Reuniting the soul-fragment with its root

במד' ברכו ה' מלאכיו ולא כל מלאכיו תחתונים שאינם יכולים לעמוד בתפקידיו של הקב"ה כו'.

In the Midrash: "Bless Hashem, His angels" (Tehillim 103:20) — but not all His angels; the lower ones, who cannot withstand the charges/duties of the Holy One, etc.

The verse blesses only certain of Hashem's angels, for the lower ones cannot endure the full force of His "commands" — the Sefas Emes will apply this to the soul of man.

דהנה כתיב ולא יכול משה לבוא כו' כי שכן עליו הענן כו'.

For behold it is written, "And Moshe could not enter … because the cloud rested upon it" (Shemos 40:35).

Moshe was unable to enter the Mishkan because the cloud of Hashem's presence filled it.

והלא הי' מ' יום ומ' לילה תוך הענן.

But was he not forty days and forty nights inside the cloud [on Har Sinai]?

This raises a difficulty: Moshe had already dwelt within the very cloud for forty days and nights, so why could he not enter now?

אבל כתיב משה משה.

But it is written, "Moshe, Moshe" (Shemos 3:4).

The doubled name hints at two "Moshes" — an upper Moshe and a lower Moshe.

ומשה שלמעלה היה תוך הענן.

And the Moshe who is above was inside the cloud.

The higher, rooted dimension of Moshe could indeed dwell within the cloud.

ולמטה הוא חלק ממשה שלמעלה.

And below he is [only] a portion of the Moshe who is above.

The Moshe standing here below is merely a branch or part of his supernal root.

ולכן הי' צריך קריאה מקודם משה משה לחבר משה שלמטה למשה שלמעלה.

Therefore there first had to be a calling, "Moshe, Moshe," to join the lower Moshe to the upper Moshe.

The "calling" — and the doubled name — served to bind the lower part of Moshe to his higher root so that he could withstand the Divine presence.

וב' אלו הבחי' עליונים ותחתונים האדם כלול משניהם.

And these two aspects, upper and lower, man is composed of both of them.

Every person, like Moshe, contains both a supernal root above and a lower portion here below.

נשמתו שלמעלה יכולה לעמוד.

His soul which is above can withstand [the Divine presence].

The rooted, higher part of a person's neshamah is able to endure closeness to Hashem.

אבל כשנשתלחה למטה היא רק חלק מן הנשמה והשורש נשאר למעלה.

But when it was sent down below, it is only a portion of the neshamah, and the root remains above.

What descends into a person is only a fragment of the full soul; the main root stays connected on high.

ובאמת זה עצמו ענין הקרבנות לקרב החלק שלמטה אל השורש.

And in truth this itself is the matter of the korbanos: to draw near (l'kareiv) the portion that is below to the root.

A korban (from the root meaning "to draw near") works to reconnect the lower fragment of the soul to its supernal source.

ולכן בשבת שיש הארת נשמה יתירה.

Therefore on Shabbos, when there is the illumination of the neshamah yeseirah (the extra soul).

Shabbos brings an added soul, a fresh shining of the higher root into a person.

הוא הזמן להעיד על הבורא.

It is the time to testify about the Creator.

Because the soul is more connected to its root on Shabbos, it is uniquely fit to bear witness to Hashem.

שבת סהדותא איקרי.

Shabbos is called "testimony" (sahaduta).

The Zohar names Shabbos itself a testimony — to the creation and to Hashem.

לפי שהוא יומא דנשמתין.

Because it is the day of souls (yoma d'nishmasin).

Shabbos is the day of the neshamos, when the soul's connection to its source is most fully revealed.

ונקרא שלום שנדבק החלק בהשורש.

And it is called shalom (peace/wholeness), for the portion clings to the root.

"Shalom" denotes wholeness: on Shabbos the lower fragment of the soul reunites with its supernal root, restoring completeness.

ואז ברכו ה' מלאכיו:

And then "Bless Hashem, His angels."

Once the lower portion is joined to its root — as on Shabbos — even the lower "angels," the souls below, can withstand and bless Hashem, fulfilling the verse in full.

Summary: The verse blesses only Hashem's higher angels, for the lower ones cannot withstand His presence — just as Moshe, after forty days in the cloud, could not enter the Mishkan until "Moshe, Moshe" joined his lower self to his supernal root. Every person likewise has a soul-root above and only a fragment below; the avodah of the korbanos is to draw that fragment back to its root. Shabbos, the "day of souls" and "testimony," brings the neshamah yeseirah that reunites the portion with its root — this is shalom, wholeness — and only then can even the lower souls truly "bless Hashem."