Willing Acceptance of Consequences

בברכות וקללות של הר גריזים והר עיבל דכ' ראה אנכי נותן לפניכם כו' ברכה וקללה

Regarding the blessings and curses of Har Gerizim and Har Eival, as it is written, "Behold, I set before you... a blessing and a curse" (Devarim 11:26).

The Sfas Emes opens with the Torah's framework of blessing and curse, presented at Har Gerizim and Har Eival, where Bnei Yisrael were set before a clear choice.

כי לא הי' בכח היסורין והעונשים לחול על בנ"י רק כי המה קיבלו אותם מעצמם ומרצונם

For it was not within the power of the afflictions and the punishments to take hold upon Bnei Yisrael, except that they accepted them upon themselves of their own accord and by their own will.

He establishes the key principle: suffering and punishment cannot simply be imposed upon Bnei Yisrael; they take effect only because Bnei Yisrael willingly accepted them upon themselves.

וזה המשך הפסוק שיאמרו הלוים ארור כו' וענו כו' אמן אח"כ כתיב והי' א"ש כו'

And this is the flow of the verses, that the Leviim would say, "Cursed is..." and the people would answer, "...Amen," after which it is written, "And it shall be, if you hearken..." (Devarim 28:1).

He shows this from the structure of the parsha itself: first the Leviim pronounce the curses and the people respond "Amen," and only afterward come the verses of consequence, indicating that the people first accepted it all by their own consent.

פי' שכל זה קיבלו עליהם בנ"י ברצונם

The meaning is that all of this Bnei Yisrael accepted upon themselves of their own will.

This response of "Amen" expresses that Bnei Yisrael took the entire arrangement upon themselves of their own free will.

ק"ו ממה שמצינו בגדולי ישראל שקראו ליסורים לבא עליהם לכפר על בנ"י

This may be derived through a kal vachomer from what we find regarding the great ones of Yisrael, who called upon afflictions to come upon themselves in order to atone for Bnei Yisrael.

He brings a kal vachomer: we find that the great tzaddikim of Yisrael actively summoned suffering upon themselves to atone for the rest of the nation.

מכ"ש כללות בנ"י בוודאי קיבלו עליהם העונשין אם יעברו ח"ו רצונו

All the more so the collective whole of Bnei Yisrael surely accepted upon themselves the punishments, should they transgress His will, chas v'shalom.

If individual tzaddikim willingly invited suffering, then certainly the entire body of Bnei Yisrael accepted the punishments that would follow transgressing Hashem's will.

וגם פשוטי בנ"י ענו אמן כי לא הי' מדרגתם לקבל מרצונם רק שנמשכו אחרי הגדולים

And even the simple ones among Bnei Yisrael answered "Amen," for it was not within their level to accept of their own will; rather, they were drawn along after the great ones.

Even the simpler people, who could not reach the level of accepting suffering on their own initiative, still answered "Amen," being drawn along by the spiritual force of the great ones.

ויתכן לומר כי השבטים בעצמם עמדו על ההרים כמ"ש ואלה יעמדו כו' שמעון ולוי כו'

And it is possible to say that the Shevatim themselves stood upon the mountains, as it is written, "These shall stand... Shimon and Levi..." (Devarim 27:12).

He adds that the Shevatim themselves physically stood upon the mountains during this acceptance, as the verse spells out which tribes stood where.

ובזה יובן שפיר מאמר המד' בפ' ויחי עדות על ראובן שלא חטא הואיל ונעשה עד במאמר ארור שוכב כו' אשת אביו כנ"ל ע"ש:

And with this, the statement of the Midrash in Parshas Vayechi is well understood, that there is testimony concerning Reuven that he did not sin, since he was made a witness through the declaration, "Cursed is he who lies with... his father's wife," as explained above; see there.

With this idea, the Midrash on Vayechi becomes clear: Reuven's standing as a witness to the curse against one who sins with his father's wife serves as testimony that Reuven himself did not actually sin.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains that the blessings and curses at Har Gerizim and Har Eival reveal a foundational truth: afflictions and punishments have no power to take hold upon Bnei Yisrael unless Bnei Yisrael first accept them willingly upon themselves. This is why the structure of the parsha has the Leviim pronounce the curses and the people answer "Amen" before the verses of consequence appear, the "Amen" being an expression of their free acceptance. He strengthens this with a kal vachomer from the great tzaddikim who summoned suffering upon themselves to atone for the nation, so certainly the whole of Bnei Yisrael accepted the consequences of transgressing Hashem's will, with even the simple people drawn along after the great ones. Finally, since the Shevatim themselves stood upon the mountains, this illuminates the Midrash that Reuven's role as a witness to the curse testifies that he himself did not sin.