Yosef, Shabbos, and banishing evil

בפסוק כאשר ילדה רחל את יוסף כו' דרשו חז"ל כשנולד שטנו של עשו בית יוסף להבה כו'

On the pasuk, "And it was, when Rachel gave birth to Yosef [that Yaakov said to Lavan, Send me away]" (Bereishis 30:25), Chazal expounded: when the adversary (satan) of Esav was born, [as it is written,] "the house of Yosef shall be a flame [and the house of Esav for straw]" (Ovadiah 1:18).

Chazal connect Yaakov's wish to leave Lavan with the birth of Yosef, for Yosef is the spiritual counterforce to Esav — "the house of Yosef shall be a flame" that consumes the "straw" of Esav. The birth of Yosef gave Yaakov the strength to confront Esav and return home.

דשם יוסף הוא מב' טעמים אסף את חרפתי. ויוסף לי כו'.

For the name Yosef is from two reasons: "He has gathered in (asaf) my shame" (Bereishis 30:23), and "May Hashem add (yosef) to me [another son]" (Bereishis 30:24).

The Torah itself gives a double meaning to the name Yosef. One root, "asaf," means to gather in and remove — the removal of shame. The other, "yosef," means to add and increase. These two aspects, removal and addition, are the key to the Sefas Emes's teaching.

כי הוא בחי' שבת נשמה יתירה.

For he [Yosef] is the aspect of Shabbos, the neshamah yeseirah (the additional soul).

Yosef corresponds to Shabbos, and specifically to the "neshamah yeseirah," the extra soul that every Jew receives on Shabbos — the dimension of added holiness that descends from a higher world.

וגם שבת הוא לב' טעמים מלשון שביתה והשבתה כי כפי מה שמושכין הארה מעולם העליון כך מגרשין כל הסט"א שהם רק תוך הטבע וכשיש הארה למעלה מדרך הטבע ממילא אין מקום לסט"א להחשיך:

And Shabbos too is from two meanings: from the expression "shevisah" (resting) and "hashbasah" (causing to cease) — for according to how much radiance (he'arah) one draws from the upper world, so does one drive out all the sitra achra (the "other side," the forces of evil), which exist only within nature; and when there is illumination above the way of nature, then automatically there is no place for the sitra achra to cast darkness.

The very word Shabbos carries the same double meaning as Yosef. "Shevisah" is the positive drawing-down of holy rest and added radiance (parallel to "yosef," adding), while "hashbasah" is the ceasing and removal of evil (parallel to "asaf," gathering away the shame). These two are really one process: by drawing illumination from the supernal world — a light above nature — the sitra achra, which has power only within the bounds of nature, is automatically banished. Adding holy light is itself what removes the darkness.

Summary: The birth of Yosef, the "flame" destined to consume Esav, gave Yaakov the power to leave Lavan and face his brother. Yosef's name carries two meanings — "asaf" (gathering away shame) and "yosef" (adding) — which parallel the two meanings of Shabbos: "hashbasah" (causing evil to cease) and "shevisah" (drawing down added holy rest). Yosef is the neshamah yeseirah of Shabbos, and the lesson is that the two are one: when a person draws illumination from the upper world, a light above nature, the forces of evil — which have power only within nature — are automatically driven out. Adding holiness is itself what removes the darkness.