Guarding the sealed inner self like the nazir

במדרש איש כי יפליא הה"ד שוקיו עמודי שש זה העולם שהעמיד על שבעה עמודים ימי בראשית אדני פז שלשה חכמה בינה דעת כו'.

In the Midrash on "a man who sets himself apart (yafli)," this is the meaning of "his legs are pillars of marble (shesh)" — this refers to the world, which He established upon seven pillars, the days of creation; "set upon sockets of fine gold" — these are three: chochmah, binah, da'as.

The Midrash reads the verse from Shir HaShirim (5:15) as describing creation: the world stands on seven "pillars" (the days of Bereishis), resting on golden "sockets" — the three foundational intellectual faculties of chochmah, binah, and da'as.

כי עוה"ז הגם שהוא בטבע אעפ"כ כתיב ה' בחכמה יסד ארץ.

For although this world operates by nature, nevertheless it is written, "Hashem founded the earth with wisdom."

Even though the world runs according to natural law, its true foundation is Divine wisdom hidden within it.

ונק' עמודי שש מלשון אבני שיש.

And it is called "pillars of shesh" from the expression "stones of marble (shayish)."

The "pillars of shesh" are likened to marble stones — enduring and unchanging.

שהגם שנעשה מהמאמרים טבעיים מ"מ יסודן גנוז בתוכן ולא נשתנו ע"י התלבשות בטבע ועדיין מיוסדים על אדני פז חב"ד.

For although they were made from the utterances in a natural manner, nevertheless their foundation is concealed within them, and they were not changed by being clothed in nature, and they remain founded upon the golden sockets of chochmah, binah, da'as.

Though the world emerged through the ten utterances and appears natural, its hidden Divine foundation remains intact within it, unaltered by its natural garment, still resting on the golden bedrock of Divine intellect.

וזה בחי' ששת ימי המעשה סגור וע"ז נשתוקק הקב"ה לבראתן שהגם שיהיו בטבע לא יקבלו שינוי.

And this is the aspect of the six days of action being "sealed," and for this Hashem yearned to create them — that although they would exist within nature, they would not undergo change.

The weekdays carry a "sealed," hidden core; Hashem desired to create a world that, despite being clothed in nature, would preserve its inner essence unchanged.

וכן צריך להיות אדם השלם.

And so too the complete person must be.

The perfected person should mirror this: outwardly engaged in the natural world, yet inwardly sealed and unchanged at his core.

וזה מעלת הנזיר שנתעלה בקדושה ככ"ג ע"י שהוא נזיר ונפרש ונבדל מהבלי עולם חל עליו הקדושה ביותר.

And this is the virtue of the nazir, who is elevated in kedushah like the Kohen Gadol; by being a nazir, separated and set apart from the vanities of the world, a greater kedushah rests upon him.

The nazir, who separates himself from worldly indulgence, attains a sanctity comparable to the Kohen Gadol's, precisely because he guards his inner core by withdrawing from the world's emptiness.

לכן נאמר פרשת נזיר אחר כל המדריגות שנבדלו הלוים וכהנים וכ"ג על כולם.

Therefore the passage of the nazir is stated after all the levels of distinction — the Levi'im, the Kohanim, and the Kohen Gadol above them all.

The Torah places the nazir after enumerating the Levi'im, Kohanim, and Kohen Gadol, showing that his self-imposed separation can lift even an ordinary Jew to the heights of those sanctified ranks.

אעפ"כ כל איש ישראל במקום שהוא כפי שמירת הפנימיות להיות סגור ונבדל ונק' עמודי שש נמצא בו הקדושה.

Nevertheless, every Jew, wherever he is, according to how he guards his penimiyus (inner self) to remain sealed and set apart and called "pillars of marble," kedushah is found within him.

One need not formally become a nazir; any Jew, to the degree that he protects his inner essence and keeps it "sealed" from the world's distractions, draws holiness upon himself.

וזה הנזיר יצא מן הכלל ללמד על כל הכלל כמ"ש במ"א מזה.

And this nazir "departed from the general rule to teach about the entire category," as explained elsewhere.

The nazir is a specific case singled out by the Torah to illustrate a principle that applies to every Jew — the power of guarding one's inner penimiyus.

לכן קדוש הוא לה' ר"ת קה"ל.

Therefore "kadosh hu laHashem" (he is holy to Hashem) — its initial letters spell "kahal" (community/congregation).

The initials of "holy is he to Hashem" form "kahal," hinting that the nazir's holiness is meant to extend to the entire community of Israel, not to remain a private attainment.

והנה במ"ש במד' אדני פז חב"ד.

Now, regarding what the Midrash said, "sockets of fine gold" — chochmah, binah, da'as.

Returning to the Midrash's identification of the golden sockets with the three faculties of intellect.

הוא כמ"ש מדת הקב"ה הוא למעלה ממשאו לכן התחתונים תלוין בשורש העליון.

This is as it is said, the way of Hashem is that what is above bears what is below; therefore the lower elements are dependent upon the higher root.

Unlike a physical pillar that rests on its base, in the Divine order the higher "sockets" carry and sustain the structure above them; the lower levels of creation hang from and depend on their supernal root.

וכן צריך להיות האדם עצמו הגוף שנק' רגל ושוק יהי' נמשך אחר מוח שבראש.

And so the person himself must be: the body, which is called "leg" and "thigh," should be drawn after the brain in the head.

A person should likewise let his lower physical faculties (the "legs") be governed and led by the intellect in his head, subordinating body to mind.

וכן ימי המעשה אחר השבת כמ"ש אם תשיב משבת רגלך:

And so too the weekdays should follow after Shabbos, as it is written, "if you restrain your foot because of Shabbos."

Just as the body follows the head, the weekdays should be drawn after and governed by Shabbos — the verse "restrain your foot for Shabbos" (Yeshayahu 58:13) hints that the lower "foot" of the week must submit to its higher root in Shabbos.

Summary: Drawing on the Midrash that the world stands on seven "pillars of marble" resting on golden sockets of chochmah, binah, and da'as, the Sefas Emes teaches that although creation is clothed in nature, its inner Divine foundation remains sealed and unchanged. The complete person must be the same — outwardly in the world yet inwardly guarded. This is the virtue of the nazir, who attains the holiness of the Kohen Gadol through separation, teaching every Jew that guarding one's penimiyus draws down kedushah. And as the higher root sustains the lower, so the body must follow the mind and the weekdays must follow Shabbos.