The Language of Truth
שפת אמת
The Sfas Emes Online Library
The complete Torah of Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter of Ger (1847–1905): 5,195 essays on every parsha and festival, with 5,195 translated into clear, faithful English.
This Week
Ki Tavo
כי תבואMoshe describes the mitzvah of the first fruits, brought to the Sanctuary with a declaration recounting Israel's descent to Egypt and its redemption, followed by the confession of the tithes. He commands that the Torah be inscribed on stones upon entering the Land, and that the tribes pronounce blessings on Mount Gerizim and curses on Mount Eival. The parsha then sets out the great Tochacha — a lengthy warning of the calamities that will follow abandonment of the Torah — and closes by recalling the exodus and covenant.
- Consecrating the beginning to Hashem
- Returning to the root
- Inner gates of listening
- Daily renewal of creation
- Sweetening rebuke into joy
- Standing at the inner doorway
Must-read teachings
Chamishah Chumshei Torah
The Five Books
Moadim & Special Shabbosos
The Jewish Year
About the Work
The Language of Truth
The Sfas Emes — “the Language of Truth” — is among the most beloved works of Chassidic thought ever written. Composed over thirty-five years of Shabbos and Yom Tov teachings, it weaves Midrash, Zohar, and the teachings of the Kotzker and Chiddushei HaRim into a sustained meditation on finding the inner point of holiness within everything. Each essay here presents the original Hebrew alongside a clear English translation and explanation.
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“Truthful speech is established forever” — Mishlei 12:19