Ascending To Receive Bracha
בפסוק ונתנך ה"א עליון כו' ובאו עליך כו' הברכות כו' והשיגוך כו' והותירך כו' כי אלה הברכות הם בשורש העליון לכן א"י לקבל אלה הברכות עד שמתרומם מקודם
On the verse "And Hashem your God will set you supreme... and all these brachos shall come upon you... and overtake you... and Hashem will give you abundance..." (Devarim 28:1, 28:2, 28:11) — these brachos draw from an exalted root above, and therefore a person cannot receive these brachos until he is first elevated.
The Sfas Emes notes that the brachos of the parsha come from a lofty spiritual source, so a person must first be raised up spiritually before he is capable of receiving them.
כמ"ש ונתנך עליון כו' אח"כ יכולין להשיג הברכות [פי' כי כפי עליות האדם כך יורד לעומת זה ברכה משורש הנשמה]. ומ"מ מתברך גם הגשמיות וז"ש והותירך שזה יהי' רק בחי' שיריים וטפל
As it says, "And He will set you supreme," and only afterward can a person attain the brachos [the explanation being that according to the degree of a person's ascent, so too there descends a corresponding bracha from the root of the neshamah]. Nevertheless, even the physical realm becomes blessed, and this is the meaning of "and He will give you abundance" — that this physical blessing will be only in the aspect of leftovers and secondary.
A person must first become "supreme" — elevated above the physical — and then the brachos flow to him in measure with his ascent; yet the gashmiyus is also blessed, though only as a secondary remainder.
כמ"ש חז"ל בפסוק לבדד ישכון אעפ"כ בגוים לא יתחשב שנוטלין עם כל אחד
As Chazal expounded on the verse "He shall dwell alone" (Bamidbar 23:9) — and even so, "He shall not be reckoned among the nations," for they take a share with every single one.
He brings Chazal's reading of Bilam's words: although Bnei Yisrael dwell apart, they still draw a portion together with each of the nations.
כמו כן אע"פ שמתרומם האדם למעלה מהגשמיות אעפ"כ יהי' הברכה גם בגשמיות
So too, even though a person rises above the physical, even so the bracha will be present also in the physical.
Likewise, even when a person lifts himself above the material world, the bracha still reaches down into his physical life as well.
ואמת גם באדם עצמו צריך להיות הגשמיות טפל ומותר וז"ש והותירך ועי"ז יוכל להיות הברכה גם בהגשמיות כנ"ל
And in truth, even within the person himself the physical must be secondary and surplus, and this is the meaning of "and He will give you abundance" — and through this the bracha can be present also in the physical, as explained above.
Within the person too, the physical should be held as secondary surplus and not as the main thing; precisely because of that lowered standing, the bracha is able to settle even upon his gashmiyus.
ובמ"א כ' מזה באורך:
And elsewhere this is written about at length.
The Sfas Emes notes that he has discussed this idea more fully in another place.
Summary: The Sfas Emes explains that the brachos promised in Ki Tavo stem from an exalted root on high, so a person can only receive them after he is first elevated — "And Hashem will set you supreme" must precede "all these brachos shall come upon you." According to the measure of a person's spiritual ascent, a corresponding bracha descends from the root of the neshamah. Nevertheless, the gashmiyus is also blessed, but only as "abundance" — a secondary remainder rather than the essence. He draws a parallel from Chazal on Bilam's words: though Bnei Yisrael dwell apart and are not reckoned among the nations, they still draw a portion together with each one. So too, when a person holds the physical as mere surplus and secondary, the bracha is able to rest even upon his gashmiyus.