Mitzvos as the lamp that rectifies the body

בפסוק כמעשה א"מ כו' ושמרתם א"ח כו' אשר יעשה אותם האדם וחי בהם כו'.

On the pasuk: "Like the practice of the land of Egypt… and you shall keep My statutes (chukosai)… which a man shall do and live by them…" (Vayikra 18:3-5).

The Sefas Emes opens with the verses contrasting the corrupt practices of Egypt with Hashem's mitzvos, "which a man shall do and live by them."

המצות שנתן לנו הקב"ה וב"ש הם לתקן המעשים.

The mitzvos that the Holy One, blessed be He, gave us are meant to rectify our deeds (lesakein hama'asim).

The purpose of the mitzvos is to repair and elevate a person's physical actions.

לכן כ' נר מצוה כי נר הוא כלי.

Therefore it is written "a mitzvah is a lamp (ner mitzvah)" (Mishlei 6:23), for a lamp is a vessel (keli).

A mitzvah is compared to a lamp because, like a vessel that holds the flame, the mitzvah is the physical "container" that receives and bears spiritual light.

וכמו כן גוף האדם ברמ"ח אברים שהוא הכלי זה צריך תיקון.

And likewise the body of a person, with its 248 limbs, which is the vessel — this requires rectification.

The body, with its 248 limbs corresponding to the 248 positive mitzvos, is itself a vessel that needs to be repaired and made fit to hold the inner light.

וזה הי' גאולתנו ממצרים.

And this was our redemption from Egypt.

The geulah from Mitzrayim was precisely this kind of rectification of the physical vessel.

לכן התחיל הגאולה במצוה ראשונה כי נר מצוה קודם אור תורה.

Therefore the redemption began with the first mitzvah, for "a mitzvah is a lamp" comes before "Torah is light (or Torah)."

The geulah started with mitzvos (such as the korban Pesach and milah) because the "lamp" of mitzvah — the rectification of the vessel — must precede the "light" of Torah that fills it.

וכן אמרו בודקין החמץ לאור הנר.

And so they said: one searches for chometz by the light of a lamp (l'or haner).

The bedikas chometz by lamplight symbolizes the same idea — the "lamp" of mitzvah is the tool used to search out and remove the chometz, representing the yetzer hara.

כי בעצרת שהוא אור תורה אין שם מגע נכרי והחמץ נשרף ומתבטל כדאיתא דאית בי' ביטול יצה"ר.

For on Atzeres (Shavuos), which is the "light of Torah," there is no foreign contact, and the chometz is burned and nullified, as it is brought that it contains the nullification of the yetzer hara.

By Shavuos — the time of the light of Torah — the chometz (the yetzer hara) is entirely burned away and nullified, so that no "foreign" element remains; the light of Torah accomplishes complete bittul of the yetzer.

אך מקודם צריכין לתקן הגוף שהוא בחושך והסתר וצריכין להסיר החשכות ע"י נר מצוה ואז מתגלה החיות הפנימיות שהוא התורה.

But beforehand one must rectify the body, which is in darkness and concealment, and one must remove the darkness through the "lamp of mitzvah," and then the inner vitality (chiyus penimius) is revealed, which is the Torah.

Before the light of Torah can shine, the body — which is in spiritual darkness — must first be cleansed through mitzvos; only once the lamp dispels that darkness does the inner light of Torah become revealed.

[וזה הרמז מדאורייתא בביטול סגי. היינו מי שהוא בעל תורה בשלימות. והיצה"ר שבו מתבטל ומתהפך. כדאיתא בכל לבבך בב' יצריך כמ"ש בזוה"ק שם פ' ואתחנן.

[And this is the hint that by Torah law, nullification (bittul) alone suffices — namely, for one who is a master of Torah in completeness, in whom the yetzer hara is nullified and transformed, as it is brought "with all your heart (b'chol levavcha)" — with both your inclinations, as stated in the Zohar HaKodosh there, Parshas Va'eschanan.

For one who has reached completeness in Torah, the yetzer hara is not merely suppressed but transformed and absorbed into the service of Hashem — fulfilling "love Hashem with all your heart," with both the good and the evil inclination; for such a person mere mental nullification of chometz suffices on Torah law.

אך בחג המצות עדיין לא זכינו למדרגה זו וצריך בדיקה לאור הנר כנ"ל]

But on Chag HaMatzos we have not yet merited this level, and one requires a search by the light of the lamp, as above.]

At the stage of Pesach we have not yet reached that complete transformation of the yetzer, so we still need the active "search by lamplight" — the work of mitzvos to remove the darkness.

ותלה הכ' במעשה ארץ מצרים כי הנה גלות מצרים וגאולת מצרים הכל הי' הכנה לדורות שהוצרכו בנ"י לתקן הניצוצות שקיבלו במצרים.

And the pasuk made it dependent on "the practice of the land of Egypt," for behold, the exile in Egypt and the redemption from Egypt were all a preparation for the generations, since Bnei Yisrael needed to rectify the sparks (nitzotzos) that they received in Egypt.

The Torah frames the mitzvos against "the practice of Egypt" because the entire galus and geulah were meant to enable Bnei Yisrael to gather and rectify the holy sparks scattered within the impurity of Mitzrayim.

לכן מזכירין יצ"מ בכל יום וצריכין גאולה בכל יום.

Therefore we mention the Exodus from Egypt (yetzias Mitzrayim) every day, and we require redemption every day.

Because this work of rectification is ongoing, the geulah is not a one-time event; we recall yetzias Mitzrayim daily and need a fresh redemption each day.

והוא ע"י המצות שמאירין לאדם כדאיתא במד' מי שעושה מצוה כאילו הדליק נר לפני הקב"ה ומחי' נפשו שנק' נר.

And this is through the mitzvos that illuminate a person, as it is brought in the Midrash: one who performs a mitzvah, it is as if he kindled a lamp before the Holy One, blessed be He, and gives life to his soul, which is called a "lamp."

Each mitzvah is like lighting a lamp before Hashem and enlivening one's own soul — itself called a "lamp" (ner Hashem nishmas adam) — accomplishing this daily renewal of geulah.

והיינו דכתיב וחי בהם שכל אבר מקבל חיות ע"י המצוה המיוחדת לו.

And this is the meaning of "and live by them (v'chai bahem)" — that each limb receives vitality through the mitzvah that is unique to it.

"Live by them" means each of the body's limbs is enlivened by its corresponding mitzvah, drawing inner vitality into that specific part of the person.

ומעלה ומתקן אותו האבר.

And it elevates and rectifies that limb.

The mitzvah lifts up and repairs the particular limb associated with it.

כענין דאיתא אין מדת הקב"ה כמדת ב"ו הוא למעלה ממשאו.

In the manner of what is brought: the measure of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not like the measure of flesh and blood — He is above His "burden."

Unlike a human, who is supported by what he carries, Hashem is above and bears all; so too the mitzvah, infused with His power, lifts the limb rather than being weighed down by it.

וכעין זה בכל מצוה שאדם עושה לפניו ית'.

And similar to this is every mitzvah that a person does before Him.

This elevating dynamic applies to every single mitzvah a person performs before Hashem.

המצוה מעלה אותו ומדריך אותו האבר.

The mitzvah elevates him and guides that limb.

The mitzvah raises the person and directs the relevant limb toward its proper purpose.

כדאיתא במדרש תצא בפסוק לוית חן הם כו'.

As it is brought in the Midrash on Parshas Teitzei, on the pasuk "they are a garland of grace (livyas chein)…" (Mishlei 1:9).

The Midrash there teaches that mitzvos adorn and elevate the one who performs them, like a beautiful garland.

והש"י הכניס אותנו לארץ מצרים ולארץ כנען לזכות אותנו לתקן ע"י אותן הניצוצות כדאיתא במדרש ע"ז כשושנה בין החוחים.

And Hashem brought us into the land of Egypt and into the land of Canaan in order to grant us the merit to rectify through those sparks, as it is brought in the Midrash on this: "like a rose among the thorns (k'shoshanah bein hachochim)."

Hashem deliberately placed Bnei Yisrael into Egypt and Canaan so they could redeem the holy sparks there — like a rose blooming among thorns, drawing forth holiness from the midst of impurity.

וז"ש אשר ישבתם בה כעין שדרשו אשר שברת יישר כוחך כו'.

And this is the meaning of "in which you dwelt (asher yeshavtem bah)" — similar to how they expounded "which you shattered (asher shibarta)" as "may your strength be straight (yishar kochacha)…"

Just as Chazal read Hashem's apparent rebuke "asher shibarta" (the Luchos you broke) as praise — "well done that you broke them" — so the phrase "in which you dwelt" hints that the very dwelling among the nations was for a positive purpose.

שהכל כדי לזכות את בנ"י:

For all of it was in order to grant merit to Bnei Yisrael.

The entire arrangement of dwelling in Egypt and Canaan was orchestrated so that Bnei Yisrael could earn merit by rectifying the sparks of holiness scattered there.

Summary: The mitzvos are meant to rectify the physical body, the "vessel" that holds inner light — for "a mitzvah is a lamp" must precede "Torah is light." The redemption from Egypt began with mitzvos because the darkened body must first be cleansed by the lamp of mitzvah before the inner light of Torah is revealed (full bittul of the yetzer hara, where mere nullification suffices, belongs to the level of Shavuos, not yet attained at Pesach). Each mitzvah enlivens and elevates its corresponding limb ("and live by them"), and Hashem placed Bnei Yisrael in Egypt and Canaan — like a rose among thorns — precisely so they could gather and rectify the holy sparks there, a redemptive work renewed every day.