Well Connected to Its Source

בענין פי הבאר שנברא בע"ש דכתיב שתה מים מבורך ונוזלים מתוך בארך דאיתא האומר מטובו חיינו הרי זה בור בטובו חיינו הוא ת"ח

Regarding the mouth of the well that was created on Erev Shabbos, as it is written, 'Drink water from your own cistern (bor), and flowing waters from your own well (be'er)' (Mishlei 5:15) — for the Gemara teaches that one who recites 'by whose goodness (mi-tuvo) we live' has erred, whereas 'with His goodness (be-tuvo) we live' is the proper text; this refers to the talmid chacham.

The Sfas Emes opens with the well created at the twilight of the first Erev Shabbos, linking the verse contrasting a 'bor' with a 'be'er' to the Gemara's careful wording that we live 'with His goodness' rather than merely 'from His goodness,' which characterizes the talmid chacham.

ופרשנו כי מטובו היא חלק מן הטוב ונפרד ממנו, בטובו הוא דביקות בגוף הטוב

And we have explained that 'mi-tuvo' means a portion of the good that has become separated from it, while 'be-tuvo' means cleaving to the very body of the good itself.

He defines his key terms: 'from His goodness' means receiving a mere detached fragment of the good, while 'with His goodness' means being attached to the source of the good itself.

דהנה הכל נמשך מן התורה שנק' טוב כדאיתא בראשית ברא בשביל התורה שנק' ראשית א"כ שורש הכל מן התורה וכדאיתא בזוה"ק דאורייתא אית בה פירות שרשין עלין קליפין

For behold, everything is drawn from the Torah, which is called 'tov' (good), as the Midrash teaches that 'In the beginning (Bereishis)' means that Hashem created the world for the sake of the Torah, which is called 'reishis' (first); if so, the root of everything is from the Torah, and as the holy Zohar teaches that the Torah has fruits, roots, leaves, and shells.

Everything in creation flows from the Torah, called 'tov,' and the Zohar pictures the Torah as a tree with fruits, roots, leaves, and shells — so all existence has its root in Torah.

ובנ"י ות"ח דביקין בגופא דאילנא

And Bnei Yisrael and the talmidei chachamim are cleaving to the very body (gufa) of the tree itself.

Bnei Yisrael and Torah scholars are not at the level of the fruits or shells but cleave to the very trunk of that tree.

וזה החילוק בין בור לבאר כי בור הוא מים מכונסין ולכן הם ג"כ במדה וצמצום כפי הכלי

And this is the distinction between a cistern (bor) and a well (be'er): for a bor holds gathered, stationary water, and therefore it too is according to a measure and contraction, limited by the vessel that holds it.

A bor is standing water confined to its vessel, so it is finite and measured — a picture of receiving the good only in a limited, contracted form.

אבל באר הוא דבוק בשורש המעין שהוא נובע תמיד

But a be'er is connected to the root of the wellspring, which flows continuously.

A be'er, by contrast, is joined to its underground spring and therefore flows without cease — a picture of being attached to the unlimited source.

וכן הוא בפנימיות שיש בכל נפש הארה וחכמה כמ"ש כולם בחכמה עשית והוא בחי' בור ובאמת הוא ענין ימי המעשה דכתיב יהי' סגור שאין נפתח שער הפנימי

And so it is in the inner dimension, that within every neshamah there is an illumination and a wisdom, as it is written, 'You have made them all with wisdom' (Tehillim 104:24), and this is the aspect of a bor; and in truth this corresponds to the weekday workdays, of which it is written, 'shall remain shut' (Yechezkel 46:1), for the inner gate does not open.

Every neshamah carries a hidden spark of wisdom, but during the weekdays this inner gate stays shut, so that wisdom is merely a bor — a limited, contained measure.

אבל בש"ק נפתח המעיין נובע

But on the holy Shabbos the wellspring opens and flows.

On Shabbos the inner gate opens and that hidden wisdom flows freely like a living spring.

ולכן הוא נחלה בלי מצרים

And therefore it is an inheritance without boundaries.

Because the Shabbos flow is unbounded, it is called an inheritance without borders.

וזה נקרא פי הבאר שנפתח שער הפנימי ויש ב' פתחים כדכתיב ביום השבת כו' והחודש

And this is what is called the mouth of the well, that the inner gate opens; and there are two openings, as it is written, 'on the day of the Shabbos... and on the day of the new moon (chodesh)' (Yechezkel 46:1).

The 'mouth of the well' is the opening of that inner gate; there are two such openings, corresponding to Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh in the verse from Yechezkel.

והם ב' יודי"ן על הוא"ו ונעשה מבור באר כי יו"ד הוא שער

And these are two yuds upon the vav, and thereby a bor becomes a be'er, for the yud is a gate.

The two yuds placed atop the vav transform the word 'bor' into 'be'er,' since the letter yud represents a gate of inner flow.

וע"ז איתא בספרים בפסוק פותח את ידיך

And concerning this the sefarim comment on the verse, 'You open Your hand (yadecha)' (Tehillim 145:16).

The sefarim apply this to 'You open Your hand' in Ashrei, reading a deeper meaning into the word.

יודי"ך

[Read it as] 'Yudecha' (Your yuds).

They re-vocalize 'yadecha' (Your hand) as 'yudecha' (Your yuds), the very gates of flow just described.

כי מקודם כתיב אכלם בעתו והיא עת ומדה מיוחד בפרט כל מקבל

For beforehand it is written, 'who gives them their food in its time (be-ito)' (Tehillim 145:15), which refers to a particular time and measure designated for each individual recipient.

The preceding verse speaks of food given 'in its time,' which represents bounty measured out and rationed to each individual — the bor level.

ופותח את ידיך היא השורש ומשביע לכל חי רצון הוא הצנור ודביקות בשורש כנ"ל

But 'You open Your hand' is the root, and 'and satisfy the desire of every living thing' (Tehillim 145:16) is the channel and the cleaving to the root, as above.

By contrast, 'You open Your hand' represents the root itself, and the satisfying of every living being is the channel that connects the recipient back to that root.

ובאמת זה הדרך הפנימי ניתן רק לבנ"י כדאיתא במדרש תשא ה' יתן חכמה כשבא בנו נותן לו מתוך פיו

And in truth this inner path is given only to Bnei Yisrael, as the Midrash teaches on Parshas Tisa, 'Hashem grants wisdom' (Mishlei 2:6) — that when His son comes, He grants it to him from out of His own mouth.

This inner, unbounded path is reserved for Bnei Yisrael alone; the Midrash compares it to a father who feeds his own son directly from his own mouth.

זה מפיו דעת ותבונה ע"ש

'From His mouth come knowledge and understanding' (Mishlei 2:6) — see there.

The proof-text continues that knowledge and understanding come 'from His mouth,' underscoring the intimate, direct transmission.

והוא בחי' פי הבאר כנ"ל

And this is the aspect of the mouth of the well, as above.

This direct mouth-to-mouth giving is precisely the 'mouth of the well' the Sfas Emes has been describing.

וע"ז מבקשין ישקני מנשיקות פיהו

And concerning this we beseech, 'Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth' (Shir HaShirim 1:2).

Our yearning for this intimate flow is voiced in the verse 'Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth.'

ואיתא במד' ולא נשתה מי באר בורות הול"ל מכאן שצריכין להנות אושפיזא שלא ישתו מי הבאר רק מבורות שלהם

And the Midrash teaches on the verse, 'nor will we drink well water (mei be'er)' (Bamidbar 21:22) — it should have said 'cistern water (mei boros)'; from here we learn that one must benefit one's host (ushpiza), that they would not drink the water of the host's well, but only from their own cisterns.

The Midrash notes that the Torah's wording 'well water' teaches a guest must benefit his host — Bnei Yisrael pledged not to drink from the host nations' well but only from their own cisterns.

והרמז כנ"ל

And the hint is as above.

The Sfas Emes says the deeper hint is the same theme of bor versus be'er he has been developing.

דקשה למדרש ומה חלק יש לרשעים בבאר ואין להם רק בורות

For the Midrash found it difficult: what portion do the wicked have in the be'er? They have only boros.

The Midrash's difficulty was: how could the wicked nations possess a be'er at all? In truth they have only boros, the limited form.

והתשובה ע"ז כמ"ש במ"א פי' דרך המלך נלך כי כשבנ"י עוברין דרך האומות נסתר דרך הפנימי שלהם

And the answer to this is as we have written elsewhere, the meaning of 'We will go along the king's road' (Bamidbar 21:22) — for when Bnei Yisrael pass through the lands of the nations, their own inner path is concealed.

He answers, as elsewhere, by explaining 'the king's road': when Bnei Yisrael travel through the nations' domain, their own inner be'er is hidden from them.

וכמ"ש בגלות אוי לבנים שגלו מעל שולחן אביהם

And as it is said regarding the galus, 'Woe to the children who were exiled from their Father's table' (Berachos 3a).

This concealment in galus is captured by the lament 'Woe to the children exiled from their Father's table.'

ובאמת בנ"י נשתלחו בעוה"ז להיות עוברים ומתקנים אלה המקומות

And in truth Bnei Yisrael were sent into this world to pass through and rectify these places.

Yet this very descent has a purpose: Bnei Yisrael were sent into the world precisely to pass through such places and elevate them.

לכן אמרו כי דרך המלך נלך שהיא בחי' מלכותו ית' על כל העולם

Therefore they said, 'We will go along the king's road,' which is the aspect of His Kingship, may He be blessed, over the entire world.

Thus 'We will go along the king's road' alludes to the Ribono shel Olam's Kingship spread over the whole world, which Bnei Yisrael come to reveal.

ובחי' שדה וכרם באר מיוחד רק לבנ"י כרם ה' צבאות

And the aspect of 'field and vineyard' — a be'er is designated only for Bnei Yisrael, 'the vineyard of Hashem, Master of Legions' (Yeshayahu 5:7).

While the surrounding world is the realm of 'field and vineyard,' the true be'er belongs only to Bnei Yisrael, who are 'the vineyard of Hashem, Master of Legions.'

וזהו הרמז להנות את אכסניא שבכל מקום שעוברין בנ"י צריכין להשפיל את מדריגתם כדי לתקן מקומות אלו ולהמשיך שפע גשמיות כפי המקום והשעה כנ"ל:

And this is the hint about benefiting the host (achsania): that in every place through which Bnei Yisrael pass, they must lower their level in order to rectify these places and to draw down physical bounty according to the place and the hour, as above.

The lesson about benefiting one's host is that wherever Bnei Yisrael pass, they must lower their own lofty level to rectify those places and draw down physical bounty suited to that time and place.

Summary: In this piece the Sfas Emes builds on the well created at the first Erev Shabbos to contrast a 'bor' (a cistern of standing, measured water) with a 'be'er' (a well attached to its ever-flowing spring), reading this into the Gemara's wording that the talmid chacham lives 'with His goodness' — cleaving to the very source of the good — rather than merely 'from His goodness.' Since all of creation is rooted in the Torah, which is called 'tov,' Bnei Yisrael and Torah scholars cleave to the trunk of that tree, and on Shabbos the hidden inner gate of wisdom within every neshamah opens, turning the contracted 'bor' of the weekday into a free-flowing 'be'er.' He shows that this opening is the 'mouth of the well,' hinted in the two yuds that transform 'bor' into 'be'er' and in 'You open Your hand' (read 'Your yuds'), and stresses that this intimate, mouth-to-mouth flow of wisdom is given to Bnei Yisrael alone, as a father feeds his son directly. Finally, explaining the Midrash on 'the king's road,' he teaches that in galus this inner be'er is concealed when Bnei Yisrael pass through the nations, yet their very mission is to descend into those places, lowering their level to rectify them and draw down physical bounty, thereby revealing Hashem's Kingship over the whole world.