Man as Hashem's agent in the world

במדרש אין מפליגין ג' ימים קודם שבת לדבר מצוה רשאי חביב שליח מצוה ונותן נפשו שיצליח בשליחותו כו'.

In the Midrash: one does not set out to sea within three days before Shabbos; for a matter of mitzvah it is permitted; beloved is the agent of a mitzvah (shliach mitzvah), and he gives over his soul (nosein nafsho) that he should succeed in his mission, etc.

The Sefas Emes opens with the Midrash about not setting out on a sea voyage in the three days before Shabbos, except for a mitzvah — introducing the cherished figure of the shliach mitzvah who devotes himself entirely to his shlichus.

פי' מו"ז ז"ל אף דסתם מצוה אינו דוחה שבת רק ג' ימים קמי שבתא הוא הכנה לשבת וטירדת מצוה הוא ג"כ הכנה לשבת כו'.

My grandfather z"l explained: although an ordinary mitzvah does not override Shabbos, nevertheless the three days before Shabbos are a preparation for Shabbos, and the engagement of a mitzvah (tirdas mitzvah) is likewise a preparation for Shabbos, etc.

His grandfather resolves the puzzle: even though a regular mitzvah does not push aside Shabbos, the three pre-Shabbos days already belong to Shabbos as hachanah (preparation), and being occupied with a mitzvah is itself a form of preparing for Shabbos.

הכלל כי כל הנבראים וכל המעשים הם לכבודו ית' וע"ז נברא האדם לקרב הכל להקדושה ונשלח האדם בעוה"ז כי לעתיד יתגלה כבוד מלכותו כמ"ש יהי' ה' אחד ושמו אחד ולא יהי' דבר נפרד מגילוי מלכותו ית'.

The principle is that all creations and all deeds are for His honor, and for this man was created — to bring everything close to holiness. And man was sent into this world because in the future the honor of His kingship will be revealed, as it is written, "Hashem will be One and His Name One," and there will be nothing separated from the revelation of His kingship.

The underlying principle: everything exists for Hashem's honor, and man's task is to draw all of it close to kedushah. Man is "sent" into the world as an agent toward the future when Hashem's malchus will be openly revealed and nothing will stand apart from it.

רק שבנ"י צריכין להכין מקום בעבודתם שיהי' הכנה אל זה.

Only that Bnei Yisrael must prepare a place through their avodah, so that it should be a preparation toward this.

That future revelation does not happen on its own; Bnei Yisrael must make ready a "place" for it through their avodah, preparing the world to receive it.

וזה ענין השליח מה שאין המשלח יכול בעצמו.

And this is the matter of the agent (shliach) — that which the sender (meshale'ach) cannot do by Himself.

The concept of a shliach is precisely this: he accomplishes something the sender, as it were, will not do directly Himself.

שאין כבודו ית' להיות נגלה בגשמיות רק באמצעיות הכנת בנ"י ששלוחו כמותו ועי"ז יהי' לעתיד התגלות ג"כ כנ"ל.

For it is not in keeping with His honor to be revealed within the physical, except through the intermediacy of Bnei Yisrael's preparation, who are His agents — and "a person's agent is like himself" (shelucho kemoso) — and through this there will be the future revelation as well, as above.

Hashem's honor is not openly revealed within gashmius directly; it comes about through Bnei Yisrael's preparatory avodah. Since "an agent is like the one who sent him," their work draws down the Divine revelation, both now and in the future.

וכן ימות החול הם הכנה לשבת שכפי שאדם מכין עצמו ומייחד עצמו לשבות מגשמיות כדי שיוכל לקבל בשבת הארת שבת כפי מה שמכין עצמו כן שורה עליו הארת קדושת שבת כי כן ברא השי"ת שיהי' כל התיקון ע"י הכנת האדם וכל חיות האדם בעוה"ז הכנה לעוה"ב וכנ"ל ליום שכולו שבת.

And likewise the weekdays are a preparation for Shabbos: that according to how a person prepares himself and sets himself apart to rest from physicality so that he can receive on Shabbos the illumination of Shabbos — according to how he prepares himself, so does the illumination of the holiness of Shabbos rest upon him. For so Hashem Yisbarach created it, that all rectification (tikkun) should come through man's preparation, and all of man's vitality in this world is a preparation for the World to Come, and as above, for "the day that is entirely Shabbos."

The same dynamic governs the week and Shabbos. The illumination of Shabbos a person receives is measured exactly by how much he prepared for it during the week by detaching from gashmius. Hashem designed all tikkun to come through human hachanah — and this whole world is itself preparation for Olam Haba, "the day that is wholly Shabbos."

ומי שכל ימיו רק עוסק בתורה כמו דור המדבר הוא הכנה גמורה לשבת.

And one whose every day is occupied only with Torah, like the generation of the wilderness (dor ha'midbar), is a complete preparation for Shabbos.

Someone wholly immersed in Torah, like the midbar generation who lived on man and were free of worldly concerns, is in a state of total readiness for Shabbos.

אבל העוסקים בעניני העולם הרי נקרא מפליג למקום רחוק שמכניס עצמו בגשמיות.

But those who are occupied with the affairs of the world — this is called "setting out to a distant place," for he brings himself into physicality.

One engaged in worldly matters resembles the sea-traveler "setting out far away," because immersing in gashmius distances him from the holiness of Shabbos.

וזה אסור ג' ימים קודם השבת.

And this is forbidden in the three days before Shabbos.

Just as setting out to sea is forbidden in those three days, so deep immersion in worldly distance is "off limits" to the avodah of preparing for Shabbos.

אך העצה על זה הם המצות שידע האדם כי הכל לכבודו ברא וכל מעשיו אם זוכר כי הם נבראים מהשי"ת ושכן רצונו ית' שאדם יעשה הצריך לו בעולם ועושה רק כדי שיהי' נעשה רצונו ית' במעשה זו.

But the counsel for this is the mitzvos: that a person should know that He created everything for His honor, and all of his deeds — if he remembers that they are created by Hashem Yisbarach, and that it is His will that a person do what he needs in the world — and he does it only so that His will should be fulfilled through this deed.

The remedy for one who must engage the world is the consciousness of mitzvah: remembering that everything is Hashem's creation, that it is His ratzon that a person attend to worldly needs, and acting solely so that His will be carried out through the act.

ונותן נפשו שיצליח פי' שמבטל רצון עצמו וחפץ שיהי' לשם שמים בלבד.

"And he gives over his soul that he should succeed" means that he nullifies his own will and desires that it be solely for the sake of Heaven (l'sheim Shomayim).

The Midrash's phrase about the shliach giving over his soul means bittul ha'ratzon — he empties out his personal will and wants only that the deed be entirely l'sheim Shomayim.

כפי מה שאדם מבטל עצמו לרצונו ית' מתעורר כח השליחות לתת לו הצלחה שיצליח בשליחותו בעוה"ז השפל.

According to how much a person nullifies himself to His will, the power of the shlichus is awakened to grant him success, that he should succeed in his mission in this lowly world.

The degree of one's bittul to Hashem's ratzon activates the power of being a true shliach, drawing down Divine help to succeed in one's mission even here in the lowly physical world.

וכח זה שומר אותו שלא יתפרד מהקדושה אף שעוסק בעניני העולם.

And this power guards him so that he should not become separated from holiness, even though he is occupied with worldly affairs.

The protective power of being Hashem's shliach keeps a person connected to kedushah even while his hands are busy with worldly matters.

וכעין מצוה זו ממש הי' שליחות מרגלים אף שנראה שלא הי' טוב שישלחו [מ"מ נראה שזה הי' מצד השי"ת אבל כיון שלא היו בנ"י כראוי לא היו יכולין לקבל בלתי הכנת המרגלים ולכן הוכרח מרע"ה שהוא ידע עמידתם לשלוח מרגלים והי' זה העצה שאף שאין הדבר טוב] מ"מ ע"י שהשי"ת הסכים לזה והיו הם עוסקים במצותו ית' אם היו מבטלים עצמו להיות מצליח בשליחותם לקיים המצוה היו מצליחין ע"י כח הסכמתו ית'.

And exactly like this kind of mitzvah was the sending of the meraglim (spies), even though it appears that it was not good that they were sent. [Nevertheless it appears that this was from Hashem Yisbarach; but since Bnei Yisrael were not as they ought to have been, they could not receive [the Land] without the preparation of the meraglim. Therefore Moshe Rabbeinu was compelled — for he knew their standing — to send spies, and this was the counsel, even though the matter was not good.] Nevertheless, since Hashem Yisbarach consented to it and they were engaged in His mitzvah — had they nullified themselves so as to succeed in their mission to fulfill the mitzvah, they would have succeeded through the power of His consent (haskamah).

The mission of the meraglim was of this very type of shlichus, even though sending them seems to have been wrong. In the bracketed aside: it actually originated from Hashem, but because Bnei Yisrael were not on the proper level, they could not receive Eretz Yisrael without this preparatory step, so Moshe — knowing their spiritual state — had to send them. Had the spies nullified themselves to succeed in their mission to fulfill the mitzvah, the strength of Hashem's consent would have carried them to success.

וכן ממש כל עניני העולם כי אין הקב"ה חפץ בגוף המעשה רק שהסכים לזה שיוכל להיות כחות גשמיות אף שיהיו נגד רצונו ית' וע"י הסכמה זו יוכל האדם להצליח ע"י שיבטל עצמו לעשות רצון בוראו ששלחו בעולם השפל הזה כנ"ל:

And so it is exactly with all worldly affairs: for HaKadosh Baruch Hu does not desire the act itself, but rather He consented to it, that there could be physical forces, even though they may be against His will; and through this consent a person is able to succeed by nullifying himself to do the will of his Creator, who sent him into this lowly world, as above.

The same applies to all worldly engagement: Hashem does not desire the physical act for its own sake but has "consented" to the existence of material forces, even those seemingly contrary to His will. Through that very haskamah, a person succeeds when he nullifies himself to fulfill the will of his Creator who sent him as a shliach into this lowly world.

Summary: Man is a shliach mitzvah sent into this world to draw all of creation close to holiness and prepare for the future revelation of Hashem's kingship — accomplishing what the Sender does not reveal directly in the physical. Just as the weekdays prepare for Shabbos in exact measure to one's detachment from gashmius, all worldly engagement can stay bound to kedushah when a person acts l'sheim Shomayim and nullifies his own will. By such bittul the power of true shlichus is awakened and Hashem's "consent" carries him to success. The meraglim were precisely such a mission: had they nullified themselves to fulfill it, the strength of Hashem's haskamah would have brought them success.