Unifying all one’s days into wholeness

במדרש יודע ה' ימי תמימים כו'.

In the Midrash: "Hashem knows the days of the wholehearted (temimim)…" (Tehillim 37:18)

The Sefas Emes opens with the posuk that Hashem "knows the days of the temimim," which the Midrash connects to the description of Sarah’s years as all equal in goodness.

כי האדם נברא להמשיך חיות לעולם כדכתיב ויפח באפיו כו' ויהי האדם לנפש חי' פי' שהוא כלי שיקבל וינוח בו החיות.

For man was created to draw life-force (chiyus) into the world, as it is written, "and He blew into his nostrils… and the man became a living soul" — meaning that he is a vessel that receives and in which the chiyus rests.

A person’s purpose is to be a kli that draws and holds Divine chiyus in the world; the neshamah Hashem breathed in makes man a channel through which life-force settles into creation.

והצדיקים שמושכין החיות לעולם נשארים אותן ההארות לעולם כמ"ש נחלת ימיהם זכורה לעולם.

And the tzaddikim, who draw chiyus into the world — those illuminations remain in the world forever, as it is written, "the inheritance of their days is remembered forever." (cf. Tehillim 37:18)

When a tzaddik draws holiness into the world, the light he brings does not disappear; it leaves a permanent imprint that continues to shine for all generations.

כי כל רשימה שיורדת מקדושה נשאר הרשימה לעולם כמ"ש בספרי קודש מזה.

For every impression (reshimah) that descends from holiness, the impression remains forever, as is written in the holy seforim about this.

Any trace left behind by an act of kedushah is eternal; the holy seforim teach that nothing of true holiness is ever lost, even after it descends into the world.

וכל אדם בפרט מושך חיות השייך אליו.

And every individual person draws the chiyus that belongs to him.

Each person has a particular portion of life-force that is his to draw down, suited to his own root and mission.

אבל הצדיקים ומכש"כ אבות הקדושים הם המשיכו חיות לכלל בנ"י.

But the tzaddikim, and all the more so the holy Avos, drew chiyus for the entire klal of Bnei Yisrael.

The tzaddikim, and especially Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, drew life-force not only for themselves but for the whole nation, becoming channels of chiyus for all of Bnei Yisrael.

ולכן הצדיקים במיתתן נק' חיים כי החיות שלהם עדיין מאיר בעולם.

And therefore the tzaddikim, in their death, are called "living," for their chiyus still illuminates the world.

Chazal’s statement that "tzaddikim in death are called living" (Berachos 18a) means that the light they drew into the world keeps shining even after they pass on.

ומ"ש כשם שהם תמימים כו'.

And as for what it says, "just as they are wholehearted (temimim)…"

The Sefas Emes now turns to explain Rashi’s comment that Sarah’s years, like she herself, were "tamim" — complete and whole.

כי כמו שיש באדם שס"ה גידין תלויין זה בזה.

For just as in a person there are three hundred sixty-five sinews (gidin) that depend on one another,

The body is a unified system of 365 sinews, each linked to and dependent on the others, none standing entirely alone.

ויש גידין שהחיות תלוי בהם ביותר.

and there are sinews on which the chiyus depends to a greater degree,

Some sinews are especially vital, carrying more of the body’s life-force than others.

ויש פתוחין ויש סתומין.

and there are open ones and there are closed ones —

Among the sinews, some are "open" channels through which chiyus flows freely, and some are "closed."

כמו כן נמצא שס"ה ימים.

so too there are found three hundred sixty-five days.

The 365 days of the year parallel the 365 sinews, forming a single system in which each day is bound up with the others.

ויש בהם ימים טובים ושבתות שהם מאירין.

And among them there are Yamim Tovim and Shabbosos, which are illuminating,

Just as some sinews carry more chiyus, certain days — Shabbosos and Yamim Tovim — are the "open," radiant days through which extra holiness flows.

ויש ימים נמוכין.

and there are lower days.

Other days of the year are ordinary or "lower," lacking the special light of the festive days.

והאדם צריך לתקן שיהיו כל הגידין וכמו כן הימים אחדות אחד.

And a person must rectify [things] so that all the sinews — and likewise the days — should be a single unity.

A person’s avodah is to bind all the days together, drawing the light of the elevated days into the ordinary ones so that the whole year becomes one unified, complete whole.

שכך עשה הקב"ה להיות ימים אלו מתקנין ימים הנשארים.

For so the Holy One made it, that these [elevated] days should rectify the remaining days.

Hashem designed the year so that the radiant days — Shabbos and Yom Tov — have the power to repair and elevate the lower days around them.

וכמו כן בגוף.

And likewise in the body.

The same is true of the body: the vital, "open" sinews carry chiyus to the rest, healing and sustaining the whole.

ואז נקרא תמים.

And then one is called "wholehearted" (tamim).

When all the days, like all the sinews, are unified into one, a person attains the state of "tamim" — complete and whole before Hashem.

וז"ש רש"י כולן שוין לטובה:

And this is what Rashi says: "all of them equal in goodness."

This is the meaning of Rashi’s comment that Sarah’s years were "all equal in goodness" — she so unified her days that even the ordinary ones shone with the light of the elevated ones.

Summary: Man was created to be a vessel that draws Divine chiyus into the world, and the tzaddikim — above all the Avos — draw it for all of Bnei Yisrael, leaving an eternal imprint. Just as the body’s vital sinews carry life to all the rest, the radiant days of Shabbos and Yom Tov are meant to rectify and unify the ordinary days, until all of a person’s days become one whole — the meaning of being "tamim," with years "all equal in goodness."