Light Mitzvos Reveal Hashem

במדרש מנורה של חוליות כו'

In the Midrash it states: a Menorah made of joined segments, and so on.

The Sfas Emes opens by citing the Midrash that the Menorah was formed of joined segments, hinting that holiness comes from connecting separate parts into one whole.

וברש"י ממד' תנחומא עון עקבי יסובני כו' בשמרם עקב רב

And in Rashi, from the Midrash Tanchuma: "The sin of my heels surrounds me" (Tehillim 49:6) — referring to those mitzvos that a person tramples with his heels.

Rashi, drawing on the Tanchuma, explains the verse about "the sin of my heels" as referring to the light mitzvos a person treads on and neglects.

מה רב טובך כו' במצוה קלה שאדם דש כו'

"How great is Your goodness" (Tehillim 31:20) — even through a light mitzvah that a person treads upon and so on.

The verse "How great is Your goodness" alludes to the great reward hidden specifically in those light mitzvos a person tends to trample underfoot.

כי השי"ת ברא כן העולם להיות מתחברין הנבראים ע"י האדם עד שיהי' הכל מקורב להשי"ת כמ"ש ולכבודי בראתיו כו'

For Hashem created the world in such a way that the created beings should become joined together through man, until everything is drawn close to Hashem, as it is written, "and for My glory I created it" (Yeshayah 43:7).

Hashem designed the world so that all creations become unified through man's avodah, drawing everything close to Hashem for His glory.

פי' תשמעון שיהי' מורגש ונשמע ההארה שיש בכל דבר כי בכל דבר יש הארה מהשי"ת והיא נקודה הפנימיות

The meaning of "you will listen" (Devarim 11:13) is that the illumination present in every thing should become felt and heard, for in every thing there is an illumination from Hashem, and this is the innermost point.

"You will listen" means becoming attuned to the Divine illumination embedded in every single thing — its innermost point.

וצריכין בנ"י לראות שיהיו כל מעשיהם בדביקות החיות מנקודה הנ"ל

And Bnei Yisrael must see to it that all their actions be performed with dveikus to the life-force that stems from that aforementioned point.

Bnei Yisrael's task is to perform all their deeds with dveikus, connected to the inner life-force that flows from that point.

ועי"ז ממשיכין הארה ושמיעת דבר ה' מתוך כל דבר

And through this they draw down illumination and the hearing of the word of Hashem from within every thing.

Through such dveikus, a person draws out the Divine illumination and "hears" Hashem's word from within every ordinary thing.

וזה מצות קלות לדבק גם דברים הרגילין ע"י שעושין הכל רק לרצונו

And this is the matter of the light mitzvos — to attach even ordinary, routine matters to Hashem, by doing everything solely for His will.

This is the purpose of the light mitzvos: to bind even routine, everyday matters to Hashem by doing them solely for His will.

כי בכל דבר יש מצוה לה' הן או לאו

For in every thing there is a mitzvah of Hashem, whether to do it or to refrain from it.

Every single thing carries a mitzvah of Hashem — either a positive act to perform or something to refrain from.

ועקב היא מדרגה תחתונה וזה עקב רב שמה שנתרחק יותר נסתר הנקודה מרב טובך כו'

And the heel is the lowest level, and this is "the sin of my heels" — that whatever becomes more distant has its point more concealed from "the abundance of Your goodness" and so on.

The "heel" represents the lowest rung; the further something is from the source, the more its inner Divine point is hidden from Hashem's abundant goodness.

וזה תכלית רצונו ית' להיות כל הנבראים מחוברין זה בזה עד שגם הסוף ומדרגה התחתונה תהי' נמשכת אחר הראשית וההתחלה כנ"ל

And this is the ultimate purpose of His will, may He be blessed: that all created beings be joined one to another, until even the end and the lowest level should be drawn after the beginning and the start, as above.

Hashem's ultimate will is that all creations be joined together, so that even the lowest level is pulled back toward the original source.

ולזאת הוי זהיר במצוה קלה כו' כי זה כמנורה של חוליות כו' שנקרא בונה מה שמקרב דבר לדבר שיהי' נגמר הכלי

Therefore, "be careful with a light mitzvah" and so on — for this is like the Menorah made of joined segments, for one is called a "builder" when he brings one thing close to another so that the vessel becomes completed.

Therefore one must be careful with a light mitzvah, for joining one thing to another completes the vessel, just as the segments completed the Menorah.

וכן תכלית הבריאה להיות הכל א' לכבודו ית' ומצוה לשון צותא וחיבור כמ"ש במ"א

And likewise the purpose of creation is that everything become one for His glory, may He be blessed; and "mitzvah" is a term denoting companionship and joining, as is explained elsewhere.

The goal of creation is unity for Hashem's glory, and the very word "mitzvah" connotes companionship and connection.

ומצוה קלה ממשיך הארה לדבר שפל יותר

And a light mitzvah draws down illumination to a lower thing.

A light mitzvah has the special power to draw Divine illumination down into a lower, humbler thing.

וזהו בחי' יראת שמים להיות נמשך יראתו ית' בכל מעשה קטן וגדול ונק' מצוה קלה

And this is the aspect of yiras Shamayim — that His fear, may He be blessed, be drawn into every deed, small and great, and this is called a light mitzvah.

This is the aspect of yiras Shamayim: drawing Hashem's fear into every act, large or small — which is itself the "light mitzvah."

ובגמ' מה ה' שואל כו' כ"א ליראה כו' אטו מילתא זוטרתא כו' לגבי משה כו'

And in the Gemara: "What does Hashem ask of you, only to fear" (Devarim 10:12) — is then fear a small matter? With regard to Moshe Rabbeinu, and so on (Berachos 33b).

The Gemara questions how fear can be called a "small matter," answering that it is small specifically with regard to one on the level of Moshe Rabbeinu.

פי' כי אף שהעיקר יראת שמים שזה היסוד והראשית

The explanation is that although the essential thing is yiras Shamayim, which is the foundation and the beginning,

The Sfas Emes explains that yiras Shamayim is indeed the essential foundation and starting point of all avodah.

אבל מ"מ הוא הכנה לשאר הדברים הנזכרים בפרשה לדבקה ולאהבה כו'

nevertheless it is a preparation for the other things mentioned in the parsha — to cleave to Him and to love Him, and so on.

Yet fear also serves as a preparation for the higher things the parsha mentions — cleaving to Hashem and loving Him.

רק שיראה קודמת לכל ועי"ז יבא לאהבה ג"כ

Only that fear precedes everything, and through it one will come to love as well.

Fear must come first, and it is the gateway through which one eventually arrives at love of Hashem.

ומזה עצמו הראי' הכל בידי שמים חוץ מי"ש שהיא מדרגה הקרובה יותר להאדם

And from this very thing comes the proof that "everything is in the hands of Heaven except for the fear of Heaven" (Berachos 33b) — for that is the level closest to man himself.

This explains why "everything is in the hands of Heaven except yiras Shamayim" — fear is the level closest to man and thus within his own reach.

ולכך היא קלה

And therefore it is light.

Because it lies within man's own grasp, yiras Shamayim is called "light."

וצריך אדם לידע כי כפי הרצון מהאדם

And a person must know that in accordance with man's own will,

A person must recognize that fear depends entirely on his own will and effort.

היראה מילתא זוטרתי

the fear is a small matter,

When a person genuinely wills it, attaining fear is indeed a small matter.

רק שילך מדרגה אחר מדרגה

only that he must proceed level after level.

The only condition is that he advance gradually, one level at a time.

וז"ש לגבי משה שהוא השלם במדותיו כמ"ש מבקשין כלי גדול ויש לו כו'

And this is what is meant by "with regard to Moshe Rabbeinu" — for he was the one complete in his middos, as it is stated: when one seeks a great vessel and one has it, and so on.

"With regard to Moshe Rabbeinu" teaches that he was perfected in his middos — a great vessel ready to receive, as the teaching about seeking a great vessel implies.

וזה עצמו מ"ש מה מאה ברכות

And this very thing is the meaning of the teaching about the one hundred berachos.

This same idea underlies the teaching about reciting one hundred berachos each day.

שזה עיקר היראה לידע כי כל חיות האדם בכחו ית' כגרזן ביד החוצב ואנחנו מה

For this is the essence of fear: to know that the entire life-force of man is by His power, may He be blessed, like an axe in the hand of the one who hews with it, and we — what are we?

The core of yiras Shamayim is knowing that all of man's vitality flows from Hashem's power — man is merely like an axe in the hand of the one wielding it, and in himself is nothing.

וממילא מברך להקב"ה קודם כל דבר קטן וגדול וכנ"ל:

And consequently a person makes a beracha to the Holy One, Blessed is He, before every matter, small and great, as above.

As a result, a person naturally makes a beracha to the Holy One, Blessed is He, before every matter, recognizing Hashem as the source of all.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains why one must be especially careful with the "light" mitzvos that a person tends to trample underfoot. Hashem created the world so that all creations become joined together through man's avodah, with each thing containing an inner point of Divine illumination; the light mitzvos are precisely the means to bind even the lowest, most ordinary matters back to Hashem for His glory. He then identifies yiras Shamayim as the ultimate "light mitzvah" — light because it is the level closest to man and entirely dependent on his own will, yet it is the foundation and gateway to cleaving to and loving Hashem. Although the Gemara wonders how fear can be a "small matter," it is small for one who, like Moshe Rabbeinu, advances level after level until perfected in his middos. The essence of this fear is recognizing that all of man's vitality flows from Hashem — man being like an axe in the hand of the one who wields it — which leads a person to bless Hashem before every act, small and great.