Shabbos Foretaste Of Olam Haba
בפסוק מה טובו אהליך יעקב משכנותיך ישראל
Regarding the pasuk, "How goodly are your tents, O Yaakov, your dwelling-places, O Yisrael" (Bamidbar 24:5).
The Sfas Emes opens with Bilam's blessing praising Yaakov's tents and Yisrael's dwelling-places, and reads the two terms as pointing to two distinct realms.
הם בחי' ימי המעשה והשבת
These are the aspects of the weekday days of labor and of Shabbos.
He identifies the pair of "tents" and "dwelling-places" with the weekdays of toil and with Shabbos.
יעקב הוא בימי המעשה שצריכין להלחם בעקבה ומרמה
Yaakov refers to the weekday days of labor, when one must do battle against deceit and trickery.
The name Yaakov corresponds to the workweek, a time of struggle against the world's deceit and crookedness — fitting, since the name Yaakov itself evokes the heel and indirect striving.
ושבת יום המנוחה
And Shabbos is the day of rest.
Shabbos, by contrast, is the day of menuchah, of rest from that struggle.
ואמת כי אהליך הוא בעוה"ז ונדבק בשורש
And in truth, "your tents" is in this world, where one cleaves to the root.
"Your tents" is read as this world, where a Yid's labor cleaves to its supernal root.
משכנותיך הוא עוה"ב
"Your dwelling-places" is Olam Haba.
"Your dwelling-places," the more permanent term, is read as Olam Haba, the lasting reward.
כענין שאמרו במשנה תלמידיו של אברהם אע"ה אוכלין בעוה"ז ונוחלין לעוה"ב שהוא כנ"ל שכל מה שעושין בעוה"ז נדבק בשורש העליון
This is along the lines of what the Mishnah said (Avos 5:19), that the disciples of Avraham Avinu eat in this world and inherit Olam Haba, which is as stated above, that whatever they do in this world becomes attached to the supernal root.
He brings the Mishnah that Avraham's disciples both eat in this world and inherit Olam Haba, showing that the two are not in conflict: everything done properly in this world becomes attached to its supernal root and thereby earns Olam Haba.
אך בשבת שהוא מעין עוה"ב הם נפרשין לגמרי מן האומות דכ' ביני ובין בנ"י אות הוא כו' כי ששת ימים כו' וינפש
But on Shabbos, which is a foretaste of Olam Haba, they are entirely separated from the nations of the world, as it is written, "It is a sign between Me and Bnei Yisrael... for in six days [Hashem made the heavens and the earth] and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed" (Shemos 31:17).
On Shabbos, a taste of Olam Haba, Bnei Yisrael become wholly separated from the nations, for Shabbos is a private sign between Hashem and them, mirroring Hashem's own resting on the seventh day.
פי' כמ"ש ופניתי אליכם פונה אני מכל עסקי כו' וזה בעוה"ב
The meaning is as it is written, "And I will turn toward you" (Vayikra 26:9) — I turn away from all My affairs, as it were — and this is in Olam Haba.
He explains the divine "turning" through the pasuk "And I will turn toward you" — Hashem turns away from all other concerns to face Bnei Yisrael, which is the character of Olam Haba.
ובש"ק מעין עוה"ב כביכול הקב"ה פונה מכל עשיות ששת ימים אל בנ"י
And on the holy Shabbos, which is a foretaste of Olam Haba, the Holy One, Blessed is He, as it were, turns away from all the doings of the six days toward Bnei Yisrael.
Since Shabbos is a foretaste of Olam Haba, on it Hashem likewise turns away from all the activity of the six days of creation to face Bnei Yisrael.
ולכן יש לנו ג"כ לשבות ביום ש"ק ולהניח הכל לפנות רק לעבודת השי"ת בלבד וזהו המנוחה:
Therefore we too must rest on the holy Shabbos and set everything aside, in order to turn solely to the avodah of Hashem alone — and this is the rest.
Therefore we must mirror this above by resting on Shabbos, laying aside all our own affairs to turn entirely to serving Hashem — and that single-minded turning is the true menuchah.
Summary: The Sfas Emes reads Bilam's blessing, "How goodly are your tents, O Yaakov, your dwelling-places, O Yisrael," as describing two realms: "tents" as this world and the weekdays of labor, in which a Yid must battle the world's deceit yet have his deeds cleave to their supernal root, and "dwelling-places" as Olam Haba, the lasting reward. He draws on the Mishnah that Avraham Avinu's disciples eat in this world and inherit Olam Haba, since everything done rightly here becomes attached to its root above. Shabbos is a foretaste of Olam Haba, on which Bnei Yisrael are wholly set apart from the nations as Hashem's own private sign, mirroring His resting on the seventh day. Just as "I will turn toward you" means Hashem turns away from all His affairs to face Bnei Yisrael, so on Shabbos He turns from all the doings of the six days toward them. We are therefore to rest on Shabbos, set everything aside, and turn solely to the avodah of Hashem — and that single-minded turning is the true menuchah.