Body as wise servant of the soul

במדרש יפה שיחתן של עבדי אבות מתורתן של בנים שהשרץ מגופי תורה וניתן ברמז ופרשתו של אליעזר אומרו וכופלו.

In the Midrash: "The conversation of the servants of the Avos is finer than the Torah of the sons" — for the laws of the sheretz are among the very body of Torah yet given only by a hint, whereas the account of Eliezer is stated and then repeated.

The Sefas Emes cites the Midrash that praises the lengthy account of Eliezer the servant — repeated in full — over weighty halachos like the sheretz that the Torah conveys only by allusion, raising the question of why the "servant's talk" warrants such emphasis.

דיש בחי' בן ועבד.

For there is an aspect of "son" and an aspect of "servant."

The Sefas Emes resolves it through two avodos: serving Hashem as a "son" and serving as an "eved" — corresponding to the neshamah and the body.

עבד בחי' תיקון הגוף וע"ז כתיב ששת ימים תעבוד.

"Servant" is the aspect of the rectification of the body, and concerning this it is written, "Six days you shall labor."

The "eved" represents the work of refining the physical body, hinted in the command of the six workdays — the labor of subduing and rectifying the guf.

והוא שצריך לצאת מכלל ארור לכלל ברוך.

And this is that one must pass from the category of "cursed" into the category of "blessed."

The body's avodah is to lift itself out of the "cursed" state of Cana'an the servant and into "baruch" — transforming the physical from a source of curse into a vessel for blessing.

כי הנשמה בחי' בן.

For the neshamah is the aspect of "son."

The soul, by contrast, is the "ben" — a child of Hashem, a portion of the Divine.

וז"ש עבד משכיל ימשול בבן מביש.

And this is the meaning of "A wise servant will rule over a son who causes shame" (Mishlei 17:2).

The Sefas Emes rereads the pasuk: when the "servant" (body) acts wisely, it gains mastery in a positive sense over the "shaming son."

כשהגוף משרת הנשמה באמונה.

When the body serves the neshamah faithfully.

The "wise servant" is the body that loyally serves the soul rather than ruling over it.

אז גם הוא יש לו תיקון.

Then it too attains its rectification.

A body that faithfully serves the neshamah earns its own tikkun, sharing in the soul's elevation.

כי סוף הנשמה לעלות לשרשה ויכול להעלות גם הגוף להיות בתוך אחים יחלק נחלה.

For the neshamah will ultimately ascend to its root, and it can elevate the body as well, "to share an inheritance among the brothers" (Mishlei 17:2).

Since the soul will rise to its source, a faithfully-serving body is carried up with it, completing the verse: such a "servant" shares the inheritance alongside the "sons."

ונקראת הנשמה בן מביש שהיא חלק אלקות.

And the neshamah is called the "son who causes shame," for it is a portion of the Divine.

The soul is the "ben mevish" — being a literal chelek Eloka, it puts the whole world to shame by comparison, so lofty is its origin.

והוא מבייש כל העולם.

And it shames the entire world.

Its sublime, Divine nature outshines and "shames" all of creation around it.

רק שנשתלחה בעוה"ז להיות מתלבש בגוף.

Only that it was sent into this world to be clothed within a body.

Despite its loftiness, the soul was dispatched into olam hazeh to be enclothed in a physical body, accepting concealment for the sake of its mission.

וכתיב תמשילהו במעשה ידיך מעשה ידיו של הקב"ה הנשמה.

And it is written, "You gave him dominion over the works of Your hands" (Tehillim 8:7) — the "works of Hakadosh Baruch Hu's hands" being the neshamah.

The neshamah, as the true handiwork of Hashem, was meant to rule; man was given dominion over creation precisely through his soul.

אבל הגוף מושל עליו בעוה"ז.

But in this world the body rules over it.

In the present world, however, the natural order is inverted — the body tends to dominate the soul rather than the reverse.

וכשהוא עבד משכיל מצליח ומתעלה גם הוא.

And when it is a "wise servant," it succeeds and is itself elevated too.

Yet if the body becomes a "wise servant" to the soul, it prospers and is itself raised up along with the neshamah.

וכמו כן בביטול ימי המעשה אל השבת מושך ברכה מן השבת כמ"ש ויברך את יום השביעי את הטפל עמו כמ"ש במ"א.

And likewise, through the bittul (subordination) of the weekdays to Shabbos, one draws blessing from Shabbos, as it is written, "and He blessed the seventh day" — including that which is secondary to it, as we have explained elsewhere.

Just as a serving body is elevated, so the weekdays — when subordinated to Shabbos — draw down blessing from it; the bracha of the seventh day flows even to the "secondary" weekdays attached to it.

ובמדרש מי בכם ירא ה'.

And in the Midrash: "Who among you fears Hashem" (Yeshayahu 50:10).

The Sefas Emes turns to a second Midrash that expounds this verse in two ways.

דורש ב' פירושים.

It expounds two interpretations.

The Midrash offers two readings of "Who among you fears Hashem... who heeds the voice of His servant."

א' על אברהם.

One concerning Avraham.

The first interpretation reads the verse about Avraham Avinu.

שומע בקול עבדו שהקב"ה שמע בקול עבדו.

"Who heeds the voice of His servant" — that Hakadosh Baruch Hu heeded the voice of His servant.

On this reading, Hashem Himself "listens to the voice of His servant" Avraham — so great is the tzaddik that his words are heeded Above.

פי' ב' על אליעזר ששמע בקול עבדו של מקום.

The second interpretation concerns Eliezer, who heeded the voice of the servant of the Omnipresent.

The second reading is about Eliezer, who obeyed Avraham, "the servant of the Makom" — i.e., a servant subordinating himself to a higher servant of Hashem.

ופי' הב' על הגוף כשמכניע עצמו אל הנשמה עבדו של מקום יכול לבטוח בה' גם בתוך החושך כמ"ש הלך חשכים יבטח בשם ה' כו'.

And the second interpretation alludes to the body: when it humbles itself before the neshamah — "the servant of the Omnipresent" — it can place its bitachon in Hashem even within the darkness, as it is written, "though he walks in darkness, let him trust in the name of Hashem" (Yeshayahu 50:10).

The Eliezer reading maps onto the body: when the guf subordinates itself to the soul (the true "servant of Hashem"), it gains the strength to trust in Hashem even amid the darkness of this world.

והפי' הראשון על מעלת נשמה גדולה שמעלית גם הגוף.

And the first interpretation alludes to the greatness of a lofty neshamah that elevates even the body.

The Avraham reading maps onto a great soul so elevated that it raises the body up with it to its own level.

וזוכה שגם קול עבדו של הגוף מתקבל לפני הקב"ה.

And it merits that even the voice of "its servant" — the body — is accepted before Hakadosh Baruch Hu.

Such a lofty soul so refines the body that even the body's "voice," its physical actions, become acceptable and pleasing before Hashem.

וזה נאמר על צדיקים גדולים כענין האבות שנעשו מרכבה למקום ב"ה.

And this is said of great tzaddikim, like the Avos, who became a chariot for the Omnipresent, blessed be He.

This loftiest level belongs to the greatest tzaddikim — the Avos, whose entire being, body included, became a merkavah (chariot) for the Shechinah.

אך בכל איש ישראל נמצא ב' הבחי'.

But within every Jew both aspects are found.

While the Avos reached the highest level, every individual Jew contains both modes — the serving body and the soul that can elevate it.

ובשבת קודש שיש הארה מנשמה יתירה יש עלי' גם אל הגוף כמ"ש למען ינוח עבדך שורך חמורך כמ"ש במ"א מזה:

And on Shabbos Kodesh, when there is an illumination from the neshamah yeseirah, there is an elevation also for the body, as it is written, "so that your servant, your ox, and your donkey may rest" (Shemos 23:12), as we have explained elsewhere about this.

On Shabbos the neshamah yeseirah shines, and through it even the body is elevated — which is why the Torah extends Shabbos rest even to the servant and the animals, the "bodily" elements that share in the day's holiness.

Summary: Within every Jew are two aspects — "son" (neshamah, a portion of the Divine) and "servant" (the body, whose tikkun is the weekday labor of moving from "cursed" to "blessed"). When the body serves the soul faithfully like a "wise servant," it is elevated and shares in the soul's inheritance; the loftiest tzaddikim, like the Avos who became a merkavah, so refine the body that even its "voice" is heard before Hashem. On Shabbos the neshamah yeseirah elevates the body as well, just as the weekdays draw blessing from their bittul to Shabbos.