Man above time, infusing vitality into creation

במדרש יודע ה' ימי תמימים כו' כי האדם הוא למעלה מהזמן.

In the Midrash: "Hashem knows the days of the wholehearted etc." — for a person is above time.

The verse "Hashem knows the days of the temimim" teaches that man, in his essence, stands above time rather than being subject to it.

ותהלוכת הזמן תלוי בעבודת האדם.

And the course of time depends on the avodah of a person.

The very flow and quality of time is shaped by a person's service of Hashem.

וכפי זיכוך מעשיו כך מזדכך הזמן.

And according to the refinement of his deeds, so is the time refined.

The more a person purifies his actions, the more the time he inhabits becomes refined and elevated.

והוא נותן חיות אל הזמן והמקום.

And he gives vitality (chiyus) to time and to place.

Man is the conduit who infuses life into both time and space through his avodah.

כמ"ש ויהי האדם לנפש חיה.

As it is written: "and the man became a living soul (nefesh chayah)."

The verse describing man's creation as a "living soul" hints that he is meant to be a source of life for creation.

פי' הוא הכלי אשר על ידו נמשך חיות לכל הבריאה.

The meaning: he is the vessel (kli) through which vitality is drawn down to all of creation.

"A living soul" means man serves as the vessel through which Divine chiyus flows into the entire created world.

לכן יודע ה' ימי תמימים וכן יודע ה' דרך צדיקים בבחי' עולם ושנה.

Therefore "Hashem knows the days of the wholehearted," and likewise "Hashem knows the way of the righteous" — in the aspects of olam (place/world) and shanah (time/year).

The "days" of the temimim relate to time (shanah), and the "way" of the tzaddikim relates to place (olam); through the tzaddik's avodah, both time and place are known and illuminated before Hashem.

לכן כתיב שני חיי שרה שהמשיכה החיות בשנים אלו.

Therefore it is written "the years of the life of Sarah" — that she drew down vitality into these years.

The Torah's phrasing "the years of the life of Sarah" indicates that Sarah infused chiyus into every one of her years, making them truly "years of life."

וכן כתיב אל תאמר שהימים הראשונים היו טובים מאלה כדפרש"י שם שלפי זכות הדור משתנה הזמן:

And likewise it is written: "Do not say that the former days were better than these," as Rashi explains there — that according to the merit of the generation, the time changes.

One should not assume earlier times were inherently better; the quality of any era depends on the merit and avodah of the people living in it, which is what shapes and elevates the time itself.

Summary: Man stands above time and is the vessel through which Hashem's vitality flows into all of creation, into both time (shanah) and place (olam). The refinement of a person's deeds refines the very time he lives in — as Sarah drew chiyus into all her years. Therefore no era is inherently superior; the quality of any time depends on the merit and avodah of its generation.