Surrendering all faculties to Hashem's will

במדרש שיש אברים שהם ברשות האדם ידים ורגלים כו' ויש עין וחוטם ואוזן שאינם ברשותו ואם האדם זוכה הכל אינו ברשותו כו'.

In the Midrash: there are limbs that are within a person's control — the hands and feet — and there are the eye, nose, and ear, which are not within his control; and if a person merits, everything is not within his control.

The Midrash distinguishes limbs we direct at will from those that act on their own; but the Sefas Emes notes its striking conclusion — that the truly worthy person reaches a state where nothing is "in his own control."

היפוך רצון הרשעים להיות הכל ברשותם.

This is the opposite of the desire of the resha'im, who wish that everything be within their own control.

The wicked crave total autonomy — to have all of themselves under their own authority.

והצדיק שחפץ בכל לבו להיות בטל להקב"ה שלא יהי' ברשות עצמו זוכה לזה.

And the tzaddik, who desires with all his heart to be nullified to Hashem, that he not be under his own authority, merits this.

The tzaddik wants the very opposite — complete bittul to Hashem — and so he is granted that nothing remains under his own control.

ובאמת הכל ברשות הקב"ה רק שאיברים אלו מסרם להאדם שכפי רצונו יצאו מרשותו ויחזרו לרשות הקב"ה.

And in truth everything is under Hashem's control; only that He handed these limbs over to a person, so that according to his will they may go out of his control and return to the control of Hashem.

All is really Hashem's; the hands and feet were entrusted to us as a test, so that by our own ratzon we may surrender them back to Hashem.

וזה נקרא שהם ברשות האדם להכניסם ולקרבם להקב"ה.

And this is what is meant that they are "within a person's control" — to bring them in and draw them near to Hashem.

Their being "in our control" means precisely that we are given the privilege of using them to draw close to Hashem.

וכמו שהי' ביצחק אחר החרדה הגדולה כו' אמר גם ברוך יהי' ע"י שהרגיל בנפשו לבטל כל הרצונות כרגע עבור רצון הש"י.

And as it was with Yitzchak, after the great trembling… he said, "Indeed, he shall remain blessed" — because he had accustomed himself to nullify all his desires in an instant for the sake of the will of Hashem.

When Yitzchak discovered Yaakov had taken the brachos, after his great shudder he affirmed "he shall remain blessed" — for Yitzchak had trained himself to drop every personal ratzon instantly before the ratzon Hashem.

זכה לזה שלא יאמר דבר שלא כרצון הקב"ה.

He merited this — that he would not say anything contrary to the will of Hashem.

Through that constant bittul, Yitzchak reached the level where even his speech could only express Hashem's will.

וע"ז הי' עיקר בריאת האדם.

And for this was the essential creation of man.

This very avodah — surrendering one's faculties to Hashem — is the central purpose for which man was created.

כי וודאי עיקר הקדושה שבאדם נתן בו הקב"ה כמ"ש נשמה שנתת בי טהורה כו'.

For surely the essential holiness within a person was placed in him by Hashem, as it is said, "the soul You gave within me is pure."

A person's core kedushah is the pure neshamah Hashem implanted in him.

ורק האדם לבוש גשמיי אל הפנימיות.

And the person is only a physical garment (levush gashmi) over the inner dimension (penimiyus).

The physical self is merely an outer garment clothing the pure inner penimiyus, the neshamah.

וצריך לתקן לבוש הזה להיות בטל להפנימיות.

And one must rectify this garment, that it be nullified to the inner dimension.

The avodah is to refine this outer garment so that it submits in bittul to the inner point.

וז"ש וירח את ריח בגדיו שהוא בחי' לבוש הנ"ל.

And this is the meaning of "and he smelled the fragrance of his garments" — which is the aspect of the garment mentioned above.

Yitzchak's smelling the "fragrance of his garments" hints at this refined outer levush, made fragrant by being subordinated to the penimiyus.

עיקר עבודת האדם.

This is the essential avodah of a person.

Refining the garment to serve the inner point is the heart of a person's life-work.

ויברכהו.

"And he blessed him."

It was upon perceiving this refined garment that Yitzchak conferred the brachah.

וכן איתא אין כלי מחזיק ברכה אלא שלום.

And so it is stated: there is no vessel that holds blessing except shalom (peace).

Chazal teach that only shalom can be a kli to contain brachah; the Sefas Emes will explain what shalom truly means here.

ושלום הוא ע"י הביטול רק לעבודת הש"י נמצא יש לו תמיד רק רצון א'.

And shalom comes about through bittul, solely toward the service of Hashem; it follows that he always has only one ratzon.

True shalom is the inner harmony of one who, through bittul, has only a single desire — to serve Hashem.

כי בלתי זה יש לאדם רצונות מהופכות.

For without this, a person has conflicting desires.

Lacking this single focus, a person is pulled apart by contradictory wants.

ומי שרוצה דבר פרטי יש דברים נגד רצונו.

And one who desires a particular thing finds things that oppose his desire.

Whoever chases a specific private want inevitably meets things that frustrate it — and so has no peace.

אבל מי שרוצה רק רצון הש"י נמצא יש לו רצון א' לכל דבר כי בכל דבר יש בו רצון הקב"ה ונק' שלום כנ"ל.

But one who desires only the will of Hashem — it follows that he has one desire toward everything, for in everything there is the will of Hashem; and this is called shalom, as above.

One who wants only Hashem's will is at peace with everything, since the ratzon Hashem is present in every situation — this unified will is true shalom, the vessel that holds brachah.

[גם שמחבר הלבוש להפנימיות כנ"ל ונק' שלום]

[Also, because he joins the garment to the inner dimension, as above, this is called shalom.]

Shalom also means uniting the outer garment with the inner penimiyus, making them one rather than at odds.

[וכן נ"ל פי' הזוה"ק ריח בגדיו כמ"ש עוטה אור כשלמה כו' כנ"ל שבריאת העולם הוא בחי' הלבושים להיות זה מלבוש לזה כו' וזה ע"י עבודת האדם כנ"ל ע"ש]:

[And so it appears to me is the meaning of the Zohar HaKadosh on "the fragrance of his garments," as it is written, "He wraps Himself in light like a garment" — as above, that the creation of the world is the aspect of garments, each serving as a garment to the other; and this comes about through the avodah of man, as above — see there.]

In this closing note the Sefas Emes links the verse to "He wraps Himself in light like a garment": the whole creation is a series of nested garments, layer clothing layer, and man's avodah is to align these levushim with the inner light they conceal.

Summary: All our faculties truly belong to Hashem; they were entrusted to us only so that, by our own ratzon, we might return them to Him in bittul. The tzaddik, like Yitzchak who instantly nullified every personal desire before the ratzon Hashem, merits that nothing remains "in his own control." A person's core is the pure neshamah, and his avodah is to refine the outer garment so it is nullified to that inner point. This unified will — wanting only Hashem's will in everything — is true shalom, the only vessel that can hold brachah.