Mitzvos as acceptance of Hashem's kingship and source of life

ברש"י ומד' קבלתם מלכותי קבלו גזירותי כו'.

In Rashi and the Midrash: "You accepted My kingship, accept My decrees, etc."

Rashi and the Midrash teach that since Bnei Yisrael accepted Hashem's sovereignty (at Sinai, "I am Hashem"), they must now accept His decrees — His mitzvos.

וכן בגמ' לקבל עול מ"ש תחילה כו'.

And likewise in the Gemara: to first accept the yoke of the kingship of Heaven (ol malchus Shomayim), etc.

The Gemara similarly teaches that one accepts the yoke of Heaven's kingship before accepting the yoke of the mitzvos (as in the order of Krias Shema).

כן הוא בכל מצוה בפרט שצריך להיות כוונת עשייתה כדי לקבל ע"מ שמים.

So it is with every individual mitzvah, that the intention in performing it must be in order to accept the yoke of Heaven.

This is not only a one-time acceptance; in each particular mitzvah a person's intent should be to take upon himself the sovereignty of Hashem.

שזה תכלית המצוה.

For this is the purpose of the mitzvah.

The very goal of doing a mitzvah is this acceptance of Hashem's kingship.

ונאמר אשר לא צוה כו' מכלל שעשיות הציווי יותר מקובל מטעם המצוה.

And it says, "which I did not command, etc." — from which we infer that the doing of what is commanded is more acceptable than the reason of the mitzvah.

Scripture's censure of acts "which I did not command" implies that the essence of a mitzvah is the obedience to the command itself, more than fulfilling its underlying rationale.

כי טעמי המצוה הם רק שבעבורם צונו הש"י בהם.

For the reasons of the mitzvah are only the basis for which Hashem commanded us in them.

The "reasons" behind mitzvos are merely why Hashem chose to command them; they are not the point of our doing them.

אבל עשיותינו צריך להיות רק עבור לעשות רצון הש"י.

But our performance must be solely for the sake of doing the will of Hashem.

Our motivation in acting must be purely to fulfill ratzon Hashem, not to achieve the mitzvah's rationale.

וכשאדם מקבל עול מלכותו קודם המצוה יוכל לעשות המצוה כתיקנה.

And when a person accepts the yoke of His kingship before the mitzvah, he is able to perform the mitzvah properly.

Accepting Hashem's sovereignty first is the prerequisite for fulfilling a mitzvah in its correct and complete form.

וכן אשר יעשה כו' וחי בהם ג"כ הפי'.

And likewise "which a person shall do... and live by them" (Vayikra 18:5) is also to be explained thus.

The same idea explains the verse "and he shall live by them," which speaks of the life that mitzvos bring.

להמשיך חיות משורש הכל והוא מלכותו ית'.

To draw vitality from the root of everything, which is His kingship.

Living "by them" means drawing life-force from the ultimate Source of all — Hashem's malchus.

כי להאדם ניתן לקרב כל דבר לשורש החיות ע"י המצות שאין לך דבר שאין בו מצוה וע"י המצות נמשך חיות לכל הדברים.

For to man it was given to bring every thing close to the root of life-force through the mitzvos, since there is no thing in which there is no mitzvah, and through the mitzvos vitality is drawn to all things.

Man's task is to connect everything to its life-source via the mitzvos; since every object and act contains a mitzvah, fulfilling mitzvos channels divine vitality into all of creation.

כי בל"ז נק' מתים כמ"ש ז"ל רשעים בחייהם נק' מתים כו'.

For without this they are called "dead," as Chazal said, "the wicked, in their lifetime, are called dead, etc." (Berachos 18b).

Without this connection to the divine source, things and people are spiritually "dead," like the resha'im whom Chazal call dead even while alive.

וכתי' אשר יעשה. להבא משמע.

And it is written "asher ya'aseh" ("which he shall do") — implying the future.

The verse uses future-tense language ("shall do"), which the Sefas Emes reads as pointing to an ongoing, forward-looking readiness.

והיינו שצריך להיות כל מחשבות האדם תמיד להיות מוכן לעשות רצון המקום ב"ה.

And this means that all of a person's thoughts must constantly be set on being ready to do the will of the Omnipresent, Blessed is He.

A person should always be mentally poised and prepared to carry out Hashem's will at any moment.

וזה יתן לו חיות ושמחה וזה נק' שמירת המצות להיות יושב ומצפה וממתין תמיד מתי יגיע לידו לעשות רצון המקום.

And this gives him vitality and joy, and this is called "the guarding of the mitzvos" (shemiras hamitzvos) — to sit and anticipate and wait constantly for when the opportunity will come to his hand to do the will of the Omnipresent.

This constant eager anticipation itself brings life and simchah, and is the true meaning of "guarding" the mitzvos — perpetually watching and waiting for the chance to fulfill Hashem's will.

ועי"ז כשתבא לידו יקיימנה כראוי.

And through this, when it comes to his hand, he will fulfill it properly.

Because he has been waiting in readiness, when the mitzvah finally presents itself he performs it correctly and wholeheartedly.

וז"ש ושמרתם כו' וחי בהם כו'.

And this is the meaning of "u'shemartem... vachai bahem" ("and you shall guard... and live by them").

The verse pairs "guarding" with "living," teaching that this anticipatory guarding of the mitzvos is itself the source of life.

להיות החיות תמיד ע"י שמירת המצות וקיומם:

That the vitality be constant, through the guarding of the mitzvos and their fulfillment.

Ongoing spiritual vitality flows from this dual avodah: the constant readiness to do mitzvos and their actual performance.

Summary: The Sefas Emes teaches that the essence of every mitzvah is the acceptance of ol malchus Shomayim — doing the commandment purely because it is Hashem's will, not for its underlying reason. Man's role is to bind all things to their life-source through the mitzvos, since every act contains a mitzvah; without this things are spiritually "dead." The future-tense "asher ya'aseh" teaches that one must constantly be poised and eagerly anticipating the chance to fulfill Hashem's will — this readiness is the true "guarding" of mitzvos and the source of vitality and joy expressed in "and you shall live by them."