The hidden inner will toward Hashem

במנחת שבת הוא עת רצון כמ"ש דבי' רעוא דרעוין ולית זעפין.

At Mincha of Shabbos it is an eis ratzon (a time of favor), as it says that in it is "the will of all wills, and there is no anger."

The Zohar calls Shabbos Mincha the "ra'ava de'ra'avin" — the supreme moment of favor, when divine displeasure is entirely absent. The Sefas Emes will explain what makes this time so uniquely favorable.

דהנה בכל איש ישראל יש רצון אליו ית'.

For behold, in every Jew there is a ratzon (will, yearning) toward Him, may He be blessed.

Buried in every single member of Bnei Yisrael is an inner will that reaches out toward Hashem — this is the essential Jewish point.

ומי שאין לו רצון כראוי יש לו רצון לבוא לרצון אמת.

And one who does not have the proper ratzon still has a will to come to the true ratzon.

Even a Jew whose desire for Hashem seems weak nonetheless wants to want — he carries a longing to arrive at genuine yearning. The will toward Hashem is never fully absent.

וכמו כן בשמים כביכול הקב"ה רוצה בישראל.

And likewise above, in Heaven, as it were, the Holy One desires Bnei Yisrael.

Mirroring the will below, there is a corresponding ratzon Above: Hashem Himself desires His people.

אף כשאין ראוין חפץ להיות לו רצון עליהם והוא רעוא דרעוין.

Even when they are not worthy, He wishes to have a will toward them — and this is the "ra'ava de'ra'avin" (the will of wills).

Just as the Jew "wants to want," so too Hashem "wills to will" Bnei Yisrael even when they are undeserving. That deeper, second-order will is the "will of wills" revealed at Shabbos Mincha.

והפי' שמקבל עתה גם זה הרצון שיש בפשוטי בנ"י לבוא אל הרצון כנ"ל ולכך לית זעפין.

And the meaning is that He now accepts even this ratzon — the longing that exists in the simplest of Bnei Yisrael to come to the [true] will, as above — and therefore "there is no anger."

At this moment Hashem receives even the faint yearning of the plainest Jew, the mere wish to draw close. Because this hidden will is accepted, no trace of divine anger remains.

וא"ז ז"ל פי' הפסוק לתאוה יבקש נפרד בכל תושי' יתגלע.

And my grandfather, of blessed memory, explained the posuk: "One who separates himself seeks desire; against all sound wisdom he breaks out."

The Sefas Emes brings a teaching from his grandfather (the Chiddushei HaRim) on the posuk in Mishlei (18:1), reading it not as a rebuke but as a hint to the inner yearning of the one who feels cut off.

כי בכל איש ישראל יש רצון כנ"ל.

For in every Jew there is a ratzon, as above.

He returns to the principle: the will toward Hashem is planted in every Jew without exception.

ומי שהוא נפרד.

And one who is "separated" (nifrad).

Even a Jew who feels estranged and cut off from holiness.

מתאוה לבוא אל הרצון.

desires to come to the ratzon.

precisely he is filled with a craving to reach the true inner will — his very sense of distance fuels his yearning to return.

וזהו לתאוה יבקש כו'

And this is the meaning of "he seeks desire…"

The posuk now reads: the "separated" one is in fact seeking desire — searching for the buried yearning that will reconnect him.

וע"י היגיעה בתורה מתגלה זה הרצון המלובש בו.

And through toil (yegi'ah) in Torah, this ratzon that is clothed within him becomes revealed.

The way to uncover the hidden will is through laboring in Torah, which draws the concealed yearning out into the open.

כי תכלית הרצון הוא אליו ית' כנ"ל.

For the ultimate purpose of the ratzon is toward Him, may He be blessed, as above.

All true desire is, at its root, desire for Hashem — that is where every inner yearning is aimed.

וזה יגעתי ומצאתי.

And this is the meaning of "I toiled and I found."

Chazal's promise (Megillah 6b) that "one who toils and finds" can be trusted refers exactly to this: through yegi'ah one "finds" the will that was hidden inside all along.

להוציא מכח אל הפועל מה שיש בכל איש ישראל נקודה טמונה כנ"ל:

To bring out from potential into actuality the hidden point (nekudah temunah) that exists in every Jew, as above.

"Finding" through toil means actualizing the concealed inner point — the buried spark of will toward Hashem latent in every member of Bnei Yisrael.

Summary: Every Jew carries a hidden inner point of will toward Hashem, and even one who feels estranged still yearns to yearn; Shabbos Mincha is the "will of wills," when Hashem accepts even the faintest longing of the simplest Jew, leaving no anger. Through toil in Torah, this buried nekudah is drawn from potential into reality — "I toiled and I found."