Wisdom Through Doing Mitzvos
בפסוק ושמרתם ועשיתם כ"ה חכמתכם כו'
On the pasuk, "And you shall observe and do them, for this is your wisdom..." (Devarim 4:6).
The Sfas Emes opens with the pasuk that calls Torah and mitzvos the very wisdom of Bnei Yisrael.
פי' עיקר כחן של ישראל בתורה ומצות ומזה זוכין להחכמה האמיתית
The explanation is that the essential strength of Bnei Yisrael lies in Torah and mitzvos, and through this they merit the true wisdom.
He establishes the core idea: the strength of Bnei Yisrael is rooted in Torah and mitzvos, and from this observance they arrive at genuine wisdom.
רק עם חכם
"Only a wise people" (Devarim 4:6).
He cites the continuation of the pasuk that describes Bnei Yisrael as a wise people.
רק לשון מיעוט ע"י שאין סומכין על חכמתם
The word "only" (rak) connotes diminishment, in that they do not rely upon their own wisdom.
He notes that the word "only" signals a limitation - Bnei Yisrael do not lean on their own intellect, and this very humility is their greatness.
ויראת חטאן קודם לחכמתן
"Their fear of sin precedes their wisdom" (Avos 3:9).
Drawing on the Mishnah in Avos, he points out that yiras chet comes before wisdom for Bnei Yisrael.
ומעשיהם מרובין מחכמתן
"And their deeds exceed their wisdom" (Avos 3:9).
He continues the same Mishnah: their deeds outnumber their wisdom.
ומחמת זה זוכין לחכמה האמיתית
And on account of this they merit the true wisdom.
Precisely because their deeds and fear of sin come first, they are granted true wisdom.
וזה עיקר החילוק שבין חכמי האומות אפי' חסידי אה"ע כפי החכמה שלהם עושין לפעמים דברים טובים
And this is the essential distinction between the wise men of the nations - even the pious among the nations of the world, who, according to their wisdom, at times perform good deeds.
He contrasts Bnei Yisrael with the wise men of the nations, who use whatever wisdom they have to produce good actions - wisdom leads to deed.
אבל בנ"י אדרבא המעשים והמצות הם נותנין להם החכמה והדעת
But with Bnei Yisrael it is the reverse: the deeds and the mitzvos are what grant them the wisdom and the understanding.
For Bnei Yisrael the order is reversed: the deeds and mitzvos themselves are what bestow wisdom and understanding upon them.
ובס' קדושת לוי כ' עמ"ש בתורה כמה פעמים ויעשו בנ"י כאשר צוה ה' את משה
And in the sefer Kedushas Levi he writes, regarding that which is stated in the Torah several times, "And Bnei Yisrael did as Hashem commanded Moshe."
He brings the Kedushas Levi, who notes the Torah's repeated phrase that Bnei Yisrael did as Hashem commanded Moshe.
וביאר הענין כי לא היו יכולין להבין המצוה על השלימות כאשר צוה ה' רק בכח העשי' כשקיימו המצות כראוי הבינו אז מהות המצוה
And he explained the matter: that they were unable to grasp the mitzvah in its completeness, as Hashem commanded, except through the power of the deed - for once they fulfilled the mitzvos properly, then they understood the essence of the mitzvah.
The Kedushas Levi explains that they could not fully comprehend a mitzvah beforehand; only through actually performing it properly did they come to understand its true essence.
ודפח"ח
And these are words befitting one who is alive (a fitting expression of Torah from the mouth of one who lives by it).
The Sfas Emes praises this teaching with the traditional expression of approval.
וכך היא המדה לעולם כי כפי העשי' בשלימות זוכין להשיג ולהבין המצוה
And so it is the measure forever, for in accordance with the doing in completeness one merits to attain and understand the mitzvah.
He generalizes the principle for all time: the more completely one performs a mitzvah, the more he merits to grasp and understand it.
ולכן הקדימו בנ"י נעשה לנשמע לרמוז כי ע"י עשיית המצוה יזכו לשמוע אותה המצוה עצמה
And therefore Bnei Yisrael placed "we will do" before "we will hear" (Shemos 24:7), to hint that through the performance of the mitzvah they would merit to hear that very mitzvah itself.
This is why Bnei Yisrael said "naaseh" before "nishma" - a hint that through doing the mitzvah they would come to truly hear and understand that same mitzvah.
וזה בכלל אמרם ז"ל ששכר מצוה מצוה כי אין סוף לכל מצות הבורא ית' ומכל מצוה נעשה כמה עולמות
And this is included in that which Chazal said, "The reward of a mitzvah is a mitzvah" (Avos 4:2), for there is no end to all the mitzvos of the Creator, may He be blessed, and from each mitzvah several worlds are made.
He connects this to the teaching that the reward of a mitzvah is a mitzvah, since Hashem's mitzvos are infinite and each one brings entire worlds into being.
כמ"ש בדבר ה' שמים נעשו וכ"ה במד' בפסוק לעולם ד' דברך נצב בשמים כשמים ע"ש שמכל דיבור נעשו שמים ושמי שמים
As it is written, "By the word of Hashem the heavens were made" (Tehillim 33:6), and so it is in the Midrash on the pasuk "Forever, Hashem, Your word stands firm in the heavens" (Tehillim 119:89) - like the heavens, see there - that from each utterance the heavens and the heavens of heavens were made.
He supports this from the pasuk and Midrash teaching that the heavens were created through Hashem's word, and from each utterance whole heavens were formed.
וכל אדם כפי מה שעוסק במצוה לשמה זוכה להתדבק באותן העולמות ויותר ממה שאדם עושה עם המצוה המצוה עושית עמו
And every person, in accordance with how he engages in a mitzvah for its own sake, merits to cleave to those worlds; and more than what a person does with the mitzvah, the mitzvah does with him.
Each person, to the degree he performs a mitzvah lishmah, cleaves to those worlds; and the mitzvah accomplishes within him even more than he accomplishes through it.
וזה אשר יעשה כו' וחי בהם:
And this is "which a person shall do... and live by them" (Vayikra 18:5).
He closes by tying this to the pasuk that one shall do the mitzvos and live by them - the doing itself gives life and wisdom.
Summary: The Sfas Emes teaches that the unique strength of Bnei Yisrael lies in Torah and mitzvos, through which they attain true wisdom. Unlike the wise men of the nations, whose wisdom leads them to good deeds, with Bnei Yisrael the order is reversed: the very performance of the mitzvos grants them the wisdom and understanding, which is why their fear of sin and their deeds precede their wisdom, and why they declared "naaseh" before "nishma." Citing the Kedushas Levi, he explains that one cannot fully grasp a mitzvah in advance; only by fulfilling it properly does its true essence become clear. Since Hashem's mitzvos are infinite and each one brings whole worlds into being, a person who performs a mitzvah lishmah cleaves to those worlds - and the mitzvah accomplishes within him even more than he accomplishes through it. This is the meaning of "which a person shall do and live by them": the doing itself is the source of life and wisdom.