Mitzvos Revealing Hidden Grace

במדרש ע"פ לוית חן הם כו'

In the Midrash, on the verse "They are a graceful wreath (livyas chein) for your head, and chains for your neck" (Mishlei 1:9), and so on.

The Sfas Emes opens by citing the Midrash on a verse from Mishlei comparing the words of Torah to a graceful wreath for the head and chains for the neck.

כבר כתבנו במ"א

We have already written about this elsewhere.

He notes that he has discussed this theme in another place.

ובקיצור הדברים דכ' וירא אלקים כו' כל א' עשה כו' טוב מאוד

In brief, the matter is as follows: it is written, "And Hashem saw" (Bereishis 1:31) - regarding each and every thing that He made - that "it was very good."

He summarizes the idea: when Hashem created the world, He saw that every single thing He made was 'very good.'

א"כ הלא יש בכל דבר איזהו נקודה שמעלת חן לפניו ונקודה זאת מעוררין ע"י נר מצוה שמאיר בעלמא דחשוכא לראות ולמצא הנקודה והשורש והראשית

If so, behold, there is in every single thing a particular point that finds favor (chein) before Him, and this point is aroused by means of the "lamp of mitzvah" (Mishlei 6:23), which illuminates within the world of darkness so that one may see and find that point, that root, and that beginning.

Because everything was created 'very good,' each thing contains a hidden point of grace that finds favor before Hashem; this point is uncovered by the 'lamp of mitzvah,' which lights up the darkness of this world so a person can locate the inner root of each thing.

והוא ענין

And this is the matter of:

He pauses to identify what this illuminating light actually is.

המצות שיש בכל המעשים

the mitzvos that are found within all of one's deeds.

It is the mitzvos that are embedded within all of one's everyday actions.

וע"י העלאת חן אז ניתוסף כח וחיות חדש וזהו ענקים לגרגרותיך

And through the raising up of this chein, then a new strength and vitality is added - and this is the meaning of "chains (anakim) for your neck."

When a person raises up this point of grace, fresh strength and vitality flow into him, which is what the verse means by 'chains for your neck.'

כמ"ש אחר פסוק וירא הנ"ל ויכלו כו' ונעשה מזה ש"ק ויברך ויקדש וכן הוא תמיד ע"י היגיעה בימי המעשה במצות אז מעלה חן בש"ק וניתוסף בו נשמה יתירה ענקים לגרגרותיך מה שאין כלי של הגוף יכול להכיל לכן נק' נשמה יתירה כמ"ש במ"א ונק' ענקים כנ"ל

As Scripture writes after the aforementioned verse of "And Hashem saw," namely, "And the heavens and the earth were completed" (Bereishis 2:1), and from this is fashioned the holy Shabbos, "And He blessed and He sanctified" (Bereishis 2:3) - and so it is at all times: through the toil in mitzvos during the weekdays of labor, one then raises up chein on the holy Shabbos, and an additional soul (neshamah yeseirah) is added within him, "chains for your neck," something which the vessel of the body cannot contain; therefore it is called an additional soul, as we have written elsewhere, and it is called "chains" as above.

He brings a proof from the order of Creation: right after 'And Hashem saw,' the Torah describes the completion of the world and the sanctifying of Shabbos; so too every week, the toil in mitzvos during the weekdays raises up chein on Shabbos, drawing down the additional soul that the physical body cannot fully hold - which is why it is called neshamah yeseirah and likened to 'chains.'

וזה עצמו י"ל בענין המדרש בפסוק אורח חיים פן תפלס כו'

And this very same idea may be said regarding the matter of the Midrash on the verse "Lest you should weigh the path of life" (Mishlei 5:6), and so on.

He connects this to another Midrash, on the verse warning against 'weighing the path of life.'

משל הפועלים והפרדס כו' ע"ש

The parable of the workers and the orchard, and so on - see there.

That Midrash brings the well-known parable of the workers laboring in the orchard, and he refers the reader to study it inside.

והענין שלמטה יש לכל מצוה תיקון פרטי בחי' לוית חן כנ"ל

And the matter is that below, each mitzvah has its own particular rectification (tikkun), the aspect of livyas chein, as mentioned above.

He explains that on the lower level, every individual mitzvah has its own specific tikkun, corresponding to the 'graceful wreath.'

אבל בשורש התוספות שהוא למעלה למעלה בחי' התורה למעלה מהמצות בחי' ענקים ונשמה יתירה שם אין הפרש בין מצוה קלה לחמורה וזה ענין אריכת ימים כמ"ש במ"א שהוא התדבקות בעולם ארוך ובשורש שכשאין לו הפסק נק' אורך ימים וכידוע בס"ק שיש ג"ע תחתון ועליון:

But at the root of the addition, which is far above, the aspect of the Torah that is above the mitzvos - the aspect of "chains" and the additional soul - there, there is no difference between a light mitzvah and a stringent one; and this is the matter of length of days, as we have written elsewhere, that it is cleaving to a world that is long and rooted, which, since it has no interruption, is called length of days, as is known in the holy books that there is a lower Gan Eden and an upper Gan Eden.

But at the higher root - the level of Torah that transcends the individual mitzvos, the level of the 'chains' and the additional soul - no distinction exists between a light mitzvah and a stringent one; this is the meaning of 'length of days,' a cleaving to the eternal, unbroken root, paralleling the teaching that there is a lower and an upper Gan Eden.

Summary: The Sfas Emes builds on the Midrash that the words of Torah are a graceful wreath (livyas chein) and chains (anakim) for one's neck. Since Hashem created every thing 'very good,' each thing holds a hidden point of grace that finds favor before Him, and the 'lamp of mitzvah' illuminates the darkness of this world so a person can uncover that inner root through the mitzvos embedded in his everyday deeds. Raising up this chein draws down fresh strength and vitality - mirrored in how the weekday toil in mitzvos culminates in the holy Shabbos and its additional soul (neshamah yeseirah), which the body cannot contain. He distinguishes two levels: below, each mitzvah has its own particular tikkun like a graceful wreath, but at the transcendent root of Torah - the level of the 'chains' and the additional soul - there is no difference between a light mitzvah and a stringent one. This higher, unbroken cleaving to the eternal root is the meaning of 'length of days,' paralleling the lower and upper Gan Eden.