Becoming the mitzvah itself

במדרש נר מצוה כו' נרי בידך כו' נר ה' נשמת אדם כו'.

In the Midrash: "A mitzvah is a lamp (ner mitzvah)…"; "My lamp is in your hand…"; "The lamp of Hashem is the soul of man (ner Hashem nishmas adam)…"

The Sefas Emes opens with the Midrash that weaves together three verses about "lamps": the mitzvah as a lamp, Hashem's lamp entrusted to man, and the soul of man as Hashem's lamp.

פי' נר ה' כי השגחתו ית' בתחתונים הוא על ידי נשמת בני ישראל.

The meaning of "the lamp of Hashem" is that His hashgachah (providence) over the lower worlds is by means of the souls of Bnei Yisrael.

Hashem's guiding providence reaches the lower world specifically through the neshamos of Bnei Yisrael, which serve as His "lamp."

וכפי עבודת בני ישראל ממשיכין השגחת השי"ת והארת פניו בעולם.

And according to the avodah of Bnei Yisrael, they draw down the providence of Hashem and the radiance of His "face" into the world.

The more Bnei Yisrael serve Hashem, the more they channel His providence and the light of His Presence into creation.

ויש ב' מיני חושך.

And there are two kinds of darkness.

The Sefas Emes now distinguishes between two very different sorts of "darkness."

א' ע"י היצה"ר וסט"א שהוא חושך ממש וע"י המצות מבטל זה החושך.

One is [the darkness caused] by the yetzer hara and the sitra achra (the "other side"), which is literal darkness, and through the mitzvos one nullifies this darkness.

The first darkness is real evil — the yetzer hara and the forces of impurity — and mitzvos serve to dispel it like light banishing night.

וז"ש כאילו מדליק נר לפני הקב"ה פי' שמכין מקום לחול שם כבוד מלכותו ית'.

And this is the meaning of "as if he kindles a lamp before the Holy One, blessed be He" — meaning that he prepares a place for the honor of His kingship (kvod malchuso) to rest there.

Performing a mitzvah is like lighting a lamp before Hashem: it clears and readies a space for His glory and kingship to dwell.

ועי"ז מחי' נפשו שנק' נר כו'.

And through this he gives life to his soul, which is called a "lamp"…

By kindling that light, a person illuminates and enlivens his own neshamah, itself called "the lamp of Hashem."

פי' שגם אור העליון נק' אצלינו חושך כמ"ש בספרים שהוא גבוה מהשגתינו.

Meaning that even the supernal light is called "darkness" relative to us, as it is written in the sefarim that it is too high for our comprehension.

The second kind of "darkness" is the opposite: the supernal light is so far beyond our grasp that to us it appears as darkness — a darkness of excess, not of evil.

לכן נק' חושך.

Therefore it is called "darkness."

Its very loftiness, exceeding human perception, is why it is termed darkness.

וכפי מה שהאדם מאיר בחושך הגשמי ע"י נרות המצות.

And according to how much a person illuminates the physical darkness by means of the lamps of the mitzvos.

To the degree that one lights up the material darkness of this world through the "lamps" that are the mitzvos.

כמו כן זוכה להמשיך אור על נשמתו ונפשו מאור העליון כנ"ל.

So correspondingly he merits to draw down light upon his neshamah and his nefesh from the supernal light, as above.

Dispelling the lower darkness earns him a corresponding flow of the higher, hidden light onto his soul.

ופי' ואתה תצוה כו'.

And the meaning of "And you shall command (v'atah tetzaveh)…"

The Sefas Emes now turns to the parsha's opening words addressed to Moshe Rabbeinu.

שיכניס המצוה בנפשות בנ"י שיהיו הם עצמם המצות.

That he should bring the mitzvah into the souls of Bnei Yisrael, so that they themselves become the mitzvos.

"Tetzaveh" hints that the mitzvah should be so internalized into the souls of Bnei Yisrael that the person himself embodies the mitzvah.

כי באמת רמ"ח איברים מיוחדים להמצות.

For in truth the 248 limbs (ramach eivarim) correspond to the [248 positive] mitzvos.

The body's 248 limbs parallel the 248 positive commandments, so a person's very physical being is structured around the mitzvos.

ובגמרא ועשיתם אותם ב' פירושים.

And in the Gemara, "and you shall do them (va'asisem osam)" has two explanations.

The Gemara reads the phrase in two ways, playing on the word "osam."

א' כי מי שמקיים מצוה מעלה עליו הקב"ה כאלו עשאה.

One: that one who fulfills a mitzvah, the Holy One, blessed be He, regards it as if he "made" it [the mitzvah].

The first reading: keeping a mitzvah is credited as though the person created the mitzvah itself.

ב' כאלו עשה עצמו.

Two: as if he "made himself" (read "osam" as "atem," yourselves).

The second reading: through the mitzvah a person, in effect, makes and forms his own self.

ע"ש בסנהדרין פרק חלק.

See there, in Sanhedrin, the chapter "Chelek."

The Sefas Emes directs us to the source in Maseches Sanhedrin.

וב' הפירושים הם אחד כי תיקון האדם הוא ע"י המצות שצריך להיות מיוחד להשי"ת.

And the two explanations are one, for the rectification (tikkun) of a person is through the mitzvos, in that he must become wholly dedicated to Hashem.

Both readings ultimately say the same thing: a person is perfected through mitzvos by becoming completely bound and devoted to Hashem.

שהוא משולח בעולם רק לעשות רצון בוראו.

For he is sent into the world only to do the will of his Creator.

Man's entire shlichus (mission) in this world is solely to carry out the ratzon of his Creator.

ונמצא הוא עצמו המצוה.

And it emerges that he himself becomes the mitzvah.

When a person lives entirely for Hashem's will, he ceases to merely perform mitzvos and instead becomes the embodiment of mitzvah.

וכן פי' אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו כנ"ל:

And this is the meaning of "who sanctified us with His mitzvos and commanded us (v'tzivanu)," as above.

The blessing's word "v'tzivanu" (from the same root as tetzaveh, "to bind/command") expresses how the mitzvos bind and unite us to Hashem, sanctifying the person himself.

Summary: Hashem's providence reaches the world through the neshamos of Bnei Yisrael, the "lamp of Hashem," and avodah draws His light into creation. There are two darknesses: the literal darkness of the yetzer hara, dispelled by mitzvos, and the supernal light that is "dark" only because it surpasses our comprehension. To the degree a person illuminates the physical darkness with the lamps of mitzvos, he draws that higher light onto his soul. "V'atah tetzaveh" teaches that mitzvos should be so internalized that the person himself becomes the mitzvah — fully bound and devoted to Hashem, fulfilling the sole purpose for which he was sent into the world.