Daily Dveikus Through Torah
והי' א"ש תשמעו
"And it shall be, if you will surely listen" (Devarim 11:13).
The piece opens with the verse from the second paragraph of Krias Shema, focusing on its doubled wording "listening you shall listen."
בגמ' דרשו חז"ל נתן תתן שלח תשלח אפי' מאה פעמים
In the Gemara, Chazal expounded on the doubled expressions "give you shall give" (Devarim 15:10) and "send you shall send" (Devarim 22:7): even a hundred times.
Chazal teach that when the Torah doubles a verb, it indicates that the obligation repeats without limit, even a hundred times over.
כמו כן הכא שמוע תשמעו אפי' מאה פעמים כל הקבלות שמקבלין בנ"י עול תורה ומצות בכל יום ויום מביאין את האדם לדביקות ה' לאהבה את ה"א כי זה תכלית כל המצות כמ"ש רצה הקב"ה לזכות את ישראל הרבה להם תורה ומצות
So too here, "if you will surely listen" (literally, "listening you shall listen") teaches even a hundred times, for all the acceptances by which Bnei Yisrael take upon themselves the yoke of Torah and mitzvos each and every day bring a person to dveikus with Hashem, to love Hashem his God, for this is the purpose of all the mitzvos, as Chazal said: the Holy One, Blessed is He, wished to grant merit to Bnei Yisrael, therefore He gave them an abundance of Torah and mitzvos.
The Sfas Emes applies this to the doubled "listening": every single day's renewed acceptance of the yoke of Torah and mitzvos draws a person into dveikus with Hashem and love of Him, which is the entire purpose for which the mitzvos were given.
כי כפי זיכוך האדם כך יוכל להתדבק בה' ולאהבה אותו
For according to the degree of a person's refinement, so will he be able to cleave to Hashem and to love Him.
The more a person refines and purifies himself through this avodah, the greater his capacity to cleave to Hashem and love Him.
הרי אמרו וסרתם ועבדתם משאדם פורש מן התורה הולך ומדבק לע"ז
Indeed, Chazal said on the verse "and you will turn aside and serve" (Devarim 11:16) that once a person separates himself from the Torah, he goes and cleaves to avodah zarah.
Chazal warn from the verse that abandoning the Torah leads a person to cleave to avodah zarah, since the soul will always attach itself to something.
מכ"ש העוסק בתורה ומצות זוכה להתדבק בה"א חיים
All the more so, then, one who occupies himself with Torah and mitzvos merits to cleave to Hashem, the living God.
If even turning away has such power to bind a person to what is false, then immersing in Torah and mitzvos has all the more power to bind him to the living Hashem.
שמוע תשמעו הוא להתורה ולהמצות כי האדם צריך לעבוד ה' בנפש וגוף מלבר ומלגאו
"Listening you shall listen" refers both to the Torah and to the mitzvos, for a person must serve Hashem with both neshamah and body, from without and from within.
The doubled "listening" hints at two avenues of service, Torah and mitzvos, because a person must serve Hashem in both neshamah and body, inwardly and outwardly.
והתורה מתקנת הנפש בפנים
The Torah sets right the neshamah within,
The inner avenue is the Torah, which repairs and refines the neshamah within.
והמצות מתקנים אברי הגוף:
and the mitzvos set right the limbs of the body.
The outer avenue is the mitzvos, which sanctify and set right the physical limbs of the body.
Summary: Beginning with the doubled wording "listening you shall listen" in the second paragraph of Krias Shema, the Sfas Emes draws on Chazal's principle that a doubled verb signals an obligation without limit, even a hundred times. Every day's renewed acceptance of the yoke of Torah and mitzvos brings Bnei Yisrael to dveikus with Hashem and to love of Him, which is the very purpose for which the Holy One, Blessed is He, gave them an abundance of Torah and mitzvos. The measure of a person's dveikus follows the measure of his refinement, and just as turning from the Torah binds a person to avodah zarah, so all the more does engaging in Torah and mitzvos bind him to the living Hashem. The two-fold service is reflected in the doubled "listening": the Torah refines the neshamah within, while the mitzvos set right the limbs of the body without.