Shabbos, shemittah and Yovel as return to the root

ושבתה הארץ כו'.

"And the land shall rest," etc.

The Sefas Emes begins from the mitzvah of shemittah, that the land must "rest" in the seventh year.

דכתי' לא תהו בראה לשבת יצרה.

As it is written: "He did not create it for chaos; He formed it to be settled (inhabited)."

Creation has a purpose — yishuv, settledness — and the Sefas Emes will read "lasheves" (to be settled) as rooted in shabbos, returning to rest.

עיקר בחי' השבת לשוב כ"ד לשורשו כמ"ש שבו איש תחתיו.

The essential idea of "rest" (shevisah) is that everything returns to its root, as it says "let each man remain in his place."

Shabbos and shemittah share one root meaning: every created thing returning and resting back in its spiritual source.

וזה בכח התורה דכתיב משיבת נפש שמשיב הנפשות אל השורש.

And this is accomplished through the power of the Torah, as it is written "[the Torah is] perfect, restoring the soul" — for it returns souls to their root.

It is the Torah that effects this return, "restoring the soul" by drawing every nefesh back to its origin in Hashem.

ולכן בכח בנ"י לעשות השבת בנפש ובארץ.

Therefore Bnei Yisrael have the power to "make" the Shabbos both in the soul and in the land.

Because they possess the Torah, Bnei Yisrael can bring about this restful return both within themselves (Shabbos) and in Eretz Yisrael (shemittah).

לכן אחז"ל קודם מתן תורה נק' ב' אלפים תהו.

Therefore Chazal said that before the giving of the Torah the era was called "two thousand years of tohu (chaos)."

Without Torah the world was "tohu" — unable to return to its root — which is why the first two millennia bear that name.

וזה סמיכת שמיטה להר סיני כי בכח התורה נעשה השביתה בארץ.

And this is the juxtaposition of shemittah to Har Sinai, for it is through the power of the Torah that the "resting" of the land is accomplished.

The Torah's famous question — what does shemittah have to do with Sinai? — is answered: only the Torah given at Sinai empowers the land's rest.

וכמו שנבחרו בנ"י ונתן לנו השבת שהוא עדות שיש לבנ"י דבקות בשורש העליון כמ"ש ביני ובין בנ"י אות הוא.

And just as Bnei Yisrael were chosen and given the Shabbos — which is testimony that Bnei Yisrael have a connection (deveikus) to the supernal root, as it says "it is a sign between Me and Bnei Yisrael" —

Shabbos is a "sign" attesting that Bnei Yisrael are bound to their heavenly source.

כן השמיטה בארץ עדות שארץ ישראל נבחרה להיות לה דביקות בשורש העליון.

so too the shemittah in the land is testimony that Eretz Yisrael was chosen to have a connection to the supernal root.

Shemittah is the parallel "sign" for the land, showing that Eretz Yisrael, too, is bound to its higher source.

והנה יובל הוא למעלה מבחי' הזמן כי בכל שנה יש פרט בפ"ע.

Now the Yovel (Jubilee) is above the dimension of time, for each year has its own distinct particular.

Every individual year has its own unique character within time, but the Yovel transcends time itself.

ואמו"ז ז"ל אמר שעל שם זה נקרא שנה שיש.

And my grandfather, of blessed memory (the Chiddushei HaRim), said that for this reason a year is called "shanah," from the language of change (shinui).

The Sefas Emes cites his grandfather: the word "shanah" hints at change, since each year's flow differs.

כי השפע שבאה לתוך הזמן והטבע משתנית כפי הכנת התחתונים.

For the shefa (divine flow) that comes into time and nature changes according to the preparation of those below.

The bounty that descends into the realm of time varies year by year, shaped by the readiness of the world.

ויובל הוא באחדות העליון הכולל כל הנ' שנים ולכן כתי' וקדשתם כו' שנת החמשים שנה.

But the Yovel stands in the supernal unity that encompasses all fifty years, and therefore it is written "and you shall sanctify... the year, the fiftieth year."

The Yovel is above the yearly fluctuations because it embraces all fifty years at once in a higher oneness.

דשנת החמשים הל"ל.

For it should have said simply "the fiftieth year."

The Sefas Emes notes the verse's odd wording — it doubles "year" — which calls for explanation.

ומה שנה.

And why [the extra word] "year"?

He presses the question: why add the seemingly superfluous word "shanah"?

רק שהיובל כולל כל החמשים שנה שהוא השורש שמתפשט אח"כ לחמשים שנה.

Rather, the Yovel includes all fifty years, for it is the root that afterward spreads out into the fifty years.

The doubled wording teaches that the Yovel is the unified root from which all fifty individual years unfold.

ולכן הוא בחי' חירות.

And therefore it is the aspect of freedom (cheirus).

Because the Yovel transcends the limits of time, it is the year of release and freedom.

ואל זה החירות זכו בנ"י בכח התורה כמ"ש ז"ל אין לך בן חורין אלא העוסק בתורה:

And to this freedom Bnei Yisrael merited through the power of the Torah, as Chazal said: "There is no free man except one who engages in Torah."

True freedom — rising above the constraints of time and nature — is attained through Torah, which is why only the one who toils in it is truly free.

Summary: Shabbos, shemittah, and Yovel all share one essence — the return of soul, land, and time to their supernal root, made possible only through the Torah given at Sinai. The Yovel, encompassing all fifty years in a higher unity, transcends time itself and is the source of true freedom, which Bnei Yisrael attain through Torah.