Livelihood Drawn Through Mitzvos

בפרשה כי הארץ א"א בא שמה כו' לא כא"מ הוא כו' והשקית ברגלך כו'

In Parshas Eikev it says, "For the land to which you are coming... is not like the land of Egypt... where you would water it with your foot" (Devarim 11:10-11).

The Sfas Emes opens with the pasuk that contrasts Eretz Yisrael with Egypt, where one had to irrigate by foot from the Nile.

ובפ' דברים דרשו חז"ל כי בנ"י אמרו א"מ בית הבעל שנילוס משקה וא"כ בית שקיא ע"ש

And in Parshas Devarim, Chazal expounded that Bnei Yisrael said the land of Egypt is a "house of the master" (a field watered naturally), since the Nile irrigates it, and accordingly it is a field that is watered (self-sufficient).

In Parshas Devarim, Chazal note that Bnei Yisrael viewed Egypt as a self-watering, naturally provisioned land, dependent on the Nile rather than rainfall.

וכאן איתא להיפך

And here (in Eikev) it states the opposite (praising Eretz Yisrael over Egypt precisely on the point of its watering).

Here in Eikev the Torah seems to take the opposite stance, praising Eretz Yisrael over Egypt for how it is watered, creating an apparent tension.

אבל באמת הענין אחד כי הנה א"י היא שלא כהנהגת הטבע

But in truth the matter is one, for behold, Eretz Yisrael is run not according to the way of nature.

The Sfas Emes resolves that both sources point to one idea: Eretz Yisrael does not operate by the fixed rules of nature.

שהארץ נותנת יבולה ואינו תלוי במעש"ט של האנשים

For in the natural order the land yields its produce, and this is not dependent on the good deeds of the people.

In the natural order, land produces its yield mechanically, with no connection to the spiritual conduct of those who live on it.

אך לבנ"י נתן הש"י א"כ להיות כל הברכה כפי מעש"ט שבבנ"י לכן עתה היא מונעת פירותי'

But to Bnei Yisrael, Hashem gave Eretz Yisrael so that all the blessing would be according to the good deeds among Bnei Yisrael; therefore at times it withholds its fruits.

But Hashem gave Bnei Yisrael a land whose blessing rises and falls with their good deeds, which is why at times it withholds its produce.

וכ' והשקית ברגלך

And it is written, "and you would water it with your foot" (Devarim 11:10).

The phrase "you would water it with your foot" is brought to set up the contrast that follows.

לרמוז כי בוודאי גם בא"י בנ"י זוכין להמשכת המים למטר השמים והוא ע"י עבודת הש"י כמ"ש והי' א"ש תשמעו כו'

This is to hint that surely even in Eretz Yisrael Bnei Yisrael merit the drawing down of the waters as rain of heaven, and this comes about through the service of Hashem, as it is written, "And it will be, if you surely listen..." (Devarim 11:13).

The hint is that in Eretz Yisrael the rain itself is drawn down through avodas Hashem, as the next parsha of "And it will be, if you surely listen" makes explicit.

ואמרו חכמז"ל כי פרשה זו הוא קבלת עול מצות

And Chazal said that this passage is the acceptance of the yoke of mitzvos.

Chazal identify this passage as the acceptance of the yoke of mitzvos, tying the rainfall directly to mitzvah observance.

פ' המצות הם הדביקות וחיבור שיש לתחתונים אל השורש וזה ע"י מצות שהם בעשי'

The explanation is that the mitzvos are the dveikus and the bond that those below have to the Root, and this is through mitzvos, which are performed in deed.

Mitzvos create dveikus and a real bond connecting the lower world to its spiritual Root, and this happens specifically through deeds.

ובאמת הוא עבודה קשה להיות הפרנסה תלוי' במצות ומעש"ט כמ"ש חז"ל בפסוק זכרנו אה"ד אשר נאכל במצרים חנם חנם מן המצות

And in truth it is a difficult avodah for one's livelihood to be dependent on mitzvos and good deeds, as Chazal said on the verse "we remember the fish that we ate in Egypt for free" (Bamidbar 11:5) — "free" means free of mitzvos.

It is a hard avodah to have one's parnasah hinge on mitzvos; Chazal read "free" in the verse about Egypt's fish as meaning food free of any mitzvah obligation.

ובנ"י נבחרו להיות אצלם נמשך הכל ע"פ מצות ומעש"ט שלהם

And Bnei Yisrael were chosen so that by them everything is drawn down according to their mitzvos and good deeds.

Bnei Yisrael were specifically chosen for this elevated arrangement, where their sustenance flows according to their mitzvos and good deeds.

וזה העול מצות צריך אדם לקבל עליו בכל יום בפרשת והי' א"ש

And this yoke of mitzvos a person must accept upon himself each day in the passage of "And it will be, if you surely listen."

This is why a person must reaccept the yoke of mitzvos every single day through reciting this passage.

והברכה הזו הבאה ע"י המע"ט הוא באופן שיהיו המעשים לש"ש

And this blessing that comes through good deeds is in such a manner that the deeds should be for the sake of Heaven.

The blessing earned through good deeds only comes when those deeds are done purely for the sake of Heaven.

כמ"ש והי' א"ש כו' לאהבה כו' ולעבדו ודרשו חז"ל שיהי' שמיעת המצות כדי לבא על ידיהם לאהבת ה' ולעבודתו

As it is written, "And it will be, if you surely listen... to love (Hashem)... and to serve Him" (Devarim 11:13), and Chazal expounded that the hearing of the mitzvos should be in order to come through them to the love of Hashem and to His service.

The pasuk links listening to the mitzvos with loving and serving Hashem, and Chazal teach that observance should be a means to reach that love and service.

כי המצות הם עצות לבא לאהבת ה' וכשעושין על כוונה זו אז ממילא ונתתי מטר כו' כי באמת העיקר הוא עבודת הבורא ית' וממילא הפרנסה טפלה

For the mitzvos are counsels to arrive at the love of Hashem, and when one performs them with this intention, then automatically "I will give rain..." (Devarim 11:14) follows, for in truth the main thing is the service of the Creator, may He be blessed, and the livelihood is automatically secondary to it.

Mitzvos are the counsels that bring a person to ahavas Hashem; done with that intent, the rain follows on its own, because avodas Hashem is the essence and parnasah is merely a byproduct.

וכן צריך להיות אצל האדם כמ"ש חסידים ראשונים עשו תורתן קבע ומלאכתן עראי זו וזו נתקיים בידן:

And so it must be by a person, as it is said, "The early pious ones made their Torah fixed and their work occasional, and both this and that were sustained in their hands" (Berachos 35b).

A person should live this way, like the early pious ones who made Torah their fixed center and work secondary, and merited that both were sustained.

Summary: The Sfas Emes reconciles two seemingly opposite descriptions of how Eretz Yisrael is watered compared to Egypt. The deeper point is that Eretz Yisrael is not governed by nature: unlike Egypt's self-watering Nile, the land's blessing flows entirely according to the mitzvos and good deeds of Bnei Yisrael, so its rain is drawn down through avodas Hashem. This is the yoke of mitzvos that we reaccept daily in the passage of "And it will be, if you surely listen," for mitzvos forge the bond of dveikus connecting the lower world to its Root. Yet the blessing comes only when the deeds are done for the sake of Heaven, since mitzvos are the counsels that lead to ahavas Hashem. When avodas Hashem is the essence and parnasah is treated as secondary, sustenance follows automatically, as it did for the early pious ones who made Torah fixed and work occasional.