Shabbos grants daas through thought, speech, deed

בפסוק שבת שבתון.

On the pasuk "Shabbos shabbason" (a Shabbos of complete rest) (Shemos 31:15).

The Sefas Emes begins from the doubled expression "Shabbos shabbason," which calls for explanation.

פירש"י מנוחת מרגוע.

Rashi explains: "a restful repose."

Rashi understands "shabbason" as an added dimension of restfulness beyond mere cessation of work.

פרשנו להיות השבת משאיר רשימה לכל ימי המעשה.

We have explained that Shabbos leaves an impression upon all the weekdays.

Shabbos is not isolated; it leaves a residue of holiness that carries through the entire week.

וזה שבתון לקבל בנפשותינו הארת השבת.

And this is "shabbason" — to receive into our souls the illumination of Shabbos.

The extra word "shabbason" hints at internalizing the light of Shabbos so it remains with us.

כי השבת נותן דעת כמ"ש לדעת כי אני ה' מקדישכם.

For Shabbos grants daas (knowledge/awareness), as it is written, "to know that I am Hashem who sanctifies you" (Shemos 31:13).

The gift of Shabbos is daas — an awareness of Hashem who sanctifies us.

וצריכין לראות שיתפשט זה הדעת בכל האדם.

And one must see to it that this daas spreads through the entire person.

The task is to let this awareness permeate all of one's faculties, not remain abstract.

ולקשור אותו במחשבה דיבור ומעשה.

And to bind it within machshavah, dibbur, and ma'aseh (thought, speech, and action).

The daas of Shabbos must be anchored in all three channels through which a person expresses himself.

ובנוסח אהבה נאמר ותן בלבנו בינה להבין ולהשכיל.

And in the text of the blessing of [Ahavah Rabbah] it says, "and place in our hearts binah (understanding) to understand and to discern."

The Sefas Emes maps the three faculties onto the language of the blessing before Shema, beginning with the realm of thought.

פי' במחשבה.

That is, in the realm of machshavah (thought).

"To understand and to discern" corresponds to thought.

לשמוע ללמוד וללמד הוא בדיבור.

"To hear, to learn, and to teach" is in the realm of dibbur (speech).

The next phrases of the blessing correspond to speech.

לשמור לעשות ולקיים הוא במעשה.

"To guard, to do, and to fulfill" is in the realm of ma'aseh (action).

The final phrases correspond to deed.

והם ג' מיני דעת.

And these are three kinds of daas.

Thought, speech, and action each carry their own form of the Shabbos-given awareness.

והוא חב"ד בחי' נר"ן.

And this is ChaBaD (Chochmah, Binah, Daas) — the aspect of nefesh, ruach, neshamah.

The three faculties parallel the three intellectual powers and the three levels of the soul.

ובשבת מתחדשין המוחין.

And on Shabbos the mochin (mental/spiritual faculties) are renewed.

Shabbos brings a renewal of one's higher consciousness.

וצריכין להתחדש בכל האדם.

And they must be renewed throughout the entire person.

This renewal should reach every part of a person's expression.

ואלה הג' בינה שמיעה שמירה כולם נאמרו בשבת לדעת.

And these three — binah (understanding), shmiah (hearing), and shmirah (guarding) — were all stated regarding Shabbos, [to bring one] to daas.

Understanding, hearing, and guarding are the three themes of Shabbos, all serving to produce daas.

ושמיעה הוא בשבת כמ"ש חכמינו ז"ל היום אם בקולו תשמעו הוא בשבת שניתנו בו עשרת הדברות ויש בו קריאת התורה והוא בחי' הדיבור.

And "hearing" is associated with Shabbos, as Chazal said: "Today, if you would but heed His voice" (Tehillim 95:7) refers to Shabbos — for on it the Aseres HaDibros were given, and on it there is the reading of the Torah; and this is the aspect of dibbur (speech).

Hearing belongs to Shabbos, since the Ten Commandments were given on Shabbos and we read the Torah on it — the dimension of speech.

לשמור דכתיב ושמרתם.

"To guard," as it is written, "and you shall guard [My Shabbosos]."

Now the Sefas Emes turns to "shmirah," guarding, the third theme.

ושמרו בני ישראל.

"And Bnei Yisrael shall guard [the Shabbos]" (Shemos 31:16).

Guarding Shabbos is explicitly commanded to Bnei Yisrael.

והוא גם כן בחי' חכמת התורה כמ"ש חז"ל ושמרתם זה משנה.

And it is also the aspect of the wisdom of Torah, as Chazal said: "and you shall guard" — this refers to Mishnah.

"Shmirah" also alludes to Torah study, specifically the careful review of Mishnah.

והוא הבחי' המביא לידי מעשה.

And it is the aspect that brings one to action.

Guarding/learning leads naturally to fulfillment in deed.

לכן נאמר לשמור לעשות ולקיים.

Therefore it says, "to guard, to do, and to fulfill."

The progression from shmirah to action is built into the blessing's wording.

נמצא הג' בחי' בשבת.

It emerges that the three aspects are [all found] in Shabbos.

All three faculties are rooted in the day of Shabbos.

בינה שמיעה שמירה.

Binah, shmiah, shmirah (understanding, hearing, guarding).

These are the three corresponding to thought, speech, and action.

ומתפשטין לששת ימי המעשה ג' ימים דקמי שבתא מחשבה דיבור ומעשה.

And they spread out into the six weekdays: the three days before Shabbos correspond to thought, speech, and action.

The Shabbos faculties extend forward; the three days leading up to Shabbos embody machshavah, dibbur, ma'aseh.

וג' ימים דבתר שבתא מדו"מ.

And the three days after Shabbos [also correspond to] thought, speech, and action.

The three days following Shabbos likewise carry the residue of the three faculties.

והוא להבין ולהשכיל.

And these are "to understand and to discern."

The "after" days are also mapped onto the language of the blessing — beginning with thought.

ללמוד וללמד.

"To learn and to teach."

The dimension of speech in the post-Shabbos days.

לעשות ולקיים.

"To do and to fulfill."

The dimension of action completing the cycle.

אלה הששה הוא התפשטות החב"ד כנ"ל:

These six [days] are the spreading-out of the ChaBaD, as above.

The six weekdays are the unfolding of the three Shabbos faculties of intellect throughout the week.

Summary: The doubled phrase "Shabbos shabbason" teaches that Shabbos grants daas — an awareness of Hashem who sanctifies us — which must be internalized and bound into thought, speech, and action. These three faculties correspond to binah, shmiah, and shmirah, to ChaBaD, and to nefesh-ruach-neshamah; on Shabbos the mochin are renewed, and that renewal then radiates outward into the three days before and the three days after Shabbos, sustaining all six weekdays.