Chiddushei HaRim

In the midrash: "'The Lord knows the days of the temimim (the wholehearted)' etc. — just as they are temimim, so too are their years temimim," etc. "For the tzaddik (righteous one) is the yesod olam (foundation of the world)" — meaning that he draws down the nachal (stream) that flows into the aspect of olam (world), which is holiness as it is hidden within nature, as my revered teacher, my grandfather, explained — may his merit shield us — that this is why it is called olam. And you find that the tzaddik, through his knowledge that the essential vitality from Hashem (the Name — G-d) is hidden within nature, as it is written, "Ohr zarua latzaddik" ("Light is sown for the tzaddik"), means that to the tzaddik the hidden holiness is revealed, as stated above. And through this he connects and binds the whole of the olam (world) to the Holy One, blessed be He.

This is what is meant by "the Lord knows the days of the tamimim (those who are whole/perfect)" — that they bind the days to be joined and cleaved to the Holy One, blessed be He, and this cleaving is called by the name "knowledge" (yedi'ah), as it is written, "In all your ways, know Him" (da'ehu), in the sense of attachment, as in "and the man knew (yada) Chavah," as stated in the Zohar HaKadosh (Holy Zohar). "And their inheritance (nachalatam) shall be forever" — this is as explained above, that one draws forth the nachal (stream/flow) that comes through the mochin de-nukva (feminine consciousness; here, awakenings from below) that the tzaddikim (righteous ones) arouse, and therefore it is called "their inheritance," and they draw it into the aspect of "forever," as above.

And the meaning of tamim is "without blemish," and this is the aspect of the tzaddik who guards the brit (covenant) — for the brit encompasses all the mitzvot (commandments), and its gematria (numerical value) is 613, together with the mitzvah of milah (circumcision), which is the brit itself.

And it was not said of Avraham that he was tamim until he was circumcised. This is because a person is not clean in his guarding of the brit as long as he has a limb that is not rectified — "and from my flesh I shall envision God" — just as it is impossible for the union (zivug) to take place until all the limbs and sinews of the person are aroused.

And this serves as a parable to understand that it is impossible to be cleaved to Hashem Yitbarach (G-d, may He be blessed) in the aspect of the tzaddik, to produce offspring that draw forth life and shefa (abundance) to the worlds, until the entire person is actually rectified, to be cleaved to Hashem Yitbarach to the point that he is called tamim, without blemish.

There is another interpretation regarding the quality of tamim (whole, perfect): the portion of G-d from above that is within a person—namely, the neshamah (soul)—and the tzaddik (righteous person) must align his portion below, in holiness, to be a preparation for receiving the neshamah, the portion of the Divine from above, and then he is called tamim. This is what Chazal (our Sages of blessed memory) meant by "Avraham, Avraham"; "Moshe, Moshe"—that just as he is above, so is he below.

It is known that the Torah is above time, for time is included in the creation of the world and nature. If so, when time is mentioned in the Torah, this teaches that within all of nature there is life-force from HaShem through the Torah, and within time itself there is also that which is above time. Just as a tzaddik (righteous person) who is whole in his deeds has his entire body and all his actions bound and attached to the inner point of holy life-force, to the point that he is "whole," as above—so too the years of the tzaddik are whole and attached to their root, to the point that even time itself is attached to and nullified before the level that is above time, which is hidden within time. Then time is called "whole," for the time below is not separate or changed from the source of life-force of time, where, in its root, it is light that is above time, as above.

And regarding this it is said, "The Lord knows the days of the wholehearted," for their days stand before Him, may He be blessed. And regarding this it is said in the Zohar HaKadosh (Holy Zohar), "coming [on] in days" — that the tzaddik (righteous person) comes with his days before the Holy One, blessed be He. See there. And look in the Zohar HaKadosh and you will see the entire matter mentioned above explained there. And the explanation of "and the life of Sarah was a hundred and twenty-seven years" is that for a hundred and twenty-seven years there was vitality in the worlds from Sarah, for she drew down the vitality for this time, as it is written, "The Lord knows..." and "their inheritance..." And they are called "the years of the life of Sarah," for the years are her vitality.