Fifty Shabbosos and the gates of binah

ואא"ז מו"ר ז"ל פי' כי בשבת זה סוף השנה מתאספין כל הנ' שבתות השנה לזכות לגאולה כו' ע"ש.

And my grandfather, my teacher of blessed memory, explained that on this Shabbos at the end of the year, all the fifty Shabbosos of the year gather together to merit the redemption... see there.

Citing his grandfather (the Chiddushei HaRim), the Sefas Emes notes that Shabbos HaGadol, near the year's end, is when all fifty Shabbosos converge to draw down the geulah.

כי בכל שבת יש בחי' יציאת מצרים כדכתיב זכר ליציאת מצרים.

For in every Shabbos there is an aspect (bechinah) of yetzias Mitzrayim, as it is written, "a remembrance of the going out from Mitzrayim" (in the Shabbos Kiddush).

Every Shabbos contains within it a dimension of the Exodus; this is why we recall yetzias Mitzrayim in the Shabbos Kiddush.

וכמ"ש בזוה"ק שנזכר נ' פעמים יצ"מ בתורה.

And as it is written in the holy Zohar, that yetzias Mitzrayim is mentioned fifty times in the Torah.

The Zohar's observation that the Exodus is recalled fifty times in the Torah corresponds to the fifty gates and the fifty Shabbosos — a recurring theme of "fifty" in this piece.

שכל השערי בינה יש להם מצרים כמ"ש במ"א.

For all the gates of understanding (shaarei binah) have their own "Mitzrayim," as I have written elsewhere.

Each of the fifty shaarei binah has a corresponding "Mitzrayim" — a constriction (the word Mitzrayim hints at meitzar, a narrow strait) that must be broken through to reach that gate of understanding.

וזה נוהג בכל אדם שאף נקודה דעת הקטנה יש לה חמשים שערים.

And this applies to every person, that even the smallest point of awareness (nekudas daas) has fifty gates.

This pattern of fifty gates is not only cosmic but personal: even the smallest spark of understanding within a person opens onto fifty levels of deeper insight.

ובכל שבת נפתח שער אחד כמ"ש ביום השבת יפתח.

And on each Shabbos one gate is opened, as it is written, "On the day of Shabbos it shall be opened" (Yechezkel 46:1).

Shabbos by Shabbos, one gate of binah opens to a person, drawing the pasuk in Yechezkel as a hint that the inner gate is unlocked specifically on Shabbos.

אמת שגם בכל יום מצוה לזכור יציאת מצרים כי נחלק גם לשס"ה בחי'.

True, it is also a mitzvah to recall yetzias Mitzrayim every day, for it is divided as well into 365 aspects.

Beyond the fifty Shabbosos, the Exodus is recalled daily, corresponding to the 365 days of the year and the 365 negative mitzvos — there is also a daily dimension of leaving one's personal Mitzrayim.

אבל בכלל כפי עבודה בששת ימי המעשה זוכין לצאת בשבת קודש להיות נפתח השער כנ"ל.

But in general, according to the avodah during the six weekdays, one merits to "go out" on the holy Shabbos, so that the gate is opened, as mentioned.

The weekday avodah is the preparation; the measure of one's effort during the six days determines the "going out" — the opening of the gate of understanding — that one merits on Shabbos.

גם שבת הגדול הוא כמו שבת תשובה רק שהוא בבחי' אהבה שצריך כל אדם לשוב להשי"ת מגודל החסד שעשה עמנו בשהוציאנו ממצרים ובחר בנו להיות לו לעם נחלה.

Also, Shabbos HaGadol is like Shabbos Shuvah, only that it is in the aspect of love (ahavah), for every person must return to Hashem out of the greatness of the chesed He did with us in taking us out of Mitzrayim and choosing us to be His treasured people.

Just as Shabbos Shuvah before Yom Kippur is a time of teshuvah, so too Shabbos HaGadol — but here the teshuvah flows from ahavah, awakened by gratitude for the great chesed of the redemption and of being chosen as His nation.

וזה שבת הגדול שישוב האדם בתשובה על ידי גדלותו ית':

And this is "Shabbos HaGadol" (the Great Shabbos) — that a person should return in teshuvah by means of His greatness, may He be blessed.

The name "HaGadol" hints that this teshuvah is aroused through contemplating the gadlus (greatness) of Hashem revealed in the geulah — a teshuvah of love rather than fear.

ומ"ש לעיל שיש נ' שבתות מול נ' שערי בינה.

And as was said above, that there are fifty Shabbosos corresponding to the fifty gates of binah.

The Sefas Emes returns to the parallel between the fifty Shabbosos of the year and the fifty gates of understanding.

וכיון ששער הנ' שהוא שורש החירות לא היו יכולין הרשעים לעמוד נגדו וגאל הקב"ה אותנו קודם שנכנסנו בשער הנ' דטומאה.

And since the fiftieth gate, which is the root of freedom, the wicked could not withstand — and Hakadosh Baruch Hu redeemed us before we entered the fiftieth gate of impurity.

The fiftieth gate is the source of true cheirus (freedom). Had Bnei Yisrael sunk into the fiftieth gate of tumah in Mitzrayim, they would have been lost; so Hashem redeemed them just before, drawing them instead toward the fiftieth gate of holiness and freedom.

לכן נקרא זה השער שבת הגדול.

Therefore this gate is called "Shabbos HaGadol."

Because it is the gate of freedom from which the geulah burst forth, it bears the name "the Great Shabbos."

ושערי בינה נמסרו למשה רבינו ע"ה והוא נותן לבנ"י בכל שבת חלק מהם כמ"ש חז"ל שמחזיר לבנ"י בשבת הכתרים כנ"ל:

And the gates of binah were given over to Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, and he gives to Bnei Yisrael on each Shabbos a portion of them, as Chazal said, that the crowns are returned to Bnei Yisrael on Shabbos.

Moshe Rabbeinu, who attained the gates of binah, transmits a portion of them to Bnei Yisrael every Shabbos. This is the meaning of Chazal's teaching (Shabbos 88a) that the crowns Bnei Yisrael received at Sinai — and lost at the eigel — are restored to them each Shabbos.

Summary: Every Shabbos contains an aspect of yetzias Mitzrayim, and the fifty Shabbosos of the year correspond to the fifty shaarei binah, each Shabbos opening one gate of understanding according to one's weekday avodah. Shabbos HaGadol, like Shabbos Shuvah, is a time of teshuvah — but of teshuvah from ahavah, aroused by gratitude for the chesed of the redemption and Hashem's greatness. It is called "the Great Shabbos" because it is the gate of the fiftieth level, the root of freedom, through which Hashem redeemed us; and on every Shabbos Moshe Rabbeinu transmits a share of the gates of binah, restoring to Bnei Yisrael the crowns of Sinai.