah.

א"כ ע"י הפרישה והרחקה מהמעשים לא טובים.

If so, it is through the separation and distancing from improper deeds [that one attains holiness].

This confirms the definition: kedushah is reached by means of prishus — pulling back and distancing oneself from improper conduct.

זוכין לקדושה.

One merits kedushah.

The reward of that self-restraint is the attainment of genuine holiness.

דכתיב שער החצר הפנימית ששת ימי המעשה יהי' סגור כו'.

As it is written, "The gate of the inner court [facing east] shall be closed during the six working days…" (Yechezkel 46:1).

The Sefas Emes brings the verse about the inner gate being shut on weekdays as a model for guarding one's inner self during the workweek.

ופי' מו"ז ז"ל שכפי מה שאדם שומר פנימיות שלו מהגשמיות.

And my grandfather, of blessed memory, explained that in accordance with how much a person guards his penimiyus (inner dimension) from physicality —

Citing his grandfather the Chiddushei HaRim, the Sefas Emes reads the "closed inner gate" as guarding one's inner core, keeping it sealed off from the intrusion of the material.

כך מרגיש קדושה ומתגלה פנימיות הטוב שבו והיינו כדברי רש"י הנ"ל:

so does he feel kedushah, and the inner good within him becomes revealed — and this accords with the words of Rashi cited above.

The more one shields his inner self from the physical, the more he experiences holiness and the more his hidden inner goodness shines forth. This is the same idea as Rashi's: building a fence against the material reveals the kedushah within.

Summary: Hashem remains exalted yet has not abandoned the world, for everything's true root is Above. The resha'im flourish only in this world, rootless and doomed, while Bnei Yisrael, "planted in Hashem's House" through deveikus, endure — a connection embodied by the Shabbos neshamah yeseirah and, since the Mikdash's loss, by the mitzvos that mark and awaken holiness. Kedushah is attained through prishus, distancing oneself from physicality and immorality, and especially by guarding one's penimiyus from the material — the more one shields his inner self, the more holiness he feels and the more his inner good is revealed.