Mitzvos United Above

במדרש אורח חיים פן תפלס א"ת יושב ושוקל במצותי' של תורה מצוה זו קלה כו' מעגלותי' לא תדע

In the Midrash on the verse "Lest you weigh the path of life" (Mishlei 5:6), the Sages expound: Do not sit and weigh the mitzvos of the Torah, saying this mitzvah is light and that one is weighty; "its paths you shall not know."

The Midrash warns against ranking the Torah's mitzvos as light or weighty; if a person does that, the deeper paths of the mitzvos remain hidden from him.

כי באמת שורש המצות למעלה באחדות אחת וזה בבחי' אור תורה ונר מצוה הוא התחלקות אור תורה בכל נר ונר וכן הוא בנפש האדם שמחי' כל האברים והוא אחדות אחת והפעולות בכל אבר כפי מהות האבר כן הוא בתורה ומצוה

For in truth the root of the mitzvos is above, in a single unity, and this is the aspect of "the Torah is light and a mitzvah is a candle" (Mishlei 6:23) — the light of the Torah divides itself into each and every candle. So too it is in the soul of a person, which gives life to all the limbs and is a single unity, while the activity of each limb is according to the nature of that limb; so it is with Torah and mitzvah.

At their source above, all the mitzvos are one unified light, just as the single soul enlivens every limb while each limb expresses that life-force according to its own particular function.

והנה אדה"ר קודם החטא שהי' לו רק מצוה אחת היא כלל כל המצות באחדות א' והי' מוכן לעץ החיים

Now Adam HaRishon before the sin, who had but a single mitzvah, that mitzvah was the whole of all the mitzvos in a single unity, and he was ready and fit for the Tree of Life.

Before his sin, Adam HaRishon had only one mitzvah, which contained all the mitzvos as a single unity, and this made him fit for the Tree of Life.

ואחר החטא מעה"ד טו"ר נמשך לעלמא דפרודא ולכן כ' פן ישלח ידו ולקח כו' היינו שלא באחדות האמת

But after the sin of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil, it was drawn down into the world of separation, and therefore it is written, "Lest he send forth his hand and take" (Bereishis 3:22) — meaning that which is not in the true unity.

The sin of the Tree of Knowledge drew the world into fragmentation, and the verse about sending forth his hand to take alludes to grasping things outside of that true oneness.

וז"ש אורח חיים פן תפ' שבבחי' תורה ועץ החיים לא יש פירוד ושום הפרש בין מצוה למצוה וז"ש א"ת שוקל במצותי' של תורה דייקא

And this is what is meant by "the path of life, lest you weigh": that in the aspect of Torah and the Tree of Life there is no separation and no distinction whatsoever between one mitzvah and another; and this is the precise meaning of "do not sit and weigh" specifically among the mitzvos of the Torah.

The verse teaches that within the Torah and the Tree of Life there are no distinctions between one mitzvah and another, so a person should not weigh and rank them.

לא תדע כי הדעת נתקלקל ע"י החטא וא"י להשיג האחדות בשלימות

"Its paths you shall not know" — for the faculty of da'as became corrupted through the sin, and one is no longer able to grasp that unity in its completeness.

Because the sin damaged the faculty of da'as, a person can no longer fully perceive the underlying unity of the mitzvos.

וז"ש חז"ל שלא להיות כעבדים המשמשים ע"מ לקבל פרס פרס הוא חלק ואינו בשורש האחדות והעושה ע"מ לקבל פרס זה שכרו

And this is what Chazal mean (Avos 1:3) that one should not be like servants who serve in order to receive a reward (peras) — for peras denotes a portion, and a portion is not at the root of the unity, and one who acts in order to receive a portion, that is his reward.

Chazal's warning against serving for a reward, peras, hinges on peras meaning a mere portion, which is separate from the unified root, so such a person receives only that limited portion.

אבל העושה לשמה יש לו חלק באחדות הנ"ל והיא בחי' אורח חיים כמו מים חיים מים שאין להם סוף ותכלית ובדבר שאין לו ראשית ותכלית לא שייך חלק

But one who acts for its own sake (lishmah) has a share in that unity mentioned above, and this is the aspect of "the path of life," like living waters — waters that have no end or limit; and in something that has no beginning and no end, the concept of a portion does not apply.

One who serves for its own sake connects to the unified source, compared to endless living waters, and where there is no beginning or end the very idea of a separate portion has no place.

ולכן שכר אריכת ימים כ' בקלה ובחמורה שהיא הדביקות בעולם שכולו ארוך ששם הכל אחד כנ"ל:

Therefore the reward of length of days is written regarding both a light mitzvah and a weighty one, for this is the dveikus in the world that is wholly long, where all is one, as explained above.

That is why the Torah promises length of days both for a light mitzvah and a weighty one, since the reward is dveikus in the eternal world where everything is one.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains the Midrash that warns against weighing the Torah's mitzvos as light or weighty, since at their root above all the mitzvos are a single unity, like one soul that enlivens every limb and like the light of Torah dividing into each individual candle. Before the sin, Adam HaRishon possessed this unity in his single mitzvah and was fit for the Tree of Life, but the sin of the Tree of Knowledge drew the world into separation and damaged the faculty of da'as, so that we can no longer fully grasp that oneness. This also underlies Chazal's teaching not to serve like servants seeking a reward, for a reward, peras, is only a portion and stands apart from the unified root. One who serves for its own sake, however, shares in that unity, which is compared to endless living waters where no separate portion applies. Therefore the reward of length of days is promised equally for a light mitzvah and a weighty one, for it is dveikus in the world that is wholly long and entirely one.