Emunah Strengthens Heavenly Mercy

והי' עקב כו' ושמר ה"א לך כו' וקשה כי מה צריך הכתוב זה להודיע כי היתכן שלא יקיים השי"ת הברית והשבועה

"And it shall be, because (eikev) you will heed these laws... Hashem your God will safeguard for you the covenant and the kindness that He swore to your forefathers" (Devarim 7:12) — and this is difficult to understand: why does the verse need to inform us of this? Is it conceivable that Hashem would not fulfill the covenant and the oath?

The verse promises that Hashem will keep the covenant He swore to the Avos if Bnei Yisrael keep the mitzvos. The Sfas Emes asks why this even needs to be stated, since obviously Hashem would never fail to keep His oath.

ובמד' מאמונתו של ב"ו אתה יודע אמונתו של הקב"ה וביאור הענין כי כמו שמצות הקב"ה ותורתו צריך כח גדול ושמירה בעוה"ז לגבור נגד הסט"א

And in the Midrash it is taught: "From the faith (emunah) of flesh and blood you come to know the faith of the Holy One, Blessed is He." The explanation of the matter is that, just as the mitzvos of the Holy One, Blessed is He, and His Torah require great strength and safeguarding in this world to overcome the Sitra Achra (the side of impurity),

The Midrash teaches that we learn about Hashem's emunah from our own emunah. Just as keeping the Torah down here demands great effort and protection to overcome the forces of impurity,

כמו כן ממש בשמים צריך הברית והשבועה שנשבע הקב"ה לאבות שמירה והתגברות כח הרחמים נגד הקטרוגים ושרי אומות שלמעלה

so too, in precisely the same way above in the heavens, the covenant and the oath that the Holy One, Blessed is He, swore to the Avos require safeguarding and a strengthening of the power of mercy against the prosecuting accusations and the heavenly ministers of the nations above.

so too, in the very same way above, the covenant Hashem swore to the Avos requires that the attribute of mercy be strengthened against the spiritual accusers and the heavenly ministers of the nations who oppose Bnei Yisrael.

והכל תלוי בעבודת האדם למטה

And everything depends upon the avodah of man below.

Whether that heavenly strength prevails hinges entirely on the avodah of a person here in this world.

וכפי האמונה שמתקיימת בישראל לפנים משורת הדין וגוברין נגד יצה"ר ומוסרין נפשם בעבור הקב"ה ותורתו

And according to the measure of emunah that is upheld among Bnei Yisrael beyond the strict letter of the law — when they overpower the yetzer hara and surrender their very souls for the sake of the Holy One, Blessed is He, and His Torah —

When Bnei Yisrael hold fast to emunah beyond what the strict law demands, conquering the yetzer hara and giving over their souls for Hashem and His Torah,

נותנים כח וקיום בשמים לעשות עמהם לפנים משורת הדין ג"כ

they thereby grant strength and endurance above for Heaven to deal with them, too, beyond the strict letter of the law,

they generate corresponding strength above, so that Heaven also treats them beyond the strict letter of the law.

ושלא להשגיח על הקטרוגים

and not to take heed of the prosecuting accusations,

Their self-sacrifice causes Heaven to disregard the spiritual accusations leveled against them.

כמו שהמה אין משגיחין על יצרם הרע כי הכל במדה:

just as they themselves do not take heed of their own yetzer hara — for everything is meted out measure for measure.

This is measure for measure: just as they ignore the demands of their own yetzer hara, so Heaven ignores the prosecuting voices above.

Summary: The Sfas Emes asks why the Torah needs to assure Bnei Yisrael that Hashem will keep the covenant and oath He swore to the Avos — for surely Hashem would never break His word. He answers based on the Midrash that we learn of Hashem's emunah from our own: just as serving Hashem in this world requires great strength to overcome the Sitra Achra, so too above, the very covenant with the Avos requires that the power of mercy be strengthened against the prosecuting accusers and the heavenly ministers of the nations. Everything hinges on the avodah of man below. When Bnei Yisrael uphold emunah beyond the strict letter of the law, overpowering the yetzer hara and surrendering their souls for Hashem and His Torah, they grant strength above so that Heaven, too, deals with them beyond the strict letter and disregards the accusations against them. For everything is meted out measure for measure: as they ignore their own yetzer hara, so Heaven ignores the prosecution above.