Two Keys Of Redemption
כתיב שער החצר הפנימית כו' ביום השבת יפתח וביום החודש
It is written, "The gate of the inner courtyard... on the day of Shabbos it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened" (Yechezkel 46:1).
The Navi Yechezkel describes the inner gate of the future Beis HaMikdash, which stays shut except on two days: Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh. The Sfas Emes takes these as two distinct keys.
א"כ הם ב' מפתחות שבת הוא מפתח שנפתח מן השמים כמ"ש מתנה טובה יש לי בבית גנזי שנפתח שער הפנימית
If so, there are two keys: Shabbos is the key that is opened from Heaven, as is said, "I have a precious gift in My treasure-house" (Shabbos 10b) — that the inner gate is opened.
Shabbos is a gift that opens from above, on Hashem's initiative, without any effort on our part. This is the inner gate that Heaven itself unlocks.
ור"ח הוא בכח בנ"י כמ"ש מקדש ישראל ור"ח ישראל דקדשינהו לזמנים
And Rosh Chodesh comes through the power of Bnei Yisrael, as we say, "who sanctifies Yisrael and the seasons" (tefillah) — for it is Yisrael who sanctify the appointed times.
Rosh Chodesh, by contrast, depends on Bnei Yisrael, who sanctify the calendar and thus the appointed times. This sanctification flows upward from us.
וב' בחי' אלו הם בחי' משה ואהרן בחי' התורה וביהמ"ק שעל ב' אלו מבקשין שיבנה ביהמ"ק ויתן חלקנו בתורתו
These two aspects correspond to Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon, the aspects of the Torah and of the Beis HaMikdash, for upon these two we beseech that the Beis HaMikdash be rebuilt and that He grant us our portion in His Torah.
These two openings map onto Moshe (Torah, the gift from Heaven) and Aharon (the Beis HaMikdash, our drawing near). We daven for both: a rebuilt Mikdash and a portion in Torah.
משה רבינו שהוריד התורה מתגלה כחו בש"ק כמ"ש שמרע"ה מחזיר לבנ"י הכתרים בש"ק
Moshe Rabbeinu, who brought down the Torah, has his power revealed on Shabbos Kodesh, as is said that Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, restores to Bnei Yisrael the crowns on Shabbos Kodesh.
Moshe's special connection is to Shabbos, when he returns to Bnei Yisrael the crowns they received at Har Sinai. His power shines specifically on Shabbos.
ואהרן הכהן הוא יסוד ביהמ"ק והקרבנות שהוא התקרבות התחתונים למעלה
And Aharon the Kohen is the foundation of the Beis HaMikdash and the korbanos, which are the drawing near of those below to that which is Above.
Aharon embodies the Beis HaMikdash and its korbanos, whose whole purpose is to bring the lower worlds close to the Above.
ובאמת היא בחי' היראה כמ"ש ואתנם לו מורא וייראני כי לפי שהי' עובד בביהמ"ק הי' מלא יראת ה' כמ"ש במד' ויקרא
And in truth this is the aspect of yiras Shamayim, as is said, "And I gave them to him as fear, and he feared Me" (Malachi 2:5) — for since he served in the Beis HaMikdash, he was filled with the fear of Hashem, as is said in the Midrash on Vayikra.
The inner reality of this drawing near is yiras Shamayim. Aharon, serving in the Mikdash, was filled with fear of Hashem.
ואיתא בגמ' כי יראת שמים הוא מפתחות החיצוניות ע"ש בשבת
And it is brought in the Gemara that yiras Shamayim is the outer keys; see there in Shabbos (31a-b).
The Gemara identifies yiras Shamayim with the outer keys, the essential prerequisite without which one cannot enter the inner treasures.
ויסוד ביהמ"ק הוא היראה וע"ז מבקשין ושם נעבדך ביראה
And the foundation of the Beis HaMikdash is yiras Shamayim, and upon this we beseech, "and there we will serve You with awe" (tefillah).
Yiras Shamayim is the very foundation of the Beis HaMikdash, which is why we daven to serve Hashem there with awe.
והנה משה ואהרן שבחר בהם הקב"ה הם מאירין לעולם לבנ"י בכל הדורות כמ"ש גדולים צדיקים במיתתן יותר מבחייהם
And behold, Moshe and Aharon, whom the Holy One, Blessed is He, chose, illuminate the world for Bnei Yisrael in every generation, as is said, "the tzaddikim are greater in their death than in their lifetime" (Chullin 7b).
Moshe and Aharon were chosen by the Holy One, Blessed is He, and their light continues to shine for Bnei Yisrael in every generation, for tzaddikim accomplish even more after their passing.
ונחלתם לעולם תהי'
And their inheritance shall be forever.
Their spiritual inheritance is permanent and never lapses.
ומיתת אהרן כתיב בתורה ויעל כו' בר"ח אב
And the death of Aharon is written in the Torah: "And he went up... on Rosh Chodesh Av" (Bamidbar 33:38).
The Torah deliberately records that Aharon's passing took place on Rosh Chodesh Av.
כדי שזכותו יעמוד לנו בזה הזמן השפל
This is so that his merit may stand for us in this lowly time.
The timing is purposeful: his merit is positioned to stand guard for us specifically during this lowly, painful season of the year.
כענין דאיתא במרע"ה שנקבר מול בית פעור להגן בזה המקום השפל מכל המקומות כן הוכן אהרן להגן בזה החודש
Just as it is brought regarding Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, that he was buried opposite Beis Pe'or in order to protect that place, the lowliest of all places, so too was Aharon prepared to protect during this month.
Just as Moshe was buried opposite Beis Pe'or to shield the lowliest place, Aharon's passing in this month equips his merit to protect us during this lowly time.
ובזכותו נזכה לבנין בית המקדש כי ביהמ"ק נחרב ע"י שנאת חנם
And through his merit we will be worthy of the building of the Beis HaMikdash, for the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed through baseless hatred.
His merit helps us toward the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash, which was destroyed precisely because of baseless hatred.
ואהרן הוא היפוך זה לגמרי שרודף שלום ואהבה לכן הי' הוא יסוד ביהמ"ק וזכה אהרן לדורות כמו האבות בכח יראת ה' טהורה עומדת לעד וע"ז רמזו שלך לעולם קיימת
And Aharon is the complete opposite of this, for he pursues peace and love; therefore he was the foundation of the Beis HaMikdash, and Aharon merited an everlasting standing for all generations like the Avos, through the power of pure yiras Hashem which stands forever — and upon this they hinted, "Yours stands established forever" (tefillah).
Aharon is the antidote to baseless hatred, since he pursued peace and love; this is why he is the foundation of the Mikdash and merited an eternal standing through pure, lasting yiras Hashem.
וכחו של מרע"ה הניח בתורה שצוה לנו מורשה וזה שרמז בתורה שמסעי בנ"י ביד משה ואהרן הוא לדורות שהם הכלים שהכין הקב"ה להנהגת בני ישראל
And the power of Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, he set within the Torah, "which he commanded to us as a heritage" (Devarim 33:4); and this is what is hinted in the Torah, that the journeys of Bnei Yisrael were "by the hand of Moshe and Aharon" (Bamidbar 33:1) — meaning for all generations, for they are the vessels that the Holy One, Blessed is He, prepared for the leadership of Bnei Yisrael.
Moshe deposited his power within the Torah itself, our eternal heritage. The verse that the journeys were led "by the hand of Moshe and Aharon" hints that these two remain Hashem's vessels for leading Bnei Yisrael in every generation.
ויתכן עוד לפימ"ש לעיל כי מרע"ה בחי' השבת והוא בחי' מקום כמ"ש בשבת אל יצא איש ממקומו
And it may further be understood according to what was said above, that Moshe Rabbeinu is the aspect of Shabbos, and he is the aspect of place, as is said regarding Shabbos, "let no man go out from his place" (Shemos 16:29).
A further explanation: Moshe corresponds to Shabbos, which is bound up with the aspect of place, as the Torah commands one not to leave his place on Shabbos.
וכ"כ שבת היא כו' בכל מושבותיכם
And so it is written, "It is Shabbos... in all your dwelling places" (Vayikra 23:3).
The pasuk likewise ties Shabbos to "your dwelling places," reinforcing the link between Shabbos and place.
וכ' לדורותם בשבת לרמוז כי הוא בחי' דירה ומקום
And it is written "throughout their generations" regarding Shabbos, to hint that it is the aspect of a dwelling and a place.
The phrase "throughout their generations" regarding Shabbos hints that Shabbos is an aspect of a fixed dwelling and place.
לכן נקבר להגן על המקומות כמ"ש
Therefore he was buried to protect the places, as is said.
This is why Moshe was buried to protect the physical places, matching his quality of place.
ואהרן בחי' ר"ח שהוא הזמן כמ"ש לעיל:
And Aharon is the aspect of Rosh Chodesh, which is time, as was said above.
Aharon, by contrast, corresponds to Rosh Chodesh, which is the aspect of time rather than place.
Summary: Building on the Navi's image of the inner gate that opens only on Shabbos and Rosh Chodesh, the Sfas Emes presents these as two keys: Shabbos, the gift unlocked from Heaven and embodied by Moshe Rabbeinu and the Torah, and Rosh Chodesh, sanctified by Bnei Yisrael and embodied by Aharon and the Beis HaMikdash. Aharon's avodah is rooted in yiras Shamayim, the very foundation of the Mikdash and the outer key that grants entry to the inner treasures. The Torah's note that Aharon passed away on Rosh Chodesh Av is purposeful, positioning his merit to protect Bnei Yisrael during this lowly season; since the Beis HaMikdash was destroyed through baseless hatred, the merit of Aharon, who pursued peace and love, is precisely what draws us toward its rebuilding. Finally, the Sfas Emes deepens the parallel: Moshe is the aspect of Shabbos and of place, which is why he was buried to guard the lowliest place, while Aharon is the aspect of Rosh Chodesh and of time.