Emunah in the Darkness of the Week

בשם מו"ז ז"ל כי חז"ל אמרו אין ארור מדבק בברוך לכן צריכין לתקן עצמו לצאת מכלל ארור שיהי' מוכנים לקבל השבת דכתיב בי' ויברך כו' יום השביעי כו'.

In the name of my grandfather, of blessed memory: Chazal said that "the accursed (arur) cannot cleave to the blessed (baruch)." Therefore a person must rectify himself to leave the category of "accursed," so that he will be prepared to receive the Shabbos, concerning which it is written, "And He blessed… the seventh day."

Since the cursed and the blessed cannot mix, one must first work himself out of the "cursed" state during the week in order to be fit to receive the blessedness of Shabbos.

ונראה כי בימי המעשה העבודה לצאת מכלל ארור.

It appears that the avodah of the weekdays is precisely to leave the category of "accursed."

The whole task of the workweek is this self-rectification — extricating oneself from the "cursed" state.

וכאשר חכמים הגידו לפי ששרת אותו צדיק באמונה יצא מכלל ארור כמו כן העבודה בימי המעשה בבחי' אמונה.

And as the Sages said, because [Eliezer] served that tzaddik [Avraham] with emunah (faithfulness), he left the category of "accursed" — so too the avodah of the weekdays is on the level of emunah.

Eliezer, descended from the cursed Canaan, rose to "blessed" through faithful service to Avraham. Likewise our weekday service of Hashem through emunah lifts us out of the "cursed" state.

דכתיב להגיד בבוקר חסדך ואמונתך בלילות.

As it is written, "To declare Your kindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness in the nights" (Tehillim 92:3).

This verse distinguishes between "morning," a time of revealed chesed, and "nights," a time when only emunah is available.

פרשנו במ"א כי בבוקר הוא יום השבת דלא כתיב בי' ערב.

We explained elsewhere that "the morning" refers to Shabbos, regarding which "evening" is not written.

Shabbos is the "morning" of revealed light. Unlike the six days of creation, the account of the seventh day has no "and it was evening" — it is pure, unending light.

ובלילות הם ימי המעשה.

And "the nights" are the weekdays.

The weekdays are the "nights" of concealment, when Hashem's light is hidden.

וכיון שאין האור מתגלה בחול צריכין לעבוד באמונה.

Since the light is not revealed during the week, one must serve through emunah.

When the light is hidden, emunah — believing and serving even without seeing — becomes the mode of avodah.

ועי"ז זוכין לקבל אח"כ הארת השבת.

And through this one merits afterward to receive the illumination of Shabbos.

Faithful service in the dark of the week is what makes a person fit to receive the revealed light of Shabbos.

ובאמת עיקר להגיד בבוקר הוא בשעת הגאולה ולעתיד.

In truth, the primary "declaring in the morning" refers to the time of the geulah and the future.

On the largest scale, the "morning" of revealed chesed is the redemption — the world's ultimate dawn.

וכל ימי הגלות התיקון ע"י אמונה.

And throughout all the days of galus, the rectification comes through emunah.

Galus is the long "night" of history; its avodah and tikkun are accomplished specifically through emunah.

ומעין זה הוא בשבת שהוא מעין עוה"ב.

A semblance of this [redemption] exists in Shabbos, which is a foretaste of the World to Come.

Shabbos is a weekly taste of the redemptive "morning," for it is a microcosm of Olam Haba.

ובאמת מעין זה יש בכל יום עצמו דכתיב ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר ואמרו חז"ל מי שלא אמר אמת ויציב שחרית אמת ואמונה ערבית לא יצא ידי חובתו דכתיב להגיד בבוקר כו' ואמונתך.

And in truth a semblance of this exists within each day itself, as it is written, "And it was evening and it was morning"; and Chazal said that one who did not recite "Emes V'yatziv" in the morning and "Emes V'emunah" in the evening has not fulfilled his obligation, as it is written, "To declare… in the morning… and Your faithfulness [in the nights]."

Even a single day contains both modes — its "morning" of revealed truth (Emes V'yatziv) and its "evening" of faith (Emes V'emunah) — paralleling the verse's "morning" of chesed and "night" of emunah.

והיינו שצריכין ב' הבחי' לאחוז באמונה בעת החשכות ועי"ז זוכין ליכנום לכלל ברוך.

That is, one needs both aspects — to hold fast to emunah in times of darkness — and through this one merits to enter the category of "blessed."

Grasping emunah specifically when things are dark is what carries a person from "cursed" into "blessed."

וכמ"ש במדרש על אליעזר הלך חשכים כו' והי' התיקון ע"י אמונה ובטחון.

As the Midrash says regarding Eliezer, "he walked in darkness" — and the rectification came through emunah and bitachon.

Eliezer "walked in darkness," yet by his faith and trust he achieved his tikkun — the model for our own avodah in the dark.

ובזוה"ק דורש על זמן תפלה הלך חשכים שהסט"א הולך לו בזמן תפלת שחרית.

And in the Zohar this is expounded regarding the time of tefillah: "he walked in darkness" — that the sitra achra departs at the time of the morning prayer (Shacharis).

The Zohar reads "walking in darkness" as the forces of impurity slinking away when the avodah of Shacharis begins.

ויתכן לומר כי ב' הפירושים אחד שע"י היגיעים בעבודה שבלב בזמן הגלות והחושך.

One may say that the two interpretations are one: that through the toil of the avodah of the heart [tefillah] in the time of galus and darkness…

The two readings unite — the laborious "service of the heart," tefillah, is precisely what is done in the darkness of galus.

לכן עובר החשכות מפניהם.

…therefore the darkness passes away before them.

Through that faithful toil in prayer, the darkness itself recedes before Bnei Yisrael.

וכדאיתא בפסוק ושם דרך זה המדליק נרות במבואות האפלים כו' אראנו בישע אלקים.

As is taught on the verse "and to him who orders his way (v'sam derech)" — "this refers to one who kindles lamps in the dark alleyways" — "I will show him the salvation of Hashem" (Tehillim 50:23).

One who lights up the dark passageways — who brings light into concealment through his avodah — is the one promised to be shown Hashem's salvation.

ושני העבודות נצרכים בעוה"ז כאשר רצה הקב"ה להיות תיקון עולם השפל.

Both forms of avodah are needed in this world, since Hashem desired the rectification of this lowly world.

Because the purpose is to repair this lowly world, both modes — the revealed light and the faithful service in darkness — are necessary.

לכן קבע זמנים שמאיר הארה הגנוזה.

Therefore He established set times in which the hidden illumination shines forth.

Hashem fixed certain times — like Shabbos and the moment of tefillah — when the concealed light breaks through.

ולפעמים גולל אור מפני חושך כו' ובזמן שיש אור צריכין להכין גם על ימי החושך.

And at times "He rolls away light before darkness," and at a time when there is light one must also prepare for the days of darkness.

Light and darkness alternate by Hashem's will; so when light is present, one must store up and prepare for the darker times ahead.

לכן הקדים להגיד בבוקר חסדך אח"כ ואמונתך בלילות.

Therefore the verse places first "to declare Your kindness in the morning," and afterward "and Your faithfulness in the nights."

The "morning" of revealed chesed comes first because its light supplies the strength needed for the "nights" of emunah that follow.

כי אור השבת מסייע לכל ימי המעשה לכן נקראו סעודות שבת בזוה"ק סעודתי דמהימנותא כאשר הגיד מו"ז ז"ל כי המה סועדים האמונה כו'.

For the light of Shabbos assists all the weekdays. Therefore the Shabbos meals are called in the Zohar "the meals of faith" (se'udasi d'mehemnusa), and as my grandfather, of blessed memory, said, they "support" (so'adim) emunah.

The light of Shabbos sustains the entire week. The Shabbos meals are "meals of faith" — they nourish and strengthen the emunah needed during the workdays, playing on so'adim ("they support") and se'udah ("meal").

והוא הכנה לימי המעשה:

And it is a preparation for the weekdays.

Thus Shabbos and its meals serve as the preparation that fortifies a person's emunah for the coming week of concealment.

Summary: Since "the accursed cannot cleave to the blessed," the avodah of the weekdays is to lift oneself out of the "cursed" state — accomplished, like Eliezer's faithful service, through emunah in the darkness. "Declare Your kindness in the morning, Your faithfulness in the nights" reflects the rhythm of Shabbos and weekday, geulah and galus, and even of each single day. The revealed light of Shabbos — the "meals of faith" — comes first precisely to strengthen one's emunah for the dark "nights" of the workweek.