Tzitzis, the two mitzvah-types, and inner remembrance

והנה כ' דבר ואמרת נראה דהוא משום דציצית אמרז"ל ששקולה נגד כל המצות.

Now, it is written "speak… and say" (daber ve-amarta); it appears this is because of tzitzis, of which Chazal said that it is weighed against all the mitzvos.

The parshah of tzitzis uses a doubled expression of speech. The Sefas Emes connects this to the teaching that the mitzvah of tzitzis is equal in weight to all the mitzvos together.

ונראה דלבן ותכלת הוא בחי' מ"ע ול"ת.

And it appears that the white (lavan) and the techeiles (blue) correspond to the aspects of mitzvos asei (positive commandments) and mitzvos lo sa'aseh (prohibitions).

The two colors of the tzitzis represent the two great categories of mitzvos — the "do's" and the "don't's."

וכמו זכור ושמור בשבת דכולל מ"ע ול"ת.

Just like "Remember" (zachor) and "Guard" (shamor) regarding Shabbos, which together encompass positive and negative commandments.

Shabbos is built on the same pair: zachor (the positive duty to sanctify it) and shamor (the prohibition against melachah) — mitzvas asei and lo sa'aseh.

ולכן כתיב לשון אמירה ודיבור.

Therefore both an expression of "saying" and of "speaking" are written.

Because tzitzis embraces both categories of mitzvos, the Torah employs two verbs of speech — "speak" and "say" — paralleling the two dimensions.

וכתיב וזכרתם כו' אח"כ ולא תתורו הוא סור מרע בחי' ל"ת למען תזכרו כענין שרמזו חז"ל מי שישנו בשמירה ישנו בזכירה.

And it is written, "and you shall remember…," then afterward "and you shall not stray" — which is "turn away from evil," the aspect of lo sa'aseh — "so that you shall remember"; in the manner that Chazal hinted, "whoever is included in 'guarding' is included in 'remembering.'"

The verse first commands positive remembering ("you shall remember all the mitzvos") and then the prohibition "do not stray after your heart and eyes" — the "turn from evil" of lo sa'aseh — whose purpose is again "so that you shall remember." This mirrors Chazal's rule about Shabbos: one who keeps shamor is bound up with zachor; guarding against evil and positively remembering are intertwined.

וב' בחי' אלו אהבה ויראה שניהם מביאים אל הזכירה וע"י זה עצמו שגוברין על היצה"ר ולא תתורו כו' זוכין למען תזכרו.

And these two aspects are ahavah (love) and yirah (fear); both lead to remembrance. And by this very thing — that one overcomes the yetzer hara, "and you shall not stray" — one merits "so that you shall remember."

Positive mitzvos flow from love of Hashem, prohibitions from awe of Him; both bring a person to remembrance of Hashem. Specifically by conquering the yetzer hara and not straying after forbidden things, one earns the deeper "so that you shall remember."

ולכן מסיים הפסוק אשר הוצאתי אתכם מארץ מצרים.

Therefore the verse concludes, "[I am Hashem your God] who brought you out of the land of Mitzrayim."

The parshah ends by recalling yetzias Mitzrayim, which the Sefas Emes now explains.

כי השי"ת הציב כן סדר בנ"י שע"י שהיו במצרים ויצאו נקיים זכו לקבל עול מלכותו ית'.

For Hashem established this order for Bnei Yisrael: that by having been in Mitzrayim and going out clean, they merited to accept the yoke of His kingship.

Hashem designed it so that passing through Mitzrayim and emerging refined and "clean" prepared Bnei Yisrael to take on ol malchus Shamayim.

וכן הוא בפרט כל איש ישראל שכל המ"ז והיגיעות הם לטובה שע"י ולא תתורו למען תזכרו.

And so it is for each individual Jew: that all the obstacles and toils are for the good, for through "and you shall not stray," one reaches "so that you shall remember."

What was true of the nation in Mitzrayim is true of every person: the struggles and resistance one faces are ultimately for one's benefit, since by withstanding temptation ("do not stray") one attains a deeper remembrance of Hashem.

ומקודם כתיב וזכרתם אח"כ תזכרו.

And first it is written "and you shall remember," and afterward "you shall remember."

The parshah contains two expressions of remembering — an earlier "u-zechartem" and a later "tizkeru" — and the Sefas Emes explains their difference.

כי אמרו מ"ע נגד איברי האדם ול"ת כנגד הגידין וע"י הגידין נמשך יניקה בפנימיות האיברים לכן ע"י מצות ל"ת למען תזכרו שהוא זכרון דבוק יותר בעצם האדם כנ"ל:

For Chazal said: the positive commandments correspond to the limbs of a person, and the prohibitions correspond to the sinews; and through the sinews, nourishment is drawn into the inner part of the limbs. Therefore, through the mitzvos of lo sa'aseh comes "so that you shall remember" — which is a remembrance more deeply bonded into the very essence of the person, as explained above.

Chazal teach that the 248 positive mitzvos parallel the body's limbs and the 365 prohibitions parallel the sinews; the sinews channel vitality into the depths of the limbs. So too, the prohibition "do not stray" produces the deeper "so that you shall remember" — a remembrance fused into the inner essence of the person, more penimius than the first, outward remembering.

Summary: The doubled speech of the tzitzis parshah, and its white and techeiles, reflect the two categories of mitzvos — asei and lo sa'aseh — rooted in love and awe, paralleling zachor and shamor of Shabbos. Both lead to remembrance of Hashem, but the prohibition "do not stray," like sinews feeding the limbs from within, yields the deeper, inner remembrance. Yetzias Mitzrayim teaches that the very struggles against the yetzer hara are for our good, refining us to accept Hashem's kingship.