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Shabbos

שבת

Shabbos · also: שבת תתאה ושבת עלאה

The seventh day as the ascent of the worlds: G‑d “rests” from the speech and action that create, the light that descended through contractions rises to its source, and the supernal delight is revealed.

The word שבת is usually the seventh day itself, its laws (speech, borer, carrying) and its meals; the same letters also make the verb “He rested” (כי בו שבת) and occur inside other words (לשבת “to dwell,” המגביהי לשבת). It names the Divine state when the text speaks of בחי׳ שבת, עליות העולמות, שבת תתאה / שבת עילאה, שבתא דלילא / שבתא דיומא, שבת שבתון, or calls Shemittah or Yom Kippur a Shabbos.

Where it’s explained

  1. Likkutei Torah, Behar 2, ¶22In the six days Chochmah and the middos descend through contractions (the Name Elokim) into the Ten Utterances; on Shabbos the contractions cease and memale kol almin rises into sovev kol almin (“a Shabbos to Havayah”). So the worlds ascend, and the ascent is bittul, from yesh to ayin.ובשבת כתיב ויכל אלקים היינו שכלו ופסקו הצמצומים ועולה ונכלל בשם הוי׳ שהוא בחי׳ סכ״ע
  2. Likkutei Torah, Vezos Haberachah 4, ¶10Like a person who brings his intellect down into the craft of writing and, when he is done, his mind returns to its source: in six days His wisdom descended even into physical action, and on Shabbos it returns to its rest and its source. “The Shabbos of Shabbos” is higher still, above the order of hishtalshelus, to be revealed in the days of Moshiach.אך ביום השבת חוזר למנוחתו ולמקורו העליון
  3. Likkutei Torah, Shabbos Shuvah 3, ¶6G‑d still sustains the world on Shabbos, but He “rests” from being enclothed in action and in the speech of the Ten Utterances; the Or Ein Sof is then in thought alone, the world of Beriah, the world of souls. Hence the extra soul (neshamah yeseirah), and hence speech is restricted on Shabbos while thought is permitted.בשבת בוא בבחי׳ המחשבה לבדה שהוא עולם הבריאה ולכן נמשכה נשמה יתירה בשבת
  4. Likkutei Torah, Beshalach 1, ¶31The mitzvos done in the weekdays arouse the supernal delight, but it stays hidden; on Shabbos it is actually revealed, which is why the souls take pleasure on Shabbos. Nothing new is revealed beyond what the weekday mitzvos prepared: “he who toiled on Shabbos eve eats on Shabbos.”אבל בשבת כתיב וקראת לשבת עונג שבא העונג העליון לידי גילוי ממש
  5. Torah Ohr, Yisro 6, ¶1Shabbos is “holy and established” (mikadsha vekayma) and need not be sanctified by Israel, as Yom Tov is, because it is the revelation of Chochmah Ila’ah, the mochin of Abba in Z’eir Anpin, above the souls of Israel, who are rooted in Z’eir Anpin.כי שבת הוא בחי׳ התגלות ח״ע ונק׳ גילוי מוחין דאבא שהוא למעלה מבחי׳ נש״י המושרשים בז״א

Stated differently

Whether the revelation of Shabbos comes of itself, from above alone, or only in proportion to the service of the weekdays

Likkutei Torah, Matos 5, ¶3לפי שהמשכת מ״ד הנ״ל תלוי באתעדל״ע בלתי אתעדל״ת כלל לכן נאמר בעתו רצונו רצון עליון לבד כמו בשבתות ויו״ט

This drawing down of mayin duchrin depends on the arousal from above with no arousal from below at all, “in its time,” the time of the Supernal Will alone, as on Shabbosos and Yamim Tovim.

Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah 3, ¶14שבשבת נמשך מצד עצמו גילוי תענוג עליון שמתענג מכל אשר עשה

On Shabbos the revelation of the supernal delight, His delight in all He made, is drawn of itself; therefore the shofar, which also draws delight into Malchus, is not needed and is set aside on Shabbos.

Torah Ohr, Yisro 6, ¶1ומבואר שם ג״כ איך שגילוי והמשכה זו הוא מעצמו וא״צ למעשינו

Shabbos is the revelation of the mochin of Abba in Z’eir Anpin, which comes of itself and does not need our deeds; on Yom Tov, by contrast, the light of the mochin of Abba comes through our deeds and prayers.

Likkutei Torah, Beshalach 1, ¶31כל מה שיש בחינת גילוי עונג בשבת אינו אלא ממה שנתעורר למעלה ע״י המצות שעשה בחול ולא יותר

All the revelation of delight on Shabbos is only what was aroused above through the mitzvos done during the week, and no more.

Likkutei Torah, Tazria 4, ¶7וזהו דוקא ענין שבת שהוא אתעדל״ע לפי האתעדל״ת

Shabbos is an arousal from above in proportion to the arousal from below (mayin duchrin of Mah refining the mayin nukvin of Ban); the arousal from above that the arousal from below does not reach, from Adam Kadmon, is milah, not Shabbos.

Discussed by

  • The Rebbe · Sefer HaMaamarim (bilti muga) 5725, p. קעח

    The Rebbe distinguishes three levels of Shabbos: one earned by weekday toil, one holy of itself (‘mekadsha vekayma’), and one given as a gift, matching Friday night, Shabbos day and Ra’ava deRa’avin.

    שיש ג׳ מדריגות בענין השבת, מדריגה הא׳, שבאה ע״י עבודה ויגיעה, כמארז״ל מי שטרח בערב שבת יאכל בשבת

Which Sefirah Shabbos is: Chochmah (mochin of Abba), Z’eir Anpin, or Binah

Likkutei Torah, Tazria 4, ¶7שזהו למעלה מבחינת שבת שהוא מבחינת חכמה מוחין דאבא

Shabbos is from Chochmah, the mochin of Abba; the thirteen attributes of mercy drawn through milah are above it.

Likkutei Torah, Emor 4, ¶15ויומא דשבתא הוא בחי׳ ז״א. וממחרת השבת היינו בחי׳ בינה שלמעלה מן השבת

The day of Shabbos is Z’eir Anpin (Shabbos night and day are Z’eir Anpin and Nukva); “the morrow of the Shabbos” is Binah, above Shabbos, though Binah is also called Shabbos, as Shabbos Shabbason.

Likkutei Torah, Rosh Hashanah 3, ¶14גם שבת הוא בחי׳ התגלות עתיק שבבינה אשר זהו בחינת השופר

Following the Zohar that the six days are blessed from the seventh day, which is Binah, Shabbos too is the revelation of Atik within Binah, the same level as the shofar.

Discussed by

  • The Rebbe Rashab · Sefer HaMaamarim 5655, p. ע

    The Rebbe Rashab names both: as the seventh, Shabbos is Binah, while Shabbos day is the mochin of Abba (Chochmah), above the middos; he sets this against Yom Tov, mainly the mochin of Imma.

    משא״כ בשבת כתי׳ ויברך אלקי׳ את יום השביעי שהוא שביעאה דהיינו בחי׳ בינה, וגם שבת דיומא הוא בחי׳ מוחין דאבא

Further in Chassidus

  1. The Tzemach Tzedek · Biurei HaZohar (Tzemach Tzedek), vol. 2, p. תתמד

    The Tzemach Tzedek explains Shabbos through a sage who rests after contracting his wisdom into simple words for a pupil: the wisdom returns to itself, the worlds ascend, and then a supernal delight is drawn down; Friday night is the ascent and Shabbos day the drawing down.דהנה ידוע שבשבת הוא זמן עליות העולמות כולו. וכמ״ש ויכולו השמים והארץ ויכולו לשון כלות הנפש ועלי׳ מלמטה למעלה

  2. The Tzemach Tzedek · Derech Mitzvosecha (Mitzvas Milah), p. 18

    The Tzemach Tzedek defines Shabbos as the light of Atzilus revealed in Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah through the weekday refinements, which is why sorting is forbidden on Shabbos, and contrasts it with the eighth level of milah, revealed of itself.כי נת״ל פ״ה ענין השבת שהוא גילוי הארת אצי׳ בבי״ע שלמעלה מהפרסא והיינו בחי׳ אתעדל״ע הבאה מאתעדל״ת דששת ימי המעשה

  3. The Rebbe · Sefer HaMaamarim (bilti muga) 5725, p. קעג

    On Torah Or’s maamar Vayakhel Moshe, the Rebbe explains Shabbos as the ascent of the worlds, so the Mishkan’s work of drawing G‑dliness down belongs to the weekdays, and he distinguishes the ascent before drawing down from the ascent after it.כי, ענין השבת הוא העלי׳ למעלה, ולא ענין הירידה למטה בשביל ענין הבירורים

Short quotes, © their publishers; each page opened by a second AI reader.

Main sources

Likkutei Torah, Behar 2, ¶22Likkutei Torah, Behar 2, ¶1Likkutei Torah, Behar 3, ¶10Likkutei Torah, Vezos Haberachah 4, ¶10Likkutei Torah, Shabbos Shuvah 3, ¶6Likkutei Torah, Beshalach 1, ¶31Torah Ohr, Yisro 6, ¶1Torah Ohr, Yisro 6, ¶5

Where it appears

In 555 paragraphs of 211 maamarim.

Written with AI from the paragraphs of Torah Ohr and Likkutei Torah, each entry checked by a second AI reader and every Hebrew quote checked by code; not yet reviewed by a person. Our English: CC BY-NC 4.0.

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