Faithful Pursuit of God

בפסוק משכני אחריך נרוצה.

“In the verse: ‘Draw me, after You we will run.’”

The Sefat Emet begins by focusing on the phrase from Shir HaShirim, which describes Israel being drawn by God and then running after Him.

לשון ריצה ולשון רצון.

It is an expression of running and an expression of will.

The wording suggests both movement and inner desire—physical pursuit and volitional yearning.

כי מתחלה הוציאנו הבורא ית' ביד חזקה שלא היינו ראוין לגאולה.

For at first the Creator, blessed be He, took us out with a mighty hand, for we were not worthy of redemption.

The Exodus happened through divine force, not human merit, because Israel was spiritually unprepared.

וגם כ' משכו שהי' קשה להם לפרוש מע"ז.

And it also says “They pulled,” for it was difficult for them to separate from idolatry.

Israel still clung to Egyptian spiritual influences and could not detach on their own.

לכן נק' לחם עוני מיכלא דמהימנותא פי' שאין משיגין עדיין טובות הבורא רק להיות נמשך אחריו גם בלי טעם בדרך אמונה.

Therefore it is called “bread of affliction,” the bread of faith, meaning they still could not grasp God’s goodness, but were to follow Him without understanding, through faith.

Matzah represents following God before comprehension—obedience born of pure trust.

ואח"כ מתחיל ימי הספירה שהוא לברר הגאולה ולהשיג הטובה.

And afterward begin the days of the Omer, which clarify the redemption and enable attaining the goodness.

Counting the Omer refines Israel so they can internalize what redemption truly means.

ואיתא כי אמרו בנ"י עדיין לא שלמו ימי הגלות כו' והשיב מרע"ה מדלג על ההרים על הקיצים בזכות אבות.

It is taught that Israel said the days of exile were not yet complete, and Moses replied: “He leaps over the mountains”—over the appointed ends—in the merit of the Patriarchs.

God hastened redemption by invoking ancestral merit, bypassing the full decree of exile.

והענין הוא כי לא הבינו בנ"י איך יהיו מוכנים להתמשך אחר הבורא ית'.

The idea is that Israel did not understand how they could be ready to follow after God.

They doubted their own spiritual capacity.

אמנם ע"י האמונה נמשכו אח"כ בשעה קלה מטיט ולבנים לאמירת השירה.

But through faith they were drawn in a brief moment from mud and bricks to singing the Song.

Faith allowed for sudden spiritual elevation.

וזה שכנס"י משבחת עצמה אחריך נרוצה שנמשכו אחריו בפסיעה גסה עד שהביאני חדריו.

This is why Israel praises herself: “After You we will run”—for they followed Him with large strides until He brought them into His chambers.

Israel acknowledges her own powerful response once awakened.

והכל הי' אחר שמשכני מהגלות.

And all this happened after He drew me out from exile.

The initial divine pull made the later running possible.

נתהפך לבות בנ"י בתשוקה רבה להבורא ית'.

The hearts of Israel were transformed with great longing for the Creator.

Redemption awakened deep desire.

כי באמת הם מוכנים לצבוא צבא לעבודת הבורא ית'.

For in truth they are prepared to form the army of God’s service.

Israel’s essential nature is readiness for divine mission.

גם על צבאותם הוא למעלה ממקומותיהם.

And “according to their hosts” indicates a level above their fixed stations.

Their spiritual potential exceeds their present state.

והיינו אחריך נרוצה שנתמלאו רצון טוב אחר הגאולה.

This is “After You we will run”—their good will became full after the redemption.

Desire blossomed once the constraints of exile were lifted.

וע"י הרצון שוב יכולין להמשיך עצמם אחר הבורא ית'.

And through this desire they could again draw themselves after God.

Longing became the engine of spiritual pursuit.

וז"ש בזכות האבות כענין שכ' מורשה שאין ת"ח בוש עצמו לחזור.

And this is what it means: in the merit of the Patriarchs—like the inheritance that a scholar need not be ashamed to reclaim.

Israel’s spiritual inheritance can always be sought again.

וע"י שחמדו בנ"י אחר מעשה אבותיהם ובוחרים בדרכיהם.

And because Israel desired the deeds of their ancestors and chose their ways...

Imitating the Patriarchs reactivated their merit.

הקב"ה בוחן כליות ולב וראה שנתמשכו אחריו ברצון נפלא.

The Holy One examined hearts and saw that they were drawn after Him with wondrous desire.

God perceived their deep inner longing despite external bondage.

וכפי שדלגו בנ"י אחריו כמו כן דילג על ההרים.

And just as Israel leapt after Him, so did He leap over the mountains.

The divine “leap” matched Israel’s internal leap of yearning.

Summary: The Sefat Emet teaches that the Exodus began with God drawing Israel out despite their unworthiness. Faith enabled them to respond with sudden spiritual ascent. Their essential desire, though suppressed by exile, reawakened and activated ancestral merit. This mutual movement—Israel running after God and God leaping toward them—formed the core of redemption and continues to guide spiritual growth.