Torah as both gift and earned taking

במדרש עלית למרום כו' לקחת בלקיחה ניתנה לו יכול שחייב ליתן ממון ת"ל מתנות במתנה ניתנה לו כו'.

In the Midrash: "You ascended on high… you took" (Tehillim 68:19) — it was given to him by way of "taking"; one might think he is obligated to pay money, therefore the verse says "gifts" — it was given to him as a present.

The Sefas Emes cites the Midrash that plays on the pasuk about Moshe ascending to receive the Torah: it is described both as a "taking" and as a "gift," and the Midrash resolves how both terms apply.

כבר כ' במ"א פי' מו"ז ז"ל על מאמרם יגעתי ומצאתי תאמין כי היגיעה א"א להיות כ"כ שיזכה למעלת התורה שאין לה סוף.

I have already written elsewhere the explanation of my grandfather, of blessed memory, on their statement "I toiled and I found — believe it": for the toil itself cannot possibly be enough to attain the level of Torah, which has no end.

The Sefas Emes recalls his grandfather's reading of Chazal's "I toiled and found": since Torah is infinite, no amount of human effort could ever "earn" it outright.

רק שע"י היגיעה זוכה למצוא בדרך מציאה כו'.

Rather, through the toil one merits to "find" it in the manner of a discovery.

The yegiah (toil) is not a purchase price but a preparation; what one then gains comes unexpectedly, like finding a treasure beyond one's effort.

וז"ש שניתנה לו במתנה.

And this is what is meant by "it was given to him as a gift."

Because the Torah's true attainment exceeds what toil could earn, it is essentially a present from Hashem.

ומ"מ אין אדם זוכה למתנה זו רק ע"י יגיעה ונק' לקיחה ג"כ כנ"ל.

And nevertheless a person does not merit this gift except through toil, and so it is also called a "taking," as above.

The gift is freely given, yet it is granted only to one who has labored; hence it is simultaneously a "gift" and a "taking."

וע"ז נאמר לקח טוב נתתי.

And concerning this it is said: "I have given you a good acquisition (lekach tov)" (Mishlei 4:2).

The pasuk's word "lekach" captures this dual quality — the Torah is both given and taken.

שנק' לקיחה ומתנה שע"י התורה זוכה האדם ליקח הטוב.

For it is called both a "taking" and a "gift," in that through the Torah a person merits to "take" the good.

The Torah is the means by which a person grasps and draws to himself the true good that Hashem has bestowed.

וזהו ענין קבלת התורה ומצות לבנ"י כמ"ש ז"ל כ"ו כל"ח על כ"ו דור שהי' העולם קיים בחסדו ית' בלבד.

And this is the matter of the receiving of the Torah and mitzvos by Bnei Yisrael, as Chazal said [interpreting] "twenty-six" — "for His chesed endures forever" — regarding the twenty-six generations during which the world existed by His kindness alone.

For the twenty-six generations before Mattan Torah, the world was sustained purely by Hashem's unearned chesed, with no merit of human deeds to uphold it.

וכשניתן התורה מקבלין בנ"י בכח התורה ומעשיהם הטובים.

And when the Torah was given, Bnei Yisrael receive [the world's sustenance] through the power of the Torah and their good deeds.

After Mattan Torah, Yisrael no longer subsist on pure chesed alone but actively "take" their portion through Torah and mitzvos.

וכן הוא בשבת שנק' מתנה טובה.

And so it is with Shabbos, which is called a "good gift."

Shabbos too is described by Chazal as a precious gift in Hashem's treasury.

כי מאן דאכיל דלאו דילי' בהית לאסתכולי בי'.

For one who eats that which is not his own is ashamed to look upon it.

A gift received with no effort of one's own brings a sense of shame, the discomfort of "bread of shame" (nahama dichisufa).

ולכן הכין הקב"ה שיזכה האדם לעוה"ב ע"י העבודה בעוה"ז.

Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, arranged that a person should merit the World to Come through avodah in this world.

To spare us that shame, Hashem set things up so that Olam Haba is earned through our labor here, making it truly ours.

וכמו כן יזכה לשבת ע"י היגיעה בימי המעשה.

And likewise one merits the Shabbos through toil during the weekdays.

Shabbos, the gift, is properly earned by the effort invested in the six working days that precede it.

וזהו ההפרש שבין עובד אלקים.

And this is the distinction [implied in the phrase] "one who serves God."

The Sefas Emes alludes to Chazal's contrast between one who serves Hashem and one who does not — the difference lies in whether one "takes" through avodah.

שהקב"ה מטיב לכל.

For the Holy One, blessed be He, bestows good upon all.

Hashem's goodness flows to every creature freely, as an outright gift.

אבל לבנ"י נתן הטובה בבחי' לקיחה שיקחוהו הם במעשיהם.

But to Bnei Yisrael He gave the good in the aspect of "taking," that they should take it through their own deeds.

Yisrael's privilege is that their good is not merely handed to them but earned and grasped through their avodah, making it fully their own.

וז"ש לקחת מתנות באדם.

And this is the meaning of "you took gifts among men (ba'adam)."

The pasuk teaches that these heavenly gifts become man's own possession precisely because he "takes" them through effort.

וע"ז נאמר מה רב טובך אשר צפנת.

And concerning this it is said: "How abundant is Your goodness which You have hidden away" (Tehillim 31:20).

The true good is a treasure Hashem has concealed, waiting to be uncovered.

שזה טוב האמת שהוא מטמון שהטמין הקב"ה.

For this is the true good, which is a hidden treasure that the Holy One, blessed be He, concealed.

The genuine, lasting good is a buried treasure that Hashem deliberately hid for Yisrael to find.

והזמין לבנ"י שימצאו הארות הגנוזות ע"י עבודתם בתורה ומצות:

And He prepared it for Bnei Yisrael so that they would find the hidden illuminations through their avodah in Torah and mitzvos.

Through their labor in Torah and mitzvos, Yisrael uncover the concealed oros that Hashem set aside for them — earning, and so truly possessing, the gift.

Summary: The Torah is at once a "gift" and a "taking": because it is infinite, no toil could ever earn it, yet it is granted only to one who toils — the yegiah readies a person to "find" it like an unexpected treasure. So too with Shabbos, Olam Haba, and all the truly good: Hashem bestows good upon all freely, but to Bnei Yisrael He gives it in the aspect of "taking," so that through their avodah in Torah and mitzvos they uncover the hidden illuminations and make the gift genuinely their own, free of the shame of unearned bread.