Tazria

Milah and Shabbos uncover the hidden light in concealment· Essay 2

In the Midrash: "Back and front You have formed me" (Tehillim 139:5) — if one is worthy, he inherits two worlds, etc. The Midrash reads "back and front" as two worlds — olam hazeh and olam haba — and one who merits inherits both. The meanin…

Finding holiness through concealment and distance· Essay 3

And my grandfather, my teacher and master, may the memory of the righteous and holy be a blessing, said on the Midrash regarding the verses "I will carry my knowledge from afar" and "he saw the place from afar." The Sefas Emes cites his gra…

True humility knows all is Hashem's· Essay 4

In Rashi: the cedar wood [represents] one who exalted himself, and the hyssop [teaches] that he should humble himself, etc. (Rashi, Vayikra 14:4). Rashi explains the purification of the metzora: the tall cedar alludes to the arrogance that …

Inner form precedes physical matter· Essay 5

"You formed Your world of old (mikedem)" (from the Rosh Hashanah Mussaf). The Sefas Emes opens with this liturgical phrase, focusing on the word kedem ("of old / prior"), which he will tie to the concept of the inner form that precedes matt…

Tazria תרל"א

תרל”א ב”ה פ’ תזריע מצורע שבת ור”ח אייר במד’ אחור וקדם צרתני זכה נוחל ב’ עולמות כו’. The Midrash (Vaykira Rabbah 14:1) on the pasuk “Front and back you have created me” (Tehillim 139:5), explains tha…

Humanity Completing All Creation· Essay 1

במד’ אחור וקדם צרתני כו’. The Midrash (Vayikra Rabbah 14:1) “You have created me front and back”. (If man merits he is considered far elevated than the rest of creation, however if not then we tell him that even a mosquito was c…

Refining the animal soul to rise first· Essay 2

In the Midrash: "Back and front [You have formed me]…" (Tehillim 139:5) The Midrash applies this verse to the creation of man, who was made "last" in deed but "first" in thought — the Sefas Emes will unpack this dual aspect. The reason man …

Man's inner light revealed through affliction· Essay 1

In the Midrash: "Back and front You have formed me" — if a person merits, they say to him, "You came first [in creation]," and if not, they say to him, "Even a gnat preceded you." Adam was created last among all creatures. Depending on whet…

Man as the bridge who rectifies all creation· Essay 2

In the Midrash: "Back and front You have formed me…" The Sefas Emes opens with the verse from Tehillim describing man as formed "back and front," which he will explain as two dimensions of man's role in creation. For all of creation require…

Tzara'as as a closed heart reopened by teshuvah· Essay 3

On the verse "the affliction of tzara'as…" The Sefas Emes opens on the parsha's discussion of the skin-affliction of tzara'as, which he will read not merely as a physical malady but as a sign of a spiritual condition. In the Zohar HaKadosh:…

Refine the animal self to reveal the soul· Essay 2

In the Midrash: "Back and front [You have formed me]" (Tehillim 139:5)… "You preceded the work of the [six days of Creation]"… just as the formation of man [came after that of the animals]… so too his Torah was set out after the Torah of th…

Nullifying evil through guarded speech· Essay 3

In the Midrash: "metzora" (one stricken with tzaraas) is read as "motzi ra" — one who brings out evil. The Sefas Emes opens with the Midrashic wordplay: the affliction of the metzora is tied to "bringing out evil," chiefly through lashon ha…

Matter, form, and bittul on Shabbos· Essay 4

"You formed Your world of old; You completed Your work on the seventh day." The Sefas Emes opens with this liturgical phrase, focusing on the idea that Creation reached its true completion specifically on Shabbos. For behold, everything has…

Tazria תרל"ז

תרל”ז ב”ה תזריע מצורע ר”ח אייר במד’ אחור וקדם כו’ אתה קדמת למ”ב כו’ כמו שיצירתו של אדם כו’ כך תורתו נתפרשה אחר תורת בהמה כו’. The Midrash brings the pasuk “back and front you have create…

Man encompasses Creation yet stays humble· Essay 1

In the Midrash: If a person merits, they say to him, "You preceded [all of Creation]." Chazal teach that if a person is worthy, he is told that he came before all of Creation — for in one sense man, the purpose of the world, preceded everyt…

Tzaraas expels evil from the pure· Essay 2

On the matter of remembering Miriam. The Sefas Emes addresses the mitzvah to remember what happened to Miriam, who was stricken with tzaraas after speaking lashon hara about Moshe Rabbeinu. It is difficult: if the purpose is to keep away fr…

Refining the animal soul before the pure· Essay 2

In the Midrash: "Back and front You have formed me" (Tehillim 139:5). The Sefas Emes opens with the verse describing how Hashem "formed" man from both behind and before, which the Midrash and Chazal use to express man's dual nature. The wor…

Rectifying the Torah of the animal to reach the Torah of man· Essay 2

In Rashi: Rabbi Simlai said, "Just as the formation of the animal preceded [the formation of man in the creation, so too the laws of the animal precede the laws of man]..." (Rashi, Vayikra 12:2). The Sefas Emes opens with Rashi's citation o…

Man elevates creation by revealing glory· Essay 2

In the Midrash, on "Back and front You have formed me" (Tehillim 139:5): if one is worthy, they say to him, "You preceded [all of creation]"; if one is unworthy, they say to him, "Even the gnat preceded you." The Sefas Emes opens with the M…

Tzara'as as purification: refining the heart to reveal hidden light· Essay 3

In the Midrash on the pasuk "And I will place a plague of tzara'as…" — based on what is written, "Surely God is good… to the pure of heart." The Midrash links the affliction of tzara'as to the verse "Surely God is good to the pure of heart,…

Separating from impurity is a crown· Essay 4

On the verse "and you shall separate Bnei Yisrael from their tumah (impurity)" (Vayikra 15:31). The Sefas Emes examines the word "v'hizartem," usually rendered "you shall separate/warn," and finds in it a deeper layer of meaning. It is also…