Guarding Youthful Strength Forever

בפסוק ברזל ונחושת מנעליך וכימיך דבאך

On the verse, "Iron and copper shall be your locks, and as your days, so shall your strength be" (Devarim 33:25).

The Sfas Emes opens with the verse from Moshe Rabbeinu's blessing, which speaks of iron and copper locks and of one's strength matching one's days.

פרש"י כימים שהם טובים לך כך ימי זקנתך

Rashi explains: just as the days that are good for you, so too shall be the days of your old age.

Rashi reads the blessing as a promise that the days of old age will be as good as one's earlier days.

ואמר אמוז"ל כי ז"ש מקודם ברזל ונחושת מנעליך

And my master, teacher, and grandfather, of blessed memory, said that this is why the verse states first, "Iron and copper shall be your locks".

The Sfas Emes cites a teaching from his grandfather (the Chiddushei HaRim) that explains why the verse first mentions the iron and copper locks.

לומר כפי מה ששומרים בימי הנעורים הכחות והמדות במנעל ברזל ונחושת שלא להתפשט לחוץ כך נשאר הכח לימי הזקנה ודפח"ח

That is to say, according to the degree to which one guards, during the days of his youth, his powers and his character traits within a lock of iron and copper, so as not to spread out toward the outside, so too does that strength remain intact for the days of old age. And these are words pleasant to the listener.

The point is that if a person locks up and guards his strengths and character traits during his youth, not squandering them outwardly, those powers stay intact and serve him in old age.

וע"ז כ' וזכור את בוראך בימי בחורותיך עד אשר לא יבואו כו'

And regarding this it is written, "And remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come" (Koheles 12:1).

He connects this to Koheles, which urges remembering Hashem in one's youth before the evil days arrive.

ומדקדק בזוה"ק דימי הזקנה לאו רעים הם לצדיקים אכן הפי' שע"י זכירת הבורא בימי הבחרות לא יבואו ימי הרעה בזקנותו

And the Zohar HaKadosh is precise: the days of old age are not in themselves evil for tzaddikim; rather the meaning is that through remembering the Creator in the days of youth, the evil days will not come upon him in his old age.

Citing the Zohar, he clarifies that old age itself is not evil for tzaddikim; rather, remembering Hashem in youth ensures that the evil days never come in old age.

וכ"כ שתולים בבית ה' כו' עוד ינובון בשיבה

And so too it is written, "Those planted in the House of Hashem... they shall still be fruitful in old age" (Tehillim 92:14-15).

He brings the verse from Tehillim that those planted in Hashem's House continue to bear fruit even in old age.

והנה באמת כימיך דבאך הוא לבנ"י שהם למעלה מן הזמן כי הרי הכתוב קורא ימי הבחרות ימים כימיך שמצד הזמן הבחרות עיקר הכח

Now, in truth, "as your days, so shall your strength be" applies to Bnei Yisrael, who are above time; for behold, Scripture calls the days of youth "days" — "as your days" — since from the standpoint of time, youth is the prime of one's strength.

He observes that the blessing of undiminished strength belongs to Bnei Yisrael, who transcend time, even though Scripture's plain term "days" reflects that, naturally, youth is one's prime.

אבל אם זוכין לצאת מן הטבע והזמן אז כימיך דבאך כמ"ש עוד ינובון

But if one merits to step out of nature and time, then "as your days, so shall your strength be", as it is written, "they shall still be fruitful".

When a person rises above nature and time, his strength matches his days throughout life, as the verse promises continued fruitfulness.

ועוד לשון תוספות הוא

And furthermore, the expression "still" (od) connotes increase and addition.

He notes that the word "od" (still) itself implies not merely continuation but actual increase.

והנה כמו כן הוא בדורות כי בדור המדבר ראה מרע"ה כי הם נשמרים ברזל ונחושת מנעלך לכן הי' הכנה על כל הדורות

And behold, so too it is with regard to the generations: for in the generation of the wilderness, Moshe Rabbeinu saw that they were guarded — "iron and copper shall be your locks" — therefore it served as a preparation for all the generations.

He extends the idea from individuals to generations: because the wilderness generation guarded itself, it became a preparation that empowers all later generations.

כימיך דבאך רומז על דורות השפלים האחרונים שיש להם חיזוק מכח הכנת דור הראשון דור דיעה

"As your days, so shall your strength be" alludes to the lowly later generations, who draw strength from the power of the preparation made by the first generation, the generation of knowledge (dor de'ah).

The phrase "as your days, so shall your strength be" hints that even the lowly final generations draw their strength from the preparation laid down by the first generation, the dor de'ah.

וגדול כחו של מרע"ה שהנחיל התורה לכל הדורות כמ"ש מורשה קהלת יעקב

And great is the power of Moshe Rabbeinu, who bequeathed the Torah to all the generations, as it is written, "the inheritance of the congregation of Yaakov" (Devarim 33:4).

He praises the greatness of Moshe Rabbeinu, who handed down the Torah as an inheritance to every generation.

ועליו נאמר טובה חכמה עם נחלה כי מה שאדם מתחכם לעצמו אין בו טובה שלימה

And concerning him it is said, "Wisdom is good together with an inheritance" (Koheles 7:11), for that which a person makes himself wise for his own sake alone has no complete goodness in it.

He applies the verse "wisdom is good with an inheritance" to teach that wisdom acquired only for oneself is not a complete good.

רק להנחיל כח חכמתו לבנ"י

Rather, the goodness lies in bequeathing the power of one's wisdom to Bnei Yisrael.

True goodness comes from passing on the power of one's wisdom to Bnei Yisrael.

וזה נתקיים במרע"ה זי"ע:

And this was fulfilled in Moshe Rabbeinu, may his merit protect us.

This ideal was perfectly realized in Moshe Rabbeinu, who bequeathed the Torah to all of Bnei Yisrael forever.

Summary: The Sfas Emes builds on the blessing "as your days, so shall your strength be," teaching that a person who locks up and guards his powers and character traits during his youth preserves that strength undiminished into old age. Drawing on the Zohar and Koheles, he explains that for tzaddikim old age holds no evil days, because remembering Hashem in youth keeps those days from ever arriving, and Bnei Yisrael, who rise above nature and time, can even grow stronger and more fruitful with age. He then carries the principle from the individual to the generations: the self-guarding of the wilderness generation, the dor de'ah, became a preparation that strengthens all the lowly later generations that follow. The crown of this idea is Moshe Rabbeinu, whose greatness lay not in wisdom kept for himself but in bequeathing the Torah as an eternal inheritance to all of Bnei Yisrael, fulfilling "wisdom is good together with an inheritance."