Three levels of creation toward Shabbos

ובמשנה סדרו אלה הג' מדריגות בעשרה מאמרות ועשרה דורות מאדם עד נח ועשרה מנח עד אברהם ואז הי' תיקון העולם והם הג' בחי' שכ' בפ' ויכלו ויכל אלקים ביום השביעי וישבות ויברך וע"ש בזוה"ק בפסוק זה.

And in the Mishnah they arranged these three levels: in the ten utterances [of creation], and the ten generations from Adam to Noach, and the ten from Noach to Avraham — and then there was the rectification of the world (tikkun ha-olam); and these are the three aspects written in the passage of "Vayechulu": "And God finished (vayechal) on the seventh day," "and He rested (vayishbos)," "and He blessed (vayevarech)" (Bereishis 2:2-3), and see there in the holy Zohar on this verse.

The Mishnah in Avos (5:1-2) lists three sets of ten — the ten utterances, the ten generations to Noach, the ten to Avraham — which the Sefas Emes maps onto the three phrases of the Shabbos creation account: "finished," "rested," and "blessed."

ואדה"ר הי' עיקר מעשה בראשית מעשי ידיו של הקב"ה ועליו נאמר ויכל מלאכתו.

And Adam HaRishon was the essence of the work of creation, the handiwork of the Holy One, and concerning him is said "and He finished His work."

Adam, formed directly by Hashem, was the culmination of creation, corresponding to "vayechal" — the completion of the divine work.

והוא בחי' שבת בראשית.

And he is the aspect of the Shabbos of Creation (Shabbos Bereishis).

Adam embodies the original Shabbos, the completion that crowned the six days.

וישבות הוא בחי' נח כמ"ש בזוה"ק פרשה זו.

And "and He rested" is the aspect of Noach, as is stated in the holy Zohar on this parshah.

"Vayishbos" (He rested) corresponds to Noach, whose very name means "rest" and who brought a measure of repose to the world.

ויברך את יום השביעי הוא בחי' אברהם אבינו והוא בחי' אור זרוע לצדיק כי הצדיק הוא כלי להאיר לעולם.

And "and He blessed the seventh day" is the aspect of Avraham Avinu, which is the aspect of "light is sown for the tzaddik" (Tehillim 97:11) — for the tzaddik is a vessel to illuminate the world.

"Vayevarech" (He blessed) corresponds to Avraham, who, as a tzaddik, became the channel of blessing and light radiating outward to all the world.

אבל מצינו יש צדיק אובד בצדקו כמו שהי' בנח.

But we find that there is a tzaddik who is lost in his righteousness (Koheles 7:15), as was the case with Noach.

Noach was righteous but contained — a tzaddik whose virtue did not spread to others, "lost" in that it remained his own.

ובאברהם התחיל ב' אלפים תורה מי העיר ממזרח כו'

And with Avraham began the two thousand years of Torah, "Who roused one from the east..." (Yeshayahu 41:2).

Avraham inaugurated the era of Torah, actively rousing the world toward Hashem rather than keeping his righteousness to himself.

ואלה הג' בחי' הם בשבת כי ששת ימים עשה וכו'.

And these three aspects are within Shabbos, for "in six days He made..." (Shemos 20:11).

The three phases — finishing, resting, blessing — are all contained in the single reality of Shabbos that crowns the six days of creation.

וזכרת כי עבד היית הוא בחי' החירות להיות כלי מוכן לתורה ועיקר השבת הוא שבו ניתנה תורה והוא תיקון עשרה מאמרות בכח עשרת הדברות.

And "you shall remember that you were a slave" (Devarim 5:15) is the aspect of freedom — to become a vessel prepared for the Torah; and the essence of Shabbos is that on it the Torah was given, and it is the rectification of the ten utterances through the power of the Ten Commandments.

The Shabbos of Yetzias Mitzrayim is about cherus (freedom) that readies a person to receive Torah; Shabbos is when the Torah was given, and the Ten Commandments repair and fulfill the ten utterances of creation.

ויברך א'ת'. הוא כ"ב אותיות התורה שבהם נברא העולם ומתברכין ביום השבת [ועיין בספר שערי אורה שער ב' דיש בחי' צדיק וצדק וצדקה והם ג' בחי' הנ"ל ובאברהם כתיב ויחשבה לו צדקה]

"And He blessed" — the word "es" (alef-tav) refers to the twenty-two letters of the Torah (from alef to tav) with which the world was created, and they are blessed on the day of Shabbos [and see the sefer Sha'arei Orah, Gate 2, that there are the aspects of tzaddik, tzedek, and tzedakah, which are the three aforementioned aspects; and concerning Avraham it is written, "and He reckoned it to him as tzedakah" (Bereishis 15:6)].

The seemingly extra word "es" (alef-tav) in "He blessed es the seventh day" hints at the 22 letters, alef through tav, with which creation was made — and these are blessed on Shabbos. The bracketed note links the three levels to tzaddik, tzedek, and tzedakah, the last associated with Avraham.

והמעיין היטב בזהר פ' ויכלו יבין הדברים:

And whoever examines well the Zohar on the passage of "Vayechulu" will understand these matters.

The Sefas Emes directs the reader to the Zohar on Vayechulu for the deeper basis of this whole structure.

Summary: The Mishnah's three sets of ten — the ten utterances, the ten generations to Noach, and the ten to Avraham — correspond to the three phrases of the Shabbos creation account: "He finished" (Adam, Shabbos Bereishis), "He rested" (Noach, who was a tzaddik but contained in his own righteousness), and "He blessed" (Avraham, the tzaddik who illuminates the world and began the era of Torah). All three are contained within Shabbos, the day the Torah was given, on which the Ten Commandments repair the ten utterances and the twenty-two letters of creation are blessed.