Shabbos restores the soul's true yearning

והנה בכל שבת יש ג"כ הארה מקבלת התורה והיא בחי' נשמה יתרה שאמרו חז"ל בפסוק וינפש וי אבדה נפש מכאן שניתן לאדם נשמה יתירה.

Now, on every Shabbos there is also an illumination of the receiving of the Torah, and it is the dimension of the "extra soul" (neshamah yeseirah), which Chazal derived from the pasuk "vayinafash" (and He rested) — "woe (vai), the soul (nefesh) is lost" — from here that a person is given an extra soul on Shabbos.

Every Shabbos carries an echo of Matan Torah and grants the neshamah yeseirah; the word "vayinafash" is read as "woe, the soul is lost" — alluding to the departure of that extra soul.

ומקשין העולם דא"כ במוצאי שבת צריך להיות וינפש.

And people raise a difficulty: if so, then the "vayinafash" [the "woe, the soul is lost"] should occur at the conclusion of Shabbos [when the extra soul departs, not on Shabbos itself].

The question: since the extra soul leaves only at Motzaei Shabbos, the lament "woe, the soul is lost" should be said then — yet the pasuk places "vayinafash" on Shabbos.

אבל הרמז הוא כנ"ל כי כשבאה הנשמה יתירה רואין מה שאבדנו ע"י החטא כי א"י להשיג הרצון והתשוקה של הנפש האמיתי עד שבא השבת ורואין מה שאבדנו לכן וי אבדה נפש.

But the hint is as above: for when the extra soul comes, we see what we lost through the sin — for one cannot grasp the true desire and yearning of the soul until Shabbos comes, and then we see what we lost; therefore, "woe, the soul is lost."

The lament belongs on Shabbos itself: only when the extra soul arrives can a person perceive the deep yearning of his true self, and in that light he suddenly recognizes how much was lost through Adam's sin — hence "woe, the soul is lost."

וז"ש המענג את השבת נותנין לו משאלות לבו כדכתיב יתן לך משאלות לבך.

And this is the meaning of: "one who delights in the Shabbos (ha'me'aneg es haShabbos) is granted the requests of his heart," as it is written, "He shall grant you the requests of your heart" (Tehillim 37:4).

The reward for delighting in Shabbos is that one is given "the requests of his heart" — but the Sefas Emes reads this not as material wishes but as something deeper.

פי' שזוכין לתשוקה ורצון הנ"ל להיות משאלות הלב ותשוקתו להתדבק בו ית' כדרך שהיה קודם החטא וכמ"ש לעיל פי' משיבת נפש וכל חפציך לא ישוו.

The explanation: that one merits the aforementioned yearning and will — that the requests and longing of one's heart should be to cleave to Him, may He be blessed, in the manner it was before the sin; and as written above, this is the meaning of "[the Torah] restores the soul" (Tehillim 19:8) and "all your desires cannot compare to it" (Mishlei 8:11).

The true gift of Shabbos is the restoration of pure desire itself — that one's heart's deepest wish becomes devekus with Hashem, as it was before the sin, a longing to which no other desire can compare.

ודוק ותשכח:

Examine this closely and you will find [it to be so].

The Sefas Emes invites the reader to ponder the idea and discover its truth.

Summary: Every Shabbos brings an illumination of Matan Torah and the gift of the neshamah yeseirah. The puzzle of why "vayinafash" ("woe, the soul is lost") is said on Shabbos rather than at its close is resolved thus: only when the extra soul arrives can a person perceive his soul's true yearning, and in that light he recognizes how much was lost through the sin — hence the lament comes on Shabbos itself. The reward of delighting in Shabbos, "the requests of your heart," is precisely the restoration of this pure desire: that one's deepest longing become devekus with Hashem, as it was before the sin.