Holiness as the soul's exalted inner point

במד' ישלח עזרך מקודש כו' מה הרוחות צריכין סיוע תחתונים שנבראו לסיוע עאכ"ו כו'.

The Midrash on "May He send your help from the Sanctuary" (Tehillim 20:3), etc.: if even the heavenly forces require assistance, then the lower beings, who were created for the very purpose of assisting — how much more so, etc.

The Midrash teaches that everything in creation, even lofty spiritual forces, needs Divine help; certainly Bnei Yisrael, sent into this world to serve, need Hashem's aid "from the Sanctuary."

הענין שנשמות בנ"י נשלחו בעוה"ז כדי לתקן הבריאה ובמד' אחרי ע"פ כשושנה בה"ח שלולי בנ"י לא הי' העולם מתקיים ולכן נשתלחו בנ"י להיות קיום לכל הפרדס בעבור השושנה ע"ש.

The matter is that the neshamos of Bnei Yisrael were sent into this world in order to repair creation; and the Midrash on Acharei, on the pasuk "Like a rose among the thorns" (Shir HaShirim 2:2), [teaches] that were it not for Bnei Yisrael the world would not endure — therefore Bnei Yisrael were sent to be the sustaining force of the entire orchard, for the sake of the rose; see there.

Jewish souls descend into this world on a shlichus (mission) to refine creation. Bnei Yisrael are the "rose" for whose sake the whole "orchard" of the world is kept in existence.

וע"י שבנ"י המה שלוחי המלך ב"ה. לכן שולח להם עזר מקודש.

And because Bnei Yisrael are the emissaries of the King, blessed be He, therefore He sends them help from the Sanctuary.

Since they act as Hashem's agents, He supplies them with special heavenly assistance "from the Sanctuary" — the holy root above.

דהנה המזמור יענך הי' שדוד המע"ה התפלל על יואב ששלחו למלחמה כמ"ש ואתה תהי' מעיר לעזור ע"ש ברש"י.

For this mizmor "May He answer you" (Tehillim 20) was that Dovid HaMelech, of blessed memory, prayed on behalf of Yoav whom he had sent out to war, as it says, "and you shall be ready to aid from the city," see there in Rashi.

The Sefas Emes grounds the idea in the psalm's plain context: Dovid davened for Yoav as he went to battle, since one sent on a mission needs backing from his sender.

וכמו שהי' בסדר העולם א"י וירושלים ובהמ"ק היכל ק"ק.

And just as it was in the order of the world: Eretz Yisrael, and Yerushalayim, and the Bais Hamikdash, the Heichal, the Kodesh HaKodashim.

He sketches the concentric tiers of holiness in the world — moving inward from the Land, to the city, to the Temple, to the Holy of Holies.

והלכו עוד להלחם עם האומות בח"ל.

And they would also go out to wage war against the nations in the lands outside.

Beyond these holy centers lay the outer realm — the battlefield against the nations in foreign lands.

כן יש מדרגות בנפש האדם ג"כ שיש אברים פנימיים מוח לב כו'.

So too there are levels in a person's soul: there are inner limbs — the brain, the heart, etc.

The same gradation of holiness exists within a person: the inner organs, the brain and heart, correspond to the innermost sanctified places.

ויש אברים שהנשמה תלוי' בהם ויש אברים פחותים.

And there are limbs upon which the neshamah depends, and there are lesser limbs.

Some limbs are vital, bound up with the soul itself, while others are more peripheral — a hierarchy paralleling the tiers of kedushah.

וכן במעשי גשמיי שהכל מלחמת ה' מי שעוסק לש"ש. ונק' עת צרה.

And likewise in physical deeds — for all of it is the war of Hashem for one who engages in them l'shem Shomayim (for the sake of Heaven) — and this is called "a time of trouble."

Engaging the material world for Heaven's sake is itself "the war of Hashem," fought in the outer, distant realm — and battle is precisely the "time of trouble" when help is needed.

ואז צריכין סיוע וע"ז נאמר ישלח עזרך מקודש דאיתא לעולם יראה אדם עצמו כאילו קדוש שרוי בתוך מעיו דכתי' קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה"א.

And then one needs assistance, and concerning this it says, "May He send your help from the Sanctuary," for it is taught: a person should always regard himself as though a holy One dwells within his innards, as it is written, "You shall be holy, for I, Hashem your God, am holy."

In the "war" of avodah, help comes "from the Sanctuary" within — for a holy Presence dwells inside every person, which is why the Torah commands "Kedoshim tihyu."

פי' שיש נקודה קדושה מכח ניצוץ אלקות שיש בכל נפש ישראל.

The meaning is that there is a holy point, from the power of the nitzotz Elokus (the spark of the Divine) that exists in every Jewish soul.

The "Sanctuary" within is a holy inner point — the spark of Hashem present in every Jew.

ואותה הנקודה לא תוכל להשתנות.

And that point can never change.

This inner point is immutable; no descent or sin can ever alter or extinguish it.

ובמד' ואתה מרום לעולם ה' רוממות אתה כו' בעולמך.

And the Midrash on "But You are exalted forever, Hashem" (Tehillim 92:9) [expounds]: "You are exaltedness," etc., in Your world.

The Sefas Emes turns to the verse that declares Hashem eternally exalted, to explain how His holiness functions within the world.

פי' הכח שבא מה' ית' הוא בהתרוממות אף אם יהי' נעלם ונכסה בכמה מיני צימצומים וירידות ע"כ הוא בהתרוממות תמיד.

The meaning is that the power that comes from Hashem is in a state of exaltation; even if it becomes hidden and concealed through various tzimtzumim (constrictions) and descents, it is nevertheless always in a state of exaltation.

Any force flowing from Hashem retains its inherent loftiness. Even when veiled by constriction and descent into the lower world, it never loses its elevated, ascending nature.

היפוך מדת הרשעים שכ' מקודם בפרוח רשעים כו' פי' שהרשעים אין להם קיום בעצם ואף אם יגבהו כנשר כו' להשמדם עדי עד.

This is the opposite of the way of the resha'im, of which it is written earlier, "When the wicked flourish," etc. — meaning that the resha'im have no real, essential permanence, and even if they soar like an eagle, etc., it is only "to be destroyed forever."

The wicked are the reverse: their rise has no inner substance, so their flourishing is hollow and leads only to ultimate destruction.

ומדת הקב"ה וב"ש אדרבא כל מקום שיש רשימה מהקדושה היא בהתרוממות כמ"ש לעולם ידך בעליונה.

But the way of Hashem, blessed and praised be He, is on the contrary: wherever there is an imprint of holiness, it is in a state of exaltation, as it says, "Your hand is forever uppermost."

By contrast, anything bearing even a trace of kedushah is always rising. Holiness, by its very nature, ends up "on top."

וז"ש ואתה מרום לעולם כו'. ואתה. כמ"ש ואתה מחי' את כולם שהתפשטות החיות מהקב"ה וב"ש היא בהתרוממות. [כי אות ו' היא תוספות]

And this is the meaning of "But You are exalted forever," etc. "And You" — as it says, "And You give life to them all," for the spreading-out of vitality from Hashem, blessed and praised be He, is in a state of exaltation. [For the letter vav signifies addition.]

The very phrase "v'Atah" (And You) hints that the life-force Hashem extends throughout creation is always elevating; the connective vav signals an added, ascending flow of chiyus.

אכן התעוררות הקדושה שבאדם הוא כפי מה שנלחם עם היצה"ר.

However, the awakening of the holiness within a person is according to how much he battles the yetzer hara.

Although the inner spark is constant, its arousal and revelation depend on a person's struggle against his yetzer hara.

וברש"י כ"מ שאתה מוצא גדר ערוה כנ"ל כפי מה שלוחם האדם לפרוש מן הערוה אתה מוצא קדושה כמ"ש יגעתי ומצאתי.

And in Rashi: wherever you find a fence against ervah (immorality), as above — according to how much a person fights to separate himself from ervah — you find kedushah, as it says, "I toiled and I found."

Rashi pairs holiness with guarding against immorality: holiness is "found" precisely in the measure of one's effort to withdraw from temptation, as Chazal say of one who toils and succeeds.

וכמ"ש ישלח עזרך כו'. ואז מתחזק הארת הנשמה.

And as it says, "May He send your help," etc. — and then the radiance of the neshamah is strengthened.

When a person makes the effort, Hashem sends help "from the Sanctuary," and the light of his soul is reinforced.

עזרך הוא העזר המיוחד לך. והוא כח הנשמה שיש לה שורש בשמים:

"Your help" is the help that is uniquely yours — and that is the power of the neshamah, which has a root in Heaven.

The phrase "your help" denotes the personal aid built into each Jew: the strength of his own neshamah, whose root remains attached above in Heaven.

Summary: Bnei Yisrael are sent into this world on a shlichus to refine creation, like the rose for whose sake the whole orchard endures, and so Hashem sends them special "help from the Sanctuary." Just as the world has concentric tiers of holiness — Land, city, Temple, Holy of Holies — so does the body and so does avodah within the physical world, which is the "war of Hashem." Within every Jew is an unchanging holy point, the spark of Hashem, which like all that flows from Him is always exalted and rising even through concealment, unlike the hollow rise of the wicked. This inner holiness is awakened in the measure that a person battles his yetzer hara, and then Hashem strengthens the light of the neshamah whose root is in Heaven.