Serving Hashem Through Love

מ"ש רש"י ז"ל הירא כשמטריחו יותר מדאי מניחו והולך

Rashi of blessed memory comments that the one who is fearful, when Hashem burdens him too much, He leaves him be and goes off.

Rashi teaches that when the fearful soldier presses Hashem too much, Hashem withdraws and leaves him to himself.

וקשה הלא ירא

And this is difficult: behold, he is fearful!

The Sfas Emes raises a difficulty: the very man Rashi describes is one who fears, so his fear should be to his credit.

ואיך מניחו

So how can Hashem leave him be?

Why, then, would his fear cause Hashem to abandon him rather than protect him?

ולפי שכל אנושי נראה שיותר נשמר האדם ע"י היראה

Now, according to human reasoning it would appear that a person is better guarded and protected through fear.

By ordinary human logic, one would think that fear is precisely what keeps a person safe and watched over.

הגם כי לא באנו לאהבה שלימה וא"י להעיד ע"ז

Even though we have not arrived at complete love of Hashem and one cannot testify regarding this,

The Sfas Emes concedes that we have not reached the level of complete love of Hashem, and one cannot honestly claim to stand on that madreigah.

מ"מ אפשר לפרש ברש"י שכשמטריח האדם בתפלותיו ובקשותיו להש"י

nevertheless it is possible to explain Rashi: that when a person burdens Hashem with his tefillos and his requests,

Despite this, he offers a resolution to Rashi rooted in how a person presses his tefillos and requests before Hashem.

כשעובדו מאהבה עושה לו כל רצונו

when he serves Him out of love, Hashem fulfills for him all his will and desire.

One who serves Hashem out of love has all his desires granted, for Hashem responds fully to the avodah of love.

אבל ביראה מניחו כו' כנ"ל:]

But with fear He leaves him be, etc., as explained above.

But one who serves only out of fear is left to himself, as the Sfas Emes has explained above.

Summary: The Sfas Emes addresses Rashi's teaching that the fearful soldier, when he burdens Hashem too much, is left behind. He asks why fear, which by human reasoning ought to keep a person more carefully guarded, should instead cause Hashem to withdraw. Acknowledging that we have not attained complete love of Hashem and cannot claim that madreigah for ourselves, he nonetheless resolves the difficulty through the contrast in avodah. One who serves Hashem out of love, pressing his tefillos and requests before Him, has all his desires fulfilled, while one who serves only out of fear is left to himself.