Binding evening to morning's light

ובמדרש הה"ד מבוקר לערב יוכתו כו'.

And in the Midrash: this is what the pasuk says, "From morning to evening they are shattered" (Iyov 4:20).

The Sefas Emes opens with a Midrash that reads a verse about the fleetingness of things into the themes of "morning" and "evening" — two opposite spiritual states he will now develop.

התורה ניתנה בבוקר כמ"ש בהיות הבוקר.

The Torah was given in the morning, as it is written, "when it was morning" (Shemos 19:16).

The giving of the Torah is associated with "morning" — the moment of clear, open revelation.

והמשפטים בערב כו' ע"ש.

And the mishpatim (civil laws) were given in the evening, etc. — see there.

By contrast, the parsha of Mishpatim is linked to "evening," a state of greater concealment.

ב' בחי' אלו ערב ובוקר הם עמודי עולם כמ"ש בששת ימי בראשית ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר.

These two aspects, evening and morning, are the pillars of the world, as is stated regarding the six days of Creation: "And it was evening and it was morning."

Concealment (evening) and revelation (morning) are the basic rhythm of all existence, built into the very structure of Creation.

ובוקר הוא שורש הראשית הנשפע מאתו ית' עד שלא נתערב ונחשך בטבע הגשמיות המסתיר ומכסה אור הפנימי.

"Morning" is the root and the beginning that flows from Hashem, before it becomes mixed in and darkened by physical nature, which conceals and covers the inner light.

"Morning" is the pure original light as it comes directly from Hashem, before the physical world dims it and hides the penimiyus (inner dimension).

וכמו כן בקבלת התורה שהי' פתיחת שערי שמים נקרא בוקר כמ"ש אתה הראת לדעת כו' אבל באמת צריכין לתקן גם בחי' ערב וע"ז כתיב ואלה המשפטים אשר תשים לפניהם וזה עיקר עבודת האדם שכל הארה המתגלה לו איש לפי ערכו צריך לשים ההארה על לבו להיות דבר המתקיים גר על זמן הנסתר והנחשך כי לעולם יש ב' בחי' אלו וכן בכל יום מתחדש הארת התורה כמ"ש אשר אנכי מצוך היום והוא בחינת בוקר אור.

So too, the receiving of the Torah, which was an opening of the gates of heaven, is called "morning," as it says, "You were shown, to know" (Devarim 4:35); but in truth one must also repair the aspect of "evening," and concerning this it is written, "And these are the mishpatim that you shall set before them." This is the essence of a person's avodah: that every illumination revealed to him, each man according to his level, he must place upon his heart so that it becomes something enduring that lasts into the time of concealment and darkness — for there are always these two aspects. And likewise, each day the light of the Torah is renewed, as it says, "which I command you this day," and this is the aspect of the light of morning.

Receiving the Torah was a moment of pure "morning" revelation. But the real work is in the "evening" — taking that fleeting illumination and fixing it permanently on one's heart so it survives the dark, ordinary times. The Torah's light is renewed fresh "this day," each day, like a new morning.

אבל כתיב ושמתם את דברי אלה על לבבכם להיות דבר המתקיים וז"ש מבקר לערב יוכתו על ידי שאין משימים הדברות אל לבם כמ"ש מבלי משים.

But it is written, "And you shall place these words of Mine upon your heart" (Devarim 11:18), so that it becomes something that endures. And this is the meaning of "from morning to evening they are shattered" — because they do not place the words upon their heart, as it says, "without anyone paying heed."

The pasuk warns us to fix the words on our hearts. Those who are "shattered from morning to evening" are people whose morning-illumination collapses by evening, precisely because they never set it firmly on their hearts.

וכ"כ בבוקר יציץ כו' לערב ימולל ויבש.

And so too it is written, "In the morning it blossoms... by evening it is cut down and withers" (Tehillim 90:6).

Without being rooted in the heart, a spiritual flowering of the "morning" simply wilts by "evening."

אבל איש ישראל צריך לשים דברי תורה על לבו להיות דבר של קיימא.

But a Yid must place the words of Torah upon his heart so that they become something permanent.

The avodah of a Yid is to internalize the Torah's light so deeply that it endures.

ובשעת קבלת התורה שנתעלו נפשות בנ"י להיות כמלאכים עד שיצאו נשמתן הי' בחי' בוקר.

At the time of receiving the Torah, when the souls of Bnei Yisrael were elevated to be like angels — to the point that their souls departed — that was the aspect of "morning."

Mattan Torah lifted Bnei Yisrael to an angelic level, a pure "morning" state detached from the physical world.

אבל הכא כתיב אשר תשים לפניהם כמו שהם בעוה"ז בחי' ושמתם על לבבכם.

But here it is written, "which you shall set before them" — as they are in this world, the aspect of "and you shall place upon your hearts."

Mishpatim, by contrast, addresses people as they actually live in olam hazeh, demanding that they fix the Torah on their hearts down here, in the "evening" of physical life.

לכן כתיב אצל המשפטים ויעמוד העם על משה מן הבוקר ועד הערב ידרשו חז"ל הדן דין אמת לאמיתו נעשה שותף להקב"ה במעשה בראשית שנאמר בי' ויהי ערב כו' זהו השותפות להיות מתדבק באור התורה גם בהיותו עוסק בדברים גשמיים זה בחי' מעשה בראשית כמ"ש ז"ל בשביל התורה שנק' ראשית ולכן המקשר מעשי הטבע בתורה נעשה שותף במעשה בראשית התחברות ערב ובוקר.

Therefore it is written by the mishpatim, "and the people stood over Moshe from the morning until the evening" (Shemos 18:13). Chazal expound: one who judges a true judgment in accordance with its truth becomes a partner with Hashem in the act of Creation, regarding which it says, "and it was evening, etc." This is the partnership — to remain attached to the light of the Torah even while engaged in physical matters; this is the aspect of "the act of Creation," as Chazal said, "for the sake of the Torah, which is called 'the beginning.'" Therefore, one who connects the workings of nature to the Torah becomes a partner in the act of Creation, the joining of evening and morning.

Moshe judging "from morning until evening" hints at this union. A judge who applies true din becomes Hashem's partner in Creation precisely because he draws the Torah's light into worldly, physical affairs — binding "evening" (the material) to "morning" (the spiritual), which is the very work of Creation done "for the sake of the Torah."

וזהו האחדות כמ"ש ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר יום אחד וז"ש ואלה מוסיף על ענין ראשון שלא להפריד הערב מן בוקר וע"ז רמז הכתוב אי לך ארץ שמלכך נער ושריך בבוקר יאכלו אשריך ארץ שמלכך בן חורים ושריך בעת יאכלו הוא התדבקות העתים בהארת הבוקר כמ"ש לכל זמן ועת כו' ובני ישראל מוכנים לזה לכן כתיב לפניהם כנ"ל:

This is the oneness, as it says, "and it was evening and it was morning, one day." And this is the meaning of "And these [mishpatim]" — the "and" adds to the preceding matter, teaching not to separate the evening from the morning. To this the pasuk alludes: "Woe to you, O land whose king is a youth and whose officers eat in the morning; fortunate are you, O land whose king is a free man and whose officers eat at the [proper] time" (Koheles 10:16–17) — this is the binding of the [ordinary] times to the illumination of the morning, as it says, "to everything there is a season and a time." And Bnei Yisrael are prepared for this; therefore it is written "before them," as above.

True unity is when "evening and morning" fuse into "one day." The opening "And these" links Mishpatim to what came before, teaching us never to split the material from the spiritual. The praiseworthy land is one whose "officers eat at the [proper] time" — meaning every ordinary moment is bound to the light of "morning." Bnei Yisrael are uniquely equipped for this avodah, which is why the laws are set "before them."

Summary: "Morning" is pure revelation as it flows from Hashem; "evening" is the concealment of physical life. Mattan Torah was a "morning," but the real avodah — embodied in Mishpatim — is to fix that light permanently on the heart and carry it into the "evening" of everyday material existence. One who binds the workings of nature to the Torah unites evening and morning into "one day" and becomes Hashem's partner in Creation.