Cherishing Mitzvos Through Berachah
בפסוק ולא שכחתי פרש"י ולא שכחתי מלברכך על הפרשת מעשרות
On the pasuk "and I have not forgotten" (Devarim 26:13), Rashi explains: "and I have not forgotten" to bless You over the separation of maaseros.
When Bnei Yisrael declare before Hashem that they have not forgotten, Rashi understands this to mean they did not forget to recite a berachah praising Hashem upon separating their maaseros.
מה שתולה הברכה בזה
Why is the blessing made dependent on this.
The Sfas Emes asks why the entire fulfillment of the mitzvah should hinge specifically on making this blessing.
כי עיקר קיום המצות לעשותו בשמחה ואהבה
Because the essential fulfillment of the mitzvos is to perform them with joy and love.
His answer: the core of any mitzvah is not merely the action but doing it with genuine joy and love.
וכפי מה שמשתוקק האדם כל היום לקיים המצות כך יכול לעשותם באמת
And according to how much a person yearns the entire day to fulfill the mitzvos, so too is he able to truly perform them.
A person's capacity to perform a mitzvah truthfully is proportional to how much he longs for it throughout the day; desire fuels authentic avodah.
לכן מקדימין ברכה אל המצוה להראות החביבות וזה הכנה אל המצוה
Therefore we precede the mitzvah with a berachah, in order to display the cherishing of it, and this is a preparation for the mitzvah.
We say the berachah before the mitzvah precisely to express our love and longing for it, which prepares the person to do it properly.
ובזה יש ברכה בהמצוה ונשאר הארת המצוה באדם כל היום
And through this there is blessing within the mitzvah, and the illumination of the mitzvah remains within the person the entire day.
When the mitzvah is approached this way, a blessing settles into the act itself, and its spiritual light continues to glow within the person all day long.
וכמ"ש חז"ל המצות שקיבלו עליהם בשמחה עדיין עושין בשמחה
And as Chazal said: the mitzvos that they accepted upon themselves with joy, they still perform with joy.
He brings support from Chazal: mitzvos that Bnei Yisrael originally accepted with joy are still kept with that same joy generations later.
כן הוא בכל פרט כשעושין המצוה בשמחה נשאר כח המצוה באדם לעולם
So it is in every detail: when one performs the mitzvah with joy, the power of the mitzvah remains within the person forever.
The same principle applies to each individual mitzvah - performing it with joy embeds its power within the person permanently.
וזה לא שכחתי שאין לאדם לשכוח לעולם חביבות המצוה
And this is "I have not forgotten" - that a person must never forget the cherishing of the mitzvah.
This is the deeper meaning of "I have not forgotten": a person must never lose sight of how precious the mitzvah is.
לא שכחתי קודם מעשה המצוה ולא נשכח ממני אחר עשיות המצוה וזה ענין ברכת המצות:
"I have not forgotten" before the act of the mitzvah, and it has not been forgotten from me after the performance of the mitzvah - and this is the matter of the berachah recited over the mitzvos.
The berachah expresses that the mitzvah was cherished before the act and remains unforgotten afterward - this is the whole purpose of the berachah recited over mitzvos.
Summary: The Sfas Emes explores Rashi's comment that "and I have not forgotten" refers to not forgetting to bless Hashem over the separation of maaseros, and asks why the mitzvah's fulfillment depends on this berachah. He explains that the essence of a mitzvah is performing it with joy and love, and that a person's ability to fulfill a mitzvah truthfully corresponds to how deeply he yearns for it. The berachah recited before a mitzvah expresses this cherishing and serves as a preparation, drawing a blessing into the act so that the mitzvah's illumination remains within the person all day. Just as Chazal teach that mitzvos accepted with joy are still kept with joy, so too every mitzvah done with joy implants its power within the person forever. Thus "I have not forgotten" means the mitzvah was cherished both before and after its performance - and this is the very purpose of the berachah over the mitzvos.