Oneness Through Shabbos Unity
במדרש בפסוק שמע ישראל
The Midrash comments on the verse "Shema Yisrael" ("Hear, O Yisrael") (Devarim 6:4).
The Sfas Emes opens by citing a Midrash on the verse of Shema, the declaration of Hashem's oneness.
אמר הקב"ה לבנ"י כל מה שבראתי בעולם זוגות
The Holy One, Blessed is He, said to Bnei Yisrael: Everything I created in the world I created in pairs.
The Midrash teaches that Hashem created everything in the world in matched pairs.
שמים וארץ
Heaven and earth.
One example of such a pair is heaven and earth.
עוה"ז ועוה"ב
This world and the World to Come.
Another pair is this world and the World to Come.
אדם וחוה
Adam and Chava.
Another pair is Adam and Chava, the first man and woman.
אבל כבודי יחיד ומיוחד בעולם ע"ש
But My glory is singular and unique in the world — see there.
In contrast to all these pairs, Hashem's glory alone stands as utterly singular and unique.
והענין הוא
The matter is as follows.
The Sfas Emes now sets out to explain the deeper idea behind this Midrash.
כי הקב"ה ברא הכל לכבודו ולכן אין השלימות נמצא לשום ברי'
The Holy One, Blessed is He, created everything for His glory, and therefore completeness is not found in any single creation.
Because Hashem created everything to serve His glory, no single creation was made to be complete in itself.
כי הכל צריכין עזר זה מזה
For all of them require assistance from one another.
Every created thing was designed to need the help of something else, which is why they come in pairs.
שמים וארץ
Heaven and earth.
Heaven and earth are an example of two things that depend on one another.
אדם וחוה
Adam and Chava.
Adam and Chava likewise complete one another rather than standing alone.
וכמו כן עוה"ז פרוזדור לעוה"ב
So too, this world is an antechamber to the World to Come.
This world functions as a preparatory chamber leading into the World to Come.
וגם אין עוה"ב רק למי שטרח בעוה"ז
And the World to Come is granted only to one who toiled in this world.
And the reward of the World to Come is reached only through one's effort and toil in this world.
ואין השלימות רק להקב"ה שהשלום שלו
Completeness belongs only to the Holy One, Blessed is He, for shalom (peace, wholeness) is His.
True completeness exists in Hashem alone, for genuine shalom and wholeness are His.
ולכן א"א להתדבק באחדות רק בנ"י שבחר בהם הקב"ה בכח התורה ומצות יכולין להתדבק באחדות כמ"ש אתם עדי
Therefore it is impossible to cleave to true oneness — only Bnei Yisrael, whom the Holy One, Blessed is He, chose, are able to cleave to that oneness through the power of Torah and mitzvos, as it is written, "You are My witnesses" (Yeshayahu 43:10).
Since wholeness belongs to Hashem, only Bnei Yisrael, His chosen people, can attach themselves to that oneness through Torah and mitzvos, serving as His witnesses.
ונקראו בנ"י השולמית
And Bnei Yisrael are called "HaShulamis" (the one belonging to peace and wholeness).
Because of this, Bnei Yisrael are given the name "HaShulamis," expressing their bond with Hashem's peace and wholeness.
וכמו כן ניתן להם השבת שהיא מעין עוה"ב והיא עדות לבנ"י שיש להם חלק באחדות ונק' גוי אחד והם זוכין בעוה"ז מעין עוה"ב
So too, Shabbos was given to them, for it is a taste of the World to Come, and it is a testimony for Bnei Yisrael that they have a portion in that oneness — they are called "one nation," and they merit in this world a taste of the World to Come.
Shabbos was given to Bnei Yisrael as a foretaste of the World to Come and as testimony that they share in Hashem's oneness, letting them taste the next world already in this one.
וכמו כן מקבלין נשמה יתירה התאחדות השורש בשמים על ראשם
So too, they receive an additional neshamah (neshamah yeseirah), a uniting of their root in the heavens that rests upon their heads.
On Shabbos they also receive the neshamah yeseirah, an extra soul that connects them to their spiritual root above.
וגם בזווג איש ואשה חתם בהם שמו ית'
And in the union of man and wife as well, Hashem sealed His Name upon them.
The bond between husband and wife also bears Hashem's Name sealed within it, reflecting that same oneness.
ובאמת המילה ניתן להם סימן לאחדות כי הערלה מפסיק שלא יהי' זווג אחד בשלימות
Indeed, the bris milah was given to them as a sign of oneness, for the orlah (foreskin) creates a separation that prevents the union from being a single complete oneness.
The bris milah is itself a sign of oneness, since the orlah represents a barrier that would otherwise prevent a fully unified union.
ולכן עונתן של ת"ח משבת לשבת להיות בשבת אחדות בכל
Therefore the appointed time for talmidei chachamim is from Shabbos to Shabbos, so that on Shabbos there should be oneness in everything.
For this reason the designated time of marital union for talmidei chachamim is each Shabbos, the day on which complete oneness is meant to prevail in all things.
וז"ש שמע ישראל כו'
This is the meaning of "Shema Yisrael" — "Hear, O Yisrael."
All of this is the inner meaning of the call "Shema Yisrael."
שיש לכם חלק באחדות
That you have a portion in the oneness.
The verse is summoning Bnei Yisrael to recognize that they possess a real portion in Hashem's oneness.
וכ' אתה הראת לדעת פרש"י פתח להם עליונים ותחתונים כו' וכמו כן הוא לעולם לבנ"י שאפי' מחיצה של ברזל אין מפסקת ונפתח להם כל הפתחים
And it is written, "You have been shown, to know" (Devarim 4:35); Rashi explains that He opened for them the upper and lower realms; and so it is forever for Bnei Yisrael, that even an iron partition does not separate them, and all the gateways are opened for them.
Rashi on "You have been shown, to know" says Hashem opened the upper and lower worlds to Bnei Yisrael; the Sfas Emes teaches this remains true always, so that no barrier, even one of iron, can close them off from Hashem, and every gateway stands open to them.
וע"ז כתי' אשרי א' שומע לי לשקוד ע"ד כו'
Concerning this it is written, "Praiseworthy is the man who listens to Me, to be diligent at My doors" (Mishlei 8:34).
This is alluded to in the verse praising the person who listens to Hashem and is diligent in waiting at His doors.
דלתותי ב' דלתות הם דלתות מעליונים ותחתונים
"My doors" — there are two doors, doors from the upper realms and from the lower realms.
The plural "My doors" hints at two sets of doors, those of the upper realms and those of the lower realms.
כמ"ש במ"א שצריכין לפתוח למטה שערים בלב ולהסיר הקליפה הסוגרת ומחשיך עיני האדם
As is explained elsewhere, that one must open below the gateways in the heart, and to remove the kelipah (husk) that closes and darkens a person's eyes.
The lower doors refer to the inner gateways of the heart, which a person must open by removing the kelipah that seals and blinds him spiritually.
וכמו כן למעלה לפתוח שערי בינה
And so too above, to open the gateways of binah (understanding).
The upper doors correspond to opening the gateways of binah, a higher level of understanding granted from Above.
וכ' ביום השבת יפתח ולכן שבת סהדותא איקרי:
And it is written, "On the day of Shabbos it shall be opened" (Yechezkel 46:1); therefore Shabbos is called "a testimony."
Since Scripture says these gates are opened specifically on Shabbos, this is why Shabbos itself is called a testimony to Hashem's oneness.
Summary: The Sfas Emes builds on a Midrash teaching that Hashem created the entire world in pairs — heaven and earth, this world and the World to Come, man and wife — precisely because no single creation was made to be complete on its own; everything needs the help of its counterpart. True wholeness and shalom belong to Hashem alone, and therefore only Bnei Yisrael, chosen through Torah and mitzvos, can cleave to His singular oneness and are called His witnesses. Shabbos, the neshamah yeseirah, the marital union sealed with Hashem's Name, and the bris milah are all presented as signs and channels of this oneness, with Shabbos being the day on which all things are meant to be unified. Drawing on Rashi's teaching that Hashem opened the upper and lower worlds to Bnei Yisrael, the Sfas Emes explains that the call of "Shema Yisrael" summons each person to claim his portion in that oneness by opening both the lower gateways of the heart — removing the kelipah that blinds him — and the upper gateways of binah. Because these gates swing open specifically on Shabbos, Shabbos itself is called a testimony to Hashem's oneness.