Two Shabbosos: freedom from below and above

שבת הגדול אמרנו כי שבת יש בו טעם כי ששת ימים עשה ה'.

Regarding Shabbos HaGadol, we have said that Shabbos has a reason, "for in six days Hashem made [the heavens and the earth]" (Shemos 20:11).

The Sefas Emes notes that one rationale for Shabbos is that it commemorates Hashem's creation of the world in six days and His resting on the seventh.

ויש ג"כ טעם וזכרת כי עבד היית כו'.

And there is also the reason, "and you shall remember that you were a slave [in Mitzrayim]" (Devarim 5:15).

A second reason for Shabbos, given in the second Luchos, is to remember the Exodus from slavery in Mitzrayim.

והנה זה הטעם ניתוסף ביציאת מצרים לכן נתגדל מצות השבת ביציאת מצרים ע"כ.

Now this reason was added at Yetzias Mitzrayim, and therefore the mitzvah of Shabbos was "made great" through Yetzias Mitzrayim.

The Exodus contributed a whole new dimension to Shabbos, "enlarging" the mitzvah — a hint to the name Shabbos HaGadol, "the Great Shabbos."

וביאור הדברים דאיתא ברע"מ פ' זו דיש ב' בחי' שבת דיש עבודת המלכות ושיעבוד סט"א לפשוטי בני אדם ובשבת נייחא.

And the explanation of the matter: it is brought in the Raaya Mehemna on this parsha that there are two aspects of Shabbos. There is the service of malchus and the subjugation under the sitra achra for simple people, and on Shabbos there is rest (nayicha).

The Zohar's Raaya Mehemna distinguishes two levels. Ordinary people, during the week, are under a kind of "servitude" to worldly rule and the sitra achra; for them Shabbos is a release that brings rest.

ויש עבודת עבד למקום ב"ה בקבלת עול מלכות שמים.

And there is the service of a "slave" to Hashem, blessed be He, through accepting the yoke of the Kingship of Heaven (ol malchus Shomayim).

The higher level is the "servant of Hashem" — one whose weekday labor is itself avodah, born of accepting Hashem's sovereignty.

אבל בשבת יש גם לזה חירות מבחי' עבד לבן לעבוד באהבה כו'.

But on Shabbos there is, even for such a one, a freedom from the aspect of "slave," to a "son," to serve out of love.

Even the devoted servant of Hashem is elevated on Shabbos: he rises from the status of "eved" (servant) to that of "ben" (son), serving Hashem not from duty but from love.

ופי' הדברים כמו שפרשנו במ"א מן העולם ועד העולם שיש ב' מיני התעלמות והסתרות א' מצד עובי הגשמיות והסתר החשכות של סט"א.

And the explanation of the matter is as we have explained elsewhere on "from world to world" (min ha'olam ve'ad ha'olam): that there are two kinds of concealment and hiding. One is from the side of the coarseness of physicality and the concealing darkness of the sitra achra.

There are two reasons Hashem's presence can be hidden. The first is "from below": the thick materiality of the world and the darkness of the sitra achra obscure the light.

ויש מצד עומק הקדושה שאין יכולין להשיג והוא עומק רום כו'.

And there is concealment from the side of the depth of holiness, which one cannot grasp — and this is "the depth of the heights" (omek rom).

The second kind of hiddenness is "from above": holiness so exalted and deep that the human mind simply cannot reach it — a concealment of excess light rather than darkness.

והם ב' השבתות הנ"ל מי שזוכה בימי המעשה לגבור נגד היצה"ר זוכה לשבת הקטן שהוא חירות מסט"א ליכנוס תחת עול מלכות שמים שהוא חירות לגבי זה.

And these are the two Shabbosos mentioned above. One who merits during the weekdays to overcome the yetzer hara merits the "small Shabbos," which is freedom from the sitra achra, to enter under the yoke of the Kingship of Heaven — which is freedom relative to that.

The first kind of concealment is overcome by the "small Shabbos": by battling the yetzer hara all week, one earns release from the sitra achra and the freedom to accept ol malchus Shomayim, which is itself a true liberty.

והענין שבשבת הכל חוזר למקור.

And the idea is that on Shabbos everything returns to its source (makor).

Shabbos is a return: all things ascend back to their root.

לכן אין בשבת עבדות ושעבוד לסט"א כמ"ש לית שולטנא אחרא כו'.

Therefore on Shabbos there is no servitude or subjugation to the sitra achra, as it is stated, "there is no other dominion [on Shabbos]."

Because everything reverts to its holy source on Shabbos, the "other side" loses all power; as the Zohar says, no foreign dominion rules on Shabbos.

וזה הטעם כי בו שבת כו'.

And this is the reason "for on it He rested [from all His work]."

This corresponds to the first reason for Shabbos — the rest of Creation — which addresses freedom from the concealment of physicality and the sitra achra.

אמנם ביציאת מצרים שיצאו בנ"י לחירות משיעבוד סט"א הי' אח"כ השבת חירות באופן אחר שהוא למעלה משבת הנ"ל שהוא שבת להטבע.

However, at Yetzias Mitzrayim, when Bnei Yisrael went out to freedom from subjugation to the sitra achra, the Shabbos afterward became a freedom of another kind, which is above the aforementioned Shabbos — that one being a Shabbos relative to nature.

Once the Exodus had already freed Bnei Yisrael from the sitra achra, Shabbos took on a loftier meaning: no longer merely rest from the natural/physical realm, but a higher freedom altogether.

וזה הוא שבת הגדול.

And this is "Shabbos HaGadol" (the Great Shabbos).

This higher freedom is precisely what the name "the Great Shabbos" expresses.

פי' שגם בימי המעשה אין עליהם שיעבוד הטבע רק בקבלת עול מלכות שמים.

The meaning is that even during the weekdays there is no subjugation of nature upon them — only the acceptance of the yoke of the Kingship of Heaven.

For those on this higher plane, even the workdays are free of nature's "servitude"; their whole week is lived under ol malchus Shomayim rather than under the rule of the physical.

רק בשבת חירות להם שמתגלה להם שערי הקדושה הגנוזים כמ"ש מתנה טובה יש לי כו'.

Only on Shabbos there is freedom for them, in that the hidden gates of holiness are revealed to them, as it is stated, "I have a good gift [in My treasury, and Shabbos is its name]."

For them, Shabbos brings a different liberation: the concealed "gates of holiness" — the second, "from above" kind of hiddenness — are opened, the precious hidden gift of Shabbos that Hashem revealed.

והוא ענין נשמה יתירה.

And this is the matter of the neshamah yeseirah (the additional soul of Shabbos).

This revelation of hidden holiness is the extra Shabbos soul.

ואפשר מצד זה אמרו אלו משמרין בנ"י ב' שבתות כו'.

And perhaps for this reason they said, "If Bnei Yisrael were to observe two Shabbosos [they would be redeemed immediately]."

The two levels of Shabbos may explain Chazal's statement about "two Shabbosos" — corresponding to the two kinds of freedom.

שבת ראשון לצאת מסט"א.

The first Shabbos — to go out from the sitra achra.

The "first Shabbos" is the lower level: liberation from the darkness of the sitra achra.

ואח"כ שבת השני שבת הגדול כנ"ל.

And afterward the second Shabbos — Shabbos HaGadol, as above.

The "second Shabbos" is the higher level: the Great Shabbos, the revelation of the hidden gates of holiness.

ואמת שבת הגדול כמו שבת תשובה.

And in truth, Shabbos HaGadol is like Shabbos Teshuvah (the Shabbos of Return, before Yom Kippur).

The Sefas Emes draws a parallel: just as there is a great Shabbos in Tishrei (Shabbos Teshuvah), so Nissan has its great Shabbos (Shabbos HaGadol).

רק תשרי ביראה ועפ"י המשפט של עבודת האדם.

Only that Tishrei is through yirah (awe) and according to the judgment (mishpat) of a person's avodah.

The Tishrei "great Shabbos" operates through fear of Heaven and strict accounting — redemption earned according to one's deeds.

ובניסן באהבה ובחסד עליון אף שאין ראוין לזה כנ"ל:

But in Nissan it is through love (ahavah) and supernal kindness (chesed elyon), even though they are not [strictly] worthy of it, as above.

Nissan's Shabbos HaGadol works through ahavah and Hashem's overflowing chesed — a redemption granted out of love even when the people have not fully earned it, paralleling the "son who serves out of love."

Summary: Shabbos has two reasons — Creation and the Exodus — corresponding to two levels of freedom. There are two kinds of concealment of Hashem: the darkness of physicality and the sitra achra "from below," and the unreachable depth of holiness "from above." The ordinary "small Shabbos," earned by overcoming the yetzer hara, frees one from the sitra achra and lets him accept ol malchus Shomayim. But Shabbos HaGadol, rooted in the freedom of Yetzias Mitzrayim, is higher: even the weekdays are free of nature's rule, and Shabbos reveals the hidden gates of holiness (the neshamah yeseirah), raising a person from "servant" to "son." It parallels Shabbos Teshuvah, but where Tishrei's redemption comes through yirah and judgment, Nissan's comes through ahavah and supernal chesed, granted out of love even when undeserved.