Earning Reward Through Yearning

והי' עקב תשמעון כו' ושמר ה"א

"And it will be, because (eikev) you will listen... Hashem your God will safeguard (the covenant and the kindness)" (Devarim 7:12).

The pasuk that opens the parsha promises that Hashem will safeguard His covenant and kindness as a consequence of Bnei Yisrael listening to His mitzvos.

כי הש"י ברא הכל להטיב לאחרים אך ששמחה לפניו ית' כשאדם זוכה במעשיו לקבל שכרו כדאיתא מאן דאכיל דלאו דילי' בהית לאסתכולי

For Hashem created everything in order to bestow good upon others; yet it brings Him joy when a person merits, through his own deeds, to receive his reward, as is brought down: one who eats that which is not his own is ashamed to look upon (the giver) — meaning, bread of shame.

Hashem's whole purpose in creation is to bestow good, but He takes pleasure when a person earns that good himself, since receiving an unearned gift carries a sense of shame — what the Gemara calls bread of shame.

ז"ש והי' לשון שמחה כשיהי' השכר עקב שתשמעון כדאיתא זכו אחישנה כו' והגם שיהי' הגאולה על כל פנים

This is the meaning of "And it will be (vehayah)" — a term of joy — when the reward will come as a consequence (eikev) of the fact that "you will listen," as is brought down: "If they merit, I will hasten it (the geulah)"; for even though the geulah will come in any event,

The word vehayah hints at joy: the reward arrives specifically as a consequence of our listening. Even though the geulah will eventually come no matter what, there is a version that comes through our own merit and is hastened.

אבל שמחה לפניו ית' כשיהי' בזכות מעשינו

nonetheless it brings Him joy when it will come about through the merit of our own deeds.

Hashem's joy is reserved for when the geulah and reward come about through the merit of our own avodah rather than being given as an outright gift.

ושמר ה"א לך לכאורה מה שייך שמירה למעלה אך הכל במדה כמו שבנ"י משתוקקין בעולם לקיום תורה ומצות

"Hashem your God will safeguard for you" — at first glance, how is the concept of safeguarding applicable Above? Rather, everything is measure for measure: just as Bnei Yisrael yearn in this world for the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvos,

Since Hashem has no need of safeguarding, the pasuk must mean it works measure for measure, mirroring the way Bnei Yisrael yearn to fulfill Torah and mitzvos.

הגם שא"י בשלימות בגלות כמ"ש רש"י הציבי לך ציונים כו' שבגלות א"י לקיים כל המצות רק שנשאר רשימה מזמן המקדש

even though it cannot be fulfilled in its completeness in galus, as Rashi writes on "Set up markers for yourself" (Yirmiyahu 31:20) — that in galus one cannot fulfill all the mitzvos, only that an imprint remains from the time of the Beis HaMikdash —

Even in galus, where the mitzvos cannot be kept in full, an imprint of the Beis HaMikdash era remains, and Bnei Yisrael long for that completeness, as Rashi teaches on the pasuk of setting up markers.

וע"י ששומרים ומשתוקקין להש"י כמו כן בשמים מתעורר זכותן של ישראל וכביכול מכין להם השכר שלעתיד כמ"ש בגמ' שהראהו מלאכי השרת מסתתין אבנים טובות לצורך בהמ"ק שלעתיד

so too, through the fact that they safeguard and yearn for Hashem, in the same measure there is awakened Above the merit of Bnei Yisrael, and, as it were, Hashem prepares for them the reward of the future, as is brought down in the Gemara that He showed him (Moshe) the ministering angels hewing precious stones for the need of the Beis HaMikdash of the future.

Corresponding to our safeguarding and yearning below, our merit is awakened Above, and Hashem readies the future reward — pictured in the Gemara as angels hewing precious stones for the future Beis HaMikdash.

וממילא יש התנוצצות מההארות של עתיד גם בעוה"ז להיגיעים בתורה ומצות:

And consequently there is a glimmer from the illuminations of the future already in this world for those who toil in Torah and mitzvos.

As a result, even now in this world a glimmer of those future illuminations shines upon those who labor in Torah and mitzvos.

Summary: The Sfas Emes opens with the pasuk "And it will be, because (eikev) you will listen, Hashem your God will safeguard," reading vehayah as a term of joy. Although Hashem created everything in order to bestow good and the geulah will come in any event, it brings Him special joy when reward and redemption are earned through our own deeds, sparing us the shame of an unearned gift. The promise of "safeguarding" works measure for measure: just as Bnei Yisrael in galus yearn for the full keeping of Torah and mitzvos that cannot be achieved completely now, retaining only an imprint of the Beis HaMikdash era, so too their merit is awakened Above and the future reward is prepared for them — likened to the angels hewing precious stones for the future Beis HaMikdash. Consequently, a glimmer of those future illuminations already shines in this world upon those who toil in Torah and mitzvos.