Shabbos Doubles Love

במצות ואהבת את ה"א מקשים החוקרים איך שייך ציווי על אהבה

Regarding the mitzvah of "And you shall love Hashem your God" (Devarim 6:5), the philosophers raise a difficulty: how can there be a command to love, since love is a feeling that cannot be obligated?

The philosophers ask how the Torah can command an emotion like love, when feelings seemingly cannot be commanded.

אבל באמת היא מתנה מן השמים וע"י תורה ומצות יכולין לעורר האהבה

But in truth, love is a gift from Heaven, and through Torah and mitzvos one is able to awaken that love within himself.

The Sfas Emes answers that love itself is granted from Heaven, and our task through Torah and mitzvos is to arouse it within ourselves.

והנה שבת נק' מתנה טובה כי השבת הוא בחי' אהבה

Now, Shabbos is called "a good gift," for Shabbos is the aspect of love.

Shabbos is referred to as a precious gift specifically because it embodies the quality of ahavah, love for Hashem.

כמ"ש בספרים כי בימי המעשה עיקר ביראה ובש"ק באהבה ע"ש

As the holy seforim write, that during the weekdays the essence of avodah is yiras Shamayim, while on the holy Shabbos it is love; see there.

The seforim teach that weekdays are the time for serving Hashem through yirah, while Shabbos is the time for serving through love.

וע"י היראה בימי המעשה זוכין בש"ק לאהבה

And through the yirah of the weekdays, one merits on the holy Shabbos to reach love.

The yiras Shamayim a person builds during the week becomes the foundation that lets him attain love on Shabbos.

וכמו כן ע"י אהבה שבשבת יש להוסיף היראה בימי המעשה כענין שאמרו יראתי מתוך שמחתי ושמחתי מתוך יראתי

And likewise, through the love of Shabbos there is added yirah during the weekdays, in the manner of what Chazal said: "I feared in the midst of my joy, and I rejoiced in the midst of my fear."

Conversely, the love drawn down on Shabbos feeds back into the weekdays to deepen one's yirah, the two reinforcing each other as Chazal described joy and fear intertwined.

[רמז להנ"ל כי השבת כל מעשיו כפולין כדאיתא במד' קרבנו כפול

[A hint to the above: for on Shabbos all of its workings are doubled, as it is brought in the Midrash that its korban is doubled,

He brings a hint that Shabbos has a doubling quality, reflected in its doubled korban as taught in the Midrash.

עומר

the omer offering,

The omer offering is another expression of this doubled measure connected to Shabbos.

לחם משנה ע"ש

and the lechem mishneh, the double portion of bread; see there.

The lechem mishneh, the two loaves taken on Shabbos, likewise expresses this theme of doubling.

והוא כמ"ש ז"ל העובד מיראה לאלף דור ומאהבה לאלפים

And this accords with what Chazal said: one who serves Hashem out of fear merits for a thousand generations, and one who serves out of love merits for two thousand generations.

Chazal teach that serving Hashem from fear earns reward for a thousand generations, while serving from love earns reward for two thousand.

הרי אהבה כפול מיראה]:

We see, then, that love is double that of fear.]

This proves the point: love carries exactly double the measure of fear, fitting the doubled nature of Shabbos which is the aspect of love.

Summary: The Sfas Emes addresses the philosophers' question of how the Torah can command love of Hashem, explaining that love is a gift from Heaven which Torah and mitzvos enable us to awaken within ourselves. He identifies Shabbos as that gift, for Shabbos is the aspect of ahavah, whereas the weekdays are the time for yiras Shamayim. The two work in tandem: the yirah of the week prepares a person to attain love on Shabbos, and the love of Shabbos in turn deepens his yirah during the week, like Chazal's image of joy and fear intertwined. He then hints that Shabbos carries a quality of doubling, seen in its doubled korban, the omer, and the lechem mishneh. Finally, he ties this to Chazal's teaching that serving from love earns reward for two thousand generations versus a thousand for fear, showing that love is precisely double that of fear, in keeping with the doubled nature of Shabbos.