Acting for ratzon Hashem not distaste

וידבר ה' כו' לאמר אליהם.

"And Hashem spoke… saying to them" (Vayikra 11:1-2).

The Sefas Emes notes the seemingly redundant phrase "saying to them," which he will explain points to the inner intent Bnei Yisrael are meant to have.

ואין מובן.

And it is not understood.

The wording is difficult: why add "to them" after "saying"? This is the question the piece sets out to resolve.

וי"ל עפ"י מ"ש חז"ל רחב"ע אומר רצה הקב"ה לזכות ישראל הרבה להם תורה ומצות.

It can be explained based on what Chazal said: Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya says, Hashem wished to grant merit to Bnei Yisrael, therefore He gave them abundant Torah and mitzvos (Makkos 23b).

Hashem's intent in multiplying mitzvos was to give Bnei Yisrael more opportunities to earn merit — including mitzvos governing food, which is where this parsha of the forbidden creatures belongs.

ופרש"י דשקצים ורמשים בלא זה מאוסים כו'.

And Rashi explains that creeping and crawling creatures are repulsive in any case, etc.

Rashi observes that one would naturally avoid eating such creatures anyway — so what does the mitzvah add?

רק שהקב"ה עשה מזה מצוה.

Only that Hashem made of this a mitzvah.

The chiddush is that Hashem transformed a natural revulsion into a mitzvah, so that one's abstaining becomes an act of avodah rather than mere distaste.

והפי' שהקב"ה רצה שיהיו בנ"י כל מעשיהם נמשך אחר התורה.

The meaning is that Hashem desired that all the deeds of Bnei Yisrael be drawn after the Torah.

The goal is that every action of a Jew — even the most ordinary — flow from and be directed by the Torah, not by personal inclination.

שגם מה שא"א להיות באופן אחר.

So that even regarding what could not be otherwise —

Even in a case where a person would have behaved the same way regardless of any command —

מ"מ יהי' כוונת המעשה עפ"י התורה.

nevertheless the intent of the act should be according to the Torah.

The point is the kavanah: even where the outward behavior is identical, it should be done because the Torah says so, not merely because it suits him.

וכ"כ חז"ל אל יאמר האדם אי אפשי בבשר חזיר רק אפשי ומה אעשה אבי שבשמים גזר עלי.

So too Chazal said: A person should not say "I have no desire for pig's flesh," but rather "I do desire it, yet what can I do — my Father in Heaven has decreed upon me" (Sifra, Kedoshim).

Chazal teach the ideal stance: do not pretend the forbidden is unappealing; rather acknowledge the pull and abstain solely because Hashem commanded it. The restraint is then rooted in ratzon Hashem.

וז"ש חז"ל ע"פ וזאת החיה אשר תאכלו שבנ"י דביקין בחיים כו'.

This is what Chazal said on the verse "And this is the living thing (chayah) that you may eat" (Vayikra 11:2) — that Bnei Yisrael cleave to life (chaim).

Playing on the word chayah/chaim, Chazal hint that Bnei Yisrael cling to true life — the inner life-force — and so even their eating must be connected to that living source.

כי כל מעשה ישראל צריך להיות מדובק בשורשו.

For every deed of a Jew must be attached to its root.

Each action must remain bound to its spiritual source in Hashem, rather than being treated as a self-contained physical act.

וזהו והתקדשתם אדם מקדש עצמו מלמטה כו'.

This is the meaning of "And you shall sanctify yourselves" (Vayikra 11:44) — a person sanctifies himself from below, etc. (Yoma 39a).

When a person sanctifies himself even slightly from below, in this world, Heaven adds sanctity from above. The sanctification consists precisely in this inner attachment.

שע"י שאינו דבוק בגשמיות רק בפנימיות חיות הדבר.

That through one's not being attached to the physicality but only to the inner life-force of the thing —

Kedushah comes when a person relates not to the gross material of a thing but to its penimiyus — the inner life-force that animates it.

שהפנימיות הוא נבדל מחומר הדבר אעפ"י שהוא בהגשם.

For the penimiyus (inner dimension) is distinct from the material of the thing, even though it resides within the physical.

The inner life-force is separate in essence from the matter it inhabits, even while it is clothed inside that matter. One can relate to the inner spark without being mired in the physical shell.

כן צריך להיות כוונת העושה כנ"ל.

So too must be the intent of the one who acts, as above.

Just as the inner life-force is distinct from the physical, so a person's kavanah should reach past the physical act to its inner, Torah-rooted purpose.

וז"ש לאמר אליהם שהרצון הי' שיפרשו משקצים ורמשים ע"י שכן רצונו ית' כנ"ל.

This is the meaning of "saying to them" — that the desire was that they separate from the creeping and crawling creatures because such is His will, as above.

The extra "to them" teaches the inner instruction: abstain not merely out of disgust but because it is the ratzon Hashem. That is the kavanah Hashem was conveying "to them."

ואף שבל"ז נמאס ואיך יאמר אפשי בו.

And although without this it is already repulsive — how then could one say "I do desire it"? —

The Sefas Emes anticipates an objection: if these creatures are genuinely revolting, how can a person honestly claim he "desires" them, as Chazal urged?

רק הפי' להיות המניעה מצד ציווי השי"ת יותר מהמיאום מצד עצמו.

Rather the meaning is that the restraint should stem from Hashem's command more than from the revulsion itself.

The point is not to deny the disgust but to ensure that the primary reason for abstaining is Hashem's command, with the natural revulsion being secondary.

שאף בהכרח כזה שהי' גובר המיאוס מ"מ מצד מאמר השי"ת נרחק יותר ממנו כנ"ל:

So that even in such a compelling case, where the revulsion would dominate, nevertheless because of Hashem's word one distances himself from it even more, as above.

Even where natural disgust alone would suffice to keep him away, a Jew lets Hashem's command push him still further — so that his very abstaining becomes an act of submission to ratzon Hashem.

Summary: The phrase "saying to them" teaches that Hashem wants every deed of Bnei Yisrael — even avoiding naturally repulsive foods — to flow from attachment to the Torah and ratzon Hashem rather than mere personal distaste; in this way ordinary acts cleave to their inner life-force and become avenues of kedushah.