Cleaving Days To Eternity

במדרש לוית חן כו' וענקים לגרגרותיך כו' ומשל הפרדס כו'

The Midrash expounds the verse "a graceful wreath (livyas chein) for your head, and necklaces (anakim) for your throat" (Mishlei 1:9), and brings the parable of the orchard.

The Sfas Emes opens by citing a Midrash on a verse in Mishlei that describes Torah as a graceful wreath and a necklace, along with the Midrash's parable comparing Torah to an orchard.

וכבר כ' במ"א

And I have already written about this elsewhere.

He notes he has discussed this theme elsewhere and will summarize it here.

וקיצור הדברים כי לכל מצוה יש שכר בפרט כפי המצוה

The gist of the matter is that for each individual mitzvah there is a specific reward, in accordance with that particular mitzvah.

Every single mitzvah carries its own particular reward, measured according to that specific mitzvah.

אבל לבד זה יש שכר בכלל על גמר הפרדס

But beyond this, there is a general reward for the completion of the entire orchard.

Over and above the individual rewards, there is a separate, general reward earned for completing the entire "orchard" of Torah and mitzvos as a whole.

וזה השכר שוה לכל הפועלים

And this reward is equal for all the laborers.

This general reward is the same for everyone, no matter which mitzvos they were busy with, just as all the laborers in an orchard share in its overall completion.

ושכר זה עולה על כולנה

And this reward rises above all the others.

This all-encompassing reward is greater than any of the individual rewards.

והיא בחי' אריכת ימים ששוותה תורה לקלה וחמורה

And it is the aspect of length of days, regarding which the Torah equated a light mitzvah with a stringent one (since both are rewarded with "that your days may be lengthened").

This greater reward is the quality of length of days, the reward the Torah promises equally for both a seemingly minor mitzvah and a weighty one.

והיא התדבקות הימים בעולם שכולו ארוך והוא לוית חן, כי לכל דבר יש שורש בשמים

And it is the cleaving of one's days to the world that is entirely long (Olam Haba), and this is the "graceful wreath," for every thing has its root in the Heavens above.

Length of days means attaching one's days to Olam Haba, the world that is wholly enduring, which is the "graceful wreath," since everything in this world has its source rooted in Heaven.

ועי"ז מעלה חן ומתקיים למטה

And through this it draws up grace and is thereby sustained below.

By connecting to that heavenly root, a person draws down grace, and that connection is what gives his deeds lasting existence here below.

וע"י תורה ומצות מתחבר להשורש

And through Torah and mitzvos one becomes connected to that root.

Torah and mitzvos are the means by which a person binds himself to that supernal root.

ויופי הגוף ע"י הראש וזה וענקים לגרגרותיך כי חיבור הדעת להמעשה הוא עיקר החן והתכשיט

And the beauty of the body comes by way of the head, and this is "and necklaces for your throat," for the joining of the intellect to the deed is the essence of the grace and the adornment.

Just as the body's beauty flows from the head, the verse's "necklaces for your throat" teaches that joining one's mind and awareness to one's actions is the true source of grace and adornment.

וקצרתי:

And I have kept it brief.

He closes by noting that he has stated the idea concisely.

Summary: The Sfas Emes, building on a Midrash that compares Torah to an orchard and to the "graceful wreath and necklaces" of Mishlei, distinguishes two kinds of reward for mitzvos. Beyond the specific reward attached to each individual mitzvah, there is a general, all-encompassing reward for completing the whole "orchard" of Torah and mitzvos, a reward shared equally by all and greater than any particular one. This supreme reward is "length of days" cleaving to Olam Haba, the world that is wholly enduring, which the Torah promises equally for a light mitzvah and a stringent one. Since everything below has its root in Heaven, binding oneself to that root through Torah and mitzvos draws down grace and grants lasting existence to one's deeds. The verse's "necklaces for your throat" teaches that joining the intellect to the deed, like the head giving beauty to the body, is the very essence of this grace and adornment.