Milah and Shabbos reconciling body and soul

במד' אחור וקדם צרתני זכה נוחל ב' עולמות כו'.

In the Midrash: "Back and front You have formed me" — if one merits, he inherits two worlds, etc.

The Sefas Emes opens with the Midrash that reads "achor vakedem" as alluding to a person's potential to inherit both this world and the next.

כי גוף האדם שפל מכל ולכן מת מטמא יותר מכל נבילה.

For the human body is the lowest of all, and therefore a [human] corpse imparts more tumah (impurity) than any animal carcass.

Precisely because man's body is the loftiest in potential, its death is the lowest fall — which is why a human corpse is the most severe source of impurity.

אבל יש בו נשמה ובזה יוכל להמשיך קדושה מעוה"ב.

But there is within him a neshamah, and through it he is able to draw down holiness from the World to Come.

Despite the body's lowliness, the soul within enables a person to draw kedushah from the higher world into this one.

ובאמת הוא בכח המילה שהוא בשמיני רומז לעוה"ב.

And in truth this is accomplished through the power of milah (circumcision), which is on the eighth day, hinting at the World to Come.

The bris milah, performed on the eighth day — beyond the seven days of creation — alludes to the World to Come and gives the body its access to it.

ולכן כל ישראל יש להם חלק לעוה"ב בכח המילה ועמך כולם צדיקים.

Therefore all of Yisrael have a portion in the World to Come through the power of milah, [as it says] "and your people are all tzaddikim."

The bris milah grants every Jew a share in the World to Come, which is why "your people are all righteous."

כי זה שנקרא אות ברית קודש אינו כמו סימן ורמז.

For that which is called the "sign of the holy covenant" is not merely like a mark or an allusion.

The milah being an "os" (sign) does not mean it is a mere symbol pointing to something else.

אבל ע"י המילה חל הקדושה.

Rather, through the milah the holiness actually takes effect.

The bris does not signify holiness from afar — it actively brings kedushah to rest upon the person.

והוא העמוד שעל ידו יש לאדם התקשרות והתחברות לעוה"ב.

And it is the pillar through which a person has connection and attachment to the World to Come.

The milah serves as the very pillar binding a person to the World to Come.

ולכן נק' אות ברית קודש.

And therefore it is called the "sign of the holy covenant."

It is named an "os" precisely because it is a real, effecting bond, not a symbol.

ובאמת הנשמה והגוף צרות זו לזו.

And in truth the neshamah and the body are rivals to one another (tzaros, "co-wives").

Soul and body are like rival co-wives, each pulling in opposite directions.

וז"ש או"ק צרתני.

And this is the meaning of "achor vakedem tzartani" — "back and front You have formed me" [read also as: You made them rivals to me].

The Sefas Emes plays on "tzartani," hearing in it the word "tzaros" — Hashem set within me the rivalry of body and soul.

כמו אוי לי מיוצרי אוי לי מיצרי.

Like the saying: "Woe to me from my Creator (Yotzri); woe to me from my evil inclination (yitzri)."

A person is caught between competing claims — the demand of his Creator and the pull of his yetzer hara.

אך ותשת עלי כפך שהקב"ה מסייע אל הבאים לטהר.

But "You placed Your hand upon me" — the Holy One assists those who come to purify themselves.

Man is not left alone in this struggle; Hashem lays His hand upon him, helping all who strive to become pure.

וזה מצות מילה שניתן לא"א ע"ה.

And this is the mitzvah of milah, which was given to Avraham Avinu, peace be upon him.

This divine assistance is embodied in the milah first given to Avraham.

וכ' תן חלק לשבעה שבעת ימי בראשית וזה בכח השבת שהוא כח המסייע בבחי' ז' ימי הבנין.

And it is written "give a portion to seven" — the seven days of creation; and this is through the power of Shabbos, which is the assisting force within the aspect of the seven days of building.

"Give a portion to seven" points to the seven days of creation, and Shabbos is the force within them that aids a person — the help that comes from the world of the seven days.

ולכן עונג שבת גם בגוף יש בו קדושה.

And therefore the oneg (pleasure) of Shabbos — even in the body — contains holiness.

Because Shabbos elevates even the physical, the bodily delight of Shabbos itself carries kedushah.

ולכן נקרא שבת שלום.

And therefore it is called "Shabbos shalom" (a Shabbos of peace).

Shabbos makes peace between body and soul, the rival co-wives, and so is called a Shabbos of peace.

וגם לשמנה זו מילה בחי' עוה"ב כנ"ל:

And also "to eight" — this is milah, the aspect of the World to Come, as above.

The continuation of the verse, "and also to eight," alludes to milah on the eighth day, the gateway to the World to Come, completing the thought above.

Summary: Man's body is the lowest of all, yet through the neshamah he can draw down the holiness of the World to Come. Body and soul are rivals, but Hashem assists all who strive to purify themselves — through the bris milah given to Avraham, which actively brings holiness and binds a person to the World to Come, and through Shabbos, which makes peace between body and soul and sanctifies even bodily pleasure.