Remembering Creation Through Shabbos

בפסוק זכור ימות עולם כו' בזוה"ק שיתא יומי בראשית כו'

Regarding the verse "Remember the days of old" (Devarim 32:7), the Holy Zohar speaks of the six days of Creation.

The Sfas Emes opens with the verse "Remember the days of old" and connects it, via the Zohar, to the six days of Creation.

דכתיב ששת ימים עשה ה' את השמים

As it is written, "For in six days Hashem made the heavens" (Shemos 20:11).

He brings the verse that Hashem made the heavens in six days as the basis for what these "days of old" are.

ואלו הששת ימים הם מעשה ידיו של הקב"ה

These six days are the handiwork of the Holy One, Blessed is He.

These six days are the direct handiwork of the Holy One, Blessed is He, not merely a stretch of time.

ועליהם כתיב תמים פעלו והם באחדות כי פי' תמים שיש בכל נקודה הכל

And concerning them it is written, "His work is perfect" (Devarim 32:4), and they exist in oneness, for the meaning of "perfect" (tamim) is that within every single point the whole is contained.

Because they are His perfect work, they exist in complete oneness — "perfect" meaning that the entirety is present within each single point.

וזה בחי' מעשה בראשית

This is the aspect of the Maaseh Bereishis, the act of Creation.

This unified state is the inner reality of Maaseh Bereishis, the act of Creation.

ולכן כתיב בשבת ויכל כו' מלאכתו וישבות מכל מלאכתו

Therefore it is written regarding Shabbos, "And He completed His work, and He rested from all His work" (Bereishis 2:2).

Shabbos is the point of completion and rest, gathering up all the work of those six days.

כי מאותן הששת ימים נמשך אח"כ כל הזמנים ממדריגה למדריגה ונתלבשו בטבעיות

For from those six days there afterward flowed forth all the periods of time, descending from level to level until they became clothed in the garments of nature.

After those six days, time unfolded downward through successive levels until it became hidden inside the ordinary workings of nature.

אבל בנ"י יכולין לזכור אותן הששה ימים בכח השבת

But Bnei Yisrael are able to remember those six days through the power of Shabbos.

Through the power of Shabbos, Bnei Yisrael can reconnect to and remember those original six days.

לכן שבת זכרון למעשה בראשית

Therefore Shabbos is a remembrance of the act of Creation.

This is why Shabbos is called a remembrance of the act of Creation.

ואין לזה חלק רק לבנ"י הדבקים באחדות כמ"ש חלק ה' עמו

And no one has a portion in this except Bnei Yisrael, who cleave to that oneness, as it is written, "For Hashem's portion is His people" (Devarim 32:9).

Only Bnei Yisrael, who cling to that original oneness, have a share in this remembrance, as they are Hashem's portion.

אבל הנטבעים בתוך הטבע אין להם חלק בזה

But those who are sunk within nature itself have no portion in this.

Those who are completely embedded in nature, with no connection to its Source, have no part in this.

ולכן כ' בינו שנות דור פי' השינוים שנעשו אח"כ מדור לדור בהפרידו בני אדם

Therefore it is written, "Understand the years of generation after generation" (Devarim 32:7) — meaning the changes that came about afterward from generation to generation, "when He separated the sons of man" (Devarim 32:8).

The verse "Understand the years of generation after generation" points to the changes that entered the world over the generations once mankind was divided.

לכן כ' ביני ובין בני ישראל אות הוא כו' כי ששת ימים עשה

Therefore it is written, "It is a sign between Me and Bnei Yisrael... for in six days Hashem made" (Shemos 31:17) —

The verse calling Shabbos "a sign between Me and Bnei Yisrael... for in six days Hashem made" links the sign of Shabbos to the act of Creation.

שבנ"י יודעין זה הכח השורש ויכולין להעיד על מעשה בראשית

that Bnei Yisrael know this power, the root, and are able to bear witness to the act of Creation.

Bnei Yisrael grasp this root power and are therefore fit to testify to the reality of Creation.

עוד פי' זכור ימות עולם כמ"ש ימים יוצרו ולא אחד בהם שהוא שורש הצורה של אדם קודם שנתלבש בגוף כדפרש"י שם

There is a further explanation of "Remember the days of old": as it is written, "the days were fashioned, when not one of them yet was" (Tehillim 139:16) — referring to the root of the very form of man before it was clothed in a body, as Rashi explains there.

A second reading of "the days of old" points to the days from "the days were fashioned" — the spiritual root of man's form before his neshamah was clothed in a physical body.

והנשמה כשבאה לעולם נשכח ממנה הכל כדאיתא במדרשות

And when the neshamah comes into the world, all of this is forgotten from it, as is brought in the Midrashim.

Once the neshamah enters this world, it forgets that lofty origin, as the Midrashim describe.

אבל איש ישראל צריך לזכור הימים הנ"ל בכח תורה ומצות ושבת שיש נשמה יתירה והיא מעלמא דזכירה

But a Jew must remember those aforementioned days through the power of Torah, mitzvos, and Shabbos, for on Shabbos there is an extra neshamah, and it is from the World of Remembrance.

A Jew's task is to recover that memory through Torah, mitzvos, and Shabbos, when the extra neshamah, drawn from the World of Remembrance, rests upon him.

כתיב בי' זכור את יום השבת פי' באמצעיות יום השבת תוכל לזכור ימות עולם הנ"ל

It is written concerning it, "Remember the day of Shabbos" (Shemos 20:8) — meaning that by means of the day of Shabbos you are able to remember those days of old.

Hence "Remember the day of Shabbos" teaches that Shabbos itself is the means to remember those primordial days.

ולא לטבוע בעלמא דשיקרא שמשכח הכל:

And not to be sunk in the World of Falsehood, which causes one to forget everything.

The goal is to avoid being submerged in the World of Falsehood, which makes a person forget everything of his true origin.

Summary: The Sfas Emes reads "Remember the days of old" as a charge to remember the six days of Creation, which are the very handiwork of the Holy One, Blessed is He, and which exist in perfect oneness — every point containing the whole. After those six days, time descended level by level until it became clothed in nature, yet through the power of Shabbos Bnei Yisrael can still remember and bear witness to that original unity, which is why Shabbos is a remembrance of the act of Creation. Only Bnei Yisrael, who are Hashem's portion and cleave to that oneness, share in this, while those wholly sunk in nature do not. On a deeper level, "the days of old" also refers to the root of man's form before the neshamah was clothed in a body — an origin the neshamah forgets upon entering this world. By means of Torah, mitzvos, and the extra neshamah of Shabbos, drawn from the World of Remembrance, a Jew recovers that memory and avoids sinking into the World of Falsehood that makes one forget everything.