Moshe and the festivals: half for Hashem, half for you

כתיב וידבר משה את מועדי ה' אל בנ"י.

It is written: "And Moshe spoke the festivals of Hashem to Bnei Yisrael" (Vayikra 23:44).

The Sefas Emes opens with the pasuk that places Moshe Rabbeinu as the one who conveys the moadim to Bnei Yisrael, and he will draw out why Moshe in particular is the teacher of the festivals.

כי במשה כתיב איש האלקים מחצה איש מחצה אלקים כמ"ש במד'.

For concerning Moshe it is written "ish haElokim (man of God)" — half man, half godly — as the Midrash states.

The Midrash reads the title "ish haElokim" as describing Moshe's dual nature: one half rooted in the human, earthly realm, and one half rooted above in the Divine.

וכן בחי' המועדות חלקוהו חציו לה' וחציו לכם.

And so too the aspect of the festivals — they divided it, half for Hashem and half for you.

Chazal (Beitzah 15b) teach that Yom Tov should be split, "half for Hashem and half for you" — half devoted to spiritual avodah and half to physical enjoyment. The festival itself shares Moshe's half-and-half structure.

וכמו שיש בזמן ימים טובים שיש בהם דביקות בשורש חלק למעלה וחלק למטה.

And just as there is in time — the festival days — in which there is a clinging to the root, a portion above and a portion below.

Within the dimension of time, the Yamim Tovim are points of dveykus, attachment to the spiritual root, yet they too contain both an upper portion (toward Hashem) and a lower portion (in this world).

כן יש בנפשות איש האלקים.

So too there is, among souls, the "man of God."

What the festivals are within time, Moshe — the "ish haElokim" — is within the realm of souls: a being who likewise bridges the upper and lower worlds.

ולכן לימד לנו מרע"ה איך להתדבק במועדות להיות חציו לכם וחציו לה'.

Therefore Moshe Rabbeinu taught us how to cling to the festivals, to be "half for you and half for Hashem."

Precisely because Moshe himself embodies this dual structure, he is the fitting teacher of the moadim — showing us how to grasp the festival in both its dimensions, balancing physical enjoyment ("for you") with spiritual devotion ("for Hashem").

כמ"ש בתרגום ואלפינון לבני ישראל:

As the Targum renders it: "and he taught them to Bnei Yisrael."

The Targum translates "vaydaber" (and Moshe spoke) as "and he taught" — confirming that Moshe's role was not merely to announce the festivals but to instruct Bnei Yisrael in how to properly attach themselves to them in both dimensions.

Summary: Moshe Rabbeinu is called "ish haElokim," half man and half godly, a soul that bridges the upper and lower worlds. The festivals share this same dual structure — "half for Hashem and half for you," part spiritual dveykus and part physical enjoyment — and so Moshe, who embodies this balance, is the one who teaches Bnei Yisrael how to properly cling to the moadim in both of their dimensions.