Choosing The Good Path
בספורנו פי' פשוט בפ' ראה כו'
In the Sforno there is a straightforward explanation of Parshas Re'eh, and so forth.
The Sfas Emes opens by citing the Sforno's plain reading of Parshas Re'eh, where Hashem sets the blessing and the curse before Bnei Yisrael.
כי אין לאיש ישראל דרך ממוצע רק לידע אם יקבל עול מ"ש בכל מעשיו למסור נפשו לה' אחד
For a man of Bnei Yisrael has no middle path; rather, it is only a matter of knowing whether in all his deeds he accepts upon himself the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven, to surrender his soul to Hashem, the One.
A Yid has no neutral, in-between standing; everything reduces to one question — whether or not he accepts the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven in all his actions, ready to give his very soul to Hashem.
הברכה
If he does, that is the blessing.
When a person does accept that yoke and gives himself over to Hashem, that itself is the blessing.
ואם לא כן
And if not so,
This continues the previous thought: the alternative, when one fails to accept the yoke.
הקללה ע"ש
that is the curse — see there.
Failing to accept the yoke of Heaven is itself the curse; the Sforno's reading equates the two paths with these two inner states.
ויש לפרש ג"כ תיבת לפניכם כמ"ש הרב הק' ז"ל מפרשיסחא על פסוק ואלה המשפטים כו' תשים לפניהם
One may also explain the word "before you" (lifneichem) in accordance with what the holy Rebbe, of blessed memory, of Peshischa said on the verse "And these are the ordinances... that you shall place before them" (Shemos 21:1):
The Sfas Emes adds a second layer, drawing on the holy Rebbe of Peshischa, who read "place before them" as meaning the ordinances should come "before" a person in importance.
להיות משפטי ה' קודם להוית האדם וחביבים מהויתו ע"ש
that the ordinances of Hashem should precede the very existence of a person and be more beloved to him than his own existence — see there.
The point is that the mitzvos and ordinances of Hashem should take precedence over a person's own existence and be dearer to him than his own life.
כן ג"כ להיות הסתכלות זה בב' הדרכים קודם הוית האדם
So too here: this beholding of the two paths should precede the very existence of a person.
Applying this to our verse: the act of looking at and choosing between the two paths should itself come before — take precedence over — a person's own existence.
וגם כפשוטו קודם כל מעשה להסתכל היטב שיהי' בדרך הטוב לש"ש
And also according to its plain meaning, that before every deed one should look carefully so that it will be along the good path, for the sake of Heaven.
On the simple level too, "before you" teaches that prior to every single action one must look carefully to ensure it follows the good path and is done purely for the sake of Heaven.
ואז יזכה לראות איזה דרך הטוב כמ"ש רמב"ן ז"ל ע"פ הדבר אשר יקשה כו' תקריבון אלי כו' ע"ש בפ' ואתחנן:
And then he will merit to see which is the good path, as the Ramban, of blessed memory, wrote on the verse "The matter that is too hard... you shall bring to me" (Devarim 1:17) — see there in Parshas Va'eschanan.
When a person makes this careful, l'shem Shamayim assessment before acting, he is granted clarity from Above to see which path is truly good, as the Ramban explains regarding bringing the hard matter to Moshe Rabbeinu.
Summary: The Sfas Emes opens with the Sforno's plain reading of Parshas Re'eh: a man of Bnei Yisrael has no middle path, for everything comes down to whether he accepts the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven in all his deeds and surrenders his soul to Hashem — accepting it is the blessing, and failing to accept it is the curse. He then adds the teaching of the holy Rebbe of Peshischa on "place before them," that the ordinances of Hashem should precede a person's very existence and be more beloved to him than his own life. Applying this to the word "before you," the choice between the two paths should likewise take precedence over a person's existence, and on the plain level one must look carefully before every action to be sure it is the good path, l'shem Shamayim. Through this prior, careful assessment a person merits Heavenly clarity to recognize which path is truly good, as the Ramban teaches regarding bringing the difficult matter to Moshe Rabbeinu.