Yaakov, Shabbos, and the well of blessing

בפסוק הארץ אשר אתה שוכב כו' דרשו חז"ל קיפל הקב"ה כל א"י תחתיו.

On the pasuk, "The land upon which you lie," etc., Chazal expounded: HaKadosh Baruch Hu folded up all of Eretz Yisrael beneath him.

The Sefas Emes opens with the Midrash that Hashem compressed the entire Land of Israel beneath the sleeping Yaakov Avinu.

כמו שאבינו יעקב היה כולל כל הנפשות.

Just as Yaakov Avinu encompassed all the souls.

Yaakov contained within himself the root of all the neshamos of Bnei Yisrael.

שהוא האדם שברא הקב"ה בעולמו ודמותו חקוק תחת כסא הכבוד.

For he is the "adam" whom HaKadosh Baruch Hu created in His world, and whose image is engraved beneath the Kisei HaKavod (Throne of Glory).

Yaakov is the complete "man" of Creation, his very form etched beneath the Divine Throne.

ממילא שייך לו זה המקום שכולל כל המקומות.

Consequently this place, which includes all places, belongs to him.

Because Yaakov encompasses everything, the all-encompassing place of Eretz Yisrael rightfully belongs to him.

ובגמ' המענג את השבת נותנין לו נחלה בלי מצרים והאכלתיך נחלת יעקב לא כאברהם שכתוב בו לארכה ולרחבה כו' כיעקב שנאמר בו ופרצת ימה וקדמה כו'.

And in the Gemara: whoever delights in Shabbos is given an inheritance without boundaries — "and I will feed you the inheritance of Yaakov" — not like Avraham, of whom it is written "to its length and to its breadth," etc., but like Yaakov, of whom it is said "you shall spread out (uforatzta) to the west and to the east," etc.

He cites the Gemara (Shabbos 118a): one who delights in Shabbos receives the boundless inheritance of Yaakov — described not by fixed dimensions, as with Avraham, but by limitless spreading in all directions.

הענין הוא כי השבת הוא להיות עליית כל דבר לשורשו כדכתיב אל יצא איש ממקומו ביום השביעי.

The matter is that Shabbos is the elevation of everything to its root, as it is written, "Let no man go out of his place on the seventh day."

On Shabbos every thing rises back to its spiritual source; "no man shall leave his place" hints that each thing settles into its true root.

וזהו תכלית מעשה האדם למצוא המקום השייך אליו וממילא שורה בו ברכה ופרצת כו'.

And this is the purpose of a person's deeds: to find the place that belongs to him, and then blessing automatically rests upon him — "and you shall spread out," etc.

The goal of one's avodah is to find one's proper place; once found, blessing flows and one "spreads out" without limit.

ז"ש הארץ אשר אתה שוכב עליה לך אתננה.

This is the meaning of, "The land upon which you lie, I will give it to you."

The land "upon which you lie" is precisely the place that belongs to Yaakov by his very nature.

שהוא המקום השייך אליו.

For it is the place that belongs to him.

Hashem grants Yaakov the very place that is rooted in his essence.

ויעקב אע"ה הוא כולל כל הו' קצוות.

And Yaakov Avinu encompasses all six directions (sheish ketzavos).

Yaakov contains within himself all six spatial extremities — the whole of space.

וזהו רמז הסולם מוצב ארצה וראשו מגיע.

And this is the allusion of "the ladder was set upon the ground and its top reached [heavenward]."

The ladder of Yaakov's dream hints at his encompassing nature, joining the lowest and the highest.

והוא מעלה מטה.

And this is the [axis of] up and down.

The ladder, "set on the ground" with its "top reaching heaven," represents the two directions of above and below.

אח"כ ופרצת ימה הוא ד' רוחות.

Then "and you shall spread out to the west," etc., is the four directions (winds).

The promise of spreading west, east, north, and south corresponds to the four horizontal directions, which together with up and down make six.

והאמת כי רמז ופרצת הוא על הבנים י"ב שבטים ד' דגלים שכוללין כל גבולות הארץ.

And in truth, the allusion of "and you shall spread out" refers to the sons — the twelve Shevatim, the four banners (degalim) — who encompass all the boundaries of the land.

The "spreading" really points to Yaakov's children: the twelve tribes arranged under four banners, who together span the entire land.

לכן כתיב כאשר ילדה רחל את יוסף אמר שלחני.

Therefore it is written, "When Rachel had borne Yosef, he said, 'Send me away.'"

Only once Yosef was born did Yaakov ask to return — because the completion of the tribes enabled his return.

דכ' ופרצת כו'.

As it is written, "and you shall spread out," etc.

The "spreading" of the tribes was the precondition tied to Yaakov's homecoming.

ואח"כ והשיבותיך אל האדמה.

And afterward, "and I will return you to the land."

The promise of return to Eretz Yisrael follows the promise of spreading out — return depends on the tribes being complete.

ולכן כל שלא נולד דגל הרביעי שהוא משבט יוסף לא רצה לשוב.

Therefore, so long as the fourth banner — that of the tribe of Yosef — had not yet been born, he did not wish to return.

Yaakov waited for Yosef, who heads the fourth banner, since only then was the encompassing structure of the tribes complete enough to warrant his return.

והאבות הם בחי' השבת שהמרכבה עומד עליהם והם דביקים בה' ממש.

And the Avos are of the aspect of Shabbos, for the Merkavah (Divine Chariot) rests upon them, and they cling to Hashem literally.

The Patriarchs correspond to Shabbos: they are the "chariot" for the Shechinah, in complete deveikus with Hashem.

והשבטים המה התפשטות הקדושה לי"ב גבולים.

And the Shevatim are the spreading forth of holiness to the twelve boundaries.

The tribes carry the kedushah of the Avos outward, extending it across the twelve borders of the land.

וזה הרמז שלשה עדרי צאן רובצים הג' אבות.

And this is the allusion of "three flocks of sheep crouching" — the three Avos.

The three flocks at the well in the parsha hint at the three Patriarchs.

והם ג' סעודות דשבת ג' מיני השפעות.

And they are the three meals (seudos) of Shabbos — three kinds of Divine influence (hashpaos).

The three Avos also correspond to the three Shabbos meals, each channeling a distinct flow of blessing.

וע"ז רמז ביום השבת יפתח.

And to this alludes "on the day of Shabbos it shall be opened."

The verse (about the inner gate of the Mikdash) hints that the wellspring of blessing is opened specifically on Shabbos.

וכמ"ש פי הבאר נברא בע"ש.

As it is said, the mouth of the well was created on Erev Shabbos [at twilight].

He recalls that the "mouth of the well" was among the things created at twilight before the first Shabbos, linking the well to Shabbos.

ובשבת נפתח השפע ומתברכין מיני' שיתא יומין ונחלקים לג' מקמי שבתא וג' בתר שבתא והם ג' עדרי צאן רובצים היינו שנסמכין אל הש"ק שהוא הבאר.

And on Shabbos the flow of shefa is opened, and from it the six [week]days are blessed; and they divide into three before Shabbos and three after Shabbos — and these are the "three flocks of sheep crouching," meaning that they lean upon Shabbos Kodesh, which is the well.

Shabbos opens the wellspring that blesses all six weekdays; three days lead up to it and three follow, and these "flocks" draw from Shabbos, the source-well of all blessing.

וכפי מה שמבטלין כל שיתא יומין להשבת.

And according to the degree to which one nullifies all six [week]days to Shabbos...

The measure of bittul — surrendering the weekdays toward Shabbos — determines what follows.

כך נשאר הארה מהשבת לימי המעשה.

...so does an illumination from Shabbos remain for the weekdays.

The more one orients the workweek toward Shabbos, the more of Shabbos's light lingers to illuminate the ordinary days.

ונאספו שמה כל העדרים הם הי"ב שבטים והרמז דכתיב האספו ואגידה לכם.

"And all the flocks were gathered there" — these are the twelve Shevatim; and the allusion is in what is written, "Gather yourselves and I will tell you," etc.

The flocks gathering at the well hint at the twelve tribes; Yaakov's later call "gather yourselves" reflects the same theme of ingathering.

שע"י אסיפת השבטים יש להם דביקות באבות כנ"ל.

For through the gathering of the Shevatim they have deveikus with the Avos, as above.

When the tribes are gathered together, they attach themselves to the Avos — the Shabbos-aspect — as explained.

וע"ז רמז ביום החודש יפתח י"ב חדשים בשנה שהם י"ב מיני התחדשות מי"ב דרכים המיוחדים לי"ב שבטי עליון.

And to this alludes "on the day of the new moon it shall be opened" — the twelve months of the year, which are twelve kinds of renewal (hischadshus) from the twelve distinct pathways unique to the twelve supernal tribes.

The verse about the gate opening on Rosh Chodesh points to the twelve months, each a fresh channel of renewal corresponding to one of the twelve tribes above.

וכל אלה הפתחים יש מהם בכל יום ויום קצת הארה והמה ג' תפלות שמקדימין ה' שפתי תפתח וצריכין להסיר מקודם האבן גדולה ע"י המצות ופסוקי דזמרה נפתח הארת הג' עדרי צאן שהם ג' תפלות.

And from all these openings there is, each and every day, a small illumination; and these are the three tefillos, before which we say "Hashem, open my lips" — and one must first remove the great stone by means of the mitzvos, and through Pesukei d'Zimra the illumination of the "three flocks of sheep," which are the three tefillos, is opened.

A measure of these openings shines each day through the three daily tefillos; before davening we ask Hashem to open our lips, and we must first roll away the "great stone" blocking the well — through mitzvos and Pesukei d'Zimra — to release the light of the three prayers.

וי"ח ברכות הוא ג' ראשונות וג' אחרונות וי"ב באמצע כמ"ש במ"א מזה:

And the eighteen brachos [of Shemoneh Esrei] are the three first, the three last, and the twelve in the middle, as I have written elsewhere on this.

The structure of Shemoneh Esrei mirrors the whole pattern: three opening and three closing brachos correspond to the three Avos, and the twelve middle brachos to the twelve tribes.

Summary: Yaakov Avinu encompasses all souls and all six directions, so the all-inclusive land is folded beneath him — the boundless "inheritance of Yaakov" granted to one who delights in Shabbos. Shabbos is the elevation of everything to its root: the three Avos are its three flocks and three meals, the wellspring that blesses the six weekdays, while the twelve tribes spread that holiness to the twelve boundaries and twelve months of renewal. This pattern recurs daily in the three tefillos and in the three-twelve-three structure of Shemoneh Esrei, all drawing from the well of Shabbos.