Resting reveals Hashem's hidden governance

ושבתה הארץ.

"And the land shall rest" (Vayikra 25:2).

The Sefas Emes opens with the verse commanding the shemittah (Sabbatical) rest of the land.

במד' מו"ח ביד לשון.

In the Midrash: "Death and life are in the hand of the tongue" (Mishlei 18:21).

The Midrash connects the land's rest to the verse about the power of the "tongue" — the faculty of speech.

כי האדם נק' מדבר והוא צריך להטות כל הנבראי' להבורא ית' שהכל נמשך אחריו.

For man is called "medaber" (the speaker), and he must turn all created beings toward the Creator, may He be blessed, for everything is drawn after him.

The human being is defined by speech, and through it he is meant to direct all of creation toward Hashem, since the rest of creation follows the human lead.

כמאמר כל שתה תחת רגליו.

As it is said, "You placed everything beneath his feet" (Tehillim 8:7).

The verse affirms that all of creation was placed under the dominion of the human being.

והוא הלשון המכריע כל הבריאה להבורא ית'.

And it is the tongue that tips all of creation toward the Creator, may He be blessed.

Specifically through speech — words of Torah and tefillah — a person draws all of creation back toward Hashem.

והוא באמת בכח התורה שכחן של ישראל בפה ובאמצעיות התורה צריך אדם להטות כל המעשים אליו ית' כמאמר זוה"ק ע"פ ודברת בם בשבתך בביתך כו' שהאדם ינהיג כל מעשיו ע"פ דברי תורה ע"ש ואתחנן.

And this is truly through the power of the Torah — for the strength of Yisrael is in the mouth — and by means of the Torah a person must turn all his deeds toward Him, may He be blessed, as the Zohar HaKadosh says on the verse "and you shall speak of them, when you sit in your house…" (Devarim 6:7), that a person should conduct all his deeds according to the words of Torah. See there, in Parshas Va'eschanan.

The unique power of Bnei Yisrael lies in the mouth — Torah and tefillah. The Zohar teaches that "v'dibarta bam" means a person should govern all his activities by the words of Torah, channeling everything toward Hashem.

ובמד' גבורי כח עושי דברו בשומרי שביעית הכ' מדבר.

And in the Midrash: "mighty in strength, who do His word" (Tehillim 103:20) — the verse speaks of those who observe the shevi'is (Sabbatical year).

The Midrash applies the praise of "mighty ones who do His word" to those who keep shemittah, letting their fields lie fallow.

ולמה נק' עושי דברו הלא הוא ביטול העשי' ושבתה.

And why are they called "those who do His word"? It is, after all, the cessation of action — "and it shall rest"!

The difficulty: shemittah is precisely refraining from work, so why are its observers called active "doers" of Hashem's word?

אבל היא הנותנת ע"י שמבטל אדם כח עצמותו לכח הבורא ית' ומבקש להיות נמשך אחר דרך התורה והנהגת הבורא ית'.

But this itself is the answer: through a person nullifying the power of his own self to the power of the Creator, may He be blessed, and seeking to be drawn after the way of the Torah and the guidance of the Creator —

The very inaction is the point: by ceasing his own efforts, a person performs the deepest "deed" — bittul, surrendering his own strength to Hashem and letting himself be led by Hashem's hanhagah (governance).

עי"ז מתגלה הנהגת הבורא ית'.

through this the guidance of the Creator, may He be blessed, is revealed.

This self-nullification is exactly what allows Hashem's hidden governance of the world to become revealed.

כי אמת שהקב"ה מנהיג הכל ברצונו אבל הבחירה ניתן להאדם.

For it is true that Hakadosh Baruch Hu guides everything by His will, but free choice was given to man.

Hashem governs all, yet He granted humanity bechirah (free will), which can either reveal or obscure His hand.

שאם מבטל עצמו והוא יודע ומברר שאין בו כח כלל בלי כח הבורא ית'. אז הש"י מנהיג אותו ומראה כח הנהגתו ית'.

For if a person nullifies himself, and he knows and clarifies that he has no power at all without the power of the Creator, may He be blessed — then Hashem guides him and shows the power of His governance.

When a person achieves bittul, recognizing he is powerless without Hashem, Hashem then visibly takes the reins and displays His direct guidance through that person.

והוא מסר את הנהגה שלו ביד האדם לכן האדם צריך להמליך הבורא ית' עליי ועל כל העולם.

And He handed over His governance into the hand of man; therefore man must crown the Creator, may He be blessed, over himself and over the entire world.

Hashem entrusted the world's governance to human free will, so it becomes a person's task to actively coronate Hashem as King over himself and all of creation.

לכן ע"י שרואה כרמי' בייר כו' ושותק. עי"ז נק' עושי דברו שמתגלה הנהגה עליונה כנ"ל.

Therefore, through the fact that he sees his vineyard left fallow and is silent — through this he is called one of "those who do His word," for the supernal governance is revealed, as above.

The farmer who watches his vineyard go untended and accepts it in silence is a true "doer of Hashem's word," because his restraint reveals Hashem's higher rule over nature.

וכן בש"ק כתיב אם תשיב כו' ודבר דבר.

And likewise regarding Shabbos Kodesh it is written, "If you turn back… and speak a word" (Yeshayahu 58:13).

The same principle appears in the laws of Shabbos speech, derived from this verse.

ודרשו חכמים שלא יהי' דיבורך של שבת כדיבורך בחול כו'.

And the Chachamim expounded: that your speech on Shabbos should not be like your speech on a weekday.

Chazal derived that one's manner of speaking on Shabbos must differ from weekday speech.

פי' ע"י השביתה ממלאכה בש"ק מתגלה הנהגה עליונה כנ"ל.

The meaning is: through the cessation from melachah (labor) on Shabbos Kodesh, the supernal governance is revealed, as above.

Resting from work on Shabbos, like resting the land on shemittah, reveals Hashem's higher governance of the world.

ורמזו חכמים שאף שלעולם הש"י המנהיג הכל. עכ"ז אין הנהגה של שבת כמו בחול והבן כ"ז.

And the Chachamim hinted that even though Hashem always guides everything, nevertheless the governance of Shabbos is not like that of the weekday. Understand all this.

Though Hashem always governs all, on Shabbos His governance shines forth in a more revealed, exalted way than on weekdays.

ובכח שביתת האדם צריך לעורר כל הנבראים.

And through the power of a person's resting, he must arouse all the created beings.

By his own cessation and bittul, a person is meant to awaken all of creation to its connection with Hashem.

וחובת קרקע אינו נוהג עתה כי בזמן המקדש היו יכולין לעורר גם הדומם להעלותו עד מקום השגחה שהוא בהשורש כמ"ש ושבתה הארץ ממש כנ"ל.

And the obligation tied to the land does not apply nowadays, for in the time of the Bais Hamikdash they were able to arouse even the inanimate (domem), to elevate it up to the place of hashgachah (Divine providence), which is in the root, as it is written, "and the land shall rest" — literally, as above.

The land-bound mitzvah of shemittah applied fully only when the Bais Hamikdash stood, for then Bnei Yisrael could elevate even inanimate matter — the land itself — back to its root in Divine providence, so that the land literally "rested" in the deepest sense.

ולכן נאמר בהר סיני להראות כי כח הזה ניתן לבנ"י בהר סיני ע"י התורה שהיא בחי' הדיבור כנ"ל ביד לשון:

And therefore it was stated "at Har Sinai," to show that this power was given to Bnei Yisrael at Har Sinai through the Torah, which is the aspect of speech (dibbur), as above — "in the hand of the tongue."

The Torah specifies that shemittah was given "at Har Sinai" to teach that this power — to elevate creation through speech and bittul — was granted to Bnei Yisrael at Sinai through the Torah, the supreme power of the "tongue."

Summary: Man, the "speaker," is meant to direct all of creation toward Hashem through the power of speech rooted in Torah. Paradoxically, the keepers of shemittah are called "doers of His word" precisely because their inaction is the deepest deed: by ceasing their own efforts and nullifying themselves, they reveal Hashem's hidden governance over the world. The same is true of resting on Shabbos. In the time of the Bais Hamikdash this power could even elevate the inanimate land to its root — a power given to Bnei Yisrael at Har Sinai through the Torah, the supreme strength of the "tongue."