Living Through Mitzvos Without Death

בפסוק אשר יעשה האדם וחי בהם.

On the pasuk "which a person shall do and live by them" (Vayikra 18:5).

The Sefas Emes examines the Torah's promise that one who performs the mitzvos will "live by them," and the various ways the commentators understand that "life."

כ' רש"י לעוה"ב כי בעוה"ז ה"ה מת.

Rashi writes [that this refers] to Olam Haba (the World to Come), for in this world (Olam Hazeh) he ultimately dies.

Rashi explains the "life" cannot mean physical life in this world, since everyone eventually dies; therefore the pasuk must promise eternal life in the World to Come.

ורמב"ן ז"ל כ' כי כפי המעשים זוכין לחיים.

And the Ramban, of blessed memory, writes that in accordance with [one's] deeds one merits life.

The Ramban understands it more broadly: the quality and quantity of one's life are granted in measure with one's mitzvos — good deeds can extend and enhance even life in this world.

ואליהו וחנוך יוכיחו ע"ש.

And Eliyahu and Chanoch prove [the point] — see there.

The Ramban cites Eliyahu HaNavi and Chanoch, who did not die in the ordinary way, as proof that exalted righteousness can secure a kind of deathless life even now.

ויש להוסיף עוד כי בוודאי ע"י החטא נצרך המיתה שא"י לתקן הכל בלי המיתה.

And one may add further that certainly, because of sin, death became necessary, for it is impossible to rectify everything without death.

The Sefas Emes adds a reason death exists at all: it entered the world through the sin of Adam. In our flawed state, full tikkun cannot be achieved without the cleansing of death — death itself serves a rectifying purpose.

אבל קודם חטא אדה"ר וכמו שיהי' לעתיד בוודאי נוכל לקיים הכל בלי מיתה.

But before the sin of Adam HaRishon — and as it will be in the future [le'asid lavo] — we will surely be able to fulfill everything without death.

Death is not intrinsic to the human ideal. Before Adam's sin, and again in the future redeemed world, a person will be able to keep the whole Torah and truly "live by it" — without dying at all.

וזה עצמו רצונו ית' באומרו את משפטי תעשו כו' אשר יעשה אותם האדם וחי בהם.

And this itself is His will, Yisbarach, in saying "you shall perform My ordinances... which a person shall do and live by them."

This deathless ideal is precisely what Hashem intends in the pasuk. The promise "and live by them" expresses His true desire — that through the mitzvos a person reach a life unbroken by death.

כלומר שתראו לשמור ולעשות התורה ומצות עד שיעשה האדם אותם ויוכל לחיות בהם גם בעוה"ז כי הכל תלוי בעבודתינו כנ"ל.

That is to say: that you should strive to guard and perform the Torah and mitzvos until a person fulfills them [completely] and is able to live by them even in this world — for everything depends on our avodah, as above.

The pasuk is a charge: keep the Torah so wholeheartedly that you reach the level where you "live by them" even now, in this world. Whether we attain that deathless life depends entirely on our own avodah and effort.

וז"ש יעשה לשון עתיד כי בוודאי יהי' כן בב"א:

And this is why it says "yaaseh" (shall do) in the future tense — for surely it will be so, may it come speedily in our days (bimheirah b'yameinu, amen).

The Torah's choice of the future tense "shall do" hints at the future redemption: a time is coming when Bnei Yisrael will keep the mitzvos perfectly and live by them without death — may it come soon.

Summary: Rashi reads "and live by them" as Olam Haba, since all die in this world; the Ramban holds that one merits life in proportion to his deeds, with Eliyahu and Chanoch as proof. The Sefas Emes adds that death entered only through Adam's sin, as a necessary means of tikkun — but before that sin, and again in the future, a person will keep the entire Torah and truly "live by it" without dying. The future-tense "shall do" hints at that redeemed era, the attainment of which depends on our avodah.