Baalei Teshuvah Receiving Worldly Good
בפסוק והותירך ה"א כו' בפרי בטנך כו' אדמתך לטובה כו'
On the pasuk, "And Hashem your God will make you abundant for good in the fruit of your womb... and the fruit of your land for good..." (Devarim 28:11).
The Sfas Emes opens with the pasuk in Nitzavim promising that Hashem will grant abundant good in the fruit of one's womb and one's land.
דאיתא ישראל בזמן הזה א"י לקבל רוב טובה כי השלימות א"א להשיג בעוה"ז
For it is brought down that Bnei Yisrael in this present time are unable to receive an abundance of good, since completeness cannot be attained in this world.
He cites the principle that in our era Bnei Yisrael cannot receive overwhelming good, because true completeness is unattainable in this world.
ולכן הרשעים שאין להם הטוב באמת יכולין להנות מעוה"ז
Therefore the wicked, who do not possess the true good, are able to enjoy this world.
Precisely because the wicked have no real, lasting good, they are able to take their pleasure from this world.
ומי שיש לו חלק הטוב בקדושה א"י לקבל טובת עוה"ז
But one who has a portion in the good of kedushah is unable to receive the good of this world.
Conversely, one who holds a share in the good of kedushah cannot fully take the good of this world.
כי השלימות א"י להיות בעוה"ז
For completeness cannot exist in this world.
The reason is that completeness simply has no place within this world.
ורק בעלי תשובות שיש להם כח מלמעלה מהטבע והוא כמו מעין עוה"ב לכן יכולין לקבל גם ברכת עוה"ז ושלא יתקלקלו עי"ז
Only the baalei teshuvah, who possess a power from above that is beyond nature — which is like a foretaste of Olam Haba — are therefore able to receive even the blessing of this world without being corrupted through it.
Baalei teshuvah are the exception: their supernatural power is a taste of Olam Haba, so they can receive worldly blessing without being spoiled by it.
ויתכן שע"ז רמזו חז"ל במקום שבע"ת עומדין אין צ"ג י"ל
And it is possible that to this Chazal alluded when they said, "In the place where baalei teshuvah stand, even the perfectly righteous cannot stand."
He suggests this explains Chazal's statement that baalei teshuvah stand where even perfect tzaddikim cannot stand.
הגם כי גדלה מעלת הצדיקים אבל א"י לקבל הגשמיות פן יחטאו
For although the level of the tzaddikim is great, they are nevertheless unable to receive the physical, lest they come to sin.
Great as the tzaddikim are, they cannot safely take physical abundance, lest it lead them to sin.
אבל בע"ת כבר עברו ותיקנו זה הדרך
But the baalei teshuvah have already passed through this and rectified this path.
The baalei teshuvah, having already gone through and repaired that path, are no longer endangered by it.
וז"ש והותירך להיות יכול לקבל ברכת עוה"ז ואעפ"כ לא יחטאו
And this is the meaning of "And He will make you abundant" — that one will be able to receive the blessing of this world and even so will not sin.
Thus "And He will make you abundant" means receiving this-worldly blessing while still not sinning.
וז"ש כאשר שש על אבותיך דהאבות הטעימן הקב"ה מעין עוה"ב כדאיתא בגמ'
And this is the meaning of "as He rejoiced over your forefathers" (Devarim 30:9), for Hashem gave the Avos a foretaste of Olam Haba, as is brought in the Gemara.
"As He rejoiced over your forefathers" refers to the Avos, whom Hashem let taste Olam Haba, as the Gemara teaches.
וכמו כן בש"ק שהיא מעין עוה"ב יכולין להנות מעוה"ז
And likewise on Shabbos Kodesh, which is a foretaste of Olam Haba, one is able to enjoy this world.
Shabbos Kodesh is likewise a taste of Olam Haba, which is why one may genuinely enjoy this world on it.
אבל בעוד שלא ניתקן הכל א"י להנות מעוה"ז בשלימות
But so long as everything has not been rectified, one cannot enjoy this world in completeness.
Until the world is fully rectified, however, one cannot enjoy this world in its completeness.
וז"ש בתוכחה והי' כאשר שש כו' כן ישיש להאביד כו'
And this is the meaning of what is written in the tochachah, "And it will be, just as Hashem rejoiced... so Hashem will rejoice to destroy you..." (Devarim 28:63).
He turns to the troubling pasuk in the tochachah that Hashem will rejoice to destroy just as He rejoiced to do good.
והוא פלא
And this is astonishing.
He notes that this is astonishing.
והגם דחז"ל דרשו לאחרים משיש עכ"ז יפלא ומי להקב"ה באחרים שיעשו אחת מני אלף שבנ"י עושין גם בהיותם במדרגה התחתונה
And although Chazal expounded "He will cause others to rejoice over you," nevertheless it remains a wonder — and what comparison have others before the Holy One, Blessed is He, that they should do even one of a thousand of what Bnei Yisrael do, even when they stand on the lowest level.
Even with Chazal's reading that He causes others to rejoice, it is a wonder, for no others compare to Bnei Yisrael, who even at their lowest do a thousandfold more.
אך יתכן לפרש כי הקב"ה ישיש על צרות שמגיע לבנ"י בעוה"ז עי"ז שגלוי לפניו שזה תיקונם
But it is possible to explain that the Holy One, Blessed is He, rejoices over the sufferings that come to Bnei Yisrael in this world, since it is revealed before Him that this is their rectification.
He offers a resolution: Hashem rejoices over the sufferings of Bnei Yisrael because He knows they serve as their rectification.
ושא"א שלא יחטאו בטובת עוה"ז כדכ' ואכלת ושבעת השמרו לכם כו'
And that it is impossible that they would not sin through the good of this world, as it is written, "And you will eat and be satisfied... guard yourselves..." (Devarim 11:15-16).
He adds that it is impossible they would not sin amid worldly good, as the Torah warns after eating and being satisfied.
וזהו התוכחה מה שא"י לקבל טובת עוה"ז שישיש הש"י על מניעת הטובה בעוה"ז מהם
And this is the tochachah — that which they cannot receive the good of this world — that Hashem rejoices, as it were, over withholding the good of this world from them.
So the tochachah itself is that Hashem, as it were, rejoices in withholding this-worldly good from them for their benefit.
וכלפי זה כ' בשעת התשובה והותירך כו' לטובה כו' כנ"ל
And corresponding to this it is written, at the time of teshuvah, "And He will make you abundant... for good..." as explained above.
Correspondingly, at the time of teshuvah the Torah writes that He will make them abundant for good.
כי ישיש ה' כו' כאשר שש על אבותיך להיות להם הטובה בזה ובבא כנ"ל:
"For Hashem will rejoice... as He rejoiced over your forefathers" (Devarim 30:9) — that the good should be theirs both in this world and in the World to Come, as explained above.
"For Hashem will rejoice... as He rejoiced over your forefathers" promises that the good will be theirs in both this world and the next.
Summary: The Sfas Emes addresses why Bnei Yisrael in this era cannot receive an abundance of this-worldly good: true completeness has no place in this world, so the wicked, who have no real good, can enjoy it, while those who hold a portion in kedushah cannot. The exception is the baalei teshuvah, whose supernatural power is a foretaste of Olam Haba — like Shabbos and like the Avos who tasted the World to Come — enabling them to receive worldly blessing without being corrupted, which is why they stand where even perfect tzaddikim cannot. On this basis he reads "And Hashem will make you abundant for good" as the capacity to receive this world's blessing without sinning. He then confronts the tochachah's astonishing words that Hashem will rejoice to destroy as He rejoiced to do good, resolving that Hashem rejoices over Bnei Yisrael's sufferings because He sees they are their rectification, and that withholding this-worldly good is itself for their ultimate benefit. In the end, at the time of teshuvah, the good is promised to be theirs in both this world and the next.