Shabbos Opens Torah's Wellspring

עוד לפ' הנ"ל

A further teaching on the aforementioned parashah.

This piece is a continuation of the previous teaching on the same parashah (Chukas).

כי שירת הים הי' הכנה לקבלת התורה שבכתב

For the Shiras HaYam (the Song at the Sea) was a preparation for receiving the Torah She'biksav (the Written Torah).

The Shiras HaYam spiritually prepared Bnei Yisrael to receive the Torah She'biksav at Har Sinai.

ולכן הי' מרע"ה העיקר

And this is why Moshe Rabbeinu was the essential one there.

Because the Written Torah is bound up with Moshe Rabbeinu, he was the central figure of that earlier song.

ושירה זו הי' הכנה לבחי' ארץ ישראל ותורה שבע"פ, והוא עצמו פי' פי הבאר שיש כח בבנ"י לפתוח מעין התורה שע"ז נאמר וחיי עולם נטע בתוכנו

And this song [of the well] was a preparation for the aspect of Eretz Yisrael and Torah She'baal Peh (the Oral Torah), and this itself is the meaning of "the mouth of the well" (pi ha'be'er) (Bamidbar 21:16-18) — that Bnei Yisrael possess the power to open the wellspring of the Torah, concerning which it is said "and He planted eternal life within us" (v'chayei olam nata b'socheinu).

The later Song of the Well in our parashah prepared Bnei Yisrael for the Oral Torah and life in Eretz Yisrael; just as they sang the well open, every Jew has the inner power to open the wellspring of Torah that Hashem planted within us.

ואיתא שפי הבאר נברא בע"ש ביה"ש ומו"ז ז"ל אמר שע"ז נאמר ששת ימי המעשה יהי' סגור וביום השבת יפתח, והאמת שבש"ק יש עלי' לכל העולמות

And it is brought down that "the mouth of the well" was created on Erev Shabbos at twilight (bein hashemashos); and my grandfather and teacher, of blessed memory, said that concerning this it is said "during the six days of labor it shall be shut, and on the day of Shabbos it shall be opened" (Yechezkel 46:1); and the truth is that on Shabbos Kodesh there is an ascent for all the worlds.

Chazal teach that the well's "mouth" was among the things created at the first twilight of Erev Shabbos, and the Sfas Emes's grandfather linked it to the gate in Yechezkel that is shut on weekdays but opened on Shabbos, since on Shabbos Kodesh all the worlds rise to a higher level.

אבל בנפש האדם בעצמו ג"כ יש הארה יתירה בשבת קודש וזה בחי' נשמה יתירה דהעיקר הוא הדיבור כמ"ש ויהי כו' לנפש חי' ומתרגמינן לרוח ממללא לכן כתיב ודבר דבר שלא יהא דבורך בשבת כדבורך בחול

But within the soul of a person himself there is likewise an added illumination on Shabbos Kodesh, and this is the aspect of the neshamah yeseirah (the additional soul); for the essential matter is speech, as it is written "and [man] became a living soul" (Bereishis 2:7), which we render in the Targum as "a speaking spirit" (ruach memalela) — and this is why it is written "and you shall speak a word" (v'daber davar) (Yeshayah 58:13), [teaching] that your speech on Shabbos should not be like your speech during the week.

Beyond the cosmic ascent, each person receives an extra illumination on Shabbos — the neshamah yeseirah — centered on the power of speech (the "speaking spirit" that man became), which is why the pasuk commands that one's speech on Shabbos be different from weekday speech.

כי לעולם צריכין לשמור הפה ע"י שהוא כלי נברא לתורה ותפלה

For one must always guard the mouth, since it is a vessel created for Torah and tefillah.

The mouth must always be guarded because it is the vessel fashioned for the sacred avodah of Torah and tefillah.

ובש"ק שיש הכנה יתירה לחדש דברי תורה בחי' פי הבאר הנ"ל המעין שיש בכל לב איש ישראל

And on Shabbos Kodesh, when there is an added preparation to be mechadesh divrei Torah (to innovate words of Torah) — the aspect of "the mouth of the well" mentioned above, the wellspring that lies within every heart of a man of Yisrael —

On Shabbos there is a heightened readiness to be mechadesh divrei Torah, drawing on that inner wellspring present in the heart of every Jew.

ובש"ק נפתח אותו המעין לכן [* צריכין] לשמור הפה ביותר בש"ק:

And on Shabbos Kodesh that wellspring is opened; therefore [one must] guard the mouth all the more on Shabbos Kodesh.

Precisely because the inner wellspring of Torah is opened on Shabbos, one must guard the mouth even more carefully then, so that its power is used for kedushah.

Summary: The Sfas Emes draws a parallel between two songs: the Shiras HaYam, which prepared Bnei Yisrael for the Torah She'biksav and centered on Moshe Rabbeinu, and the Song of the Well in Chukas, which prepared Bnei Yisrael for the Torah She'baal Peh and Eretz Yisrael. "The mouth of the well" symbolizes the power, given to every Jew, to open the wellspring of Torah that Hashem planted within us — "v'chayei olam nata b'socheinu" — a wellspring that Chazal link to the twilight of creation and to the gate in Yechezkel that stays shut during the week but opens on Shabbos. On Shabbos Kodesh all the worlds ascend, and within each person the neshamah yeseirah brings an added illumination concentrated in the faculty of speech, the "speaking spirit" that defines a person. Since the mouth is a vessel created for Torah and tefillah, and since Shabbos uniquely opens the inner wellspring of chiddushei Torah, the pasuk teaches that Shabbos speech must be elevated above weekday speech. The practical conclusion is that one must guard the mouth all the more on Shabbos Kodesh, when its sacred creative power is at its fullest.