Whole days bound to their Source

במדרש יודע ה' ימי תמימים פירוש ימים שהם תמימים.

The Midrash on "Hashem knows the days of the wholehearted" (Tehillim 37:18) — meaning, days that are themselves whole (temimim).

The Sefas Emes reads the verse not only as Hashem knowing the days of righteous people, but as the days themselves possessing a quality of wholeness.

והם באמת ימי התמימים שע"י שהם תמימים שנותיהם תמימים.

And these are in truth the days of the wholehearted ones, for because they are whole, their years are whole.

When a person lives each day with shleimus (wholeness), those whole days add up to whole years — the integrity of the days is what makes the whole life complete.

ומה הוא ימים תמימים.

And what are "whole days"?

He now defines precisely what gives a day this quality of wholeness.

היינו שהם נמשכין מן השורש דכתיב יום ליום יביע אומר שהקב"ה מחדש בכל יום מעשה בראשית.

Namely, that they are drawn from the Root, as it is written, "Day to day pours forth speech" (Tehillim 19:3), for the Holy One renews each day the act of Creation.

A day is "whole" when it stays connected to its Source — and since Hashem renews Creation every single day, each day carries fresh, living energy flowing directly from Him.

וכשהימים דביקין בשרשם ממילא נחלתם לעולם תהי' כמ"ש במ"א שעומק תחת תלוי בעומק רום.

And when the days cleave to their root, automatically "their inheritance shall be forever" (Tehillim 37:18), as explained elsewhere that "the depth below depends on the depth above."

Days that remain attached to their Source become eternal, because everything in the lower world (the "depth below") draws its permanence from its rooting in the higher world (the "depth above").

וע"י שהם בדביקות עליון כמ"ש יודע ה' וידיעת השי"ת הוא בדבר שדבוק בשורש כמ"ש עיני ה' אלקיך מראשית השנה כו' וסופו שיש לו אחרית ע"ש.

And because they are in supernal deveikus — as it says, "Hashem knows" — for Hashem's "knowing" applies to that which is attached to the Root, as it says, "The eyes of Hashem your God are upon it from the beginning of the year" (Devarim 11:12), and its end is that it has a [lasting] future; see there.

Hashem's "knowing" rests upon whatever is bonded to its Source. The verse about His eyes being on the land "from the beginning of the year" implies that what begins connected to Him also has a secure end and future — connection to the Root grants both a true beginning and a lasting acharis.

והצדיק מקשר כל מעשיו וימיו בשרש האחדות והראשית כנ"ל.

And the tzaddik binds all his deeds and his days to the root of unity and the Beginning, as above.

The work of the tzaddik is to tie every action and every day back to the single Source and the primal Reishis, so nothing in his life is detached from Hashem.

וכ' ויהיו חיי שרה כמ"ש חכמים בכ"מ ויהי בהויתן יהיו שלא נשתנו הימים מכמו שהיו בשורשם כנ"ל.

And it is written, "And the life (vayihyu chayei) of Sarah was…" (Bereishis 23:1), as the Sages say everywhere that "vayihyu" means "they shall be in their being" — that the days had not changed from how they were in their root, as above.

The word "vayihyu" implies an enduring, unchanging existence: Sarah's days remained exactly as they were at their source, never falling away from their original connection to Hashem.

וכתיב ואברהם זקן בא בימים.

And it is written, "And Avraham was old, advanced (ba) in days" (Bereishis 24:1).

He now turns to the parallel phrase about Avraham, reading "ba ba'yamim" not merely as "old" but as having brought his days somewhere.

פירוש שהמשיך הימים לשורשם ושם נקראין יומין עתיקין.

The meaning is that he drew his days back to their root, where they are called "ancient days" (yomin atikin).

"Coming with his days" means Avraham elevated and returned each of his days to its Source on high, the realm called yomin atikin, the "ancient days."

כי אין לך דבר שאין לו שורש למעלה כמ"ש במדרש אין לך עשב כו' ומכ"ש אדם מובחר הבריאה יש לכל ימיו שרש למעלה.

For there is nothing that has no root above, as the Midrash says, "There is no blade of grass [below that does not have a constellation above striking it and telling it to grow]" — and how much more so man, the choicest of Creation: all his days have a root above.

If even a blade of grass has a corresponding root in the upper worlds, then certainly the days of a human being — the crown of Creation — each have a supernal root to which they can be returned.

וחכמינו ז"ל אמרו כי הנשמה קודם בואה לעולם יודעת כל התורה.

And our Sages said that the soul, before it comes into this world, knows the entire Torah.

The neshamah originates in a place of complete Torah knowledge — proof that its true root lies above, in the world of unity.

וצריך האדם לחבר כל הימים בשורשם ועי"ז נמשך להם ברכה לכן כתיב מיד וה' ברך את אברהם כו'.

And a person must connect all his days to their root, and through this blessing is drawn down to them — therefore it immediately states, "And Hashem blessed Avraham [in all things]" (Bereishis 24:1).

Reconnecting one's days to their Source draws blessing into them; that is why, right after "advanced in days," the Torah says Hashem blessed Avraham — the blessing is the fruit of having bound his days to their root.

וכמו כן בש"ק יש עלי' לכל הבריאה וכתיב בי' ברכה כמ"ש כלי מחזיק ברכה זה שלום וע"י החיבור בשרשם נקראו ימי תמימים בחי' השלימות כנ"ל:

And likewise on Shabbos Kodesh there is an ascent for all of Creation, and blessing is written regarding it, as Chazal said, "The only vessel that holds blessing is shalom (peace/wholeness)" — and through the reconnection to their root they are called "whole days," the aspect of completeness, as above.

Shabbos lifts all of Creation back toward its Source, which is why blessing rests upon it. Since shalom — the wholeness of being reunited with the Root — is the only vessel that contains blessing, days that are reconnected to their source earn the name "whole days," the very embodiment of shleimus.

Summary: "Whole days" are days that stay attached to their Source, since Hashem renews Creation every day and pours fresh life into time. The tzaddik — like Avraham and Sarah, whose days "were" and who "came with his days" — binds every day and deed back to the root of unity, the realm of yomin atikin. Reconnecting one's days to their Source draws down blessing and grants them eternity, and the same elevation occurs on Shabbos, the vessel of shalom in which all blessing rests.