Shabbos as teshuvah and bittul

בפרשת דרשו ה' בהמצאו כו' כי לא מחשבותי כו' כאשר ירד הגשם כו'.

In the parshah: "Seek Hashem when He is found…" (Yeshayahu 55:6) "For My thoughts are not [your thoughts]…" (Yeshayahu 55:8) "As the rain comes down…" (Yeshayahu 55:10)

The Sefas Emes opens with the pesukim of the haftarah of Shabbos Shuvah, which speak of seeking Hashem, the gap between His thoughts and ours, and the descending rain — the theme he will develop.

הענין לידע ולהאמין כי הקב"ה שהוא נעלם מכל אעפ"כ הוא מחי' ומנהיג הכל.

The matter is to know and to believe that the Holy One, who is hidden from all, nevertheless gives life to and directs everything.

The foundation of emunah is recognizing that although Hashem is utterly concealed, He is at every moment the One who animates and guides all of existence.

וכמו כן דברי תורה שהם שמותיו של הקב"ה ומתלבשין באותיות התורה שלפנינו להחיות התחתונים והוא כמו הגשם והשלג היורד משמים והוא מרוה הארץ ומוליד ומצמיח להוציא הארץ מכח אל הפועל מעשי'.

And likewise the words of Torah, which are the Names of the Holy One and are clothed in the letters of the Torah before us to give life to the lower [worlds] — it is like the rain and the snow that descend from heaven, which saturate the earth and cause it to give birth and sprout, bringing the earth from potential to actualized deed.

The Torah’s words are really Hashem’s Names, "dressed" in ordinary letters so they can give chiyus to our world — just as rain and snow descend from heaven, soaking the earth and drawing out its hidden potential into actual growth.

כן הוא כל הנהגתו ית' ששולח עזרו מקודש ובנ"י מאמינים בזה לכן יש להם לשוב אליו ית' בהיותם יודעין כי הכל בא מאתו ית' לכן ישוב אל ה' וירחמהו.

So too is all His conduct, Blessed is He, that He sends His help from the Kodesh; and Bnei Yisrael believe in this. Therefore they ought to return to Him, Blessed is He, since they know that everything comes from Him, Blessed is He — therefore "let him return to Hashem, and He will have mercy on him." (Yeshayahu 55:7)

All of Hashem’s governance works this way: His help descends from above to give life. Because Bnei Yisrael believe everything flows from Him, the natural response is teshuvah — returning to the Source from which all chiyus comes — and then Hashem has mercy.

ויתכן לפרש כי לא מחשבותי בדרך אעפ"י.

And it is possible to explain "For My thoughts are not [your thoughts]" in the sense of "even though."

The Sefas Emes offers a reading of "My thoughts are not your thoughts" as "even though" — even though Hashem is infinitely beyond us and concealed, He still draws near to give life.

ולכן שבת מסייע לתשובה כי בו נפתח חיות הפנימי ( שער הפונה ) קדים.

And therefore Shabbos assists teshuvah, for on it the inner life-force is opened — "the gate that faces" eastward (kadim).

Shabbos is an aid to teshuvah because on it the penimiyus, the inner chiyus, is opened, like the "gate facing east" of the Mikdash through which the inner light flows.

וז"ש ביני ובין בנ"י אות כו' וינפש.

And this is the meaning of "between Me and Bnei Yisrael it is a sign… and He rested (vayinafash)." (Shemos 31:17)

The posuk that Shabbos is "a sign between Me and Bnei Yisrael" and that on it Hashem "rested/re-souled" hints at the extra inner life-force that Shabbos brings into the world.

פי' שבשבת נמשך חיות ונפש להחיות כל מעשה בראשית.

The meaning is that on Shabbos a [renewed] chiyus and soul are drawn down to give life to the entire ma’aseh bereishis (work of creation).

"Vayinafash" expresses that on Shabbos a fresh wave of life-force and neshamah flows into all of creation, renewing the world that was made in the six days.

ובנ"י זוכין לזה הדביקות ע"י שמבטלין כל מלאכה בשבת קודש כדי להתדבק בשורש מושכין משם חיות חדש.

And Bnei Yisrael merit this deveikus through the fact that they nullify all melachah on Shabbos Kodesh in order to cling to the root — drawing from there new chiyus.

By ceasing all melachah on Shabbos, Bnei Yisrael detach from the outer world of action and cling (bittul/deveikus) to the root above, from which they draw down renewed life-force.

וזה עיקר התשובה.

And this is the essence of teshuvah.

This act of nullifying one’s own doing and returning to cling to the Source is the very heart of teshuvah — returning to the root from which all life flows.

ואמרו חז"ל אלו שמרו ישראל שבת אחת נגאלין.

And Chazal said: "Had Israel kept a single Shabbos [properly], they would be redeemed." (Shabbos 118b)

Chazal teach that observing even one Shabbos fully would bring the geulah; the Sefas Emes will explain what "a single Shabbos" truly means.

הרמז שבת אחת להיות כל הרצון תמיד לשבות ולהיבטל אל השורש.

The hint of "a single Shabbos" is that all of one’s ratzon should always be to rest and to be nullified to the root.

"One Shabbos" does not mean merely one day; it means a constant, unified ratzon to "rest" — to be in a state of bittul, perpetually clinging back to the Source.

כמ"ש אחת שאלתי כו' שבתי.

As it is written, "One thing I asked… [that I may dwell in the house of Hashem]… my Shabbos." (cf. Tehillim 27:4)

Dovid HaMelech’s "one thing I asked of Hashem" expresses this single, unified yearning — to dwell always in closeness to Hashem, a constant inner Shabbos.

ואמרו חז"ל בהמצאו הוא בעשי"ת.

And Chazal said: "When He is found" — this is during the Ten Days of Teshuvah. (Rosh Hashanah 18a)

Chazal apply "seek Hashem when He is found" to the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, the days when Hashem is uniquely accessible.

כי פי' בהמצאו בזה המציאות שהמציא לו כביכול הקב"ה בזה העולם בזה יש לבע"ת כח לשוב כמ"ש לעיל.

For the meaning of "when He is found" is: in this "existence" (metzius) that the Holy One, as it were, brought into being for [a person] in this world — in this, the baal teshuvah has the power to return, as above.

"When He is found" refers to the special reality Hashem creates during these days, in which He makes Himself available; within that opened reality the baal teshuvah is granted the strength to return, by clinging to the Source as described.

וזה הדרך מתחדש בר"ה זה היום תחלת מעשיך ודו"ק:

And this path is renewed on Rosh Hashanah — "this day is the beginning of Your works"; understand this well.

This renewed capacity for teshuvah is freshly opened each Rosh Hashanah, the day creation itself is renewed ("the beginning of Your works"), giving Bnei Yisrael a new start each year.

Summary: Just as Hashem, though hidden, animates all of creation — and as the Torah’s words (His Names) descend like rain to draw out the world’s potential — so the path of teshuvah is to recognize that everything comes from Hashem and to return to the Source. Shabbos, which opens the inner chiyus and demands the bittul of all melachah, is the great aid to teshuvah; and "keeping a single Shabbos" means a constant ratzon to rest and be nullified to the root — a capacity renewed each Rosh Hashanah and especially available during the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah, "when He is found."