Sefat Emet, Genesis, Vayishlach 10:3

בפסוק ויבא יעקב שלם כו’ ויחן את פני העיר. כמ”ש מקודם ויצא יעקב פנה הודה זיוה. כן עתה חזר החן על ארץ ישראל בביאת יעקב הצדיק. ובמדרש בשש צרות יצילך ובשבע לא יגע בך רע. כי ששת ימי המעשה הכנה לשבת ונקראים ימי עבודה שצריך אדם לעבוד בהם הן בגשמיות וברוחניות עבודה שבלב הכל הכנה לשבת להיות נכנס לקבל השבת במנוחה וכמו כן ימי עוה”ז הכנה לעוה”ב. וכמו כן יציאת אבינו לחו”ל הי’ הכנה לחזור לא”י במנוחה. וע”ז כתיב ויחן את פני העיר כמ”ש במדרש שמרמז לשבת. ובאמת ע”י שאבותינו חיבבו ארץ ישראל שהיא בחי’ השבת כמ”ש ארץ מגוריהם כו’. לכן הנחילנו הבורא ית’ את השבת וכ’ ושמרו כו’ שצריכין להכניס עצמו בעול העבודה כדי שיתקיים ובשבע לא יגע בך רע כנ”ל:

In the verse, “And Jacob came whole… and he encamped before the city.” As stated earlier, “And Jacob went out — his splendor, his radiance, his beauty departed.” So now, the grace returned to the Land of Israel with the arrival of the righteous Jacob. And in the Midrash it says: “In six troubles He will save you, and in seven no harm will touch you.” For the six weekdays are a preparation for the Sabbath and are called days of labor, in which a person must work both in the physical and in the spiritual — the service of the heart — all of it preparation for the Sabbath, to enter and receive the Sabbath in rest. And likewise, the days of this world are a preparation for the World to Come. And similarly, the departure of our father to outside the Land was a preparation for returning to the Land of Israel in rest. And concerning this it is written, “And he encamped before the city,” as the Midrash teaches, that it hints to the Sabbath. And indeed, because our ancestors cherished the Land of Israel — which is of the quality of the Sabbath, as it is written, “the land of their sojourning…” — therefore the Blessed Creator granted us the Sabbath, and wrote, “And they shall guard…,” teaching that one must enter into the yoke of labor so that it may endure, and that “in seven no harm will touch you,” as above.

The Sefat Emet draws a parallel between Jacob’s journeys and the cosmic rhythm of weekdays and Sabbath. Jacob’s exile and return mirror the soul’s labor and rest. The patriarchs’ love for the Land of Israel, which embodies the sanctity of Sabbath, becomes the spiritual root for the gift of Shabbat to their descendants. True rest comes only through preparation and wholehearted service, which shields a person from harm in the “seventh,” the day of holiness.

Summary: Jacob’s return restores holiness to the Land, just as Sabbath restores holiness after the week. Exile and return, labor and rest, this world and the next — all share the same pattern of preparation leading to sanctity.