Blessings Safeguarded Until Ready

ובאו עליך כל הברכות האלה והשיגוך

"And all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you" (Devarim 28:2).

The Sfas Emes opens with the verse that the blessings will not only come but will actively pursue and catch up with a person.

כי יש ברכה שאין המתברך יכול לקבל והקב"ה שומר את הברכה

For there is a blessing that the one being blessed is not yet able to receive, and so the Holy One, Blessed is He, safeguards that blessing for him.

He explains that a person may not be ready to absorb a particular blessing at the moment it is given, so Hashem holds it in reserve for him.

ובוודאי מכל דבר טוב נשאר הברכה

And surely, from every good thing the blessing remains preserved.

Nothing of the good is ever lost; the full blessing earned by a good deed is kept intact.

וכשהוא אינו מוכן לזה יתן לו הקב"ה לעת הראוי או לפעמים בעוה"ב כשא"י לקבלו בעוה"ז מול זאת נאמר והשיגוך

And when a person is not yet prepared to receive it, the Holy One, Blessed is He, will give it to him at the fitting time, or sometimes in Olam Haba when he cannot receive it in this world; and corresponding to this it says, "and they will overtake you."

Hashem delivers the held-back blessing at the right later time, or even in Olam Haba if this world cannot contain it, which is precisely why the verse says the blessings will 'overtake' a person down the road.

[וכמדומה לי כי שמעתי כזה בשם הרב מפרשיסחא ז"ל]:

[And it seems to me that I heard something like this in the name of the Rav of Peshischa, of blessed memory.]

The Sfas Emes adds that he believes he heard this idea cited in the name of the Rav of Peshischa.

Summary: The Sfas Emes addresses the verse "and all these blessings will come upon you and overtake you," asking why the Torah adds that the blessings will 'overtake' a person. He explains that a person is not always prepared to receive the full blessing that his good deeds have earned, and rather than letting it go to waste, the Holy One, Blessed is He, safeguards it for him. None of the good is ever lost; the blessing remains preserved until the person becomes fit to receive it. Hashem then bestows it at the proper time, or even in Olam Haba when this world cannot hold it, and this is the meaning of the blessings 'overtaking' a person. He notes that he believes he heard a similar idea in the name of the Rav of Peshischa.