Holding fast to Torah amid concealment

במד' וכי תבואו כו' ונטעתם כו' עץ חיים היא למחזיקים כו' ע"ש.

In the Midrash: "And when you come [into the land]… and you shall plant…" (Vayikra 19:23) — "It is a Tree of Life for those who hold fast to it" (Mishlei 3:18) — see there.

The Midrash links the mitzvah of planting trees (with its years of orlah) to the verse calling the Torah a "Tree of Life for those who hold fast to it." The Sefas Emes will explain what the orlah years teach about holding fast to Torah.

כי למה עשה כן הבורא ית' להיות שני ערלה מקודם.

For why did the Creator arrange it so, that there should first be the years of orlah?

He raises the question: why must a tree's fruit be forbidden as orlah for the first three years before it may be eaten?

אבל כך הי' רצונו ית' להיות עלמא דשקרא והאדם יחזיק עצמו בהתורה ועי"ז הוא ממשיך עליו קדושה עוד יותר.

But such was His will — that there be a "world of falsehood" (alma d'shikra), and that a person hold himself fast to the Torah, and through this he draws upon himself even greater kedushah.

The orlah years mirror the condition of this world, a "world of falsehood" where holiness is not yet apparent. By gripping the Torah even in that state, a person draws down upon himself an added measure of holiness.

וז"ש להוסיף לכם כו'.

And this is the meaning of "to add for you [its produce]" (Vayikra 19:25).

The Torah's promise that the orlah process will "add for you" alludes to this extra kedushah gained by holding fast through the years of concealment.

כי ע"י שני ערלה אם אדם מקיים כתיקנה בא אח"כ לתוספות.

For through the years of orlah, if a person keeps it properly, he afterward comes to the "addition."

Enduring the orlah years faithfully is what brings a person to the later increase — the added holiness is earned precisely through the period of restraint.

ולכן נאמר למחזיקים אף שא"י לקיים כראוי רק להחזיק עצמו בהאמת ע"י התורה.

And therefore it says "for those who hold fast" — even if one is unable to fulfill it as he ought, but only to hold himself fast to the truth through the Torah.

The verse deliberately says "those who hold fast" rather than "those who fulfill." Even a person who cannot keep the Torah perfectly, but simply clings to its truth, is included.

זה חביב ביותר לפניו ית'.

This is exceedingly beloved before Him.

That very act of holding on, despite inability to fully achieve, is especially precious to Hashem.

ובא מזה אח"כ להיות קודש הילולים כו':

And from this one comes afterward to "holy, for praises [to Hashem]" (Vayikra 19:24).

Just as the fourth-year fruit becomes "holy for praising Hashem," so the one who holds fast through the years of concealment ultimately reaches a state of sanctity and praise.

Summary: The years of orlah mirror this "world of falsehood," where holiness is hidden. Hashem arranged it so that a person must hold fast to the Torah through that concealment; this very holding on — even when one cannot fulfill the Torah perfectly — is especially beloved to Hashem and draws down added kedushah, until one reaches the sanctity of "holy, for praises to Hashem."