Serving Hashem for His will alone

במשנה פ"ק דאבות אל תהיו כעבדים המשמשים כו' ע"מ לקבל פרס כו'.

In the Mishnah, the first chapter of Avos: "Do not be like servants who serve… in order to receive a reward…"

The Sefas Emes cites Antigonos' teaching (Avos 1:3) warning against serving Hashem for the sake of reward, and he will probe its precise wording.

הול"ל אל תשמשו ע"מ לקבל פרס.

It should have said, "Do not serve in order to receive a reward."

He raises a grammatical difficulty: the Mishnah could simply have forbidden serving for reward; why instead phrase it as "do not be like servants," speaking of one's very identity?

אך המכוון להיות כל מגמת האדם תמיד לעשות רצון בוראו.

Rather, the intent is that a person's entire aim should always be to do the ratzon (will) of his Creator.

The Mishnah is not merely banning one motive; it is defining the whole orientation of a Jew's life — that his constant goal be to carry out ratzon Hashem.

ויהי מורא שמים עליכם כי באמת יש בכל איש ישראל יראת ה' אך שצריך עבודה לקרב הלב להאמת ואל יתהלך בחשיכה.

"And let the fear of Heaven be upon you" — for in truth there is in every Jew a yiras Hashem, but it requires avodah to draw the heart close to the truth, lest one walk in darkness.

Yiras Shomayim is already present, latent, in every Jew; the work of avodah is not to manufacture it but to uncover it and bring the heart near to the truth so that one does not stumble in spiritual darkness.

וכשיתעורר לב האדם תמיד בהפקת רצון ה' יפול עליו ממילא יראת ה'.

And when a person's heart is constantly aroused to carry out the ratzon Hashem, the fear of Hashem falls upon him of itself.

One does not chase yirah directly; rather, by single-mindedly seeking to fulfill Hashem's will, yiras Shomayim descends upon a person on its own.

וכן נפרש הפ' זה הדבר אשר צוה ה' תעשו כלומר להיות הרצון רק לעשות רצונו ית' כאשר צוה.

And so we may explain the verse "This is the thing that Hashem commanded you shall do" — meaning that one's will should be solely to carry out His will as He commanded.

He applies this to the parsha's verse: "do" what Hashem commanded means to make His ratzon your only ratzon, performing the mitzvah purely because He commanded it.

ועי"ז וירא אליכם כבוד ה'. שיתגלה השראת השכינה בלב האדם כנ"ל:

And through this, "the glory of Hashem will appear to you" — that the resting of the Shechinah will be revealed within the heart of the person, as above.

The reward for this selfless will is the verse's promise: the kavod Hashem appears, meaning the Shechinah comes to rest and be revealed within the person's own heart.

Summary: The Mishnah's "do not be like servants who serve for reward" defines the Jew's entire orientation: his constant aim must be to do ratzon Hashem for its own sake. Latent yiras Shomayim already lies in every Jew, and by single-mindedly pursuing Hashem's will it is awakened of itself — until "the glory of Hashem appears," the Shechinah resting within the heart.