Spiritual Refinement and Shabbat Unity

בפסוק והנה אנחנו מאלמים אלומים בתוך השדה.

On the verse, “Behold, we were binding sheaves in the middle of the field.”

Joseph’s dream opens with the brothers at work in the field. The Sefat Emet reads this image as a picture of their spiritual task.

כי כל עבודת השבטים הי' לברר תערובות טוב ורע.

For all the work of the tribes was to sort out the mixture of good and evil.

The sons of Jacob were charged with separating holiness from what is mixed into it.

והוא עבודת השדה להוציא החיות שנמצא גנוז.

This is the work of the field: bringing out the life that is hidden in it.

A field holds hidden life in the seed and the soil, and labor draws it out.

וצריך חרישה וזריעה. וקצירה וברירה להוציא התבואה מפסולת וקש.

It needs plowing and sowing, then reaping and sorting, to bring the grain out from the waste and the straw.

Every stage of farming is a stage of refining, ending with clean grain separated from chaff.

וכמו כן הוא בפנימיות כמ"ש נירו לכם ניר.

So too in the inner life, as it is written, “Break up your fallow ground.”

The farming image applies to the heart, which must also be plowed and cleared.

ובאמת הי' זה שורש הגלות במצרים בחומר ובלבנים כ"ע בשדה.

In truth this was the root of the exile in Egypt, “with mortar and bricks and all work in the field.”

The hard labor of Egypt was the full, bitter form of this work of refinement.

ובשבטים הי' באופן קל יותר מאלמים אלומים בתוך השדה וכמו שהשבטים הי' התנהגותם שורש לגלות מצרים.

With the tribes it took a lighter form, “binding sheaves in the field.” Just as the conduct of the tribes was the root of the Egyptian exile,

The brothers did in a gentle way what their descendants would later do under harsh bondage.

כמו כן יוסף הי' שורש לגאולת מצרים.

so Joseph was the root of the redemption from Egypt.

As the brothers seeded the exile, Joseph seeded the way out of it.

וז"ש קמה אלומתי וגם נצבה שהיא תכלית הבא מן העבודה.

This is the meaning of “my sheaf arose and also stood upright”: it is the goal that comes out of the work.

Joseph’s standing sheaf is the finished result that all the labor was aiming for.

וכעין זה הוא בימי המעשה שהם ימי עבודה וצריכין בירור ובשבת יש עלי' לכל המעשה בימי עבודה.

Something like this happens in the weekdays, which are days of work and need sorting, while on Shabbat all the deeds of the work days are raised up.

The week is the field and Shabbat is the sheaf that rises.

וזה קמה אלומתי. וכתיב בשבת היום לא תמצאוהו בשדה.

This is “my sheaf arose.” And it is written about Shabbat, “Today you will not find it in the field.”

The verse about the manna hints that on Shabbat there is no field work, because nothing needs to be gathered or sorted.

דבחול הוא כמ"ש יגעתי ומצאתי.

For on weekdays it is as is said, “I toiled and I found.”

During the week we find only through effort.

הוא מה שיכולין למצוא ע"י יגיעה ומלחמה עם היצה"ר להוציא נצוצי קדושה שנתערבו בפסולת.

That is, what one can find through toil and through battle with the evil inclination, bringing out the sparks of holiness that were mixed into the waste.

Weekday service is a struggle to rescue holiness from the places where it is buried.

ובשבת קודש אין צריך בירור.

But on the holy Shabbat no sorting is needed.

Shabbat gives without requiring us to separate good from bad.

והאמת כי השפע היורדת בימי המעשה הוא לכל העולם ולכן צריך בירור אוכל מתוך פסולת.

The truth is that the flow of blessing that comes down on the weekdays is for the whole world, and so it needs sorting, food from waste.

Weekday blessing is spread to everyone and arrives mixed, so it must be refined.

ובש"ק השפע מיוחד רק לבנ"י והוא בקדושה וא"צ בירור.

On the holy Shabbat the flow is given only to the children of Israel. It is in holiness and needs no sorting.

Shabbat’s blessing is set apart for Israel and comes already pure.

ולכן בחול בא ע"י צמצומים ומלאכים ובדרך הטבע וגשמיות.

So on weekdays it comes through limitations and angels, by the way of nature and physicality,

The week’s blessing passes through many layers before it reaches us.

ובש"ק באחדות מהקב"ה בעצמו.

while on the holy Shabbat it comes in oneness, from the Holy One Himself.

On Shabbat God gives directly, without go-betweens.

והנה בפרשה הקודמת כתיב תולדות עשו בשמותם למקומותם.

Now in the previous portion it is written, “the generations of Esau by their names, by their places.”

He turns to the list of Esau’s chiefs at the end of Vayishlach.

ונראה שכל אלו השמות היו מוכנים לעשו ותולדותיו אם היו מטיבים מעשיהם.

It seems that all these names were prepared for Esau and his descendants, had they improved their deeds.

Each name was a spiritual possibility that Esau’s family could have filled.

ואח"כ נתגלגלו כל אלה ההארות ליעקב ובניו.

Afterwards all these lights passed over to Jacob and his sons.

When Esau failed to claim them, those lights moved to Israel.

וזה הוא מאלמים אלומים בתוך השדה כדכ' בעשו איש שדה.

This is “binding sheaves in the middle of the field,” as it is written of Esau, “a man of the field.”

The field where the brothers gathered sheaves is Esau’s field. They were gathering what had been his.

וכן איתא יש ששמותיהן נאים ואין מעשיהם נאים.

Similarly it is taught: some have fine names but their deeds are not fine,

The Sages contrast a good name with poor conduct.

עשו ואינו עושה כו'.

“Esau,” yet he does not do, and so on.

The name Esau suggests doing, yet he did not do what his name called for.

כי הנה השם הוא התכלית מבוקש שנברא האדם בעבורו.

For the name is the purpose for which a person was created.

A person’s name expresses the mission he was sent to fulfill.

וכמו דאיתא במלאך ששמו ע"ש השליחות.

It is like what is taught about an angel, whose name follows its mission.

An angel is named for the errand it carries.

כמו כן אדם שנשתלח מעוה"ז כשגומר שליחותו זוכה לשמו המיוחד לו.

So too a person sent into this world, when he completes his mission, merits the name that is uniquely his.

Finishing one’s task in life is what earns one’s true name.

לכן איתא כי הרשעים שוכחים שמם בקבר.

Therefore it is taught that the wicked forget their names in the grave.

Those who abandon their mission lose hold of the name it would have given them.

[והרמז הוא כי הגוף הוא קבר.

[The hint is that the body is a grave.

He adds a bracketed note: the grave is also the body, where the soul can be forgotten.

וכששוכחין מן הנשמה בעוה"ז זה הוא שכחת השם] ולכן זכו הצדיקים באותן השמות שהיו מוכן לרשעים כמ"ש וימנע מרשעים אורם.

When one forgets the soul in this world, that is forgetting the name.] Therefore the righteous merited those names that were prepared for the wicked, as it is written, “From the wicked their light is withheld.”

The light the wicked refuse is not lost; it passes to the righteous.

והאמת הוא כי הכל צריך להיות לשם שמים בלבד דאיתא בגמ' ביום ההוא יהיה ה' אחד ושמו אחד והאידנא לאו אחד הוא אלא לא כשהוא נכתב הוא נקרא ע"ש.

The truth is that everything must be only for the sake of Heaven. The Talmud says, “On that day God will be One and His name One. Is He not One now? Rather, not as it is written is it read.”

Today God’s name is pronounced differently from how it is written, a sign that His full name is not yet revealed.

והענין הוא שבעוה"ז נסתר ונעלם ההנהגה הפנימיות ונכסה בדרך הטבע.

The point is that in this world the inner guidance is hidden and concealed, covered by the way of nature.

God’s direct rule is masked behind natural events.

וצריכין בנ"י להעיד ולברר שם כבוד מלכותו ית' בעולם.

The children of Israel must testify and bring out the name of the glory of His kingdom in the world.

Israel’s task is to make God’s hidden kingship visible.

וזהו עבודת בנ"י בעולם דאיתא כל מה שברא הקב"ה לכבודו ברא ואין כבוד אלא תורה וכל התורה שמותיו של הקב"ה וע"י היגיעה בתורה ובמצות מבררין כבוד שמו ית' בעולם.

This is the work of Israel in the world. It is taught that all that the Holy One created, He created for His glory, and there is no glory but Torah, and the whole Torah is names of the Holy One. Through toil in Torah and mitzvot we bring out the glory of His name in the world.

Learning and doing the commandments reveal God’s names hidden in creation.

כי קודם החטא הי' קדושת שמו ית' נגלה בעוה"ז כמו בשמים.

For before the sin, the holiness of His name was revealed in this world as in heaven.

Before Adam’s sin there was no gap between earth and heaven.

אבל ע"י החטא נעשה פירוד ותערובת טוב ורע בעולם הזה.

But through the sin, separation and a mixture of good and evil came into this world.

The sin created the mixture that must now be sorted.

וכפי מה שיש לאדם חלק בכבוד שמו ית' בעולם.

According to the share a person has in the glory of His name in the world,

The more one reveals God’s name here,

כמו כן זוכה לשם המיוחד לו בעוה"ב.

so he merits the name that is uniquely his in the World to Come.

the more fully one receives his own name there.

וזה הרמז נרי בידך ונרך בידי.

This is the hint of “My lamp is in your hand and your lamp is in My hand.”

We hold God’s light in this world, and He holds ours in the next.

כי השם הוא התפשטות במקום רחוק.

For a name is an extension into a distant place.

A name reaches where the person himself cannot be; God’s name reaches into our far world.

ונחזור לדברינו כי השבטים ביררו כל הנ"ק שהי' נמצא בשורש עשו ותולדותיו.

Let us return to our words: the tribes sorted out all the holy sparks that were found in the root of Esau and his descendants.

Back to the brothers: their work was gathering the good hidden in Esau.

וז"ש במדרש המוץ והתבן היו מריבים ע"ש בפ' וישלח כי כל זמן שהי' עוד קצת אוכל בקשין.

This is what the Midrash says: the chaff and the straw were quarreling (see there in Vayishlach). As long as there was still some grain in the straw,

While some wheat was still inside the chaff, the struggle went on.

הי' להם מלחמות. ואח"כ כשהוציאו כל ההארות נתקיים בית יעקב אש.

there were wars. Afterwards, when they had brought out all the lights, it was fulfilled: “The house of Jacob shall be fire,

Once every spark was retrieved, the prophecy of Ovadiah could be fulfilled.

יוסף להבה. בית עשו לקש.

the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau straw.”

The empty straw that remains is Esau, ready to be burned away.

לכן כשנתעלה יוסף ויצא מבית האסורים אז כתיב בעשו וילך אל ארץ.

Therefore when Joseph rose up and left the prison, it is written of Esau, “and he went to a land.”

Joseph’s rise and Esau’s departure are linked: when holiness is gathered, its husk moves away.

ואלה הבירורים הם עבודת כל בנ"י בפרט בגלות שנמצא הארות גנוזות בתוך הרשעים ומקומותם שצריכין להוציאם.

These acts of sorting are the work of all Israel, especially in exile, where hidden lights are found among the wicked and in their places, and they must be brought out.

Exile places Israel exactly where hidden holiness waits to be rescued.

ועל אלה הארות כתיב ה' שומר את גרים שהקב"ה שומר הנפשות שעתידין לצאת ולהתגייר כל ימי היותם תוך הפסולת.

Of these lights it is written, “God guards the strangers.” The Holy One guards the souls who will one day come out and convert, all the time they are within the waste.

Future converts are such lights, kept safe by God until they emerge.

ולאו דוקא נפשות. ונכלל בזה כל ניצוצי קדושה שעתידין להתברר ולהתכלל בצדיקים.

Not only souls: this includes every spark of holiness that will one day be sorted out and absorbed into the righteous.

Every bit of good in the world is waiting for its return.

וזאת עבודת ימי המעשה.

This is the work of the weekdays.

All this refining belongs to the six days.

אבל השבת מיוחד רק לבנ"י.

But Shabbat belongs to Israel alone.

Shabbat is a different realm.

וכתיב ביני ובין בני ישראל אות הוא כו' ששת ימים עשה כו'.

It is written, “Between Me and the children of Israel it is a sign... for in six days He made,” and so on.

The verse ties Shabbat to Israel and to the six days of creation.

דאיתא לא הי' צריך התורה להתחיל רק מהחודש הזה לכם מצוה ראשונה כו' רק משום כח מעשיו.

It is taught that the Torah need only have begun from “This month shall be for you,” the first mitzvah, but it began with creation because of “the power of His works.”

Rashi’s famous question: why does the Torah start with Genesis? Because “He told His people the power of His works.”

וזאת הקושיא אינו על התורה דוקא.

This question is not about the Torah alone.

Rashi’s question reaches deeper than the order of the text.

רק הענין הוא כי התורה ובנ"י מיוחדים רק לפנימיות עבודת השי"ת כמלאכי מרומים רק שכל מעשה בראשית הי' לזכות את בנ"י.

Rather, the Torah and Israel are set apart only for the inner service of God, like the angels on high, and all the work of creation was only to give merit to Israel.

Creation exists so that Israel can work with it and earn merit.

כח מעשיו הגיד. להעלות כל הנ"ק שנמצאו ונגנזו במעשי בראשית.

“The power of His works He told” means raising up all the holy sparks that were found and hidden in the work of creation.

The phrase hints at Israel’s task of lifting the sparks hidden in nature.

וזה הי' בימי המעשה.

And this was in the weekdays.

That is weekday work.

אבל השבת הוא כולו תורה ומיוחד רק לבנ"י.

But Shabbat is entirely Torah and belongs only to Israel.

Shabbat is pure Torah, needing no refining.

וזה האות ביני ובין בני ישראל כי ביום השביעי שבת וינפש וא"צ שום בירור בשבת כנ"ל.

This is the sign “between Me and the children of Israel,” for on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed, and no sorting at all is needed on Shabbat, as said above.

The sign of Shabbat is rest from the work of sorting.

וב' אלו הבחינות עבודת ימי המעשה והגלות ויום השבת והגאולה.

These two aspects are the work of the weekdays and exile, and the day of Shabbat and redemption.

He pairs the week with exile and Shabbat with redemption.

הוא עבודת השבטים ויוסף הצדיק.

They are the work of the tribes and of Joseph the righteous.

The brothers stand for the week’s labor, and Joseph for Shabbat and redemption.

ואיתא כי י"ב סדרי תורה מיוחדים לי"ב שבטים.

It is taught that the twelve orders of the Torah correspond to the twelve tribes.

The Torah itself is divided along the lines of the tribes.

תורת ה' תמימה משיבת נפש עדות ה' כו' מחכימת פתי כו'.

“The Torah of God is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of God,” and so on, “making wise the simple,” and so on.

He cites Psalm 19, which praises the Torah in a series of six phrases.

ונראה כי הם בחי' ימי המעשה עם הלילות כי בכל יום הוא דרך מיוחד מתפשט מן התורה בשם מיוחד לעבודת היום.

It seems that these are the aspect of the weekdays with their nights. For on each day a special path extends from the Torah with a special name for that day’s service.

Each of the six phrases matches a weekday, each with its own way of drawing from Torah.

והפעולה מצד המקבלים הוא בחי' הלילה.

The action on the side of the receivers is the aspect of the night.

Day gives and night receives.

דיש בכל דבר דכר ונוקבא.

For in everything there is a giver and a receiver.

Every level has a giving side and a receiving side.

אבל השבת הוא עצם התורה ואחדות אחד.

But Shabbat is the very essence of the Torah, the unity of One.

Shabbat is not one more path but the Torah itself, whole.

וסיום המזמור הנחמדים מזהב כו' הוא בחי' יום השבת ויוסף הצדיק ודוק כי קצרתי:

The close of the psalm, “more desirable than gold,” and so on, is the aspect of the day of Shabbat and of Joseph the righteous. Consider this well, for I have been brief.

The psalm ends beyond the six phrases, pointing to Shabbat and Joseph.

Summary: The brothers binding sheaves in Joseph’s dream picture the work of the weekdays and of exile: sorting good from evil and bringing out the holiness hidden in the world, even in Esau’s field. Joseph’s upright sheaf is the goal of that work, like Shabbat, which needs no sorting and is given to Israel directly by God. Each person earns his true name by revealing God’s name in the world, and the twelve tribes’ labor finds its completion in Joseph, Shabbat and the redemption.