Wholeness of soul, place, and time

במדרש יודע ה' ימי תמימים כשם שהם תמימים כך שנותיהם תמימים ולמה כתיב שני חיי שרה באחרונה ללמדך שחביב שנותיהם של צדיקים לפני הקב"ה בעוה"ז ובעוה"ב.

In the Midrash: "Hashem knows the days of the wholehearted" — just as they are wholehearted (temimim), so their years are wholehearted; and why is "the years of the life of Sarah" written at the end? To teach you that the years of the tzaddikim are precious before Hashem in this world and in the World to Come.

Just as a tzaddik is "complete" (tamim) in himself, so too his very years are complete and beloved before Hashem, in both worlds.

כמו שיש בחי' תמים בנפש כן בעולם ובשנה.

Just as there is an aspect of "wholeness" (tamim) in the soul (nefesh), so too in space (olam) and in time (shanah).

The trait of completeness exists in all three dimensions — the person, the place, and the year — corresponding to the categories of nefesh, olam, and shanah.

כי יש לכל אלו הג' שורש בשמים.

For each of these three has a root in Shomayim.

Soul, space, and time each have a supernal source above.

והגם כי הזמן הוא תחת השמש אבל יש הארות מזומנים ומיוחדים לכל יום ושנה.

And although time is "under the sun," nevertheless there are illuminations appointed and unique to each day and year.

Even worldly time carries special lights designated for each particular day and year.

דכתיב וירא את האור כי טוב וגנזו לצדיקים.

For it is written, "And He saw the light, that it was good," and He hid it away for the tzaddikim.

The primordial light of creation was concealed and reserved for the righteous.

פי' ע"י ההסתר שיש בכל יום ערב ובוקר.

The meaning is: through the concealment that exists each day, evening and morning.

This hidden light operates through the daily cycle of concealment — the alternation of evening and morning.

פי' שאין העוה"ז יכולה לקבל האור רק ע"י הערב לכן כתיב מקודם ערב ואח"כ ויהי בוקר.

The meaning is that this world cannot receive the light except by means of the evening; therefore "evening" is written first, and afterward "and it was morning."

Olam Hazeh can only absorb the light through prior concealment; hence the day begins with night and only then comes morning.

ומצד זה אמרו חז"ל יצרו של אדם מתגבר עליו בכל יום דאיתא גולל אור מפני חשך וחשך מפני אור פי' בכל יום מתגלה הארה המיוחדת.

And on account of this Chazal said that a person's yetzer overpowers him each day, as it is taught, "He rolls away light before darkness and darkness before light" — meaning, each day a unique illumination is revealed.

Because each day brings its own fresh light, the yetzer hara renews its assault daily; light and darkness roll over one another in constant turnover.

אח"כ בא חושך ונגלל האור.

Afterward darkness comes and the light is rolled away.

Each day's light is eventually withdrawn as darkness returns.

וצריך להתחדש אור אחר להעביר החשך של יום זה וכן לעולם.

And a new light must be renewed to remove the darkness of that day — and so on, perpetually.

Each day demands its own renewed light to overcome that day's particular darkness, in an ongoing process.

וכמו כן כל מקום ומקום.

And likewise every single place.

The same dynamic of unique light applies to each place in the dimension of olam.

וכמ"ש בפרשת לך לך כי תמים הוא כשהנפש מתדבק בשרשו.

And as was written on Parshas Lech Lecha, that one is "tamim" (whole) when the soul cleaves to its root.

True wholeness comes when the nefesh binds itself back to its supernal source.

כי בעוה"ז הוא רק כמו פלג גופא.

For in this world it is only like "half a body" (pelag gufa).

In Olam Hazeh a person is only half-complete, his other half remaining in his root above.

ולכן כתיב אברהם אברהם נח נח כדאיתא במדרשים.

And therefore it is written "Avraham, Avraham," "Noach, Noach," as is taught in the Midrashim.

The doubled names hint at the two halves of the tzaddik — his portion below and his portion above, now joined as one.

כמו כן כתיב ויהיו חיי שרה שני חיי שרה.

Likewise it is written, "And the life of Sarah was… the years of the life of Sarah."

The repetition of "the life of Sarah" similarly hints at her completeness across both dimensions.

להודיע כי שני חיי שרה בעוה"ז היו תמימים עם הארות המיוחדים לאלה הימים לכן נקראו תמימים.

To make known that the years of Sarah's life in this world were wholehearted, together with the illuminations unique to those days; therefore they are called "wholehearted."

Sarah lived each day fully attuned to the special light designated for it, so all her years are called temimim.

וכמו כן במקומות הצדיקים כמו שבחרו להם מערת המכפלה וכתבו חז"ל בית ועלי' כלומר שהמקום הי' דבוק בשרשו למעלה.

And likewise regarding the places of the tzaddikim, such as the Me'aras HaMachpelah which they chose for themselves; and Chazal wrote that it was "a house and an upper chamber," meaning that the place was attached to its root above.

The Avos chose burial places that were themselves bound to their supernal root — the cave's "house and upper story" symbolizing the lower place joined to the higher.

ובאמת כל התמימות הנ"ל הכל תלוי באדם.

And in truth, all of the aforementioned wholeness depends upon man.

The completeness of soul, place, and time ultimately hinges on the human being.

דאיתא האדם נברא מן עליונים ותחתונים כמ"ש רש"י ז"ל פ' בראשית עפר מן האדמה ויפח באפיו כו' כדי שלא יהי' קנאה במעשה בראשית ע"ש.

For it is taught that man was created from the upper and the lower beings, as Rashi wrote on Parshas Bereishis: "dust from the earth" and "He breathed into his nostrils" etc. — so that there should be no jealousy within Creation; see there.

Man uniquely combines the upper (the breath of the soul) and the lower (the dust), bridging both realms so that no part of creation feels excluded.

ולכן האדם בכח הנשמה המשתתפת בגופו עושה שלום בין עליונים ותחתונים.

And therefore man, by the power of the neshamah that is joined with his body, makes peace between the upper and the lower beings.

Because his soul and body unite both worlds, man is able to make shalom between heaven and earth.

ואמת שע"י החטא הראשון ואח"כ בחטא העגל נסתלק הנשמה הפנימיות שנאמר עלי' ויפח.

And it is true that through the first sin, and afterward through the sin of the Golden Calf, the inner neshamah — concerning which it says "and He breathed" — departed.

The sins of Adam and of the Egel caused that innermost, breathed-in soul to withdraw from man.

ומ"מ נשאר בבנ"י הארה מזו הנשמה.

Nevertheless, a glimmer of this neshamah remained in Bnei Yisrael.

Even after those sins, a residual illumination of that inner soul stayed with Bnei Yisrael.

לכן נק' השולמית שעושין שלום בין הקב"ה לעולמו כדאיתא במדרש שה"ש.

Therefore they are called "the Shulamis," for they make peace between Hashem and His world, as is taught in the Midrash on Shir HaShirim.

By means of that remaining soul-light, Bnei Yisrael — "the Shulamis" — reconcile Hashem with His world.

ובש"ק שיש נשמה יתירה נקרא שלום מטעם הנ"ל.

And on Shabbos Kodesh, when there is a neshamah yeseirah (additional soul), it is called "shalom" for the aforementioned reason.

Shabbos, which brings the extra soul, is called shalom because that soul restores the peace between the worlds.

והצדיקים בפרט האבות והאמהות היו כל ימיהם בבחי' השבת ונק' תמימים:

And the tzaddikim, in particular the Avos and the Imahos, were all their days in the aspect of Shabbos, and are called "wholehearted" (temimim).

The Patriarchs and Matriarchs lived every day in the elevated state of Shabbos, with the inner soul intact, and so were truly temimim.

Summary: Wholeness (temimus) exists in soul, place, and time, each rooted above, and each receives its own unique daily light that must constantly be renewed against returning darkness. Man, uniquely composed of upper and lower, joins his soul and body to make peace between the worlds; though the inner neshamah departed through sin, a remnant remains in Bnei Yisrael — restored fully through the neshamah yeseirah of Shabbos. Sarah and the Avos lived all their days in that Shabbos-state, and so their very years are called temimim.