Inner Gate of Shabbos
במדרש והי' אם שמוע תשמע זש"ה אשרי אדם שומע לי ששמועותיו לי כו' לשקוד על דלתותי לכנוס דלת לפנים מדלת ע"ש
The Midrash on "And it will be, if you will surely listen" cites this verse: "Fortunate is the man who listens to Me, whose hearings are to Me... to keep vigil at My doors, to enter door within door" (Mishlei 8:34), see there.
The Midrash links the parsha's opening words about listening to a verse in Mishlei praising the man who listens to Hashem and enters door within door.
דכ' יפתח ה"א לך את אוצרו הטוב
For it is written, "Hashem will open for you His good storehouse" (Devarim 28:12).
He brings the verse promising that Hashem will open His good storehouse, which is the key phrase he will now unpack.
מכלל שיש אוצר לפנים מאוצר
From this we infer that there is a storehouse within a storehouse.
The word "His good storehouse" implies that beyond the ordinary storehouse there is a deeper, inner one.
ולבנ"י מוכן אוצר הטוב כמ"ש ששת ימי המעשה יהי' סגור וביום השבת יפתח
And for Bnei Yisrael the good storehouse is prepared, as it is written, "The six days of labor it shall be closed, but on the day of Shabbos it shall be opened" (Yechezkel 46:1).
This inner storehouse is reserved for Bnei Yisrael, and the prophet teaches that it stays shut on weekdays and opens on Shabbos.
שאין ימי המעשה מוכנים לקבל הארת שער החצר הפנימי רק יום השבת
For the weekday days are not prepared to receive the illumination of the inner courtyard gate, only the day of Shabbos.
The ordinary weekdays cannot receive the light of this inner gate; only Shabbos has that capacity.
כמו כן בנפשות אין כל הנפשות זוכין לאוצר הטוב רק בנ"י
So too among the souls: not all souls merit the good storehouse, only Bnei Yisrael.
The same distinction applies to souls: this special storehouse is granted only to Bnei Yisrael, not to all.
וז"ש יפתח ה"א לך
And this is the meaning of "Hashem will open for you."
The verse's words "open for you" are addressed specifically to Bnei Yisrael, for whom this opening is meant.
ולכן השבת אות מיוחד לבנ"י כמ"ש שבת וישראל מעידין זה על זה
Therefore Shabbos is a sign unique to Bnei Yisrael, as it is said that Shabbos and Yisrael testify one regarding the other.
Because of this, Shabbos is a sign belonging uniquely to Bnei Yisrael, with Shabbos and Yisrael bearing mutual testimony.
ואיתא עוה"ז דומה לפרוזדור בפני עוה"ב ובנ"י שהם בני עוה"ב נפתח להם הטרקלין
And it is taught that this world resembles an antechamber before the World to Come, and Bnei Yisrael, who are the children of Olam Haba, have the banquet hall opened for them.
This world is like a hallway leading to Olam Haba, and Bnei Yisrael, who belong to Olam Haba, merit having the inner banquet hall opened to them.
וכן בש"ק שהיא מעין עוה"ב נפתח בו שער הפנימי ולכן נק' מתנה טובה בבית גנזי
And so too on the holy Shabbos, which is a taste of Olam Haba, the inner gate is opened on it, and therefore it is called "a good gift in My treasure house" (Shabbos 10b).
Shabbos is itself a foretaste of Olam Haba, so on it the inner gate opens, which is why the Gemara calls Shabbos a precious gift from Hashem's treasury.
ובנ"י כשמתפללין להמשיך ברכה לעולם צריכין לכנוס דלת לפנים מדלת
And Bnei Yisrael, when they daven to draw down blessing into the world, must enter door within door.
When Bnei Yisrael daven to bring blessing into the world, they must reach inward past gate after gate to its source.
פי' לבקש שפע קודש מעולם העליון שורש הברכה קודם שנתפשט ומתלבש בדרך הנהגת הטבע
That is to say, to request holy abundance from the upper world, the root of the blessing, before it spreads out and clothes itself by way of the conduct of nature.
Their aim is to draw holy abundance from its root in the upper world, before it descends and dresses itself in the garments of nature.
וזה אוצרו הטוב שהיא התורה שנק' טוב ובאמת זה תלוי בעבודת האדם לפי שבנ"י מקבלין עול תורה ומצות בפנימיות הלב
And this is His good storehouse, which is the Torah that is called "good" (Avos 6:3), and in truth this depends upon a person's avodah, in that Bnei Yisrael accept the yoke of Torah and mitzvos in the innermost part of the heart.
This good storehouse is the Torah, which is called "good," and accessing it depends on a person's avodah, since Bnei Yisrael take on Torah and mitzvos deep within the heart.
זה אם שמוע תשמע כמ"ש שמעי בת כו' אח"כ והטי אזנך להיות נקבע בעומק הלב
This is "if you will surely listen," as it is written, "Listen, daughter..." and afterward "and incline your ear" (Tehillim 45:11), so that it becomes fixed in the depth of the heart.
True listening means absorbing the words so deeply that they become fixed in the heart, as the verse moves from "listen" to "incline your ear."
ז"ש שומע לי כ"מ שנאמר לי קיים לעולם שיהי' נשאר בו דבר של קימא
This is the meaning of "who listens to Me": wherever "to Me" is stated it endures forever, that there should remain within him something of permanence.
"Who listens to Me" teaches that anything connected to Hashem is permanent, so that listening to Him leaves something lasting within the person.
ז"ש ששמועותיו לי שכל כח השמיעה מתלבש בשמיעת דברי תורה לכן מדה במדה פותחין משמים ג"כ שער הפנימי:
This is the meaning of "whose hearings are to Me": that one's entire power of hearing is invested in the hearing of divrei Torah, and therefore measure for measure they open from Heaven as well the inner gate.
When a person invests his whole faculty of hearing into hearing words of Torah, then measure for measure Heaven opens the inner gate to him in return.
Summary: The Sfas Emes builds on the Midrash that connects the parsha's call to listen with the verse praising the one who enters "door within door" to reach Hashem's good storehouse. He explains that this inner storehouse, like the inner gate that opens only on Shabbos, is reserved for Bnei Yisrael, who belong to Olam Haba and therefore have its banquet hall opened to them. Shabbos itself is a taste of Olam Haba, the precious gift from Hashem's treasury through which the inner gate is opened. When Bnei Yisrael daven, their task is to reach past every gate to the root of blessing in the upper world before it clothes itself in nature, and this good storehouse is the Torah that is called "good." Ultimately it all depends on a person's avodah: when one invests his entire power of hearing into the words of Torah so they become fixed in the depths of the heart, then measure for measure Heaven opens the inner gate to him in return.