Sincere will draws down divine completion

נתקשה משה במנורה והראה לו הש"י.

Moshe found the Menorah difficult [to fashion], and Hashem showed it to him.

The Midrash relates that Moshe could not grasp how to make the Menorah, so Hashem showed him a fiery image of it.

ואח"כ כתיב שנעשית מעצמה.

And afterward it is written that it was made by itself (me-eilehah).

Yet despite Moshe being shown the form, the Torah indicates the Menorah ultimately came into being on its own.

תיעשה כו'.

"It shall be made (te'aseh)," etc. (Shemos 25:31).

The passive wording "te'aseh ha-Menorah" ("the Menorah shall be made") hints that it was formed of itself rather than directly by Moshe's hand.

א"כ למה הראה לו.

If so, why did [Hashem] show it to him?

The question: if the Menorah formed itself anyway, what purpose was served by Hashem first showing Moshe its design?

אך כי ע"י רצון האדם בלב ונפש באמת.

But [the answer is] that through a person's ratzon, with heart and soul in truth.

The resolution: when a person genuinely wills something with his whole heart and soul, that sincere desire sets the process in motion.

נגמר השאר.

The rest is completed [for him].

Once the true inner ratzon is there, whatever lies beyond human capacity is brought to completion from Above.

מה שא"י לעשות.

That which one is unable to do.

The part of the task that exceeds human ability.

נעשה מעצמו.

Is made by itself.

That portion is accomplished "on its own" — that is, by Hashem completing what the person's sincere will began.

וזה מ"ש השלך לאור כו'.

And this is the meaning of "throw [the gold] into the fire," etc. (cf. Shemos 32:24).

The Sefas Emes alludes to the idea of "casting into the fire," where the final form emerges of itself once the raw material and effort are offered up.

כן הוא בכל מצוה מכל איש ישראל.

So it is with every mitzvah of every man of Yisrael.

This is a general principle for all mitzvos: the same dynamic of human will plus divine completion operates in every Jew's performance of a mitzvah.

כי וודאי אין בכח אדם לעשות רצונו ית'.

For certainly it is not within human power to do His ratzon.

No person can truly accomplish Hashem's will by his own strength alone.

רק כפי רצון האדם נגמר מעצמו.

Rather, in accordance with the person's ratzon, it is completed by itself.

To the measure of a person's sincere desire, the deed is completed from Above on its own.

ומ"מ הגמר בא ג"כ ע"י רצון האדם.

And nevertheless, the completion also comes about [precisely] through the person's ratzon.

Although Hashem completes it, this completion is not independent of the person — it is his sincere will that draws it down.

וזה שהראו לו לידע מכוון ורצונו ית'.

And this is why [the Menorah] was shown to him — to know the intent and ratzon of Hashem.

Hashem showed Moshe the form so that Moshe would know what Hashem desired, and could then direct his own true ratzon toward fulfilling it.

וע"י שרצה לעשות רצונו ית' רק שהי' למעלה מכח אדם.

And because he desired to do His ratzon — only that it was beyond human power.

Moshe genuinely wished to fulfill Hashem's will, but the actual fashioning lay beyond what any human could accomplish.

לזה נעשה מעצמו.

For this [reason] it was made by itself.

Precisely because his will was sincere yet the task superhuman, the Menorah was completed on its own from Above.

כענין זה פי' אא"ז מו"ר זצלה"ה עמ"ש יגעתי ומצאתי.

In this vein my grandfather, my teacher and master, of blessed memory, explained the statement "I labored and I found (yagati u-matzasi)" (Megillah 6b).

The Chiddushei HaRim applied the same principle to Chazal's saying that one who toils in Torah "finds" success.

ודקדק כי מציאה בהיסח הדעת.

And he was precise [in noting] that a "finding" (metziah) [usually occurs] when one's mind is diverted (be-hesech ha-da'as).

He pointed out the difficulty: a "find" by definition comes unexpectedly, without being sought.

ומה שבא ע"י יגיעה למה נק' מציאה.

And that which comes through labor — why is it called a "finding"?

So why does Chazal call the fruit of hard toil a "find," as though it came by chance?

אך מי יכול למצוא האמת ע"י יגיעתו.

But [the answer is]: who can [really] find the truth through his own labor?

No amount of human effort can on its own attain the truth of Torah.

ורק שהש"י נותן במתנה ודרך מציאה ע"י היגיעה.

Rather, Hashem gives it as a gift, in the manner of a "finding," by means of the labor.

The truth is ultimately a gift granted from Above — arriving like an unearned "find" — yet given specifically in response to one's labor. The toil is the vessel; the attainment is the gift.

וכן כ' במשה אחר שהי' מ' יום בשמים לחם לא אכל כו' אח"כ כ' ויתן אל משה.

And likewise it is written regarding Moshe, after he was forty days in the heavens, "bread he did not eat," etc. (Shemos 34:28) — afterward it is written, "and He gave to Moshe (va-yitein el Moshe)" (Shemos 31:18).

Moshe labored mightily for forty days without food, yet the Torah finally describes receiving the Luchos as a "giving" — a gift from Hashem, not a wage earned.

וכ' במד' במתנה ניתנה לו כו' וקצרתי כי כ' כבר:

And it is written in the Midrash that it was given to him as a gift (be-matanah), etc.; and I have been brief, for it has already been written [elsewhere].

The Midrash confirms the Torah was given to Moshe "as a gift" despite his immense toil. The Sefas Emes keeps this short, having discussed it elsewhere.

Summary: Moshe could not fashion the Menorah, so Hashem showed it to him — yet it was ultimately "made by itself." The Sefas Emes resolves this: when a person wills something truly, with heart and soul, whatever lies beyond his power is completed from Above "on its own," and yet that completion is drawn down precisely by his sincere ratzon. This is a principle of every mitzvah, since no one can fulfill Hashem's will by his own strength. The same explains "I labored and I found": the truth of Torah is a gift given from Above, arriving like an unearned "find," but bestowed specifically in response to one's labor — as with the Luchos that Moshe toiled forty days for, yet which the Torah calls a "giving."