Three modes of receiving Torah

במדרש עלית למרום כו' שבי לקחת מתנות ע"ש.

The Midrash expounds the pasuk "You ascended on high, You took captives, You took gifts" (Tehillim 68:19), see there.

The Sefas Emes opens from the Midrash on how the Torah was given, noting that the pasuk speaks of three modes: taking, captives, and gifts — and he will explain that each corresponds to a different level in Klal Yisrael.

והם ג' מדריגות בבנ"י שיכולין ליקח התורה בהתעוררות שלהם.

These are three madreigos (levels) in Bnei Yisrael through which they can receive the Torah by their own hisorerus (awakening).

The three terms in the pasuk hint at three different ways a person connects to Torah, each reflecting a different spiritual state.

כמו שהי' כשהקדימו נעשה לנשמע זהו בחי' לקיחה.

As it was when they put "we will do" before "we will hear" (na'aseh v'nishma) — this is the aspect of "taking."

When Bnei Yisrael actively reached out and committed to Torah even before understanding it, that initiative is the level of "taking" — Torah grasped through one's own effort and longing.

ויש בבחי' מתנה כמו שהי' אחר קבלת התורה שנאמר ואתנה לך.

And there is the aspect of "gift," as it was after the receiving of the Torah, when it says "and I will give to you" (Shemos 24:12).

Once Bnei Yisrael had drawn close, Hashem responded with a gift from Above — Torah received not by grasping but as a present freely bestowed.

וכ' ויתן אל משה.

And it is written: "and He gave to Moshe" (Shemos 31:18).

This too expresses the mode of a gift — the luchos handed to Moshe Rabbeinu as a matanah.

כאשר אמרו בני ישראל קרב אתה כו' אם יוספים אנחנו כו' התחיל בחי' מתנה.

When Bnei Yisrael said "you draw near... if we continue [to hear the voice we will die]" (Devarim 5:24), the aspect of "gift" began.

Once the people could no longer bear to receive directly and asked Moshe to be the intermediary, the Torah began to come to them as a gift through Moshe rather than by their own reaching.

ואחר החטא הי' בבחי' שבי כמ"ש אף סוררים לשכון וזה כמו בע"כ.

And after the chet (sin) it was in the aspect of "captives," as it says "even the rebellious, for Hashem Elokim to dwell" (Tehillim 68:19) — and this is as if against one's will.

After the sin of the Golden Calf, the connection had to be reestablished through a kind of "captivity" — Hashem holds onto even those who have rebelled, drawing them back almost by force.

וכל אלה הג' מדריגות ישנם בכל איש ישראל שלפעמים צריכין לכוף עצמם בע"כ.

And all these three madreigos exist within every Jew, for at times one must compel oneself against one's will.

The Sefas Emes turns it inward: each person experiences all three modes in his avodah — sometimes longing freely, sometimes receiving as a gift, and sometimes having to force himself when the heart is unwilling.

והוא בחי' ימי המעשה ועשית כל מלאכתך.

This is the aspect of the weekdays — "and you shall do all your work" (Shemos 20:9).

The level of "compelling oneself against one's will" corresponds to the workweek, when avodah requires struggle and effort.

ועשי' הוא לשון כפיה בקטטות ומריבות.

And "doing" (asiyah) is a term of compulsion, of contention and strife.

The very word for "work" implies forcing reality into shape through struggle — the weekday avodah is one of conflict and exertion.

וכן כתיב במעשה המשכן ועשו לי משכן בע"כ.

And so it is written regarding the building of the Mishkan: "and they shall make for Me a Sanctuary" (Shemos 25:8) — through compulsion.

Even the holy work of constructing the Mishkan is expressed with "making," implying that it too required the effortful, forcing avodah of "doing."

ועיין בזוה"ק פ' פקודי בפסוק ויתן את אדניו בע"כ דסט"א.

And see the Zohar HaKadosh, Parshas Pekudei, on the pasuk "and he set its sockets" — that it is against the will of the sitra achra (the side of impurity).

The Zohar teaches that the forceful "making" of the Mishkan subdues the sitra achra against its will, breaking the resistance of the forces of evil.

ושבת הוא בחי' מתנה כמ"ש ז"ל מתנה טובה יש לי כו' לכן הוא יום מנוחה.

And Shabbos is the aspect of "gift," as Chazal said: "I have a good gift [in My treasury, and Shabbos is its name]" (Shabbos 10b) — therefore it is a day of rest.

In contrast to the effortful weekdays, Shabbos comes as a free gift from Hashem; that is why it is a day of menuchah, requiring no forcing or struggle.

אכן בחי' הראשונה בלקיחה זה הי' באמת למעלה מהטבע כמ"ש רז שמלאכי השרת משתמשין:

However, the first aspect — that of "taking" — was truly above nature, as Chazal said that [at na'aseh v'nishma] the ministering angels were employed [to crown each Jew].

The highest level, where Bnei Yisrael themselves reached out and "took" the Torah, transcended the natural order entirely — it was an angelic, supernatural achievement, far above both the gift of Shabbos and the forced labor of the weekdays.

Summary: The Sefas Emes reads the three terms of the pasuk — "took captives," "took gifts" — as three madreigos of receiving Torah: "taking" through one's own supernatural longing (na'aseh v'nishma), "gift" freely bestowed from Above (the level of Shabbos and menuchah), and "captivity" by which Hashem forcibly draws back even those who have sinned (the effortful avodah of the weekdays). All three live within every Jew, but the highest is the soul's own reaching out, which rises above nature itself.