Mitzvos Actualizing the Neshamah

במדרש כי יקרא קן צפור לוית חן הם כו' בכ"מ שתלך המצות מלוות אותך כו'

In the Midrash, regarding the verse "Should you happen upon a bird's nest" (Ki teitzei kein tzipor), the Sages expound "they are a garland of grace upon your head" (Mishlei 1:9) — that in every place you go, the mitzvos accompany you.

The Sfas Emes opens with a Midrash on the mitzvah of shiluach hakein, that the mitzvos are like a crown of grace that escort a person wherever he goes.

עיקר תכלית המצות לחבר הגוף אל הנשמה כי הוא לבוש וציור אל הנשמה וע"י המצות מוציאין מכח אל הפועל זה הציור והוא החן כמ"ש ויהי נועם ה"א עלינו

The essential purpose of the mitzvos is to bind the body to the neshamah, for the body is a garment and a form for the neshamah, and through the mitzvos this form is drawn out from potential into actuality — and this is the "grace" (chein), as it is written, "May the pleasantness of Hashem our God be upon us" (Tehillim 90:17).

He explains that the deepest goal of the mitzvos is to unite the body with the neshamah, since the body gives form to the neshamah, and the mitzvos actualize that hidden form, which is the "grace" the verse speaks of.

וכ' תמשילהו במעשי ידיך

And it is written, "You give him dominion over the works of Your hands" (Tehillim 8:7).

He brings the verse that man is given rule over the works of Hashem's hands as the basis for the next idea.

כי הנשמות מ"י של הקב"ה כמ"ש ונשמות אני עשיתי

For the neshamos are the "works of the hands" of the Holy One, Blessed is He, as it is written, "and the souls that I have made" (Yeshayahu 57:16).

The "works of the hands" are the neshamos, which Hashem Himself fashioned.

והאדם מושל על הנשמה שיכול להוציא כחות הנשמה אל הפועל

And the person rules over the neshamah, in that he is able to bring the powers of the neshamah out into actuality.

Man's "rule" means he has the ability to draw the latent powers of his own neshamah into active reality.

עוד פי' תמשילהו כי הגוף ציור ומשל ומלבוש אל הנשמה כמ"ש אין צייר כאלקינו צר צורה תוך צורה כי ציור הגוף מעין ציור הנשמה

There is a further explanation of "You give him dominion": that the body is a form, a likeness, and a garment for the neshamah, as it is written, "There is no Former like our God" — He fashions a form within a form, for the form of the body is a reflection of the form of the neshamah.

A second understanding: the body itself is a likeness and garment that mirrors the neshamah, since Hashem forms a form within a form, the bodily form reflecting the spiritual one.

אכן עוד פי' ת' במעשי ידך ממש כמ"ש אשר קדשנו במצותיו כי המצות הם הנהגת מלכותו ית"ש ונמסר לבנ"י כפי מה שמקיימים למטה כך נעשה בשמים

Yet there is still another explanation of "the works of Your hands" quite literally, as it is written, "Who sanctified us with His mitzvos," for the mitzvos are the conduct of His kingship, Blessed is His Name, and it has been handed over to Bnei Yisrael: according to how they fulfill them below, so it is brought about in the heavens.

A third, most literal reading: the mitzvos themselves are the "works of His hands," the very conduct of Hashem's kingship, entrusted to Bnei Yisrael so that their performance below brings about a corresponding reality in heaven.

דכ' נעשה אדם בצלמנו כדמותינו החילוק בין צלם לדמות כי צלם הוא ציור הפנימי הקבוע ודמות הוא ציור הנראה וכמו כן באדם מלבד שנעשה בצלם אלקים

For it is written, "Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness" (Bereishis 1:26) — the distinction between "image" (tzelem) and "likeness" (demus) is that the tzelem is the inner, fixed form, while the demus is the visible form; and so too in man, beyond his being made in the image of God,

He grounds this in the verse "Let us make man in Our image and likeness," distinguishing tzelem (the fixed inner form) from demus (the visible, outward form), both of which are present in man.

אף גם זאת כל הפעולות והתנועה שלו צריך להיות כפי הנהגה עליונה זהו תמשילהו במעשי ידך כמ"ש בזוה"ק שמא דקב"ה סתים וגליא וכמו כן התורה וכמו כן בנ"י

moreover, all his actions and movement must be in accordance with the supernal conduct — this is "You give him dominion over the works of Your hands," as it is stated in the Zohar HaKadosh that the Name of the Holy One, Blessed is He, is both concealed and revealed, and likewise the Torah, and likewise Bnei Yisrael.

Beyond merely being created in the tzelem, all of a person's actions must conform to the supernal pattern, reflecting how Hashem's Name, the Torah, and Bnei Yisrael are each both hidden and revealed.

ועל ב' אלו הם ב' בריתות אות המילה רמז על הצלם שקבוע לעולם

And corresponding to these two there are two covenants: the sign of the bris milah alludes to the tzelem, which is fixed forever,

These two dimensions correspond to two covenants: bris milah is the sign of the tzelem, the permanently fixed inner form.

ואות תפילין ושבת רמז לדמות ופעולות האדם וזה שורש המצות

and the sign of tefillin and Shabbos alludes to the demus and to the actions of man — and this is the root of the mitzvos.

Tefillin and Shabbos are the sign of the demus, which corresponds to a person's actions, and this duality is the root of all the mitzvos.

וע"ז כ' כח מעשיו הגיד והמשיך לעמו

And concerning this it is written, "The power of His deeds He has told to His people" (Tehillim 111:6) — He told it and drew it down to His people.

The verse "The power of His deeds He told to His people" teaches that Hashem both revealed and drew down this power into Bnei Yisrael.

ולכן כשרוצין לגלות מדת הרחמים למעלה מזמנים לאיש ישראל קן צפור כדי שיתעורר רחמים על ידו כמ"ש בזוהר כי הכל נעשה באמצעות איש ישראל כנ"ל:

Therefore, when there is a desire to reveal the attribute of mercy Above, an איש ישראל, a Jew, is presented with a bird's nest so that mercy may be aroused through him, as it is stated in the Zohar — for everything is accomplished by means of the Jew, as above.

Therefore, when mercy is to be awakened Above, a Jew is given the opportunity of a mitzvah like shiluach hakein, for, as the Zohar teaches, everything Above is brought about through the deeds of the Jew below.

Summary: The Sfas Emes teaches that the ultimate purpose of the mitzvos is to bind the body to the neshamah, drawing the neshamah's hidden powers from potential into actuality — and this realized form is the "grace" that crowns a person and escorts him wherever he goes. He unpacks the verse "You give him dominion over the works of Your hands" on three levels: man rules over his own neshamah by actualizing its powers; the body itself is a form that mirrors the neshamah, since Hashem forms a form within a form; and most literally, the mitzvos are Hashem's own royal conduct entrusted to Bnei Yisrael, so that what they perform below brings about a corresponding reality in heaven. He maps this onto tzelem and demus — the fixed inner form and the visible outer form — corresponding to the two covenants of bris milah (the tzelem) and tefillin and Shabbos (the demus, the realm of a person's actions), which together are the root of all the mitzvos. Hence, when the attribute of mercy is to be aroused Above, a Jew is given a mitzvah such as the bird's nest, for, as the Zohar teaches, everything Above is accomplished through the deeds of the Jew below.