ספר שמות

Exodus 31,12. “Hashem said to Moses, to say: but ‎you are to observe My Sabbath days for the Sabbath is a sign ‎between Me and you, etc;” our sages in the Talmud ‎‎Beytzah 16 learned from this verse that when one gives a ‎gift to one’s fellow man one needs to inform him of this fact; they ‎quote the fact that G’d gave the Jewish people the gift of the ‎Sabbath, but made a point of informing them beforehand. In the ‎parlance of our sages, G’d told the people that He had kept a ‎valuable gift hidden in His treasure chamber, a gift called Sabbath. ‎What did G’d mean by referring to the Sabbath as a valuable gift? ‎He referred to the light and the holiness that emanates from the ‎celestial regions and supplies people with something we loosely ‎refer to as ‎רוח הקודש‎, holy spirit, also known as ‎ערבות‎, a name for ‎pleasurable sensations as experienced in the celestial regions.‎Actually, we are meant to be looking forward to the special ‎gifts experienced on the Sabbath throughout the six working ‎days, and therefore we should concern ourselves with the ‎preparations for the Sabbath not only on the Sabbath but every ‎day. The degree in which we experience the gift of holy spirit just ‎described on the Sabbath reflects the efforts we have made during ‎the week to welcome the Sabbath when it comes.When we read in Exodus 16,5 –concerning the first Sabbath ‎the Israelites experienced in the desert when the manna did not ‎fall but they received an extra portion of the preceding day- ‎והכינו ‏את אשר יביאו‎, ”they are to prepare what they are going to bring ‎home on that day,” this is an instruction to prepare oneself for ‎the Sabbath on the weekday. Our sages have coined a famous ‎phrase when they said ‎מי שאינו טרח בערב שבת מהיכן יאכל בשבת?‏‎, “if ‎someone did not make the necessary effort on the Sabbath eve, ‎how he is going to have something to eat on the Sabbath?”‎In spite of the fact that we human beings made an effort to ‎provide for our needs, the Sabbath is still considered a valuable ‎gift. The reason is that all man’s efforts notwithstanding, he is ‎not entitled to an automatic gift of holiness nor is he entitled to ‎be the recipient of outpourings of G’d’s largesse. If G’d’s gift of ‎the Sabbath is entirely gratuitous, why do we need to put in so ‎much effort into preparing for the Sabbath? The reason is that ‎G’d’s gift of the Sabbath is in danger of being wasted unless the ‎recipient has provided a receptacle that ensures that it can be put ‎to good use. [If someone receives a bouquet of flowers but ‎does not have a vase to put these flowers in to fill it with water to ‎preserve them, the gift is wasted. Ed.]‎Observance of the Sabbath consists of two separate aspects, ‎called by the Torah: ‎זכור ושמור‎ “to remember,” and “to keep,” in ‎the two versions of the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 20 and ‎Deuteronomy 5 respectively) In kabbalistic parlance the ‎זכור‎ ‎aspect refers to the masculine side of the table of emanations, ‎whereas the ‎שמור‎ aspect belongs to the feminine side. [The ‎‎“masculine” aspect refers to the spiritual aspect, whereas the ‎‎“feminine” aspect refers to the materialistic aspect. Ed.] ‎Some people observe the Sabbath primarily on account of the ‎physical pleasures it affords, i.e. a rest from back-breaking labour ‎in the field during the weekdays, consuming more and tastier ‎food, spending “quality” time with one’s family, etc. Others view ‎the Sabbath as a day that affords them an opportunity to provide ‎their Creator with pleasure and satisfaction for having created ‎him.‎The most revealing comment about the value of honouring ‎the Sabbath by sanctifying it through reciting Kiddush and ‎not violating any of its negative commandments, is found in the ‎Talmud (Shabbat 118) where the sages say that anyone ‎doing this will have all his previous sins forgiven even if he had ‎been the type of idolater that was current in the generation of ‎Enosh (Adam’s grandson). The reason why observance of the ‎Sabbath is such a powerful means of man rehabilitating himself in ‎the eyes of the Lord through observing its laws, is that each ‎transgression he commits, is an act of distancing himself from his ‎holy origins, his roots, leaving a stain on his soul. Observing the ‎laws of the Sabbath is an act of returning to one’s roots thereby ‎removing stains on his soul. The additional spiritual light that G’d ‎bestows on us on the Sabbath also acts as therapy for a soul that ‎has been injured. This then is the ‎מתנה טובה‎, “the valuable gift” ‎G’d bestows upon us every Sabbath. If someone observes the ‎Sabbath exclusively in order to take advantage of the “window” ‎for immediate forgiveness for his sins this is “good,” but it is a far ‎cry from observing the Sabbath optimally. Hence his observance ‎is called “observing the feminine aspect of the Sabbath.”Clearly, when someone observes the Sabbath for such ‎considerations it is a good thing, but even if he observes the ‎Sabbath for the sake of receiving spiritual rewards this is not yet ‎the “optimal” manner in which to observe the Sabbath, it is still ‎part of the aspect of the Sabbath we have called the “feminine” ‎aspect. We have mentioned a number of times that serving G’d, ‎i.e. including through Sabbath observance, that the highest level ‎of such service must always revolve around his “giving” ‎something to His Creator not around his “receiving” something ‎from Him. This “giving” must not be confused with presenting ‎sacrifices on the altar. It need not be a tangible gift; in fact it ‎cannot be a tangible gift seeing that G’d has no use for tangible ‎gifts, seeing everything in the universe is His by definition? ‎Sabbath observance, just as any other form of service, including ‎prayer, must be designed to please the Lord and give Him ‎satisfaction in order to qualify as keeping the “masculine, ‎זכור‎ ‎aspect of the Sabbath.” When David said in psalms 68,35 ‎תנו עוז ‏לאלוקים‎, “give might to G’d!,” he emphasized the need for man to ‎give something to G’d that will confirm and reinforce His power ‎as being actual not only potential through His creatures ‎responding to Him and seeking His nearness. This may be done ‎through performance of commandments physically.‎ ‎