Matter, form, and bittul on Shabbos

אתה יצרת עולמך מקדם כלית מלאכתך ביום השביעי.

"You formed Your world of old; You completed Your work on the seventh day."

The Sefas Emes opens with this liturgical phrase, focusing on the idea that Creation reached its true completion specifically on Shabbos.

כי הנה לכל דבר יש צורה.

For behold, everything has a form (tzurah).

Every created thing possesses an inner form — an essential design beyond its raw matter.

וגם קודם שנברא הכל הי' מצוייר לפני הבורא ית' כמו שעתיד להיות וזה הציור הוא חיות הכל.

And even before everything was created, it was already pictured before the Creator as it was destined to be, and this picture (tziyur) is the vitality of everything.

Before Creation, each thing existed as a Divine "image" in Hashem's intent; that ideal form is the very life-force animating it now.

דזה הכח יכולין לעורר תוך החומר שנטבע בו הצורה וזה נתחדש בכל חודש.

For this power can be awakened within the matter in which the form is embedded — and this is renewed each month.

The inner form lies hidden within the physical matter and can be roused; this monthly renewal (chodesh, from chiddush) reawakens the form within matter.

אמנם השבת למעלה מזה שנתבטל בו כל החומר לגמרי והצורה נעשה חומר להשורש שלמעלה מהטבע.

However, Shabbos is above this — for in it all matter is wholly nullified, and the form itself becomes "matter" to the root that is above nature.

On Shabbos the chomer (matter) is entirely nullified; even the tzurah now serves as raw material for a still higher, supernatural root — a deeper level of bittul than the monthly renewal.

ולכן נאמר בו כלית מלאכתך כו'.

Therefore it is said of it: "You completed Your work," etc.

Because Shabbos draws everything back to its supernal root, it is the day on which Hashem's "work" reaches its true completion.

וע"י שמתקנים החומר בתחילה להכניעו להצורה עי"ז יכולין אח"כ לבטלו לגמרי.

And by first rectifying the matter — to subdue it to the form — through this one is afterward able to nullify it completely.

The path is sequential: first one tames the physical so it submits to its inner form (the weekday avodah), and only then can it be wholly nullified to the higher root (Shabbos).

כמאמר המשנה עשה רצונו כרצונך בטל רצונך מפני רצונו.

As the Mishnah says: "Make His will like your will... nullify your will before His will" (Avos 2:4).

This two-stage avodah is mirrored in the Mishnah: first align your own ratzon with Hashem's, then nullify your ratzon entirely before His.

בתחילה צריכין לקחת קצת סדר עבודה להשי"ת מרצונות אחרים ללמוד מרצון עצמו איך לעשות רצון הבורא.

At first one must derive a certain order of avodah for Hashem from other desires — learning from one's own will how to do the will of the Creator.

The first stage uses one's natural human desires as a model: a person learns from his own ratzon how to serve Hashem, channeling worldly drives into avodas Hashem.

ואח"כ זוכין לבטל לגמרי כל הרצונות אחרים.

And afterward one merits to completely nullify all other desires.

Having harnessed his desires, one then rises to the higher stage of nullifying every other ratzon, leaving only the will of Hashem.

וב' אלו רמוזים ג"כ במשנה דרך ישרה שיבור כו' שהיא תפארת לעושי' היינו לבטל לגמרי רק להש"י שהוא עושה הכל.

And these two are also hinted in the Mishnah: "the straight path that a person should choose..." (Avos 2:1) — "which is a glory (tiferes) to the one who does it" means to nullify oneself completely, only to Hashem, Who does everything.

The Mishnah's "tiferes l'oseha" (glory to its doer) points to the higher stage: total self-nullification before Hashem, recognizing that He alone is the true "Doer" of all.

אמנם לא הכל זוכין לזה רק לפחות מדריגה שני' הוא ותפארת לו מן האדם הוא התהפכות החומר אל הצורה.

However, not everyone merits this; but at least the second level — "and a glory to him from man" — is the transformation of matter into form.

Not all attain complete bittul, but everyone can reach the lower level: "tiferes lo min ha'adam" — bringing glory to Hashem by transforming one's physical matter so it submits to its inner form.

שכן הי' רצון הש"י להיות האדם מוטבע בחומר ואעפ"כ יתגבר הצורה ומצד זה בא תפארת להש"י מן האדם מצד שהוא אדם כנ"ל:

For such was the will of Hashem — that man be embedded in matter, and that nonetheless the form should prevail; and from this aspect comes glory to Hashem from man, by virtue of his being human, as above.

Hashem deliberately set man within physicality so that his inner form should triumph over it. Precisely this struggle — a human being elevating his matter to its form — brings unique tiferes to Hashem, glory that only a person living within chomer can give.

Summary: Every created thing has an inner form that is its Divine life-force; the weekday avodah subdues matter to its form (the monthly renewal), while Shabbos nullifies matter entirely so that even the form becomes raw material for its supernal root. So too in avodas Hashem there are two stages — first aligning and channeling one's own desires toward Hashem's will, then nullifying all other will before Him. The highest level of total bittul is not for everyone, but every person can bring tiferes to Hashem precisely by being a human who elevates his physical matter to its inner form.