Mutual Love On Shabbos

ס' משנה תורה כמו משנה לחם בשבת

Sefer Mishneh Torah (Devarim) is like the mishneh lechem, the double portion of bread, on Shabbos.

Sefer Devarim, the 'repetition of the Torah,' parallels the double loaves of Shabbos.

והם בחי' תורה שבכתב ותורה שבע"פ ואין לחם אלא תורה

These two are the aspect of Torah Shebichsav (the Written Torah) and Torah Sheba'al Peh (the Oral Torah), and 'there is no bread except Torah' (Sanhedrin 70a).

Written Torah and Oral Torah correspond to the two loaves, and Torah is compared to bread.

והוא בחי' התחברות בנ"י לאביהן שבשמים

This is the aspect of the joining of Bnei Yisrael to their Father in Heaven.

Both this Torah and this bread express the bond between Bnei Yisrael and Hashem.

כדכתי' את ה' האמרת וה' האמירך

As it is written, 'You have distinguished Hashem this day... and Hashem has distinguished you this day' (Devarim 26:17-18).

The pasuk describes a mutual distinguishing: Bnei Yisrael set Hashem apart, and Hashem sets them apart.

וכ"כ במד' מוכיח אדם אחרי שהמשיך מרע"ה התורה מן השמים לבנ"י וקירב אח"כ לבם של ישראל לשמים

And so the Midrash writes, 'one who rebukes a person' (after Moshe Rabbeinu), for after Moshe Rabbeinu drew down the Torah from Heaven to Bnei Yisrael, he then drew the hearts of Yisrael near to Heaven.

Moshe Rabbeinu's role was twofold: bringing the Torah down from Heaven and lifting the hearts of Yisrael back up to Heaven.

וזהו הבחי' מתגלה ג"כ בש"ק הארת מרע"ה

And this aspect is likewise revealed on Shabbos Kodesh through the illumination of Moshe Rabbeinu.

That same dual movement of Moshe Rabbeinu shines anew on Shabbos.

לכן יש בו ב' ההתקרבות

Therefore there are within it both of these drawings-near.

Because of this, Shabbos contains both directions of closeness, from Above and from below.

וזה שאומרים בקידוש היום ושבת קדשו באהבה וברצון הנחילנו ואח"כ פעם ב' ושבת קדשו באהבה וברצון הנחלתנו

And this is what we say in the Kiddush of the day, 'and His holy Shabbos, with love and with favor, He gave us as an inheritance,' and afterward a second time, 'and His holy Shabbos, with love and with favor, He bequeathed to us.'

The Kiddush mentions Hashem's giving of Shabbos twice, hinting at these two distinct movements.

שהוא אהבה ורצון למעלה אל בנ"י

For this is the love and favor from Above toward Bnei Yisrael,

The first expresses Hashem's love and favor coming down toward Bnei Yisrael.

ואהבה ורצון בנפשות בנ"י לשמים

and the love and favor within the souls of Bnei Yisrael toward Heaven.

The second expresses the love and favor rising up from within Bnei Yisrael toward Heaven.

וב' הבחי' כפולים

And both of these aspects are doubled.

Each of these two directions itself splits into two components.

אהבה היא התשוקה כמ"ש ועלי תשוקתו ורצון הוא להתרצות אל השתוקקות שלנו לשמים

'Love' is the yearning, as it is written, 'and toward me is his yearning' (Bereishis 4:7), and 'favor' is to be appeased toward our yearning for Heaven.

'Love' means yearning, and 'favor' means being appeased and receptive to that yearning, here speaking of Hashem's side.

וכן הוא למטה

And so it is below as well:

The same two-part structure exists on the human side as well.

אהבה התשוקה אל הבורא

'love' is the yearning toward the Creator,

From below, 'love' is the soul's yearning toward the Creator.

ורצון לעשות רצונו ית'

and 'favor' is to do His blessed will.

And 'favor' from below is the desire to actually carry out Hashem's will.

וכן איתא במד' יפה כתרצה כשאתם מתרצים לי

And so it is brought in the Midrash: 'beautiful, like Tirtzah' (Shir HaShirim 6:4) — meaning, when you are pleasing (misratzim) to Me,

The Midrash on 'like Tirtzah' reads it as a mutual being-pleased between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael.

וכשאני מתרצה לכם

and when I am pleased (misratzeh) with you.

It includes both Hashem being pleased with us and us being pleasing to Him.

וב' התשוקות מתעוררין בש"ק והוא מצד נשמה יתירה היורדת בשבת כמ"ש ז"ל וינפש

And both of these yearnings are awakened on Shabbos Kodesh, and this is by virtue of the neshamah yeseirah, the additional soul, that descends on Shabbos, as Chazal expounded on 'vayinafash' (Shemos 31:17).

Both yearnings are stirred on Shabbos through the extra soul that comes down, hinted in the word 'vayinafash.'

נפש הוא רצון ותשוקה המתגברת בש"ק

'Nefesh' is the will and yearning that grows stronger on Shabbos Kodesh.

The word 'nefesh' itself signals the will and yearning that intensifies on Shabbos.

ובאמת נק' שבת אות ביני ובין בנ"י לפי שבשבת נפתח הרצון והאהבה בנפשות בנ"י וכמו כן למעלה

And in truth, Shabbos is called 'a sign between Me and Bnei Yisrael' (Shemos 31:17) because on Shabbos the will and the love are opened within the souls of Bnei Yisrael, and likewise Above.

Shabbos is a 'sign' precisely because it opens this will and love both within Bnei Yisrael and above.

א"כ הוא אות ועדות ובוודאי בכלל ישראל מתקיים זאת אבל צריך כל איש ישראל לייגע עצמו למצוא בש"ק אהבה יתירה לשמים וכפי רוב האהבה המתעורר בנפשו כך זוכה לבחי' נשמה יתירה ואות השבת כנ"ל:

If so, it is a sign and a testimony, and certainly within Klal Yisrael as a whole this is fulfilled; but every individual Jew must exert himself to find on Shabbos Kodesh an additional love for Heaven, and according to the abundance of love awakened within his soul, so does he merit the aspect of the neshamah yeseirah and the sign of the Shabbos, as above.

While this sign is guaranteed for Klal Yisrael collectively, each Jew must personally labor to awaken added love for Heaven on Shabbos, and his share in the extra soul and the sign of Shabbos matches the love he arouses.

Summary: The Sfas Emes connects Sefer Devarim, the 'repetition of the Torah,' to the double loaves of Shabbos, both representing the two-way bond between Bnei Yisrael and Hashem. Moshe Rabbeinu both drew the Torah down from Heaven and drew the hearts of Yisrael up toward Heaven, and this double movement shines again on Shabbos Kodesh, which is why the Kiddush twice mentions Hashem's gift of Shabbos. Each direction divides into 'love' (yearning) and 'favor' (being appeased and receptive), so there is a mutual yearning and pleasing between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael, awakened through the neshamah yeseirah that descends on Shabbos. This is why Shabbos is called a 'sign' between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael. Yet while the sign is assured for Klal Yisrael as a whole, every individual must exert himself to arouse added love for Heaven on Shabbos, for one's share in the additional soul and the sign of Shabbos corresponds to the love awakened in his neshamah.