Refine the animal self to reveal the soul

במד' אחור וקדם כו' אתה קדמת למ"ב כו' כמו שיצירתו של אדם כו' כך תורתו נתפרשה אחר תורת בהמה כו'.

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 the animal [in the parsha].

The Sefas Emes opens with the Midrash on "achor va'kedem": man is in one sense last (formed after the animals) and in another sense first (preceding all of Creation), and this is mirrored in the parsha, where the laws of a person's purity follow the laws of animals.

כי הנה כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעוה"ב כו' נצר מטעי כו'.

For behold, "All Yisrael have a portion in the World to Come… a shoot of My planting [the work of My hands, in which to take pride]" (Yeshayahu 60:21).

Every Jew is a "shoot of Hashem's planting," with a share in Olam Haba rooted in a place higher than the natural order.

פי' שיש לכל מ"ב כח ושורש בעולם שלמעלה מהטבע.

The explanation is that the entire creation (maaseh bereishis) has a power and a root in a world above nature.

All of Creation is anchored in a supernal source that transcends the natural world.

וכיון שיש שם חלק לכל איש ישראל ממילא הם קודמין לכל הבריאה.

And since every Jew has a portion there, they are consequently prior (kodmin) to all of Creation.

Because each Yid's soul reaches into that supernal root, in essence Bnei Yisrael precede the entire created order — this is the "kedem," the "front."

אמנם כך ברא השי"ת להיות אדם כולל כל הנבראים ויש בו נפש הבהמיות וא"י להשיג שורש כוחו שלמעלה מהטבע עד שיתקן מקודם הטבעיות ונפש הבהמיות שבו.

However, Hashem created it so that a person includes all created beings, and there is within him an animal soul (nefesh ha'behamis), and he cannot attain the root of his power that is above nature until he first refines (yesakein) the natural element and the animal soul within him.

Man is a microcosm containing every level of creation, including a "behaimah" within him. He cannot reach his supernal root until he first works on and refines his lower, animal, natural self — this is the "achor," the "back."

וזה פי' אחור וקדם צרתני.

And this is the meaning of "Back and front You have formed me."

The verse encodes both aspects: man is "back" (last, beginning with the animal self) and "front" (first, rooted above nature).

כי ע"י התיקון שמקודם יכול לבוא להשיג שורש נשמתו שקדמה לכל מ"ב.

For through the refinement that comes first, he is able to attain the root of his neshamah, which preceded all of Creation.

Only by doing the prior work of refining the animal self does a person reach his soul's root, which truly precedes the whole world.

וז"ש תורתו נתפרשה אחר תורת בהמה.

And this is the meaning of "his Torah was set out after the Torah of the animal."

The order of the parsha — human purity following animal laws — teaches that a person's elevation comes only after dealing with the "animal" within.

כי וודאי יש בו חלק הגנוז בו מלמעלה מהטבע.

For certainly there is within him a hidden portion (cheilek ha'ganuz), from above nature.

Concealed inside every person is a portion that belongs to the realm beyond nature.

אבל א"י לבוא לידי גילוי עד שיתקן תורת בהמה כו'.

But it cannot come to revelation until he refines the "Torah of the animal."

That hidden portion stays concealed until a person first masters and elevates his animal nature.

אח"כ נתפרש כח שורשו ובא לידי גילוי כנ"ל.

Afterward the power of his root is "set out" and comes to revelation, as above.

Once the lower self is refined, the soul's supernal power emerges into the open.

וזה ע"י כח המצות שהם בעשי' והם מעוררין כח העליון ומבטלין הטבע למה שלמעלה.

And this comes about through the power of the mitzvos, which are in action (asiyah), and they awaken the supernal power and nullify nature to that which is above it.

The tool for this refinement is the mitzvos: physical deeds that awaken the higher power and subordinate the natural world to its supernal source.

וזה ענין אמרם ז"ל ברכות המצות עובר לעשייתן ויעבר את הכושי כו'.

And this is the matter of Chazal's statement that the berachos over mitzvos are recited "over la'asiyasan" (before / passing-over to their performance), [playing on] "and the Kushi passed over [before the king]" (Shmuel II 18:23).

The Sefas Emes reads the phrase "over la'asiyasan" in its sense of "passing over / going ahead," linking it to the verse where the runner "passed over" and got ahead.

פי' שהמצות נותנין ברכה להיות המעשה עובר ומקדים עצמו לכל הטבע.

The meaning is that the mitzvos give a blessing such that the deed "passes over" and advances itself ahead of all of nature.

The berachah of a mitzvah empowers the physical act to leap ahead of nature, restoring man's status as "first," prior to Creation.

ואחר התיקון נמצא האדם קודם לכל מ"ב.

And after the refinement, the person is found to be prior to all of Creation.

Having done the work, a person reclaims his place as "kedem" — preceding the entire world.

אף כי תחילת העבודה והמעשה למטה מכל הבריאה כנ"ל.

Even though the beginning of the avodah and the action is below all of Creation, as above.

The starting point is humble and "lowest of all" — the work on the animal self — yet it leads to the highest standing.

וב' עבודות הללו הם ענין ימי המעשה אח"כ השבת הוא בחי' קדם שהוא מעין עוה"ב:

And these two avodos are the matter of the weekdays (yemei ha'maaseh), and afterward Shabbos is the aspect of "kedem" (front/first), which is a foretaste of the World to Come.

The weekdays are the "achor" — the laborious refinement from below; Shabbos is the "kedem" — the realized closeness to the supernal root, a taste of Olam Haba.

Summary: Man is both "back and front": rooted above all Creation through his neshamah, yet created last, containing an animal soul he must first refine. Only by working on and elevating his lower, natural self — through the deeds of mitzvos, whose berachah lets the act "pass over" and leap ahead of nature — does a person reveal his hidden supernal portion and reclaim his standing as prior to all of Creation. The weekdays are this avodah of refinement from below; Shabbos is its realized goal, the aspect of "kedem" and a foretaste of Olam Haba.