Earning Reward Through Justice

במדרש בדין הוא שיטול שכרו

The Midrash states: "It is by strict justice that he should receive his reward."

The Midrash teaches that there is a tzaddik who deserves his reward by strict justice, not merely as a gift.

אף דכתיב מי הקדימני ואשלם וכל שילום שכר של הבורא ית' הכל בחסדו [ועל זה נאמר ולך ה' החסד כו' תשלם לאיש כמעשהו] אך יש שזוכה למתנה וחסד זה עפ"י מדת הדין

This is so even though it is written, "Who has preceded Me, that I should repay him?" (Iyov 41:3) — meaning that all payment of reward from the Creator, Blessed is He, is entirely an act of His chesed [and concerning this it is said, "And Yours, Hashem, is the chesed... for You repay each man according to his deeds" (Tehillim 62:13)]. Yet there is one who merits that this gift and chesed should come to him by the very measure of strict justice (middas hadin).

Normally all reward is Hashem's chesed, since no one can obligate the Creator to pay; yet a special person can merit that very chesed through the channel of strict din.

ואיתא עלה במחשבה לברוא העולם במדה"ד וראה שאינו מתקיים ושיתף עמו מדת הרחמים

And it is taught regarding this: it arose in the Divine thought to create the world with the attribute of strict justice, and He saw that it could not endure, so He joined to it the attribute of mercy (Bereishis Rabbah 12:15).

Hashem first intended to create the world with strict justice alone, but it could not stand, so He combined it with mercy.

ומדה"ד שעלה במחשבה הי' כנ"ל לזכות לחסד עליון עפ"י הדין

And that attribute of strict justice which arose in the Divine thought was, as explained above, to merit the supernal chesed by means of strict justice itself.

That original plan of pure din was not destruction, but rather a way to earn the highest chesed precisely through strict justice.

ומי שמוסר נפשו באמת בעבור תורת ה' ומצותיו כפינחס

And one who truly gives over his soul (moser nefesh) for the sake of the Torah of Hashem and His mitzvos, as Pinchas did,

One who genuinely sacrifices himself for Torah and mitzvos, like Pinchas did,

אז בא לבחי' הנהגה ראשונה שעלה במחשבה וזוכה במדה"ד לקבל שכרו

he then comes to the level of that first mode of conduct that arose in the Divine thought, and merits by the measure of strict justice to receive his reward.

reaches that original mode of conduct and is therefore worthy to receive his reward through strict justice itself.

כי הגשמיות מעכב

For it is the physicality that holds one back.

The reason most people cannot attain this level is that the physical body gets in the way.

ובאמת הרצון של בנ"י עודנו עומד במקום הזה

And in truth, the will of Bnei Yisrael still stands in this very place.

Yet inwardly, the deep desire of Bnei Yisrael still remains fixed at that lofty original place.

רק במעשה א"א לקיים הכל כמו רצון האדם הצדיק ג"כ

It is only that in actual deed it is impossible to fulfill everything just as the will of the righteous man desires.

The problem is only practical: in actual action even a tzaddik cannot carry out everything his inner will wishes.

ואך ע"י מס"נ יכולין לקיים במעשה כמו במחשבה

And it is only through mesirus nefesh that one is able to fulfill in deed just as it is in thought.

Only through mesirus nefesh can a person bring his deeds fully into line with his inner thought and will.

ולכן עודנו קיים כמ"ש במד' פנחס הוא אליהו

And therefore he still endures, as is written in the Midrash, "Pinchas — he is Eliyahu" (Bamidbar Rabbah 21:3).

Because of this, Pinchas lives on, as the Midrash says that Pinchas is Eliyahu, who never died.

ע"י שנזדכך גופו ע"י מס"נ יכול להיות עולה לשמים ואין הגוף מעכב

Because his body was refined through mesirus nefesh, he is able to ascend to the heavens, and the body does not hold him back.

Through self-sacrifice his body was purified, so it no longer obstructs him and he can ascend to heaven.

ובמד' גדול השלום שניתן לפינחס שאין עולם מתקיים רק בשלום כלי מחזיק ברכה כו'

And in the Midrash: great is peace, for peace was given to Pinchas, for the world endures only through peace — "a vessel that holds blessing" (Mishnah Uktzin 3:12).

The Midrash praises peace as the vessel that contains blessing, for the world endures only through peace, which is why peace was given to Pinchas.

כי בשבת השי"ת פורס סוכת שלום עלינו דאיתא מתנה טובה יש לי כו' לך והודיעם

For on Shabbos the Holy One, Blessed is He, spreads over us a sukkah of peace, as it is taught: "I have a good gift [in My treasure house, and Shabbos is its name]... go and make it known to them" (Shabbos 10b).

On Shabbos Hashem spreads a sukkah of peace over us, connected to the teaching that Shabbos is a precious hidden gift to be made known to Bnei Yisrael.

כי לבד מתנה גנוזה השבת שנתן לנו הבורא ית' נותן לנו ג"כ הכנה שנוכל לקבל הארת השבת והוא פריסת סוכת שלום הנ"ל

For apart from the hidden gift of Shabbos itself, which the Creator, Blessed is He, gave us, He also gives us a preparation by which we are able to receive the radiance of Shabbos — and this is the spreading of the sukkah of peace mentioned above.

Beyond the gift of Shabbos itself, Hashem also grants the ability to receive its light, and that enabling preparation is the sukkah of peace.

כי אין עוה"ז מוכן לקבל הארה עליונה רק ע"י הנקודה שלימות שנתן לנו השי"ת והוא הנשמה יתירה שע"ז אמר לך והודיעם הוא התקשרות ודביקות הדעת להיות מוכן לקבל הארת השבת:

For this world is not prepared to receive the supernal radiance except through the point of completeness that Hashem gave us — namely, the neshamah yeseirah — concerning which He said, "go and make it known to them," which is the binding and dveikus of the mind so as to be prepared to receive the radiance of Shabbos.

This world cannot absorb such supernal light on its own; it needs the neshamah yeseirah, the point of completeness, through which the mind binds itself in dveikus and becomes fit to receive the radiance of Shabbos.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains how a tzaddik can merit reward through strict justice itself, even though all reward is fundamentally Hashem's chesed. Hashem originally intended to create the world with pure din as a means of earning the supernal chesed by din, and one who is truly moser nefesh for Torah and mitzvos, like Pinchas, reaches that original mode and earns his reward by strict justice. The obstacle for everyone else is the physical body, for while the inner will of Bnei Yisrael still stands at that lofty place, only mesirus nefesh can refine the body so that deed matches thought — which is why Pinchas, refined through self-sacrifice, lives on as Eliyahu and can ascend to heaven. The piece then turns to peace, the vessel that holds blessing and the reason the world endures, given to Pinchas. On Shabbos Hashem spreads a sukkah of peace over us, which together with the neshamah yeseirah is the preparation that enables this world to receive the supernal radiance of Shabbos in dveikus.