Dying for Torah brings inner life

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

On the verse, "Like the practice of the land of Mitzrayim… [you shall not do]," until, "which a person shall do and live by them."

The Sefas Emes begins from the Torah's command to keep its mitzvos, which a person is to "do and live by them."

וחכמים הוסיפו לומר ולא שימות בהם.

And the Sages added: "and not that he should die by them."

Chazal derive from "and live by them" that the mitzvos are meant to give life, not to cause death — hence pikuach nefesh overrides them.

והגם דאיתא זאת התורה אדם כי ימות אין התורה מתקיימת אלא במי שממית עצמו עלי'.

And although it is taught, "This is the Torah: a person who dies" — that the Torah endures only in one who "puts himself to death" over it.

There is a teaching that Torah is acquired only by one who utterly sacrifices himself for it, seemingly the opposite of "live by them."

אבל באמת כפי מה שממית עצמו עלי' כך התורה מחי' אותו דכתי' תורת ה' תמימה משיבת נפש.

But in truth, to the very extent that one puts himself to death over it, so does the Torah give him life, as it is written, "The Torah of Hashem is perfect, restoring the soul."

The two teachings are not contradictory: the more a person nullifies himself for Torah, the more the Torah returns life to him, "restoring the soul."

וכל הכוחות שאדם ממעט בנפשו בשביל התורה משיבה התורה אליו ונמצא מחליף חיות עובר בחיות קיימת לעד.

And all the powers that a person diminishes in himself for the sake of the Torah, the Torah returns to him; thus he exchanges fleeting vitality for vitality that endures forever.

Whatever life-force a person surrenders for Torah is given back in a higher form — he trades transient, mortal vitality for everlasting life.

וכענין שדרשו חז"ל שיצאה נשמתן של ישראל במתן תורה והחזירה התורה נשמתן הה"ד משיבת נפש ע"ש.

This is like what Chazal expounded, that the souls of Bnei Yisrael departed at the Giving of the Torah, and the Torah restored their souls — this is the meaning of "restoring the soul," see there.

At Sinai the people's souls left them from the intensity of Hashem's word, and the Torah itself revived them — the prototype of how self-nullification for Torah yields renewed life.

וכן הוא בכל העוסקים בתורה.

And so it is with all who occupy themselves with Torah.

This same exchange — surrendering vitality and receiving it back from Torah — happens to everyone who toils in Torah.

ובאמת התורה נק' עץ חיים וכפי העסק בתורה זוכין להתדבק בחיים.

And indeed the Torah is called the Tree of Life (Eitz Chaim), and according to one's engagement in Torah one merits to cleave to life.

Because Torah is the Tree of Life, the depth of one's involvement in it determines how firmly one is bound to true, eternal life.

ובמד' כשושנה בין החוחים כו' ע"ש.

And in the Midrash on "Like a rose among the thorns," see there.

He cites the image of the rose surrounded by thorns, to which he will return below.

ועוד שם ועין נואף שמרה נשף כו' לא תשורנו עין עד שמביא המד' מי שרואה דבר ערוה ואינו זן עיניו ממנה זוכה להקביל פני השכינה כדכתי' ועוצם עיניו מראות ברע מלך ביפיו תחזינה כו' תראנה ארץ מרחקים.

And also there: "The eye of the adulterer waits for twilight… no eye will see me," until the Midrash brings that one who sees something immodest and does not feed his eyes upon it merits to greet the Shechinah, as it is written, "and shuts his eyes from seeing evil… the King in His beauty shall your eyes behold… they shall see a distant land."

The Midrash contrasts the adulterer who craves darkness to sin unseen with the one who shuts his eyes from forbidden sights — and this person is rewarded with a vision of the Shechinah, "the King in His beauty."

ונאמר עוצם עיניו דוקא כשבא לפניו דבר ערוה ועוצם עיניו עי"ז מתגלה לו הארה פנימיות.

And it says "shuts his eyes" specifically: when something immodest comes before him and he shuts his eyes, through this an inner illumination (he'arah penimius) is revealed to him.

The very act of closing one's eyes to forbidden sights opens an inner light — the closing of the physical eye unveils a deeper, spiritual seeing.

וז"ש שמקביל פני השכינה כי באמת מלא כ"ה כבודו.

This is the meaning of "he greets the face of the Shechinah," for in truth the whole earth is full of His glory.

Hashem's glory truly fills all of creation; the one who refuses to look at evil perceives that ever-present Divine presence.

אך הגשם מכסה.

But the physical (gashmius) conceals it.

Materiality is the screen that hides the Shechinah from view; removing one's gaze from it lifts the veil.

וכמו ברשעים ועין נואף שמרה נשף כי באמת הרשעים מסלקים כבוד השכינה כענין שנאמר וימנע מרשעים אורם.

And as with the wicked, "the eye of the adulterer waits for twilight," for in truth the resha'im banish the glory of the Shechinah, as it is said, "and from the wicked their light is withheld."

The opposite case: the wicked, who seek the darkness of "twilight," actively drive away the Divine presence, and so their light is taken from them.

ומשל הרשעים בדירתן.

And the parable of the wicked is in their dwelling.

The wicked are "at home" in darkness — their natural habitation is concealment from Hashem.

במחשך מעשיהם לא תשורנו עין.

"In darkness are their deeds… no eye will see."

They deliberately act in darkness so that no eye, as it were, will perceive them — fleeing the Divine light.

ולהיפוך בצדיקים אור זרוע לצדיק.

And to the contrary, regarding the tzaddikim: "Light is sown for the tzaddik."

The tzaddik is the opposite: for him light is planted and stored, ready to be revealed.

והנה בחי' עץ החיים ועץ הדעת הם קיום כל העולם.

Now, the aspects of the Tree of Life (Eitz HaChaim) and the Tree of Knowledge (Eitz HaDaas) are the sustenance of the entire world.

These two trees represent the two underlying forces that uphold all of existence.

ויש ב' הבחינות בכל מקום.

And both aspects exist in every place.

Everywhere in the world, both the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge — and their mixture — are present.

כי אחר החטא נתערב טו"ר ולכן היא כשושנה בה"ח וצריכין לגבור על הסט"א ולהיות עוצם עיניו ואז מתגלה בחי' עץ החיים.

For after the sin, good and evil (tov v'ra) became intermingled, and therefore she is "like a rose among the thorns," and one must overcome the sitra achra (the other side) and shut his eyes — and then the aspect of the Tree of Life is revealed.

Since Adam's sin mixed good and evil, holiness is now a rose surrounded by thorns; by overpowering the forces of evil and closing one's eyes to them, the hidden Tree of Life shines forth.

וז"ש וחי בהם בכח המצות עשה ול"ת.

This is the meaning of "and live by them" — through the power of the positive and negative commandments (mitzvos asei and lo saaseh).

"Living by them" is achieved through both kinds of mitzvos: the positive ones and the restraint of the prohibitions.

והכל כמ"ש לעיל כפי ביטול חיות הגשמיות וממית [*עצמו] על התורה ומצות.

And it is all as stated above: according to one's nullification of physical vitality, putting himself to death over Torah and mitzvos.

It all returns to the opening principle — the measure of bittul of physical life that one offers for Torah and mitzvos.

כך זוכה אל חיות הפנימיות וחי בהם כנ"ל:

So does he merit the inner vitality (chiyus penimius), "and live by them," as above.

In exact proportion to that self-nullification, a person attains the deeper inner life — the true fulfillment of "and live by them."

Summary: "And live by them" and "one who puts himself to death over Torah" are two sides of one truth: the more a person nullifies his physical vitality for Torah and mitzvos, the more the Torah — the Tree of Life — restores to him an eternal inner life, just as Bnei Yisrael's souls departed and were revived at Sinai. So too with the eyes: one who shuts them to forbidden sights overcomes the sitra achra and reveals the hidden Shechinah and the inner light of the Eitz HaChaim, while the wicked, dwelling in darkness, banish that light.