Mitzvos Connecting To Olam Haba

מה כתיב מקודם וידעת כי כו' הוא כו' הא' הנאמן שומר כו'

What is written beforehand? "And you shall know that Hashem, your God, He is the God, the faithful One, who guards the covenant and the kindness for those who love Him and keep His mitzvos" (Devarim 7:9).

The Sfas Emes opens with the preceding pasuk, which describes Hashem as the faithful One who safeguards His covenant and kindness for those who love Him and keep His mitzvos.

א"כ שכרן של צדיקים אינו בעוה"ז כמ"ש שכר מצות בהאי עלמא ליכא

If so, then the reward of the tzaddikim is not in this world, as Chazal said: "There is no reward for mitzvos in this world" (Kiddushin 39b).

Since that safeguarding is reserved for later, it follows from Chazal's teaching that the true reward for mitzvos is not paid out in this world.

אך עקב תשמעון הגם כי ושמר ה"א לך לעתיד לבא

However, when it says "And it shall be, because you will hearken" (Devarim 7:12) — even though "Hashem, your God, will guard for you" the covenant and the kindness is reserved for the World to Come,

Yet the next parsha begins "because you will hearken," promising that even though the covenant's kindness is stored away for the World to Come,

מ"מ ע"י המצות ואהבך וברכך כי הברכה אינו קיבול שכר רק ע"י אהבתו ימשך לך הברכה

nevertheless, through the mitzvos "He will love you and bless you" (Devarim 7:13), for the blessing is not a receiving of reward; rather, through His love the blessing is drawn down to you.

Hashem still loves and blesses Bnei Yisrael now — and this blessing is not payment of reward but a flow that comes through His love.

וכמ"ש חז"ל הקרן קיימת לעוה"ב והפירות בעוה"ז וע"י המצות מתקשרין בשורש שבעוה"ב וממשיכין תולדות ופירות לעוה"ז ג"כ

And this is as Chazal said: the principal remains intact for the World to Come and the fruits are enjoyed in this world (see Mishnah Pe'ah 1:1) — and through the mitzvos one becomes bound to the root that is in the World to Come, and one draws forth offshoots and fruits to this world as well.

Chazal teach that the principal stays whole for Olam Haba while the fruits are enjoyed here; the mitzvos bind a person to their root above and draw fruits down into this world.

וזהו הברכה שכ' בש"ק לפי שבש"ק יש עלי' לכל המעשים עד השורש לכן אמרו חז"ל שהוא מעין עוה"ב ממילא נמשך הברכה גם לעוה"ז

And this is the blessing that is written regarding Shabbos Kodesh, for on Shabbos Kodesh there is an elevation of all the deeds up to their root; therefore Chazal said that it is a semblance of the World to Come (Berachos 57b), and as a result the blessing is drawn down even to this world.

This is why blessing is associated with Shabbos Kodesh: on Shabbos all deeds ascend to their root, making it a taste of Olam Haba, so the blessing naturally flows down even into this world.

הגם כי בהאי עלמא ליכא בעצם

Even though in this world there is essentially nothing of the reward itself,

Even though no essential reward itself exists in this world,

מ"מ נמשך פירות מעוה"ב לעוה"ז

nevertheless fruits are drawn down from the World to Come into this world.

the fruits of that reward are nonetheless drawn down from the World to Come into this world.

וכן הוא בכל המצות כמ"ש במ"א פי' אשר יעשה אותם האדם וחי בהם ותרגום אונקלוס בחיי עלמא ע"ש

And so it is with all the mitzvos, as is explained elsewhere regarding the meaning of "which a man shall do and live by them" (Vayikra 18:5), which Targum Onkelos renders as "and live by them in eternal life" — see there.

The same principle holds for every mitzvah, as seen in "and live by them," which Onkelos explains as living by them in eternal life.

כי ע"ש זה נקרא מצות שמחברין האדם אל השורש שבעוה"ב:

For on account of this they are called mitzvos, since they connect a person to the root that is in the World to Come.

This is the very reason they are called mitzvos — from the language of connection — because they bind a person to his root in the World to Come.

Summary: The Sfas Emes addresses an apparent tension: the pasuk describes Hashem as guarding His covenant and kindness for those who keep His mitzvos, yet Chazal teach that there is no reward for mitzvos in this world. He resolves it by distinguishing between reward and blessing. The essential reward, the principal, is stored intact for Olam Haba, but through the love that mitzvos awaken, Hashem draws their fruits down into this world as blessing. This is especially manifest on Shabbos Kodesh, when all deeds ascend to their root and Shabbos becomes a semblance of Olam Haba, so that its blessing flows even here. This is the deeper meaning of the word mitzvah itself, from the language of connection, for the mitzvos bind a person to his root in the World to Come.