Rectifying space, time, and soul through mitzvos

במדרש יודע ה' ימי תמימים ונחלתם לעולם כו'.

In the Midrash: "Hashem knows the days of the wholehearted (temimim), and their inheritance shall be forever…"

The Sefas Emes opens with the verse, applied by the Midrash to the lives of the righteous, that Hashem "knows" the days of the perfect ones.

כי האדם נברא בעוה"ז לתקן הזמן כי חיות הנשמה למעלה מהטבע והזמן והשגחת השי"ת מקיים ומחדש חיות העולמות.

For man was created in this world (olam hazeh) to rectify time, for the vitality of the neshamah is above nature and time, and the providence of Hashem sustains and renews the life-force of the worlds.

Man's task in this world is to elevate and rectify time itself; his soul's vitality transcends time, while Hashem's providence constantly sustains and renews the worlds.

והכל תלוי בהאדם כפי מה שעובד השי"ת וזוכר שהכל מאתו ית'.

And everything depends on man — according to how he serves Hashem and remembers that everything is from Him.

The renewal of the world's vitality hinges on man's avodah and his awareness that all things flow from Hashem.

כמו כן מתחדש השגחתו ית'.

Correspondingly, His providence is renewed.

The measure of a person's service and recognition draws down a corresponding renewal of Hashem's hashgachah.

ובכלל יש עולם שנה נפש.

And in general there is "olam, shanah, nefesh" (world/space, year/time, soul).

The Sefas Emes invokes the classic three dimensions of creation: space (olam), time (shanah), and soul (nefesh).

ויש מצות שתלוין בגוף האדם.

And there are mitzvos that depend on the body of man.

Some mitzvos belong to the dimension of "nefesh" — bound to the person himself.

ויש בזמן.

And there are [mitzvos] in time.

Other mitzvos belong to the dimension of "shanah" — time-bound mitzvos.

ויש בכל המעשים שבעוה"ז.

And there are [mitzvos] in all the actions of this world.

And still others belong to the dimension of "olam" — embedded in the physical objects and deeds of the world.

כדי לתקן ג' בחי' הנ"ל.

In order to rectify the three aspects (bechinos) mentioned above.

These three categories of mitzvos exist precisely to rectify and elevate space, time, and soul.

ונרמזים בזה הפסוק ימי תמימים הוא שנה נפש.

And they are hinted at in this verse: "the days of the wholehearted (yemei temimim)" is [the dimensions of] time (shanah) and soul (nefesh).

"Days" corresponds to time, and the "wholehearted" people to soul — two of the three dimensions encoded in the verse.

ונחלתם לעולם בחי' עולם כנ"ל.

"And their inheritance shall be forever (la'olam)" is the aspect of "olam" (world/space), as above.

The phrase "nachalasam la'olam" corresponds to the third dimension, space/world.

וידיעתו ית' הוא כפי ההארות שמעורר האדם בג' בחי' הנ"ל שעושה שיהי' גם הזמן מקושר להבורא ית' כמ"ש כך שנותיהם תמימים כו'.

And His "knowing" is according to the illuminations that a person arouses in the three aspects mentioned above — for he causes even time to be bound to the Creator, as it says, "thus their years are whole (temimim)…"

Hashem's "knowing the days of the temimim" corresponds to the light a person awakens across space, time, and soul; the righteous bind even time itself to Hashem, so their "years are whole."

גם שבת קודש מקשר הזמן וכתיב בו לדעת כי אני ה' מקדישכם ומתעורר בו ידיעתו ית' ע"י העדות שבני ישראל מעידין עליו בש"ק כנ"ל:

The holy Shabbos, too, binds time [to Hashem], and concerning it is written, "to know that I am Hashem who sanctifies you," and His "knowing" is aroused on it through the testimony that Bnei Yisrael bear concerning Him on Shabbos Kodesh, as above.

Shabbos likewise rectifies and connects time to Hashem; through the testimony Bnei Yisrael give about Him on Shabbos, His "knowing" — His providence and recognition — is aroused in the world.

Summary: Man was created to rectify time, since his soul's vitality transcends time while Hashem's providence continually renews the worlds — and that renewal depends on man's service and his awareness that all is from Hashem. Creation has three dimensions: olam (space), shanah (time), and nefesh (soul), and the three categories of mitzvos exist to rectify each. The verse "Hashem knows the days of the temimim, and their inheritance shall be forever" encodes all three — days (time), the wholehearted (soul), and forever (space). The righteous bind even time to the Creator, and Shabbos especially connects time to Hashem, arousing His "knowing" through the testimony Bnei Yisrael bear about Him.