Inheriting the Avos' rectification

ובמד' וזכרתי כו' בריתי יעקב כו' גפן ממצרים תסיע כו' ע"ש שדורש שנמשלו בנ"י לגפן שנשענין בזכות אבות.

In the Midrash on "And I will remember… My covenant with Yaakov… a vine You moved from Mitzrayim" — see there, for it expounds that Bnei Yisrael are compared to a vine that leans upon the merit of the Avos.

The Sefas Emes opens by noting that Bnei Yisrael are likened to a transplanted vine because they draw their strength from zechus Avos — the merit of the Patriarchs that holds them up.

כי כל עבודת בנ"י להיות נמשכין אחר מעשה האבות כדאיתא חייב אדם לומר מתי יגיעו מעשי למעשי אבותי א"י ויעקב.

For the entire avodah of Bnei Yisrael is to be drawn after the deeds of the Avos, as it is taught: a person is obligated to say, "When will my deeds reach the deeds of my fathers, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov?"

Our task is to attach ourselves to the path the Avos forged, constantly striving to make their conduct the measure of our own.

ואיתא במשנה בעשרה מאמרות נברא העולם אח"ז עשרה נסיונות נתנסה אברהם אח"ז עשרה נסים נעשו לאבותינו במצרים.

And it is taught in the Mishnah: with ten utterances the world was created; afterward Avraham was tested with ten trials; afterward ten miracles were done for our fathers in Mitzrayim.

He lines up three sets of ten — the ten maamaros of creation, the ten nisyonos of Avraham, and the ten miracles in Mitzrayim — to show they correspond to one another.

ובוודאי ע"י עשרה נסיונות של אברהם תיקן כל התערובת טו"ר שהי' בבחי' עשרה מאמרות דכ' ומצאת כו' לבבו נאמן לפניך.

Surely through Avraham's ten trials he rectified the entire admixture of tov v'ra (good and evil) that lay within the ten utterances, as it is written: "And You found… his heart faithful before You."

Avraham's ten tests came to repair the mixture of good and evil embedded in the very fabric of creation, until his heart was found wholly faithful before Hashem.

לבבו היא כמ"ש בכל לבבך ביצ"ט וביצה"ר.

"His heart" is as it is said, "with all your heart" — with the yetzer tov and with the yetzer hara.

The word levavo (with a doubled letter) hints, like "b'chol levavcha," at serving Hashem with both inclinations, the good and the evil alike.

וכדאיתא שלשה לא שלט בהם יצה"ר.

And as it is taught: over three the yetzer hara had no dominion.

The Avos reached a level where the yetzer hara could not rule over them at all.

והקב"ה כרת הברית שיתמשכו בנ"י אחר מעשיהם.

And the Holy One forged the covenant that Bnei Yisrael would be drawn after their deeds.

Hashem sealed a bris guaranteeing that the children would be able to follow in the path the Avos established.

ווה לא הי' בכחם רק בעזרת הש"י ובנסים שעשה לנו במצרים.

And this was not within their own power, but only with the help of Hashem and through the miracles He did for us in Mitzrayim.

This capacity to inherit the Avos' achievement is not earned by our own strength but is a gift made possible through the Exodus miracles.

ומה שתיקנו האבות בעצמם כמ"ש ויעל אברם ממצרים כו'.

And what the Avos themselves rectified, as it is written, "And Avram went up from Mitzrayim…"

Avraham himself had already begun the work of refinement in Mitzrayim, foreshadowing what his descendants would complete.

וזה קיים הקב"ה בנו ביד חזקה ובנפלאות.

And this the Holy One fulfilled in us with a mighty hand and with wonders.

What Avraham began, Hashem brought to fruition in his children through the open miracles of the redemption.

כמ"ש גפן ממצרים תסיע וכ"כ אני ה"א אשר הוצאתי אמא"מ כו' ואשבור מוטות עולכם.

As it is written, "A vine You moved from Mitzrayim," and so too, "I am Hashem your God who brought you out from the land of Mitzrayim… and I broke the bars of your yoke."

The redemption transplanted Bnei Yisrael like a vine and shattered the bonds that enslaved them, freeing them for their true avodah.

פי' א"כ אתם מוכנים לתקן הכל ולהמשך אחר מעשי אבות.

The meaning is: if so, you are now prepared to rectify everything and to be drawn after the deeds of the Avos.

Having been freed, Bnei Yisrael are now positioned to complete the work of refinement and to walk in the Avos' path.

וכתי' פנית לפני'.

And it is written, "You cleared the way before it."

Hashem prepared and cleared the ground before the transplanted vine, readying everything for its growth.

כמ"ש אנכי כו' המעלך מא"מ הרחב פיך שהכל מוכן לפנינו רק להיות לנו פה לאכול והכל בכח התורה.

As it is said, "I am Hashem… who brought you up from the land of Mitzrayim; open wide your mouth" — for everything is prepared before us, needing only that we have a mouth to eat, and all of it is through the power of the Torah.

All the good is already set before us; we need only "open our mouth" to receive it — and the means to draw it in is Torah.

וכמ"ש לעיל כי דרך התורה הוא להיות נענשים בעוה"ז.

And as was said above, the way of the Torah is that one is chastised in this world (olam hazeh).

The path of Torah brings any reckoning into this world rather than the next.

ולעומת זה גם השכר יכולין למצוא בעוה"ז מעין עוה"ב בכח התורה.

And correspondingly, the reward too can be found in this world, a foretaste of the World to Come (olam haba), through the power of the Torah.

Just as Torah brings consequence into this world, it also lets us taste here a measure of the reward of olam haba.

וזהו שכ' ונתתי שלום בארץ ורמזו חז"ל באמרם שמא תאמר הרי מאכל ומשתה אם אין שלום אין כלום לכך כ' ונתתי שלום.

This is the meaning of "And I will give shalom in the land," which Chazal hinted at when they said: lest you say, "here is food and drink" — if there is no shalom, there is nothing; therefore it is written, "And I will give shalom."

Material blessing alone is empty without shalom; the verse promises peace as the vessel that makes all other blessings worthwhile.

פי' כי א"א לקבל הנחה בעוה"ז בלא חסרון כמ"ש ושבעת השמרו לכם.

The meaning is: one cannot receive satisfaction in this world without some deficiency, as it is written, "And you shall be satisfied… guard yourselves."

Ordinarily, worldly pleasure carries a flaw — satiety brings the danger of forgetting Hashem, so the Torah warns to beware.

אבל בכח התורה לקבל בשלימות גם הנאת עוה"ז.

But through the power of the Torah one can receive even the pleasures of this world in completeness.

Torah enables a person to enjoy this world wholesomely, without the deficiency that usually accompanies physical pleasure.

ומעין זה בשבת שהוא מעין עוה"ב והיא פריסת סוכת שלום וזה דרך אבות הראשונים שנאמ' בהם בכל מכל כל שתיקנו כל היצה"ר וכל עניני עוה"ז כמ"ש ומצאת כו' לבבו נאמן.

A taste of this is found on Shabbos, which is a foretaste of olam haba and is "the spreading of the sukkah of shalom"; and this was the way of the early Avos, of whom it is said "with all / from all / all" — that they rectified the entire yetzer hara and all matters of this world, as it is written, "And You found… his heart faithful."

Shabbos and the Avos share this completeness: as Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov were each blessed with "all," they wholly rectified the yetzer hara and every worldly thing, drawing even physicality into kedushah.

וע"ז כתיב לבבתני אחותי כלה כו' באחד ענק מצורניך דרשו על אברהם אע"ה.

Concerning this it is written, "You have captured my heart, my sister, my bride… with one of the beads of your necklace," which they expounded as referring to Avraham Avinu.

The verse from Shir HaShirim, read as a praise of Avraham, expresses how the tzaddik "captures the heart," as it were, of Hashem Himself.

ויש להפליא בפי' לבבתני הרי אמרו חז"ל כי למלאכים רק לב א'.

And one may wonder at the word "libavtini" ("you have made me a heart"), for Chazal said that the angels have only one heart.

The doubled form "libavtini" implies two hearts, yet angels are said to possess only a single heart — so how can this praise apply?

אבל גדלה מעלת הצדיקים שיכולין לתקן יותר ממלאכי עליון והוא תיקון עה"ד טוב ורע.

But the greatness of the tzaddikim is that they can rectify more than the highest angels — namely, the rectification of the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil.

Precisely because a tzaddik has two inclinations, he can refine the mixture of good and evil that angels never face, achieving a tikkun beyond the angels' reach.

וזה לנ"ר לפניו ית"ש ביותר וז"ש לבבתני והבן:

And this is an exceedingly great satisfaction (nachas ruach) before Him, may He be blessed; and this is the meaning of "libavtini" — understand this.

The tzaddik's repair of good and evil through both hearts gives Hashem a unique pleasure, which is the deeper sense of "You have captured My heart."

Summary: Bnei Yisrael are the transplanted vine that leans on zechus Avos, empowered by the ten miracles of Mitzrayim to inherit the Avos' rectification of the good-and-evil mixture woven into creation. Through the power of Torah — and its image in Shabbos, the sukkah of shalom — even this-worldly pleasure can be received whole, and the tzaddik, possessing two inclinations, accomplishes a tikkun of the Tree of Knowledge that even the angels cannot, giving Hashem unmatched nachas ruach.