Yitzchak's wells and the soul's three levels

בענין הבארות שכתב בזוה"ק דעל ידי המצות מתקנים מה שתיקנו האבות ע"י הבארות.

Regarding the wells, concerning which the Zohar HaKadosh writes that through the mitzvos we rectify what the Avos rectified through the wells.

The Sefas Emes opens with the Zohar's teaching that the wells Yitzchak dug accomplished a rectification that we now achieve through the mitzvos.

דכתיב ויברא את האדם עפר מן האדמה ויפח באפיו נשמת חיים ויהי האדם לנפש חיה.

For it is written, "And He formed the man, dust from the ground, and He blew into his nostrils a soul of life, and the man became a living being" (Bereishis 2:7).

The verse of man's creation contains the key terms — dust, the breath of life, and a living soul — that the Sefas Emes will now unpack.

והם בחי' נשמה רוח ונפש.

And these are the aspects of neshamah, ruach, and nefesh.

The verse alludes to the three levels of the soul.

וצריך האדם להוציא הארת הנר"נ מתוך הגוף שהוא מעפר.

And a person must draw out the illumination of the nefesh-ruach-neshamah from within the body, which is [made] of dust.

The avodah of man is to extract the light of his soul-levels from within the earthy body.

והאדם בנר"ן שלו כולל כל העולמות כידוע.

And the human being, through his nefesh-ruach-neshamah, encompasses all the worlds, as is known.

The three levels of a person's soul correspond to, and contain, all the spiritual worlds.

והנפש קרוב יותר אל הגוף מרוח ונשמה ואחר החטא שנעשה תערובות מטוב ורע צריכין כולם בירור.

And the nefesh is closer to the body than the ruach and neshamah; and after the sin, through which an admixture of good and evil came about, they all require birur (refinement).

The nefesh is nearest the physical, and since the sin mingled good with evil, all three levels now need sorting and refinement.

והנפש נוטה רובו אל הרע.

And the nefesh inclines mostly toward evil.

Being closest to the body, the nefesh is the most susceptible to the pull of the yetzer hara.

והרוח ממוצע.

And the ruach is intermediate.

The ruach stands in the middle, balanced between good and evil.

והנשמה רובו טוב.

And the neshamah is mostly good.

The neshamah, the highest level, is predominantly good.

כענין שהוא בעולמות כמ"ש האר"י ז"ל בחלקי אבי"ע.

Just as it is in the worlds, as the Arizal explained regarding the portions of ABiY"A (Atzilus, Beriah, Yetzirah, Asiyah).

This gradation within the soul parallels the proportions of good and evil in the four spiritual worlds, as taught by the Arizal.

וזהו רמז באלה הבארות שסתמו פלשתים.

And this is the hint in these wells that the Pelishtim (Philistines) stopped up.

The wells the Pelishtim blocked symbolize the soul-levels obscured by the admixture of evil.

וגברה ידו של יצחק אח"כ וחזר והוציאם אל הפועל.

And Yitzchak's hand prevailed afterward, and he again brought them out into actuality.

Yitzchak re-dug the wells, drawing the hidden waters back into the open — symbolizing the recovery of the soul-light.

אח"כ באר שכתב ויריבו כו' לנו המים מרומז על חלק הרוח.

Afterward, the well of which it is written, "and they quarreled... 'the water is ours'" (Bereishis 26:20), alludes to the portion of the ruach.

The contested well of Esek corresponds to the ruach, the intermediate level over which good and evil struggle equally.

דיד שניהם בשוה.

For the hand of both is equal.

The full dispute reflects the ruach's balance — neither side has the upper hand.

אח"כ בשטנה כתיב ויריבו גם עלי' שהי' להם קצת תערובות הוא בחי' הנשמה.

Afterward, regarding Sitnah, it is written, "and they quarreled over it as well" (Bereishis 26:21) — that there was only a slight admixture for them — this is the aspect of the neshamah.

The second well, Sitnah, had only a minor dispute, corresponding to the neshamah, which is mostly good with only a small admixture of evil.

אח"כ ויעתק כו' הוא בחי' שורש הנר"נ.

Afterward, "and he moved on [and dug another well]" (Bereishis 26:22) — this is the aspect of the root of the nefesh-ruach-neshamah.

The third well, Rechovos, corresponds to the unified root of all three soul-levels.

והוא בחי' נשמה יתירה.

And it is the aspect of the neshamah yeseirah (the additional soul).

This root-level corresponds to the extra soul of Shabbos.

לכן ולא רבו עלי' כלל כמ"ש בדברי קדשו של מו"ז ז"ל כי רחובות הוא בחי' השבת שאין שם מגע סט"א כלל ויש בו הארה יתירה בנר"נ.

Therefore "they did not quarrel over it at all" — as is written in the holy words of my grandfather, of blessed memory, that Rechovos is the aspect of Shabbos, where there is no contact of the sitra achra at all, and there is an added illumination in the nefesh-ruach-neshamah.

Citing his grandfather, the Sefas Emes explains that the uncontested well, Rechovos, is Shabbos — wholly beyond the reach of impurity, carrying an extra light for all three soul-levels.

ואיתא בגמ' הנותן מתנה לחבירו צריך להודיעו שנאמר לדעת כי אני ה' מקדישכם אמר הקב"ה למשה מתנה טובה יש לי כו' לך והודיעם דיש להבין בענין השבת אי הקדושה מיוחד רק ביום הזה הלא קדושת שבת הוא למעלה מן הזמן.

And it is taught in the Gemara (Shabbos 10b): One who gives a gift to his fellow must inform him, as it is said, "to know that I am Hashem who sanctifies you" (Shemos 31:13). Hashem said to Moshe: "I have a good gift [in My treasury, Shabbos is its name]... go and inform them." Now, one must understand regarding Shabbos: is the kedushah unique only to this day? Surely the kedushah of Shabbos is above time.

The Gemara teaches Hashem told Moshe to inform Bnei Yisrael of the gift of Shabbos. The Sefas Emes asks: if Shabbos's holiness transcends time, why must it be "informed" as belonging to one particular day?

אבל באמת זו המתנה טובה נתן לנו הקב"ה מעולם.

But in truth, this good gift Hashem gave us from the very beginning.

The "gift" was implanted in man from the moment of creation, not only at Sinai.

והוא דכתיב ויפח באפיו נשמת חיים.

And this is what is written, "and He blew into his nostrils a soul of life."

The gift is the divine breath of soul placed within man at creation.

רק השבת הוא הדעת שנוכל להוציא מכח אל הפועל להתדבק בזו המתנה.

Only that Shabbos is the daas (awareness) by which we are able to bring this gift from potential into actuality, to cleave to it.

Shabbos itself is not a new gift but the awareness that lets us actualize and connect to the soul-light already within us.

וזהו שנאמר לדעת.

And this is what is said: "to know."

The phrase "to know" indicates that Shabbos provides the daas to access the gift.

צריך להודיע.

One must inform [him].

Hence the requirement to "inform" — to awaken the awareness of the gift.

דאיתא במשנה חביב אדם שנברא בצלם חבה יתירה נודעת כו' חביבין ישראל שניתן להם כלי חמדה חבה יתירה כו' חביבין שנק' בנים למקום חבה יתירה כו'.

For it is taught in the Mishnah (Avos 3:14): "Beloved is man, for he was created in the [divine] image; an extra love is made known [to him]..."; "Beloved are Yisrael, for they were given a precious vessel [the Torah]; an extra love..."; "Beloved are [Yisrael], for they are called children of the Omnipresent; an extra love..."

The Mishnah lists three expressions of Hashem's love, each accompanied by "an added love made known."

וג' אלו הם בחי' נפש במעשה שהוא ציור מצלם אלקים.

And these three are: the aspect of nefesh, in deed — which is the form of the "image of God."

"Created in the image" corresponds to the nefesh and the realm of action.

כלי חמדה הוא בחי' רוח ממללא.

"A precious vessel" (the Torah) is the aspect of the ruach — the "speaking spirit" (ruach memalela).

The Torah, given through speech, corresponds to the ruach, the faculty of speech.

בנים למקום הוא הנשמה במחשבה.

"Children of the Omnipresent" is the neshamah, in thought.

Being called Hashem's children corresponds to the neshamah and the realm of thought.

אך לכל אלו יש חבה יתירה נודעת.

But to all of these there is "an added love that is made known."

Each of the three soul-levels carries a further, revealed dimension of love.

והוא ע"י השבת שיש בו נר"נ יתירה לדעת להוציא מכח אל הפועל אלה הבארות לכן פי הבאר נברא בע"ש:

And this is through Shabbos, in which there is an added nefesh-ruach-neshamah — the daas to bring these "wells" from potential into actuality; therefore "the mouth of the well" was created on Erev Shabbos (the eve of Shabbos) (Avos 5:6).

Shabbos grants an extra measure of all three soul-levels — the awareness to actualize these inner "wells." This is why the Mishnah lists the "mouth of the well" among the things created at twilight on Erev Shabbos, bringing the essay back to the theme of the wells.

Summary: The wells Yitzchak dug correspond to the three levels of the soul — nefesh (inclined toward evil), ruach (intermediate), and neshamah (mostly good) — which since the sin require birur. The three contested wells (Esek, Sitnah) and the uncontested Rechovos map onto these levels, with Rechovos representing Shabbos, untouched by impurity. The neshamah-breath of creation is a "good gift" Hashem gave man from the start; Shabbos is the daas that lets us actualize it and cleave to it. The Mishnah's three "extra loves" (image of God, the Torah, being Hashem's children) correspond to nefesh, ruach, and neshamah — and Shabbos provides the added soul-light to draw these inner "wells" from potential into reality.