Three Traits Three Festivals
איתא במשנה מי שיש בו ג' דברים הללו מתלמידיו של אברהם אע"ה עין טובה רוח נמוכה נפש שפלה וג' דברים אחרים מתלמידיו של בלעם הרשע מה בין תלמידיו כו' אוכלין בעוה"ז ונוחלין לעוה"ב כו'
It is stated in the Mishnah (Avos 5:19): whoever possesses these three traits is among the disciples of Avraham Avinu — a good eye, a humble spirit, and a lowly soul; and whoever possesses three other traits is among the disciples of the wicked Bilam. What is the difference between the disciples of Avraham Avinu and the disciples of the wicked Bilam? The disciples of Avraham Avinu eat in this world and inherit the World to Come.
The Mishnah in Avos contrasts the disciples of Avraham, marked by a good eye, a humble spirit, and a lowly soul, with the disciples of Bilam who bear the opposite traits, teaching that Avraham's disciples gain both this world and the next.
כי הנה בנ"י זכו לכנוס לארץ ישראל בזכותו של אברהם אע"ה דכתיב וכרות עמו הברית
For behold, Bnei Yisrael merited to enter Eretz Yisrael through the merit of Avraham Avinu, as it is written, "and You established the covenant with him" (Nechemiah 9:8).
Bnei Yisrael entered Eretz Yisrael in the merit of Avraham, with whom Hashem established the covenant.
ומסתמא זכה לזה ע"י ג' דברים הנ"ל ומצאת את לבבו נאמן לפניך כולל אלו הג'
And presumably he merited this through the three traits mentioned above, for the verse "and You found his heart faithful before You" (Nechemiah 9:8) encompasses these three.
Avraham earned this through those three good traits, which are all included in the praise that his heart was found faithful before Hashem.
והשכר הי' לזכות לנחלת ארץ ישראל שהיא הנאמר עלי' להנחיל אוהבי יש כו' שא"י דבוק בשורש שלמעלה
And the reward was to merit the inheritance of Eretz Yisrael, concerning which it is said, "to bequeath substance to those who love Me" (Mishlei 8:21), for Eretz Yisrael is bound to its root Above.
The reward of these traits was Eretz Yisrael, a land bound to its source Above and given to those who love Hashem.
ולכן כתיב וכרות כו' לתת
Therefore it is written, "and You established the covenant... to give" (Nechemiah 9:8).
Because of this covenant, the verse says Hashem promised "to give" the Land.
ב"פ לתת שהוא להיות אוכלין בעוה"ז בדביקות נוחלין לעוה"ב
It says "to give" twice, which means to be among those who eat in this world in dveikus and inherit the World to Come.
The doubled word "to give" alludes to two gifts: eating in this world through dveikus and inheriting the World to Come.
וג' מדות הנ"ל הם כוללין כל האדם
And the three traits mentioned above encompass the entire person.
These three traits span and include the whole person.
והוא היפוך קנאה תאוה כבוד
And they are the opposite of envy, desire, and the pursuit of honor.
They stand as the direct opposites of the three destructive drives of envy, desire, and chasing honor.
והוא תיקון הנפש רוח נשמה
And they are the rectification of the nefesh, ruach, and neshamah.
Each of the three good traits repairs one of the three levels of the soul: nefesh, ruach, and neshamah.
והג' רגלים שעלו בנ"י שעליו דרשו רז"ל בת נדיב בתו של אברהם אע"ה שנק' נדיב
And the three festivals on which Bnei Yisrael ascended, regarding which Chazal expounded the verse "daughter of a generous one" (Shir HaShirim 7:2) to mean the daughter of Avraham Avinu, who is called "generous" —
The three festivals, on which Bnei Yisrael ascended to Yerushalayim, are linked to Avraham, called the generous one, whose daughter the verse in Shir HaShirim praises.
הוא זכות ג' מדות הנ"ל
this is the merit of the three traits mentioned above.
These three festivals correspond to and draw from the merit of Avraham's three traits.
כי פסח בחי' נפש שפלה לחם עוני
For Pesach is the aspect of a lowly soul, the bread of affliction.
Pesach corresponds to a lowly soul, expressed in the matzah, the bread of affliction.
וזה עיקר החירות בנפש שלא יהי' מקושר לתאוות בהמיות
And this is the essence of freedom within the soul — that one not be bound to bestial desires.
The real freedom of Pesach is freedom within the soul, no longer enslaved to animalistic cravings.
והוא בחי' יציאת מצרים
And this is the aspect of yetzias Mitzrayim.
This inner freedom is the deeper meaning of yetzias Mitzrayim.
שבועות מתן תורה רוח נמוכה שהתורה כמו מים היורדין למקום נמוך והוא מתן תורתנו בחי' רוח
Shavuos is the giving of the Torah, the aspect of a humble spirit, for the Torah is like water that descends to a low place, and this is the time of the giving of our Torah, the aspect of ruach.
Shavuos corresponds to a humble spirit, since Torah, like water, flows only to a low and humble place; this is the festival of receiving the Torah on the level of ruach.
וסוכות הוא בחי' עין טובה היפוך מן הקנאה ולכן מקריבין ע' פרים ושמחים בברכה היורדת לכל האומות וע"ז כתיב נתתה שמחה בלבי מעת דגנם ותירושם רבו
And Sukkos is the aspect of a good eye, the opposite of envy, and therefore we offer seventy bullocks and rejoice in the blessing that descends upon all the nations of the world; and concerning this it is written, "You have placed joy in my heart, from the time their grain and wine increased" (Tehillim 4:8).
Sukkos corresponds to a good eye, the opposite of envy, shown by the seventy bullocks brought for the nations and our genuine joy in their blessing, as Dovid HaMelech rejoiced even in their prosperity.
והוא ענין שמח בחלקו והוא בחי' הנשמה
And this is the matter of one who is happy with his portion, and it is the aspect of the neshamah.
This is the trait of being happy with one's portion, which corresponds to the neshamah.
והטעם כי מי שאינו רוצה לקבל שום דבר רק השייך לו בשורש נשמתו ממילא אין לו קנאה על שום אדם ולכן היא זמן שמחתנו
And the reason is that one who does not wish to receive anything except what truly belongs to the root of his neshamah consequently has no envy toward any person, and therefore it is the time of our rejoicing.
One who desires only what truly belongs to his neshamah's root feels no envy of anyone, which is why Sukkos is our season of joy.
כדכת' ליועצי שלום שמחה
As it is written, "but to the counselors of peace there is joy" (Mishlei 12:20).
This is reflected in the verse that joy belongs to those who counsel peace.
ולכן נמסר לנו כפרות הע' אומות ע"י שיש לנו עין טובה ולזה ירש אברהם אע"ה הארץ שהוא כלל קבלת השפע על כל המקומות הואיל ומצאת את לבבו נאמן כו'
And therefore the atonement of the seventy nations was entrusted to us, because we possess a good eye; and for this Avraham Avinu inherited the Land, which is the all-encompassing channel of the bounty drawn down upon all places, since "You found his heart faithful" (Nechemiah 9:8).
Because Bnei Yisrael have a good eye, the seventy nations' atonement was given over to us, and for this same good-eyed faithfulness Avraham inherited the Land as the channel of bounty for all places.
וזה שרמזו בפסוק ג' רגלים שרצה לעקור אומה החוגגת ג' רגלים כו' מפני שזה הוא כח ג' דברים הנ"ל
And this is what is hinted at in the verse, namely the three festivals — that Bilam wished to uproot the nation that celebrates the three festivals — because this is the power of the three traits mentioned above.
The verse hints that Bilam sought to destroy the nation that keeps the three festivals, precisely because those festivals embody the power of these three traits.
והרשע הוא היפוך מזה שמנתק הנר"נ מן השורש
And the wicked one is the opposite of this, for he severs the nefesh, ruach, and neshamah from their root.
The wicked person is the inverse: he cuts off all three levels of his soul from their root Above.
ובנשמה יש לו עין רעה
And in the neshamah he has an evil eye.
On the level of the neshamah, the wicked man has an evil eye.
וכמו כן רוח גבוהה נפש רחבה
And likewise an arrogant spirit and a greedy soul.
And correspondingly he has an arrogant spirit and a greedy, expansive soul.
קנאה תאוה כבוד לכן שכרו שלא יחצו ימיהם פי' כי החלק שלמטה היא מחצה והצדיק זוכה בב' החלקים אוכלין ונוחלין
Envy, desire, and the pursuit of honor — therefore his reward is that "they shall not live out half their days" (Tehillim 55:24), meaning that the lower portion is one half, and the tzaddik merits both portions: he eats in this world and inherits the World to Come.
His drives are envy, desire, and pursuit of honor, so his punishment is to not live out even half his days: the lower portion is only half, while the tzaddik wins both halves, eating in this world and inheriting the next.
והרשעים אפילו חצי שלמטה לא יתקיים בידן כמ"ש ובטן רשעים תחסר כנ"ל:
But the wicked — even the lower half will not endure in their hands, as it is written, "but the belly of the wicked shall want" (Mishlei 13:25), as explained above.
The wicked cannot even hold on to that lower half, as the verse says their belly shall want.
Summary: The Sfas Emes builds on the Mishnah in Avos that contrasts the disciples of Avraham Avinu — a good eye, a humble spirit, and a lowly soul — with the disciples of the wicked Bilam, who bear the opposite drives of envy, desire, and the pursuit of honor. He shows that these three good traits rectify the three levels of the soul, the nefesh, ruach, and neshamah, and that it was through them that Avraham's heart was found faithful, earning Bnei Yisrael the inheritance of Eretz Yisrael, a land bound to its root Above. He then maps the three festivals onto these traits: Pesach corresponds to a lowly soul and freedom from bestial desire, Shavuos to a humble spirit through the Torah that flows to a low place, and Sukkos to a good eye, expressed in the seventy bullocks and our joy in the blessing of all the nations. This is why Bilam sought to uproot the nation that keeps the three festivals, for they embody the very power of these traits. Finally, he explains that the tzaddik merits both this world and Olam Haba, while the wicked, severed from their root, cannot retain even the lower half of life.