Hashem's Name resting upon Yaakov through soul and mitzvos

שיעקב בחר לו הנהגה עליונה בחי' ה' נצב עליו.

That Yaakov chose for himself a higher mode of guidance — the aspect of "Hashem stood over him" (Bereishis 28:13).

Yaakov chose to live under a direct, supernal hashgachah (Divine providence), expressed in the vision of Hashem standing over him at the ladder.

וזה עצמו הנדר והי' ה' לי לאלקים שיחול שמו עלי מתחלה ועד סוף כמו שזכו בנ"י אחריו שאמר הקב"ה אנכי ה' אלקיך.

And this itself was the vow, "and Hashem shall be my God" (Bereishis 28:21) — that His Name should rest upon me from beginning to end, just as Bnei Yisrael merited after him when Hashem said, "I am Hashem your God."

Yaakov's vow was that Hashem's Name should rest upon him completely, a level his descendants later attained at Sinai with "Anochi Hashem Elokecha."

עליך ייחד שמו ביותר.

"Upon you He singled out His Name" especially.

Hashem attached His Name uniquely to Yaakov — He is called "the God of Yisrael" in a way He is not called of others.

ויעקב אבינו נתן נפשו ע"ז.

And Yaakov Avinu gave his very soul over to this.

Yaakov devoted himself with total mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice) to having Hashem's Name rest upon him.

ומרע"ה הוציאו מכח אל הפועל במתן תורה שנק' השי"ת לעולם אלקי ישראל.

And Moshe Rabbeinu brought it from potential into actuality at the giving of the Torah, by which Hashem is forever called "the God of Yisrael."

What Yaakov established as potential, Moshe Rabbeinu realized in actuality at Matan Torah, when Hashem's Name became permanently bound to Yisrael.

וזו הזכיה הגדולה שזכינו לבחי' ה' אלקינו שזה הי' תכלית יציאת מצרים להיות לכם לאלקים.

And this is the great merit that we attained — the aspect of "Hashem our God" — which was the very purpose of yetzias Mitzrayim (the Exodus): "to be a God unto you" (Vayikra 22:33).

The whole purpose of leaving Mitzrayim was to reach this level of "Hashem our God," with His Name resting upon Bnei Yisrael.

וזה מצד הנשמה.

And this is from the side of the neshamah.

This bond of Hashem's Name resting upon us flows from the neshamah, the soul's inner connection to Hashem.

והסולם הוא בחי' המצות נר מצוה שהם עצות להמשיך אלקות ע"י מעשה המצות.

And the ladder is the aspect of the mitzvos — "a mitzvah is a lamp" (Mishlei 6:23) — which are counsel for drawing down Godliness through the performance of the mitzvos.

The ladder in Yaakov's dream represents the mitzvos, which serve as the practical means — the "rungs" — for drawing Hashem's presence down into this world through action.

ולכן עולים ויורדים בו כי ע"י מ"ע עולים המלאכים.

Therefore "they ascend and descend upon it" (Bereishis 28:12), for through the positive commandments (mitzvos asei) the angels ascend.

Each mitzvas asei a person performs creates an angel that rises upward, raising holiness.

וע"י מל"ת יורדין אותם המלאכים שצריכין לירד.

And through the negative commandments (mitzvos lo sa'aseh) those angels that need to descend, descend.

By guarding the prohibitions, a person sends down and removes the forces that need to be pushed away.

כדאיתא במד' למעלה המלמד זכותן של ישראל עולה.

As is brought in the Midrash: above, the one who advocates the merit of Yisrael ascends.

The Midrash describes angels who plead for Bnei Yisrael's merit rising upward — corresponding to the mitzvos asei.

והמלמד חובתן יורד.

And the one who argues their guilt descends.

Conversely, the prosecuting angels are sent downward — corresponding to guarding the prohibitions.

אבל התורה היא עצם אלקות ממש והוא בחי' הנשמה חלק אלקי ממעל.

But the Torah itself is literally the very essence of Godliness, and it is the aspect of the neshamah — "a portion of God from above" (Iyov 31:2).

While the mitzvos are the ladder by which we ascend, the Torah is on a higher plane: it is Hashem's own essence, corresponding to the neshamah, which is itself a piece of the Divine.

וכ' במד' צמאה לך נפשי כו' כשם שנפשי צמאה כך רמ"ח אברים כו'.

And it is written in the Midrash: "My soul thirsts for You" (Tehillim 63:2) — just as my soul thirsts, so do my 248 limbs thirst.

The Midrash teaches that the longing for Hashem is so powerful that it spreads from the soul into all 248 limbs of the body — even the physical body comes to yearn for Him.

זה עיקר החיבה של יעקב שגם תשוקת הגוף הי' מתהפך אל תשוקת הנפש.

This is the essence of Yaakov's belovedness — that even the desire of the body was transformed into the desire of the soul.

Yaakov's unique greatness was that he refined himself so completely that even his bodily desires were turned around to long for Hashem, in harmony with the soul.

וזה הרמז המענג את השבת זוכה לנחלת יעקב.

And this is the hint in: "one who delights in the Shabbos merits the inheritance of Yaakov" (Shabbos 118a).

The reward of "the inheritance of Yaakov" alludes to this very level — attaining Yaakov's transformation of the body's desire into the soul's longing.

פי' שיש לו שמחה בהתגלות הנשמה.

The explanation is that he has joy in the revelation of the neshamah.

The "delight" of Shabbos is the simchah a person feels when the neshamah is revealed and shines forth.

דשבת יומא דנשמתין.

For Shabbos is the "day of souls" (the day on which the neshamah shines).

On Shabbos the neshamah, and the extra neshamah yeseirah, are revealed — making it the day of the soul's disclosure.

זוכה לנחלה בלי מצרים שהוא בחי' אנכי ה' אלקיך ע"י שהוא זכר ליצ"מ וקבלת התורה:

He merits "an inheritance without boundaries" (Shabbos 118a), which is the aspect of "I am Hashem your God," by virtue of its being a remembrance of yetzias Mitzrayim and the receiving of the Torah.

This boundless inheritance is the level of "Anochi Hashem Elokecha" — Hashem's Name resting fully upon us. Shabbos, being a remembrance of both the Exodus and Matan Torah, brings a person to that very level.

Summary: Yaakov chose to live under Hashem's direct providence and vowed, with mesirus nefesh, that Hashem's Name rest upon him "from beginning to end" — a level realized for all Bnei Yisrael at Matan Torah in "Anochi Hashem Elokecha." This bond flows from the neshamah, while the ladder of the mitzvos is the means of drawing Godliness down through deed. Higher still is the Torah itself, the very essence of the Divine. Yaakov's distinction was that even his body's desire was transformed into the soul's longing for Hashem — and one who delights in Shabbos, the day the neshamah is revealed, inherits this same boundless connection of "Hashem our God."