Three ascending levels of tzaddikim

בפסוק והשיג לכם דיש כו' בציר ובציר כו' זרע.

On the pasuk: "And the threshing shall reach the vintage for you… and the vintage shall reach the sowing," etc. (Vayikra 26:5).

The Torah promises such abundance that each stage of agricultural work — threshing, vintage, sowing — will overlap with the next; the Sefas Emes reads these three stages as a hint to three levels of tzaddikim.

י"ל כי הם מדרגות בצדיקים שיש אנשים צדיקים שהם בחי' דיש הוא הבירור טוב מרע.

One may say that these are levels among the tzaddikim: there are righteous people who are the aspect of "threshing" — which is the separation of good from evil.

The first and most basic level of tzaddik is like threshing: their avodah is the birur (sifting) of good from evil, separating the wheat from the chaff within themselves and the world.

ויש גדולים מאלה נק' בציר ומחצדי חקלא שהם יכולין לקבל השפע היורדת משמים.

And there are those greater than these, called "vintage" and "reapers of the field," who are able to receive the abundance that descends from Heaven.

A higher level of tzaddik — likened to gathering the vintage, the "machtzdei chakla" (reapers of the field, a Zoharic term for great tzaddikim) — has refined themselves enough that they can be vessels to receive the shefa (divine bounty) that flows down from Above.

ויש גדולים מאלה שנק' זרע שהם המעלין מ"נ במעשיהם הטובים.

And there are those greater than these, called "sowing," who raise up mayin nukvin (feminine waters) through their good deeds.

The highest level is like sowing seed: these tzaddikim do not merely receive bounty but actively initiate it, raising up mayin nukvin — an awakening from below through their good deeds that draws down a corresponding flow from Above.

ואלה הצדיקים צריכין להיות נמצאין תמיד בישראל לעלות תמיד ממדרגה למדרגה.

And these tzaddikim must always be found among Yisrael, to rise continually from level to level.

All three types of tzaddikim must always exist within Klal Yisrael, so that there is a constant upward movement, each one ascending from his madreigah to the next.

ומיד יקום הפחות ממנו וימלא מקומו.

And immediately the one lower than him rises up and fills his place.

As each tzaddik ascends to a higher rung, the one beneath him moves up to occupy the level just vacated, so the chain of avodah is never broken.

וזה השיג לכם דיש את בציר כנ"ל.

And this is the meaning of "the threshing shall reach the vintage for you," as above.

The overlapping of "threshing reaching vintage" hints at this seamless succession, each lower level continually rising to meet the one above.

וכמו כן נמצא אלה המדרגות בפרט כל איש ישראל ג"כ כי מה שיש בכלל יש בפרט:

And likewise these levels are found within each individual Jew as well, for whatever exists in the whole (klal) exists in the particular (perat).

These three madreigos are not only distinct types of people; the very same progression — sifting good from evil, becoming a vessel for bounty, and actively drawing it down — exists within every single Jew, since the structure of the collective is mirrored in each individual.

Summary: The Sefas Emes reads the agricultural stages of threshing, vintage, and sowing as three ascending levels of tzaddikim: those who separate good from evil, those who can receive the divine shefa, and those who actively raise up mayin nukvin through their good deeds to draw bounty down. All three must always exist in Klal Yisrael in a continual upward succession — and the same three levels exist within every individual Jew, for whatever is in the whole is in the particular.