Reasoning as a path to bittul beyond reason

במד' חשבתי דרכי כו'.

In the Midrash: "I considered my ways…" (Tehillim 119:59).

The Sefas Emes opens with David HaMelech's words about reflecting on his ways, which the Midrash expounds.

בכל יום הייתי מחשב למקום פלוני אני הולך והיו רגלי מביאות אותי לבתי כנסיות.

"Each day I would plan, 'I am going to such-and-such a place,' and my feet would bring me to the batei knesios (synagogues)."

The Midrash relates that David would set out toward some destination, yet his feet would carry him instead to the houses of Torah and tefillah.

ובמ"ד כו' דקשה לשון בחקותי תלכו כי חוקה בלי טעם.

And in the Midrash… for the expression "Bechukosai teileichu" (If you walk in My statutes) is difficult, since a "chukah" is without a reason.

The difficulty: a chok is a decree beyond rational explanation, so why does the verse speak of "walking" in it?

והליכה שייך בדבר שמשיגין טעמו.

And "walking" applies to something whose reason one grasps.

"Walking" implies progress toward something understood, which seems incompatible with a reasonless decree.

אבל הענין הוא דכל מחשבות ועצות האדם ע"י התבוננות הדעת ועומק הסתכלות השכל בתורה הכל רק עצה כדי לזכות אח"כ לביטול הדעת אל רצון הבורא ית' בלי טעם.

But the matter is that all of a person's thoughts and counsels — through the contemplation of the mind and the deep insight of the intellect into the Torah — are all only a means in order to merit afterward the nullification of the intellect to the will of the Creator, may He be blessed, without a reason.

All our reasoning and study are ultimately just a "strategy": their goal is to bring us to bittul hadaas, surrendering our own understanding to Hashem's will even where no reason is given.

רק שהטעמים מביאין לאדם לבא אל האמת ולראות כי לעשות רצונו.

Only that the reasons bring a person to arrive at the truth and to see that to do His will —

The rational "reasons" of Torah serve to lead a person to the truth and to recognize that doing Hashem's will,

ית' הוא טוב יותר מכל הטעמים שבעולם.

may He be blessed — is better than all the reasons in the world.

fulfilling ratzon Hashem purely because it is His will, is greater than any rationale the mind could supply.

וז"ש חשבתי דרכי וכ"ז הי' עצה אל ואשיבה כו' אל עדותיך.

And this is the meaning of "I considered my ways" — and all of this was a means toward "and I returned… to Your testimonies."

David's deliberations ("I considered my ways") were all really a means to the end of "I returned my feet to Your testimonies" — turning back to Hashem's mitzvos.

אף שהייתי מחשב ואומר למקום פלוני כו' בענינים פרטים הסוף בא ע"י שהיו רגלי מביאות לבתי כנסיות כו'.

Even though I would plan and say "to such-and-such a place" regarding particular matters, the end came about through my feet bringing me to the batei knesios.

However much David's mind planned its own particular destinations, the true outcome was that his "feet" — something deeper than calculation — drew him to the houses of Hashem.

שהוא כח הכלל שיש בכנס"י מצד בחירת הש"י שבחר בנו וקדשנו במצותיו כנ"ל.

Which is the collective power that exists in Knesses Yisrael, by virtue of Hashem's choice — that He chose us and sanctified us with His mitzvos, as above.

That deeper pull is the collective force within Knesses Yisrael, rooted in Hashem's having chosen and sanctified us, which draws every Jew toward Him beyond his own reckoning.

וז"ש בחקותי תלכו שיהי' סוף רצון ההילוך כדי לבוא לבחי' החוקות כנ"ל.

And this is "Bechukosai teileichu" — that the ultimate aim of the desire to "walk" should be to arrive at the aspect of the chukos, as above.

"Walk in My statutes" means that all our reasoned "walking" should aim to bring us to the level of the chok — pure submission to Hashem's will beyond reason.

ושכר ע"ז ונתתי גשמיכם כו' שהם ברכות בעוה"ז.

And the reward for this is "And I will give your rains…" (Vayikra 26:4), which are blessings in this world.

The reward promised for "Bechukosai teileichu" is material blessing — rains in their time — here in this world.

פי' שע"י שאדם מבטל השכל אל רצון הבורא ית'. עי"ז.

The meaning is that through a person nullifying his intellect to the will of the Creator, may He be blessed — through this —

Because a person subordinates his mind to Hashem's will,

השכר שגם הטבע והגשמיות תוכל לקבל הארה משפע עליונה.

the reward is that even nature and physicality can receive illumination from the supernal abundance.

the reward fittingly mirrors the act: just as he draws his physical mind up to Hashem, so even nature and the physical world become able to receive Divine shefa (abundance) from Above.

[וזה יש לפרש בטל רצונך כו' כדי שיבטל רצון אחרים מפני רצונך. שהוא רצונות של סט"א המתנגדים לעובדי ה'].

[And this may be the explanation of "Nullify your will… so that He will nullify the will of others before your will" — which refers to the desires of the sitra achra (the other side) that oppose those who serve Hashem.]

The Sefas Emes adds a bracketed reading of Avos: when one nullifies his own will to Hashem, Hashem in turn nullifies the opposing forces of the sitra achra that obstruct the avodah of those who serve Him.

כי שכר עולם הבא ידוע רק זה שכר יותר טוב מה שנוכל לתקן גם עניני עולם הזה והטבע.

For the reward of the World to Come is known; but this is an even better reward — that we are able to rectify even the matters of this world and of nature.

While reward in Olam Haba is a given, there is a greater achievement: being able to elevate and rectify even this physical world and nature itself.

ומזה הוציאו חכמינו ז"ל שיפה שעה אחת בעולם הזה בתשובה ומעשים טובים מכל חיי עולם הבא.

And from this our Chachamim derived that "one hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world is better than all the life of the World to Come" (Avos 4:17).

This is the source of Chazal's teaching that a single hour of teshuvah and mitzvos in this world surpasses the entire World to Come — because here one can actually rectify the physical realm.

כענין אמרם ז"ל שכר מצוה מצוה:

Like the matter of their saying, "the reward of a mitzvah is a mitzvah" (Avos 4:2).

The act of mitzvah in this world is itself the reward, for it brings Divine light into the physical — a worth that even Olam Haba cannot match.

Summary: A "chukah" seems incompatible with "walking," but the resolution is that all of our reasoning and Torah study are ultimately a means to reach bittul hadaas — surrendering the intellect to Hashem's will beyond reason. Like David, whose feet drew him to the batei knesios despite his own plans, the deeper pull of Knesses Yisrael draws us to Hashem. The reward for this bittul fittingly mirrors it: just as one elevates his mind to Hashem, even nature and the physical world become able to receive supernal light — which is why an hour of teshuvah and good deeds in this world surpasses all of Olam Haba.