Shabbos as a gift with its path

בשם מו"ז ז"ל אמרו חז"ל על השבת מתנה טובה יש לי בבית גנזי וקי"ל הנותן בעין יפה נותן ולכן הנותן בור יש לו דרך ע"ש.

In the name of my grandfather z"l: Chazal said regarding Shabbos, "I have a good gift in My treasury," and we hold that one who gives, gives with a generous eye; therefore one who gives a pit (bor) thereby gives a path to it as well — see there.

His grandfather brings the halachic principle that a generous giver includes the means of access: when Hashem gave Shabbos as a gift, He also gave the way to reach it.

כמו כן בשבת שנקרא מתלה נותן ברכה ג"כ לקבל השבת.

So too with Shabbos, which is called a gift — He also gives the berachah (capacity) to receive the Shabbos.

Along with the gift of Shabbos itself, Hashem grants the ability to properly receive and absorb it.

וכ' ששת ימי המעשה יהי' סגור וביום השבת יפתח פרשנו כי השבת פותח סגורות ימי המעשה.

And it is written, "the six days of labor it shall be shut, but on the day of Shabbos it shall be opened" — we explained that Shabbos opens what was closed up during the days of labor.

The weekdays are a time of concealment; Shabbos unlocks and reveals the hidden light that the workdays had sealed away.

ואפשר על זה אמרו פי הבאר נברא בע"ש בין השמשות.

And perhaps this is why they said that the mouth of the well was created on Erev Shabbos at twilight.

The "mouth of the well," listed among the things created at twilight before the first Shabbos, hints at this very idea of an opening into Shabbos.

כי שבת הוא הבאר.

For Shabbos is the well.

Shabbos itself is the wellspring — the source of blessing and life — that the week draws from.

רק גם ההכנה בע"ש ניתן משמים שהוא עת לפתוח פי הבאר שהיא הדרך לקשר ימי המעשה בהשבת.

Only that even the preparation on Erev Shabbos is given from Heaven, for it is the time to open the mouth of the well — which is the path that links the days of labor to the Shabbos.

Even one's readiness on Erev Shabbos is a gift from Above; that twilight is the appointed opening that connects the ordinary week to the holiness of Shabbos.

וכפי מה שאדם מגעגע לקבל השבת בשמחה כך מורין לו הדרך.

And to the degree that a person yearns to receive the Shabbos with simchah, so is the path shown to him.

The intensity of one's longing to greet Shabbos with joy determines how clearly the way to it is revealed.

שהרי גוף המתנה היא הבאר.

For the essence of the gift is the well itself.

The gift proper is the well — Shabbos — and not merely the road leading to it.

רק ממילא המשתוקק לכנוס להשבת.

But automatically, for the one who longs to enter into the Shabbos —

For someone who genuinely yearns to enter Shabbos, the access comes of itself.

ממילא בכלל המתנה גם הדרך.

— automatically the path too is included in the gift.

Because Hashem gives with a generous eye, the very means of reaching Shabbos is bundled into the gift for one who desires it.

שבעין יפה נותן כנ"ל:

For He gives with a generous eye, as above.

This returns to the opening principle: the generous Giver always includes the path along with the gift.

Summary: Just as halacha says one who gives a pit also gives access to it, so when Hashem gives the gift of Shabbos He also grants the ability to receive it. Shabbos is the "well" that opens what the weekdays seal; the "mouth of the well," made at twilight before the first Shabbos, is the path connecting the week to Shabbos. The more one yearns to greet Shabbos with joy, the more clearly that path is given to him.