Guarding Shabbos by drawing its holiness into the week

אך את שבתותי תשמורו כו' וכן ושמרו בנ"י את השבת.

"Only My Shabbosos you shall guard, etc." (Shemos 31:13), and likewise "And Bnei Yisrael shall guard the Shabbos" (Shemos 31:16).

The Sefas Emes notes that the Torah speaks of Bnei Yisrael "guarding" the Shabbos, a phrasing he will examine closely.

ומה שמירה זו שאדם שומר השבת.

And what is this "guarding," that a person guards the Shabbos?

He raises a question: in what sense does a person "guard" Shabbos?

הלא האדם נשמר בשבת.

Surely it is the person who is guarded by the Shabbos!

Logically it should be the reverse — Shabbos protects and guards the person, not the other way around.

אך כתיב את שבתותי.

But it is written, "My Shabbosos" (with the word "es").

The resolution lies in the precise wording "es Shabbosai" — "My Shabbosos," with the seemingly extra word "es."

והוא הטפל לשבת.

And this refers to that which is secondary/adjoined to the Shabbos.

The word "es" includes that which is "secondary" to Shabbos — the weekdays and mundane matters that surround and lead up to it.

היינו להמשיך קדושת השבת לכל הדברים.

That is, to draw the holiness of the Shabbos into all things.

The "guarding" the verse demands is to extend the kedushah of Shabbos outward into everything else.

ובכל דבר יש בחי' שבת אף בחול.

And in every thing there is an aspect of Shabbos, even on a weekday.

A dimension of Shabbos is present within everything, even during the ordinary workdays.

רק שנגנז ונסתר בימי המעשה.

Only that it is hidden and concealed during the days of labor.

During the weekdays this inner Shabbos-point is buried and hidden from view.

ובשבת מתגלה.

And on Shabbos it becomes revealed.

On Shabbos itself that hidden point shines forth and is revealed.

ובעת שנסתר צריך שמירה.

And at the time when it is concealed, it requires guarding.

Precisely when the Shabbos-point is hidden — during the week — it needs to be "guarded," protected and preserved.

והוא הרצון והתשוקה שבימות החול שצריך להיות כל המעשים רק לצורך השבת להיות נ"ר להשי"ת.

And this is the desire and the yearning during the weekdays — that all one's actions should be solely for the sake of the Shabbos, to be a source of nachas ruach (satisfaction) to Hashem.

This "guarding" is the inner ratzon during the week to direct all of one's deeds toward Shabbos, so that everything becomes a source of pleasure before Hashem.

כמ"ש בספרים שלכל מעשה קטן וגדול יש עלי' בשבת אם נעשה כראוי.

As is written in the sefarim, that every deed, small and great, has an ascent on Shabbos, if it was done properly.

The holy works teach that every action, when done correctly during the week, is elevated and uplifted on Shabbos.

וצריך להיות כל המעשים לצורך שבת כנ"ל.

And all one's deeds must be for the sake of Shabbos, as above.

Therefore one should orient every weekday action toward the goal of Shabbos.

וז"ש לעשות את השבת.

And this is the meaning of "to make the Shabbos" (la'asos es haShabbos).

The phrase "to make the Shabbos" hints at this active work of orienting one's deeds toward Shabbos.

שלא להיות עשי' אחרת כלל רק השבת כנ"ל.

That there be no other "making" at all, only the Shabbos, as above.

Ideally a person's every act should have no purpose other than Shabbos — all of his "doing" is ultimately for Shabbos.

ופרשנו אך את שבתותי.

And we explained "Only My Shabbosos" (ach es Shabbosai).

The Sefas Emes now turns to interpret the limiting word "ach" ("only").

כמ"ש חז"ל על אך את הזהב להעביר החלודה ע"ש.

As Chazal said regarding "only the gold" — to remove the rust; see there.

Chazal interpret the word "ach" (which connotes exclusion) as referring to removing the dross — like scraping rust off gold.

שלא ישאר רק גוף הזהב.

So that there remains only the body of the gold itself.

The "ach" indicates stripping away everything extraneous until only the pure gold remains.

כן בנ"י כשמעבירין ההסתר והחלודה.

So too with Bnei Yisrael, when they remove the concealment and the "rust."

Likewise, when Bnei Yisrael clear away the concealment and the spiritual "rust" of the weekday,

נמצא קדושת השבת בכל מקום כנ"ל.

the holiness of the Shabbos is found in every place, as above.

once that concealment is removed, the kedushah of Shabbos is revealed everywhere, in all things.

לדעת כו' ששבת נותן דעת לאדם.

"To know, etc." — that the Shabbos gives da'as (knowledge/awareness) to a person.

The verse "to know that I am Hashem who sanctifies you" teaches that Shabbos itself bestows da'as — a deeper divine awareness — upon a person.

כי וודאי מתנת השי"ת שנתן השבת.

For surely the gift of Hashem in giving the Shabbos —

Shabbos is described as a matanah, a gift Hashem bestowed upon Bnei Yisrael.

נכלל בזה שיוכל האדם לדעת ולעשות השבת.

— includes within it that a person be able to know and to "make" the Shabbos.

Built into the gift of Shabbos is the very ability to perceive it and to draw its holiness into the world.

כמ"ש חז"ל הנותן מתנה כו' צריך להודיעו שנא' לדעת כו'.

As Chazal said: one who gives a gift must inform the recipient, as it says "to know, etc." (Shabbos 10b).

Chazal derive from this verse that a giver of a gift must let the recipient know — and Hashem "informs" us of the gift of Shabbos by granting us the da'as to recognize it.

פי' ידיעה התקשרות ודביקות.

The meaning of "knowing" here is connection and attachment (deveikus).

"Da'as" in this context denotes not mere information but a bond of deveikus — clinging to Hashem.

כי אם לא הי' נכלל בנתינת שבת ההתקשרות ודביקות בנ"י בבחי' שבת א"כ לא הי' נתינה כלל:

For if the gift of Shabbos did not include within it the connection and attachment of Bnei Yisrael to the aspect of Shabbos, then it would not be a gift at all.

The gift of Shabbos must contain within it the very bond and deveikus between Bnei Yisrael and Shabbos; without that connection, the "gift" would be no gift — for the essence of the gift is the relationship it creates.

Summary: The Sefas Emes asks how a person can "guard" Shabbos when really Shabbos guards him. He answers that the word "es" in "es Shabbosai" includes that which is secondary to Shabbos — the weekdays — and the "guarding" is the inner desire during the week to direct all one's deeds toward Shabbos, so that every act becomes nachas ruach to Hashem and is elevated on Shabbos. The limiting word "ach" teaches removing the concealment and "rust" of the mundane, revealing the Shabbos-holiness hidden in all things. Finally, Shabbos is a gift that includes the da'as — the deveikus and bond — to recognize and "make" it; without that connection it would be no gift at all.