NON-EXISTENT FRUIT
A general rule governs the laws of transactions: “A person cannot convey ownership of something that does not yet exist.” Therefore, the halachah states that “when a person sells the fruits of a date palm to a colleague (before the fruits have started growing), the seller may back out even after the fruits of the date palm come into existence.” Only if he “conveys... the property for its fruit” (“for instance... {he conveys rights to} the tree for its fruit”) do we say that “this is not considered to be conveying ownership of something that does not yet exist. For the article itself exists, and the person is conveying ownership (of the property {but only}) for the fruit it produces.”
Rambam writes:
The laws applying to transactions involving property consecrated to the Temple, the poor, and vows are unlike those involving ordinary people. If a person says: “All the offspring of my animal will be consecrated...” or “...will be given to charity,” although the offspring does not become consecrated — because it does not yet exist — the person making the statement is obligated to keep his word, as it states: “He shall act in accordance with everything that emerges from his mouth.”
In other words, although he cannot consecrate an object that “does not yet exist,” the person must “keep his word” {not because the object has been consecrated, but because} he has taken a vow.
[Rambam then continues:
Since this is so, if a person on his deathbed says: ‘Whatever fruit this tree produces should be donated to the poor’... the poor acquire this fruit. Some Geonim disagree. They hold that poor people acquire things no differently than ordinary people. Therefore, the poor, too, cannot acquire something that does not yet exist. For my part, I am inclined to disagree with the opinion of the Geonim. I reason that although a person is not obligated to transfer property, he is obligated to keep his word — whether to give charity or to consecrate property — since he is commanded to fulfill his vows.”]
As discussed on many occasions, every Torah halachah comprises not only its literal meaning, but also a “Torah” — a lesson for our divine service. As Rambam says, the Torah laws contain “advice” on "improving a person’s character.” “Most Torah’s laws are essentially guidance... to edify a person’s character and correct his conduct.”
The same is true in this context: The aforementioned halachic details concerning transactions apply to a person’s divine service: (a) the distinction between “when a person sells the fruits of a date palm” or “a tree for its fruit”; (b) the distinction Rambam makes between “the laws applying to transactions... involving ordinary people” (where “a person is not commanded to transfer ownership of property”); and “the laws applying to property consecrated to the Temple, the poor” (where the person is “commanded to fulfill his pledges,” and must therefore keep his word, even regarding the transfer of items that do not yet exist).
FRUITS OR PROPERTY
The overarching theme of divine service is to make a “transaction.” The Jew “conveys” himself and all his possessions to Hashem, and in a manner that (it becomes clear that) he and all his property belong to and are owned by Hashem. He accomplishes this by behaving consistently (in action, speech, and thought) as Hashem desires.
[We can posit that this is what our Sages were hinting at when they specifically said, “I was created to serve my Owner” and not “my Creator.” This is because by “serving” Hashem, he carries out and reveals how Hashem is “his Owner”; The fact that we are Hashem’s “possession” will only fully manifest in the times of Mashiach, as described in the prophecies that depict the final redemption: “On that day Hashem will again... to acquire the remnant of His people....” Similarly, it says concerning the days of our exodus from Egypt: “This people that You have acquired.”]
In this “transaction,” a Jew gives himself to Hashem. This is done in two ways (on two levels): The conveyance of his “property” or the conveyance of {just} his “fruits.”
The difference between “property” and “fruits” as these terms apply to a person is as follows: “Property” refers to the person’s body and soul, as well as their faculties. (This includes the power of the intellect and the heart’s emotions; and all of the person’s abilities — including his ability to think, speak, and act.) “Fruits” refers to the actions performed with the person’s limbs or “soul garments,” viz., his thoughts, speech, and actions (as our Sages teach: “The fruits of the righteous are mitzvos and good deeds”). These actions “grow” from the person’s intellect, emotion, and abilities.
With this in mind, we can now explain the difference between “conveyance of fruits” and “conveyance of property” in a person’s divine service:
The “conveyance of the fruits” means that a Jew “conveys” all his thoughts, speech, and actions to Hashem. These are the “fruits” of his soul, its abilities, and its “garments.” He guards himself on all fronts, ensuring his thoughts, speech, and actions are as Hashem desires. This is the level of a “beinoni,” as the Alter Rebbe describes: “The beinoni has never committed any transgression, nor will he ever transgress. The term ‘wicked’ has never been applied to him, even temporarily, not even for a moment, throughout his life.”
However, this person’s “property,” {his “capital asset”} the intellect, emotions, and faculties themselves, are not “conveyed” to Hashem. His mind and heart are never freed from potentially producing negative thoughts, feelings, or desires (which first surface in the heart, then move to the mind). Instead, the person can control his evil inclination, preventing any negative emotions or desires from coming to fruition and actually influencing the way he thinks, speaks, and acts.
The “conveyance of the property” symbolizes the divine service of a tzaddik. He also “conveys” his intellect and emotions to Hashem, accomplishing this by nullifying the essence of the evil inclination, all negative facets of his intellect and emotions within his heart, and the essence of any negative aspect within his faculties. This elevates him to a state where he only desires good and holy things. Since he “transfers” the “property” (of his intellect, emotions, and so on) to Hashem, his “fruits” (his thoughts, speech, and actions) are automatically transferred to Hashem as well. He does not need to fight the urge to do something (in action, speech, or thought) against Hashem’s wishes, since his will and desire for such things have been completely eradicated from his heart.
This explanation also helps us understand why a tzaddik is referred to as a “servant of Hashem.” Servitude entails “conveyance of the property” or “body,” where the master acquires the servant’s physical body. As a result, {since the very body of the servant belongs to the master} “whatever a servant acquires is acquired by his master.” The same is true of the divine service of a tzaddik who conveys his essence and being (“his body”) to Hashem. {Namely, all material things and activities of the tzaddik are automatically conveyed to Hashem, and therefore are divine in nature.}
FUTURE ACTIONS
In light of this explanation, we can now understand the principle of “a person cannot convey ownership over something that does not yet exist” (such as “fruits of a date palm”) in the context of our divine service:
A Jew on the level of “conveyance of fruits,” who has not yet reached the level of the “conveyance of property,” his body, can only “convey” his thoughts, speech, and actions to Hashem (but not his “body,” the intellect and emotions of his heart and so on). He must understand (that even after vanquishing his evil inclination) he only has control of the actions, speech, and thoughts with which he is currently occupied. However, he cannot convey “something that does not yet exist”:
When he resolves to perform some good deed in the future, he has not yet made a “conveyance.” There is no guarantee that his future conduct will align with Hashem's Will. (Thus, the person is still in a position where “he may retract.”)
This is because his “property” has not been conveyed to Hashem, and “the essence and core of evil is in its full strength... not having vanished or departed from him at all.” Therefore, he must constantly struggle anew with the evil inclination of both mind and heart to prevent the desires and will of the evil inclination from manifesting in his thoughts, speech, and actions. This leaves the door open for the possibility that, G-d forbid, his evil inclination might overpower and prevent him from bringing his good resolution to fruition.
THE MIDDLE PATH
Nevertheless, a path exists even for someone who does not yet possess the strength to convey his “property” (to completely overhaul and transfer the emotions of his heart and desires of his mind to Hashem) to “convey” “fruits” that do not yet exist. This can be accomplished through “conveys... the property for its fruit... for instance... a tree for its fruit.” (Meaning, although he cannot fully convey ownership of his “property” {his whole body} to Hashem, he can still convey “the property [only in relationship] for its fruit”).
The explanation:
A beinoni’s divine service is not just restricted to controlling “the soul’s garments”: fighting with and suppressing every illicit craving or desire that arises from his heart or mind, ensuring that it does not push its way into his thoughts, speech, or actions. But additionally, his divine service also {focuses on and} impacts {the source of his thoughts and speech, viz.,} his emotions and intellect. He forcefully suppresses the evil in his heart and mind (to the extent that going forward, his efforts also make an imprint [at any rate] on them into the future).
And as the Alter Rebbe explains, during prayer, the beinoni arouses and reveals his love for Hashem. This, in turn, tranquilizes the harmful elements within his heart, rendering them “like a sleeping person.” (And the love he experiences during his prayer leaves an impression, giving him the strength and confidence “to prevail over and dominate the evil {animal soul’s} craving”).
This is only strengthened by the fact that the love the beinoni feels during prayer is an authentic experience, which “(the language of truth) will be established forever.” And he can arouse this love for Hashem (and thereby “yank” the evil out of his heart) “during prayer, day after day.” It follows that the beinoni has (at least a limited measure of) control over the “being and essence” (the emotions, and so on) of the evil inclination.
This further explains the Alter Rebbe’s description of a beinoni: "he has never committed any transgression, nor will he ever transgress”: Based on the present state, the beinoni is confident that he will never transgress. He is certain that even in the future, he will undoubtedly be able to control his evil inclination and not sin.
He is confident because a beinoni also has control of the emotions and other elements of his evil inclination. He merely lacks the control over his emotions themselves, and only has control of the influence (“fruits”) of his emotions on his thoughts, speech, and actions.
This is how the principle “conveys... the property for its fruit” applies to our divine service:
Even if someone is not in a position to transform the essence of his emotions or other elements of his heart (and thereby entirely uproot all harmful desires and the like), he still has the power to at least influence (by force) the effect of his emotions (“the property for its fruit”). Then, even “his fruits” (thoughts, speech, and actions) that do not yet exist are transferred to Hashem. In his state, it can be stated, “nor will he ever transgress.”
DIVINE EMISSARIES
In other words, this means as follows:
True, not every Jew can be a “servant of Hashem,” with his body {and its faculties} given over to Hashem. Nevertheless, every Jew is an agent of Hashem. Being an agent, he can fulfill the purpose of Creation and transform this lowly realm into a dwelling place for Hashem. He has this ability because “the agent of a person” — the Supernal Being — “is like the person himself.” The agent is “literally like the Dispatcher.”
As discussed on many occasions, the most significant level of shlichus is not expressed when the agent’s actions or even his power of action are attributed to the dispatcher. Instead, the ultimate state of shlichus is expressed when the entire identity of the agent is “literally like the dispatcher” (by extension, his actions are also considered like the dispatcher’s).
[Nevertheless, this cannot be compared to a servant with no independent existence and whose entire self belongs to the master. Shlichus, even in its most ideal form — when the shliach himself (and not just his actions or power of action) is “literally like the dispatcher” — is only a transferral within the scope of the shliach’s mission (like “the property for its fruit”). However, this agency does not permeate every facet of his persona.]
Thus, every Jew has the power to give his entire self to Hashem, to be Hashem’s messenger and actualize the purpose of Creation. And through this general “transferral” (at least of “the property for its fruit”), all of his actions (and speech and thoughts) are automatically “conveyed” to Hashem, in line with the Will of the Dispatcher.
THE POWER OF THE SOUL
In addition to this ruling, Rambam introduces a novelty: “The laws applying to transactions involving property consecrated to the Temple... are unlike those involving ordinary people. If a person says: ‘All the offspring of my animal will be consecrated’... he is obligated to keep his word.” In our divine service, this idea applies as follows:
When a person is on a spiritual level where he cannot transfer “the property for its fruits,” he has no control over the “property” of his emotions (even only in the context of “its fruits”). It would therefore seem impossible for him to effectuate a “transfer” of “his fruits” (his actions) that do not yet exist to Hashem. (Therefore, every positive action he undertakes, to act as his Owner desires, brings a fresh struggle with his evil inclination.)
Yet, this is only true of an ordinary person’s transactions, concerning his neutral possessions, which “a person is not commanded to transfer ownership of property {to Hashem, to the Temple}.” However, matters are different regarding “the laws... involving property consecrated to the Temple,” holy things, like favorable resolutions concerning the study of Torah and the performance of mitzvos. (Concerning these matters, the person is “commanded to fulfill his pledges.”) It may be true that his resolution cannot effect a “transfer” {total ownership} of the object (that is outside of the person's purview). Nevertheless, his resolution obligates him (and elicits assistance and empowerment from Above) to keep his word.
The explanation:
The neutral elements in a person’s life are associated predominantly with nature, the nature of his body, and his animal soul. His animal soul is the part of him that desires these things for continued existence and life. But, the G-dly soul can influence the person to engage in these ordinary activities “for the sake of Heaven.” Nonetheless, these actions remain “your deeds” (the person’s), his neutral affairs (activities associated with the body).
On the other hand, Torah and mitzvos are intrinsically soul activities. The animal soul merely tries to prevent the person from performing the mitzvah. The mitzvah’s eventual performance happens when the person’s Divine soul coerces his evil inclination. The soul “weakens the inclination,” so that it (the soul) is at liberty to perform the mitzvah.
This explains the difference between the transactions of “ordinary people” and “consecrated property”:
When a Jew makes a good resolution concerning the neutral parts of his life (“an ordinary person’s transaction”), no actual obligation or “commitment” is established. This is because these activities are predominantly associated with the body and animal soul, and the person doesn’t yet have control over the “property” belonging to their evil inclination. Thus, the Jew cannot obligate himself to something beyond his control.
However, matters of holiness, i.e., Torah and mitzvos, are under the soul's domain (and we must only work to prevent the evil inclination from stopping these actions). Therefore, the good resolution that the soul makes brings him an obligation and requirement to fulfill them.
He cannot make an actual “transfer” (in the world of action) because his evil inclination can interfere with his ability to perform the deed; thereby removing the certainty of actually fulfilling his resolution.
However, when it comes to the soul, since it is predisposed and naturally inclined to follow through and perform these actions (since they are its actions and “belong to it and are under its ownership”) the obligation and responsibility falls upon it to fulfill its words (although they do not exist in the world and are outside of the soul).
