Upright stature with yiras Shomayim

ואולך אתכם קוממיות פירש"י מת"כ בקומה זקופה.

"And I led you upright (komemiyus)" — Rashi explains, from the Toras Kohanim, "with erect stature."

The Sefas Emes begins with the verse promising that Hashem will lead Bnei Yisrael "upright," which Rashi, citing the Toras Kohanim, understands literally as walking with an erect, upright posture.

אע"פ שאמרו חכמים שאסור לילך בקומה זקופה אך כאשר יהי' התיקון כראוי כמו לעתיד יוכל האדם לקבל מורא שמים אף בקומה זקופה.

Even though the Sages said that it is forbidden to walk with erect stature, nevertheless, when the rectification (tikkun) will be as it ought to be, as in the future to come, a person will be able to receive the awe of Heaven (mora Shomayim) even while walking with erect stature.

This seems to contradict Chazal's ruling that walking with a fully erect, haughty posture is forbidden. The Sefas Emes resolves this: in the perfected world of the future, a person will be able to hold yiras Shomayim within himself even while standing fully upright.

כי הרי כך נברא רק שבעוה"ז מחמת הבלי עולם א"א לקבל היראה רק ע"י כפיפות קומה והכנעה רבה.

For indeed this is how he was created; only that in this world, on account of the vanities of the world, it is impossible to receive the awe [of Heaven] except through a bowed posture and great submission.

Upright stature is in fact man's natural created form. The problem is only in this world: because of its emptiness and distractions, a person cannot internalize yiras Shomayim except by physically bowing and humbling himself, using outward submission to subdue the ego.

וזה עצמו ענין אמרם ז"ל בתו"כ על והתהלכתי בתוככם לא תהיו מזדעזעים כו' יכול לא תיראו כו' אני ה"א כו'.

And this itself is the matter of what they said, of blessed memory, in the Toras Kohanim on "And I will walk among you" — "you shall not tremble, etc."; one might think "you shall not fear, etc." — [therefore the verse says] "I am Hashem your God, etc."

He links this to the Toras Kohanim on the promise "I will walk among you": there, the future intimacy with Hashem means Bnei Yisrael "will not tremble" before Him. Lest one think this means there will be no fear at all, the verse affirms "I am Hashem your God" — the awe remains.

פי' שיוכלו לקבל עומ"ש כמו שהם בלי השתנות ושפלות יתירה כנ"ל.

The explanation is that they will be able to receive the yoke of the Kingdom of Heaven (ol malchus Shomayim) just as they are, without change and without excessive lowliness, as above.

In that future state, Bnei Yisrael will accept the yoke of Heaven exactly as they naturally are — upright and unchanged — without needing the extra self-abasement and bowing that this world requires to make room for the awe.

והיא ההבטחה שיוכלו לילך בקומה זקופה כנ"ל:

And this is the promise — that they will be able to walk with erect stature, as above.

This is precisely the blessing of "I led you upright": a future in which one can stand at full height yet remain entirely filled with the awe and yoke of Heaven.

Summary: Although in this world one must bow and humble oneself to internalize yiras Shomayim — because the world's vanities crowd it out — the future promise of "I led you upright" is that, when the tikkun is complete, a person will hold the full awe and yoke of Heaven even while standing erect, just as he was originally created, without the excessive self-abasement this world demands.