Servant and son: weekday avodah and Shabbos

במדרש יפה שיחתן של עבדי אבות כו'.

In the Midrash: "Pleasing is the conversation (sichah) of the servants of the Avos," etc.

The Sefas Emes opens with the Midrash praising the "talk" of the Patriarchs' servants — here, the lengthy account of Eliezer.

דאיתא על אליעזר דולה ומשקה מתורת רבו לאחרים.

For it is taught regarding Eliezer that he "drew up and gave to drink (doleh u'mashkeh)" from the Torah of his master to others.

Eliezer drew from Avraham's Torah and conveyed it onward to others, like one drawing water and giving it to drink.

והוא דרך עבודת הבורא שהי' לאאע"ה קודם המילה והוא בחינת עבד.

And this is the path of serving the Creator that Avraham Avinu had before the milah (circumcision), which is the aspect of "servant (eved)."

Before his bris, Avraham's avodah was on the level of an eved, a servant — and this is the path Eliezer received.

ואח"כ נתעלה א"א ע"ה וזכה לבחי' בנים.

And afterward Avraham Avinu was elevated and merited the aspect of "sons (banim)."

Through the bris, Avraham rose to a higher relationship with Hashem — that of a son rather than a servant.

וזהו שנקראו אבות שזכו להמשיך דרך התורה בעולם שיהי' הנהגת השי"ת עמנו בבחי' בנים לחפש בגנזי דמלכא.

And this is why they are called "Avos (fathers)" — for they merited to draw the way of the Torah into the world, so that Hashem's conduct with us would be in the aspect of "sons," to search in the treasuries of the King (ginzei d'malka).

The Patriarchs are called "fathers" because they established the path of Torah, through which Hashem relates to us as sons who may delve into the King's hidden treasures.

והיא התורה שהתחילו ב' אלפים תורה מן האבות.

And this is the Torah — for the "two thousand years of Torah" began from the Avos.

The era of "two thousand years of Torah" is counted from the Avos, who initiated this path of "sons."

ובחי' עבדות הוא כמו דרך ארץ שקדמה לתורה ובבחי' זו קיבל אליעזר מאאע"ה.

And the aspect of "servitude (avdus)" is like derech eretz, which preceded the Torah — and it was in this aspect that Eliezer received from Avraham Avinu.

The servant-level corresponds to derech eretz, which "came before the Torah"; this lower, preparatory mode is what Eliezer absorbed from Avraham.

ועיקר הירושה שניתנה ליצחק הי' בחי' דרך התורה ועמ"ש לעיל בפרשת לך לך במאמר לא יירשך זה כו'.

And the essential inheritance given to Yitzchak was the aspect of the "way of the Torah"; and see what I wrote earlier in Parshas Lech Lecha on the statement, "this one shall not inherit you," etc.

The true inheritance — the path of "sons," the way of Torah — passed to Yitzchak, not to Eliezer the servant, as alluded in "this one shall not be your heir."

ועכ"ז גם בחי' העבדות שקיבל אליעזר מסרו לכללות בני ישראל.

Nevertheless, the aspect of servitude that Eliezer received was also transmitted to the totality of Bnei Yisrael.

Even so, the servant-path Eliezer carried was not lost; it was handed down to all of Bnei Yisrael.

וע"ז רמזו בתוך אחים יחלק נחלה.

And to this they alluded: "[the servant] shall share an inheritance among the brothers."

Chazal's teaching that the faithful servant shares in the inheritance hints that Eliezer's avdus was woven into the nation's heritage.

ולכן נעשה ממעשה אליעזר פרשה בתורה ללמוד מזה דרך העבדות.

Therefore the account of Eliezer was made into a parsha in the Torah, to learn from it the path of servitude.

Eliezer's story earned its own lengthy passage so that Bnei Yisrael could learn the avodah of the "servant" from him.

ונצרך לאיש ישראל ב' אלו הדרכים והם תורה ותפלה שנקרא שיחה.

And a Jew needs both of these paths — namely, Torah and tefillah, which is called "sichah (conversation)."

Every Jew requires both modes: the "son" path of Torah and the "servant" path of tefillah, which is called sichah.

וזה שיחתן של עבדי אבות.

And this is "the conversation (sichah) of the servants of the Avos."

The praised "sichah" of the servants corresponds to tefillah, the servant's avodah, complementing the Torah of the "sons."

וכמו כן בימי המעשה הוא בחי' עבד.

And likewise, the weekdays (yemei hamaaseh) are of the aspect of "servant."

The six working days correspond to the servant-level of avodah.

ובש"ק בחי' בנים הנשמה יתירה שבודאי לא הגוף נקרא בן רק הנשמה.

And on Shabbos Kodesh, the aspect of "sons" — the neshamah yeseirah (additional soul); for surely it is not the body that is called a "son," but only the neshamah.

Shabbos, with its extra soul, corresponds to the "son" level — for sonship belongs to the soul, not the body.

ואיתא ע"י ששרת באמונה יצא מכלל ארור לברוך.

And it is taught that because [Eliezer] served with faithfulness (emunah), he went out from the category of "cursed" to "blessed."

Eliezer, a descendant of cursed Canaan, rose from "cursed" to "blessed" through faithful service — Lavan even greeted him as "blessed of Hashem."

וכמו כן ע"י עבודה באמונה בימי המעשה זוכין לקבל הארת השבת.

And likewise, through avodah with emunah during the weekdays, one merits to receive the illumination of Shabbos.

So too, faithful service throughout the working week earns a person the light of Shabbos — the move from "cursed" to "blessed."

וכעין זה שמעתי מפי מו"ז ז"ל כי בשבת כתיב ויברך כו' יום השביעי.

And something similar I heard from my grandfather, of blessed memory: that regarding Shabbos it is written, "and He blessed... the seventh day."

He cites a teaching from his grandfather (the Chiddushei HaRim): the Torah says Hashem "blessed" the seventh day.

והי' צריך כל אחד מישראל להרגיש הברכה רק כל זמן שאין יוצאין מארור אין ארור מדבק בברוך.

And every Jew ought to feel that blessing; only, so long as one has not gone out from "cursed," the "cursed" does not cling [join] to the "blessed."

Each Jew should sense Shabbos's blessing, but only one who has emerged from the realm of "cursed" can attach to the "blessed" — the cursed cannot cleave to the blessed.

ויתכן לומר שע"י קבלת שבת בשמחה והוא בחי' תוספות שבת ובמה שמאמינים בקדושת השבת עי"ז יוצאין מכלל ארור לברוך:

And one may say that through receiving Shabbos with joy — which is the aspect of "tosefes Shabbos (adding to Shabbos)" — and through believing in the holiness of Shabbos, by this one goes out from the category of "cursed" to "blessed."

The way to make this transition is to accept Shabbos with joy, extending it by tosefes Shabbos, and with emunah in its kedushah — this faith is what lifts a person from "cursed" to "blessed," just as emunah did for Eliezer.

Summary: Avraham's avodah before the bris was that of an "eved" (servant), the path of derech eretz and tefillah, which he transmitted to Eliezer; after the bris he rose to the level of "banim" (sons), the way of Torah, inherited by Yitzchak. A Jew needs both — Torah and tefillah, the weekday "servant" and the Shabbos "son" with its neshamah yeseirah. Just as Eliezer passed from "cursed" to "blessed" through faithful service, so faithful weekday avodah, and receiving Shabbos with joy and emunah in its kedushah, lift a person into the blessing of Shabbos.