Vessels Opening the Well

בענין פי הבאר שנברא בע"ש ביה"ש

Regarding the mouth of the well that was created on Erev Shabbos at twilight (bein hashmashos).

The Sfas Emes opens by focusing on the well's "mouth" — one of the ten things created at the threshold of the first Shabbos — as the theme of this piece.

דכתיב אסוף את העם ואתנה להם מים

As it is written, "Gather the people and I shall give them water" (Bamidbar 21:16).

He brings the verse from the well's song, where Hashem promises to gather Bnei Yisrael and provide them water, hinting that gathering precedes the flow of bounty.

כי הקב"ה וב"ש לעולם מוכן כביכול להשפיע לתחתונים מטובו אך שיהיו התחתונים כלים לקבל וזה הכח הוא בבנ"י [כמ"ש ויתן לך] שהם הכלי מחזיק ברכה כמ"ש יברך את עמו בשלום והמה יכולים לאסוף כל הפרטים ועי"ז נפתח להם הבאר והמעין כמ"ש חפרוה שרים כו' במחוקק כו'

For the Holy One, Blessed is He, is always ready, as it were, to bestow upon those below from His goodness; it is only that those below must be vessels fit to receive. And this power resides in Bnei Yisrael [as it is written, "and may He give you" (Bereishis 27:28)], for they are the vessel that holds blessing, as it is written, "He will bless His people with peace" (Tehillim 29:11) — and they are able to gather all the particulars, and through this the well and the spring are opened for them, as it is written, "the princes dug it... with the lawgiver" (Bamidbar 21:18).

Hashem constantly wishes to give, but the limiting factor is whether the recipients form a fit vessel; Bnei Yisrael are uniquely that vessel, able to draw all the scattered particulars together and thereby open the wellspring of blessing.

והיא השלימות שנמצא בכלל ישראל ע"י האבות והשבטים שהמה חפרו והוציאו הפנימיות מכח אל הפועל

And this is the completeness found within Klal Yisrael through the Avos and the Shevatim (Tribes), for they dug and brought forth the inner dimension from potential into actuality.

This vessel-quality was forged by the Avos and the Shevatim, who labored to draw out the hidden inner dimension and bring it into actual existence.

ולכן בשבת קודש שמתעלין הברואים ומתאספין להיות מוכן לקבל השפע מהשי"ת וזה הוא בקבלת השבת שמניחין כל המעשים ומבטלים עצמם להשורש

Therefore, on the holy Shabbos, when the created beings are elevated and gathered together to be ready to receive the flow of bounty from Hashem Yisbarach — and this is accomplished in the acceptance of Shabbos, when one sets aside all his deeds and nullifies himself to the root.

Shabbos is the weekly time when all of creation is gathered upward to receive Hashem's bounty, which we accomplish by ceasing our work and nullifying ourselves to our Source.

וכפי מה שמבררין זאת שהכל לה' והכל מה'

And to the degree that one clarifies this — that everything is for Hashem and everything is from Hashem —

The more clearly a person recognizes that everything exists for Hashem and originates from Hashem, the more fully this ingathering takes effect.

אז נאמר וירא אלהים כו' כל אשר עשה והנה טוב מאוד

then it is said, "And Hashem saw... all that He had made, and behold, it was very good" (Bereishis 1:31).

When that clarity is reached, one sees creation as Hashem saw it — "very good" — the verse from the account of creation.

ובודאי זה אמת לעולם כי הכלל היא טוב מאוד

And surely this is true forever, for the totality is "very good."

In its totality creation is always "very good"; that truth never lapses.

רק לא בכל עת זוכין לאסוף כל הבריאה

It is only that one does not merit at every moment to gather the entire creation together.

But we do not always succeed in gathering all of creation into that unified, good perspective.

וכשבאין לזה אז חל הברכה מן השמים

And when one comes to this, then the blessing rests from Heaven.

Only when we do achieve this gathering does the blessing actually come down from Heaven.

וזהו נעשה ע"ש ביה"ש והוא הנשמה יתירה שיורדת לתחתונים

And this was made on Erev Shabbos at twilight, and it is the neshamah yeseirah (extra soul) that descends to those below.

This opening was set into creation at the first twilight, and it manifests weekly as the neshamah yeseirah that descends to us on Shabbos.

ונמצא מפתיחת פי הבאר בכל שבת

And it emerges that there is an opening of the mouth of the well on every Shabbos.

The upshot is that the well's mouth opens anew every single Shabbos.

אכן הצדיקים ומכש"כ אבות הראשונים והשבטים המה חפרו הבאר בכח מעשיהם

However, the tzaddikim, and all the more so the first Avos and the Shevatim, dug the well through the power of their deeds.

The tzaddikim, and especially the Avos and Shevatim, did not merely receive this — they actively dug the well open through their deeds.

כמ"ש דת"ח איקרי שבת שיש בו לעולם הביטול והתאספות לה'

As it is written, that a talmid chacham is called "Shabbos," for within him there is always the bittul (self-nullification) and the gathering toward Hashem.

A talmid chacham is called "Shabbos" because he embodies the constant bittul and ingathering toward Hashem that Shabbos represents.

ואיתא כי כל שבט חקק במטהו לשבטו

And it is brought that each Shevet engraved (chakak) upon his staff for his Tribe.

Each Shevet engraved his name on his staff, signifying that he carved out his own particular pathway of avodah.

והענין היא שיש י"ב צינורות ומיני השפעות היורדין משמים כמ"ש במ"א, וע"ז הי' הי"ב שבטים שכ"א פתח שער וצינור מיוחד

And the matter is that there are twelve channels and types of bounty that descend from Heaven, as I have explained elsewhere; and corresponding to this were the twelve Shevatim, for each one opened a gate and a unique channel.

There are twelve distinct channels of heavenly bounty, and the twelve Shevatim each opened one unique gate to draw it down.

והמה הי"ב בקר שהים עליהם מלמעלה, וכ' בירושלמי (הובא בתוספת בפסחים) שהי"ב בקר היו מחוללים מתחת רגליהם לחבר הים שלא יהיו שאובים ע"ש

And they are the twelve oxen upon which the Sea (in the Beis HaMikdash) rested from above; and it is written in the Yerushalmi (cited in Tosafos in Pesachim) that the twelve oxen were hollowed out beneath their feet to connect the Sea, so that it should not be considered drawn water (she'uvin) — see there.

The twelve oxen supporting the Sea in the Beis HaMikdash were hollowed beneath so the Sea remained connected to its source and not "drawn" (detached) water — a model of staying joined to the root.

והוא כנ"ל שהמה עושים הי"ב צינורות למשוך מהמעין להים

And this is as stated above, that they make the twelve channels to draw from the spring to the Sea.

Just so, the Shevatim form the twelve channels that draw the flow from its supernal spring down into the "sea" of this world.

[וביאור הענין כי עיקר כח הצדיקים לחבר השפעות עליונים בדברים הנצרכים לזה העולם שכל הי"ב ברכות אמצעיות שבתפלת שמו"ע המה דברים הנצרכים בעולם רק שצריך להיות דבוק בפנימיות ושלא יהיו שאובים כנ"ל ודו"ק בזה.] והמה הי"ב חדשי השנה שיש בכל חודש התחדשות ענין ושער מיוחד

[And the explanation of the matter is that the essential power of the tzaddikim is to connect the supernal flows of bounty to the things that are needed for this world. For all twelve middle berachos of the Shemoneh Esrei tefillah are matters needed in the world; it is only that one must be attached to the inner dimension and they should not be "drawn" (detached from their source) as above — and understand this well.] And they are the twelve months of the year, for in each month there is a renewal of a matter and a unique gate.

The tzaddikim's power is to connect heavenly bounty to worldly needs — like the twelve middle berachos of Shemoneh Esrei, which ask for material needs yet must stay attached to their inner source and not be cut off; these correspond as well to the twelve months, each with its own renewal and gate.

וכתיב ששת ימי המעשה יהי' סגור וביום השבת נפתח הפנימיות והוא פי הבאר

And it is written, "the six days of labor it shall be closed, and on the day of Shabbos it shall be opened" (Yechezkel 46:1) — the inner dimension is opened, and that is the mouth of the well.

The verse about the eastern gate teaches that the inner dimension is sealed during the six workdays and opened on Shabbos — that opening is the mouth of the well.

וזה בכח האבות שורש הג' סעודות שבשבת

And this is through the power of the Avos, the root of the three meals (seudos) of Shabbos.

This Shabbos opening flows from the power of the Avos, who are the root of the three Shabbos seudos.

וביום החודש יפתח הוא במחוקק שהם הי"ב שערים שלמטה שמג' נעשין י"ב וכן הוא סדר התפשטות ע"ד הנ"ל:

And on the day of Rosh Chodesh it is opened through the "lawgiver" (mechokek) — these are the twelve gates below, which from the three become twelve; and so is the order of the spreading forth, in the manner stated above.

On Rosh Chodesh the opening comes through the "lawgiver" — the twelve lower gates that unfold from the three (the Avos), following the same pattern of spreading bounty downward described throughout the piece.

Summary: In this piece the Sfas Emes explains that the "mouth of the well" created at the first twilight represents the channel through which Hashem's ever-ready bounty descends to those below. Hashem always wishes to give, but the flow depends on the recipients becoming a fit vessel, and Bnei Yisrael are that vessel — able to gather all the scattered particulars of creation back to their Source and recognize that everything is from Hashem and for Hashem. This ingathering is the avodah of Shabbos, when we cease our deeds and nullify ourselves to the root, reopening the well each week through the neshamah yeseirah; the Avos and Shevatim first dug this well through their deeds. The twelve Shevatim, like the twelve oxen beneath the Sea in the Beis HaMikdash, form twelve channels that draw the supernal flow into this world while keeping it attached to its source and not "drawn off" — paralleling the twelve middle berachos of Shemoneh Esrei and the twelve months of the year. Ultimately the inner dimension, sealed during the six workdays, is opened on Shabbos through the power of the Avos, and on Rosh Chodesh through the "lawgiver," so that the three roots spread forth into the twelve gates of bounty below.