Becoming A Vessel For Blessing

במדרש א"ש תשמע אשרי א' שומע לי

The Midrash expounds on the verse "If you will surely listen" (Devarim 28:1): "Praiseworthy is the man who listens to Me."

The Sfas Emes opens with the Midrash that reads the Torah's promise of blessing for listening as praise for the one who attentively listens to Hashem.

ששמועותיו לי

"...whose hearings are to Me" — that is, one whose listenings are directed toward Me.

He explains that the praise is for the person whose every act of listening is aimed at Hashem.

דלתותי דלת לפנים מן הדלת כו' מוצאי מצא חיים ולא עוד אלא שיוצא טעון ברכות ויפק רצון מה'

"...to keep watch at My doors" (Mishlei 8:34) — a door within a door, and so forth; "for whoever finds Me has found life" (Mishlei 8:35), and not only that, but he goes out laden with blessings and obtains favor from Hashem.

Citing Mishlei, he notes the image of guarding 'doors' — a door within a door — and that the one who finds this not only gains life but emerges laden with blessing and divine favor.

הענין הוא כדאיתא הקב"ה מתהא את הצדיקים

The matter is as it is taught: the Holy One, Blessed is He, gives a yearning longing to the tzaddikim.

He grounds this in the teaching that Hashem plants a deep yearning in the hearts of tzaddikim.

וכשאדם מרגיש איזה פתיחות שער בלב אל יעמוד עצמו רק לידע כי הוא רק רמז

When a person feels some opening of a gate in his heart, he must not let himself come to a standstill there, but should realize that it is only a hint.

When a person senses his heart opening, he should not stop and rest content, but recognize that this opening is merely a hint of something deeper.

וצריך לשקוד עוד על הדלת שלפנים מדלת שהקב"ה מונה פסיעותך כענין שכ' לתת לו שכר על כל דיבור ודיבור

He must continue to keep watch at the door that lies within the door, for the Holy One, Blessed is He, counts your every step, as in what is written, that He gives reward for each and every word.

He must press on to the inner door, knowing that Hashem counts every step and rewards each individual word of his effort.

מוצאי מצא חיים

"For whoever finds Me has found life" (Mishlei 8:35).

He restates the verse 'whoever finds Me has found life' to anchor the next layer of his explanation.

דאיתא בזוה"ק ישרצו המים כו' נפש חי' כי ע"י היגיעה בפה בתורה ותפלה זוכין לנפש חי'

It is taught in the holy Zohar on the verse "Let the waters teem... a living soul (nefesh chayah)" (Bereishis 1:20-21), that through laboring with the mouth in Torah and tefillah one merits a living soul (nefesh chayah).

From the Zohar he brings that laboring with the mouth in Torah and tefillah earns a person a 'living soul,' a higher level of life.

ויש נפש רוח נשמה והיא דלת לפנים מדלת

There are the levels of nefesh, ruach, and neshamah, and this is a door within a door.

He identifies the ascending levels of the soul — nefesh, ruach, neshamah — as the 'door within a door' one must penetrate progressively.

וכבר כתבתי כי דלתותי יום יום הם הג' תפלות כדאיתא במד' נשתחוה ונכרעה נברכה כו' שהם נגד ג' תפלות ולזכות על ידן לנר"נ

I have already written that "My doors, day by day" are the three tefillos, as it is taught in the Midrash, "Let us bow down and bend the knee, let us kneel" (Tehillim 95:6), which correspond to the three tefillos, and through them one merits to attain nefesh, ruach, neshamah.

He recalls his earlier teaching that the daily 'doors' are the three tefillos, hinted in the verse of bowing, kneeling, and prostrating, through which one ascends through the three soul-levels.

וז"ש כי הוא אלקינו בחי' נשמת אלקי

This is the meaning of "for He is Hashem our God" (Tehillim 95:7) — the aspect of neshamah, the divine soul within.

He maps 'He is Hashem our God' onto the neshamah, the innermost divine soul.

ואנחנו עם מרעיתו בחי' רוח

"And we are the people of His pasture" — the aspect of ruach.

He maps 'we are the people of His pasture' onto the ruach.

אדם אתם

"You are called man (adam)" (Yevamos 61a).

He cites the teaching that the Jewish people are uniquely called 'adam,' man.

וצאן ידו בחי' נפש

"And the flock of His hand" (Tehillim 95:7) — the aspect of nefesh.

He maps 'the flock of His hand' onto the nefesh, the lowest soul-level.

והכל אם בקולו תשמעו שהוא ע"י התורה ותפלה

And all of this is contingent on "if you would but hearken to His voice" (Tehillim 95:7), which comes about through Torah and tefillah.

All three levels are accessed only on condition of hearkening to Hashem's voice, which happens through Torah and tefillah.

כי כל אלה הכחות נמצאים בלב איש ישראל רק שצריכין לזכות לפתיחות הלב להוציאו מן הכח אל הפועל

For all these faculties are present within the heart of every Jew; it is only that one must merit the opening of the heart to bring them forth from the potential into the actual.

Every Jew already contains these soul-faculties in potential; the task is to open the heart and actualize them.

אכן כ' שומע לי להיות הכוונה לשם שמים כדי להיות כלי לעשות רצונו ית'

Indeed, it is written "who listens to Me" — meaning that one's intent should be for the sake of Heaven, in order to become a vessel to carry out His blessed will.

He returns to 'who listens to Me': true listening means acting for the sake of Heaven, to become a vessel for Hashem's will.

לכן צריך האדם להיות מוכן תמיד לידע רצונו ית'

Therefore a person must always be prepared and ready to know His blessed will.

Therefore a person must keep himself in constant readiness to perceive what Hashem wants of him.

וזה ששמועותיו לי

And this is the meaning of "whose hearings are to Me."

This readiness is precisely what the Midrash means by 'whose hearings are to Me.'

וכשהוא כלי מתוקן זוכה ממילא לכל הברכות וז"ש ולא עוד אלא שאתה יוצא טעון ברכות

And when he is a perfected vessel, he automatically merits all the blessings, and this is the meaning of "and not only that, but you go out laden with blessings."

Once a person becomes a properly prepared vessel, the blessings flow to him automatically — hence 'you go out laden with blessings.'

וכן הוא ענין הפרשה א"ש תשמע ובאו עליך מעצמם וזה והשיגוך כשתהי' כלי מוכן לקבל תבוא הברכה בהיסח הדעת:

And so too is the theme of the parsha: "If you will surely listen" (Devarim 28:1), then the blessings come upon you of their own accord, and this is "and they shall overtake you" (Devarim 28:2) — when you are a prepared vessel fit to receive, the blessing comes when you least expect it.

Finally he ties this to the parsha: listening makes a person into a fit vessel, and then the blessings overtake him of their own accord, arriving even when he is not expecting them.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains, on the strength of the Midrash and Mishlei, that true 'listening' to Hashem means becoming a perfected vessel for His will, attained by laboring with the mouth in Torah and tefillah. He pictures avodah as passing through 'a door within a door' — the ascending soul-levels of nefesh, ruach, and neshamah, which correspond to the three daily tefillos. When a Jew senses his heart opening he must not stop, for that is only a hint; he must press inward, knowing Hashem counts every step and rewards every word. Every Jew already possesses these faculties in potential, and opening the heart actualizes them. Once one has made himself a fit vessel through listening for the sake of Heaven, the blessings of the parsha come of their own accord and overtake him even when he least expects them.