Mitzvos Liberating The Soul

וזה עצמו ענין המד' שכ' שלא גילה תורה שכר מצות ונאמר אריכת ימים בקלה ובחמורה משל למלך ששכר פועלים לפרדס ע"ש

This itself is the matter of the Midrash which states that the Torah did not reveal the reward of the mitzvos, and that length of days is said both regarding a light mitzvah and a stringent one, as in the parable of a king who hired workers for an orchard, see there.

The Sfas Emes opens with a Midrash teaching that the Torah deliberately concealed the reward for mitzvos, attaching 'length of days' equally to a minor and a major mitzvah, illustrated by the parable of a king who hired workers for his orchard.

הענין הוא כי הפרדס הוא כרם ה' בית ישראל והמצות הם לתקן האברים וזה יותר מכל מיני תשלומי שכר ומה שיש קלה וחמורה כמו באדם הגשמיי שיש אבר שהנשמה תלוי' בה ויש אבר גדול וקטן כמו כן הוא בפנימיות והפרדס אינו ניתקן רק בתיקון כל המצות ואמת שלפי שקשה בעוה"ז לתקן עצמו קבע הקב"ה שכר לאדם אבל תכלית המצות הוא למעלה מכל השכר והראי' שע"ז משלם הקב"ה השכר א"כ זה התכלית נעלה ביותר וזה שכר מצוה מצוה ולכן יש בכולן אריכת ימים שהיא התדבקות בעולם שכולו ארוך

The matter is that the orchard is the vineyard of Hashem, the house of Bnei Yisrael, and the mitzvos serve to perfect the limbs, and this is greater than any sort of payment of reward; and the reason there is a light mitzvah and a stringent one is comparable to the physical person, where there is a limb upon which the neshamah depends, and there are large and small limbs, so too it is in the inner dimension; and the orchard is rectified only through the rectification of all the mitzvos. And in truth, because it is difficult in this world to perfect oneself, the Holy One, Blessed is He, established reward for a person; but the ultimate purpose of the mitzvos is above all reward, and the proof is that the Holy One, Blessed is He, pays the reward for this, so it follows that this purpose is exceedingly exalted, and this is the meaning of 'the reward of a mitzvah is a mitzvah,' and therefore there is length of days in all of them, which is cleaving to the world that is wholly long.

He explains that the orchard is Bnei Yisrael, Hashem's vineyard, and the mitzvos perfect a person's spiritual limbs, which is worth more than any reward; since each mitzvah perfects a part of the inner self, the true purpose of mitzvos transcends reward entirely, and this is why every mitzvah carries 'length of days,' meaning attachment to the eternal world.

והנה כמו שרמ"ח מ"ע הם מדביקין האברים לשורש הנפש כן שס"ה ל"ת הם לנקות הגידין להיות נמשך חיות הנפש בגוף וכל מל"ת כשעובר ח"ו מחשיך ומסתם הגיד שאין החיות יוכל לימשך ולכן רמזו חז"ל להקיש כל הלאווין ללאו דחסימה שהגוף היא בחי' נפש בהמיות ולכן צריך האדם שלא לחסום פי שור בדישו שיוכל לקבל חיות מנפש האדם שבו

Now, just as the two hundred and forty-eight positive commandments cause the limbs to cleave to the root of the soul, so the three hundred and sixty-five negative commandments serve to cleanse the sinews, so that the vitality of the soul should be drawn into the body; and with every negative commandment, when one transgresses it, Heaven forbid, it darkens and stops up the sinew, so that the vitality cannot be drawn through; and therefore Chazal hinted to compare all the prohibitions to the prohibition of muzzling, for the body is an aspect of the animal soul, and therefore a person must not muzzle the mouth of his ox while it threshes, so that it can receive vitality from the human soul within him.

The two hundred and forty-eight positive mitzvos bind the limbs to the soul's root, while the three hundred and sixty-five negative mitzvos cleanse the sinews so the soul's vitality flows into the body; transgressing a prohibition blocks that flow, which is why Chazal link all prohibitions to muzzling an animal, since the body must be left free to draw life from the human soul.

וכל המצות הם ליתן חירות לנפש האדם

And all the mitzvos serve to grant freedom to the soul of a person.

In short, the whole purpose of the mitzvos is to liberate a person's soul.

וזה ג"כ ענין לא תלבש שעטנז כו' גדילים תעשה לך להתיר כלאים בציצית הרמז היא כמו שמלבוש כלאים היא מאסר הגוף שהיא בחי' לבוש אל הנפש

And this too is the matter of 'You shall not wear shaatnez... you shall make for yourself fringes,' permitting the mixture of wool and linen in tzitzis; the hint is that just as a garment of forbidden mixture is the imprisonment of the body, which is an aspect of a garment to the soul,

He applies this to the law forbidding shaatnez yet permitting it in tzitzis: a garment of forbidden mixture represents the body imprisoning the soul.

כמו כן טלית מצויץ נותן חירות לגוף ולכן תלה הקב"ה מצות ציצית ביצ"מ שכשהוציאנו הקב"ה ממצרים נתן לנו החירות שלא נעשה שום דבר להיות נאסר ומשעובד לגשמיות

so too a tallis with tzitzis grants freedom to the body, and therefore the Holy One, Blessed is He, attached the mitzvah of tzitzis to the exodus from Mitzrayim, for when the Holy One, Blessed is He, took us out of Mitzrayim, He gave us the freedom not to do anything that would cause us to become bound and enslaved to physicality.

By contrast, the tallis with tzitzis liberates the body, which is why the mitzvah of tzitzis is tied to the exodus from Mitzrayim, when Hashem freed us from being enslaved to physicality.

דכ' אחר החטא ויעש כו' לאדם כו' כתנות עור ויש כתנות אור

For it is written, after the sin, 'And He made... for man... garments of skin,' and there are garments of light.

He cites that after the sin of Adam, Hashem made for man 'garments of skin,' and the Sfas Emes notes there is also a reading of 'garments of light.'

והענין הוא כי אחר החטא ניתן באדם חלק ממשכא דחויא כדאיתא בזוהר לתקן במה דחאב אכן נשאר לצדיקים אור בזה המלבוש והוא המילה אור זרוע לצדיק שלא יהי' נכסה העור בכל הגוף ונשאר חלק התגלות אור הפנימי לבנ"י והמילה היא הפתח להאיר הגוף מתוך החשיכה וזה גדילים תעשה לך להיות דבוק ואחוז המלבוש בפנימיות הנפש על ד' כנפות כסותך כמ"ש במ"א שע"ש זה נק' כנפי שיכולין לפרוח ולצאת מתוך המאסר בכח המילה כענין שנא' וינס החוצה וכ"כ מי יעלה לנו השמימה כו'

And the matter is that after the sin there was placed in man a portion of the skin of the serpent, as is brought in the Zohar, to rectify that which he sinned; however, there remained for the tzaddikim a light within this garment, and that is the milah, 'light is sown for the tzaddik,' so that the skin should not cover the entire body, and a portion of the revelation of the inner light remained for Bnei Yisrael; and the milah is the opening to illuminate the body out of the darkness, and this is 'you shall make for yourself fringes,' to be attached and bound, the garment to the inner dimension of the soul, upon the four corners of your covering, as is written elsewhere, that for this reason they are called 'wings,' for one is able to fly and emerge from the imprisonment through the power of the milah, as in the matter of that which is said 'and he fled outside,' and likewise it is written 'who shall ascend for us to the heavens.'

After the sin, man received a portion of the serpent's skin to rectify his sin, yet the tzaddikim retained a light within this garment through the milah, which uncovers part of the body so the inner light can shine; the tzitzis on the four corners bind this garment to the soul, and those corners are called 'wings' because, through the power of milah, a person can fly free of the body's imprisonment and ascend heavenward.

ולפי שיש בציצית התדבקות בשורש לכן מותר כלאים שאין הכלאים יכולין להסתיר האור כשיש בו ציצית שהיא בחי' החירות:

And because there is in tzitzis a cleaving to the root, therefore the forbidden mixture is permitted, for the forbidden mixture cannot conceal the light when there is tzitzis upon it, which is the aspect of freedom.

Because tzitzis effects a cleaving to the root, it grants freedom, and therefore the forbidden mixture is permitted within it, for that mixture can no longer conceal the inner light once tzitzis, the aspect of freedom, is present.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains, through the Midrash of the king who hired workers for his orchard, that the Torah concealed the reward of mitzvos because their true purpose lies far above any reward: the mitzvos perfect the spiritual limbs of Bnei Yisrael, Hashem's vineyard, and bind them to the eternal world that is wholly long. The positive mitzvos attach the limbs to the soul's root, while the negative mitzvos cleanse the sinews so that the soul's vitality can flow into the body, as hinted by the comparison of all prohibitions to the muzzling of an animal. The unifying theme is that all the mitzvos serve to grant freedom to the soul, which the Sfas Emes draws out of the law permitting shaatnez specifically in tzitzis: a forbidden mixture imprisons the body, but the tallis with tzitzis liberates it, paralleling the freedom of the exodus from Mitzrayim. After Adam's sin, man was clothed in the serpent's skin, yet the tzaddikim retained an inner light through the milah and the 'garments of light,' and the tzitzis on the four corners become wings that allow a person to ascend out of physical bondage. Because tzitzis effects a cleaving to the root and is the very aspect of freedom, the forbidden mixture can no longer conceal the inner light, and so it is permitted.