Part II. A Good Shabbos
Healing the Blind
Now, because this subject is of the utmost importance for every Jew and because it’s one of the opportunities that we miss out on most, that’s why Hakadosh Baruch Hu gave us the Shabbos. Once a week we have an especial opportunity ̇ לו¿כƒּסַה ךַּס≈מ ירƒסָה¿ל – to remove the curtain of ignorance from our eyes (Chovos Halevavos Shaar Avodas Hashem 3:9).
After all, what is the point of Shabbos?
“Well,” you’ll tell me, “Shabbos comes to celebrate that Hashem made the world out of nothing. ןƒיַ‡≈מ ׁ ̆≈י םָלֹעו ַ̇‡יƒר¿ ב.”
Certainly! That’s the first principle that Shabbos teaches us. ‡ָרָ ב ̇יƒׁ ̆‡≈ר¿ ב יםƒ ֹ̃לו¡‡! And so, if you spend time on Shabbos thinking about that, it’s certainly an achievement. Very few people do that by the way. Although they say the words ‘ ̇יƒׁ ̆‡≈ר¿ ב ה≈ׂ ֲ̆ﬠַמ¿ל ר∆כ≈ז’, but they don’t think what they’re saying. And that’s chatas; they’re missing out.
Shabbos Bereishis
So next Shabbos, you’ll make it your business each seudah, you’re sitting down and the whole family is talking, but you’re thinking, “I have to fulfill my function of Shabbos ̇יƒׁ ̆‡≈ר¿ ב ה≈ׂ ֲ̆ﬠַמ¿ל ר∆כ≈ז.”
So while they’re talking—they don’t know what’s going on in your head—you’re thinking; you’ll think that once upon a time everything was ayin, nothing. Then Hakadosh Baruch Hu said “Yehi,” and all came into existence. “Hashem made the world out of nothing! ןƒיַ‡≈מ ׁ ̆≈י!” Ah! You fulfilled one of the great purposes of Shabbos!
But that’s not the whole lesson yet. It’s still chatas; you’re still missing out on the point. Because yes, He made the world but the question is what kind of world? „ֹ‡¿מ בֹטו ה≈ּנƒ ה¿ו הָׂ ָ̆ﬠ ר∆ׁ ֲ̆‡ לָּכ ̇∆‡ יםƒ ̃ ל¡‡ ‡¿רַ יַו. It’s a very good world!
And so Shabbos, as it reminds us of ma’aseh bereishis, it’s coming to remind us of a second principle—that the whole creation is olam chessed yibaneh, it's made for the purpose of causing happiness.
It’s a Fun World
Now, you frum Jews, maybe don’t care about happiness in this world. But Hashem does! He wants you to be happy in this world. That’s why the world was made for ta’anug! I don’t care what you say, how much you’ll protest—this world was made for enjoyment! This world!
Like the Mesillas Yesharim tells us in the beginning of that great work. He starts there by saying that it is of utmost importance to know what is the purpose of our creation, why we are in this world. And his answer is ‡ ל םָ„ָ‡ָה 'ה לַﬠ ‚≈ּנַﬠ¿ ̇ƒה¿ל ‡ָ ל∆‡ ‡ָר¿בƒנ – that man was created only to enjoy happiness in Hashem.
Now, that means in the World to Come, but he explains that in order to get to that happiness you must pass through this world first. And so my great rebbi, zichrono levrachah, said you have to make a period after the word l’hisaneg. ‚≈ּנַﬠ¿ ̇ƒה¿ל ‡ָ ל∆‡ ‡ָר¿בƒנ ‡ ל םָ„ָ‡ָה, period. I remember, I heard that sixty-five years ago from my rebbi in Slabodka. “A man was created,” he said, “only to have happiness, period.”
And that’s because Hashem understands we can make most progress in this world if we live a life of happiness—happiness is the most important way of serving Hashem. Only that he adds 'ה לַﬠ – to have happiness from Hashem, because that’s the greatest form of happiness. In order to make the best of the pleasure, it should be 'ה לַﬠ, to gain a knowledge of Hashem from your pleasure and to love Him.
Created for Oneg
And so, make no mistake about it, the world was made for pleasure! There are no two ways about it. And if anyone tells you something else, you can contradict him by the open declaration of the Mesillas Yesharim. And you can back it up by plenty of other Torah statements too. We are created only for the purpose of being happy with the greatest form of happiness that Hashem can provide.
Now, because that’s such a fundamental principle of Shabbos, that’s why we’re told in this week’s sedrah that יƒיעƒב¿ׁ ַ̆ה םֹיו ̇∆‡ יםƒ ̃ ל¡‡ ך∆רָב¿יַו, that Shabbos was made a day of brachah by Hakadosh Baruch Hu (Bereishis 2:3). Because it pays for us to understand: what brachah does it mean? What is the biggest brachah, the greatest blessing that a person can get from something?
And if we’ll be truthful with ourselves we’ll say that the answer is happiness. Happiness! Everybody wants it. Of course, we always keep in mind Olam Haba—we’re preparing for that happiness too; they’re tied together—but it’s the happiness right now that is the blessing we’re talking about. That’s what it means that Hakadosh Baruch Hu blessed the Shabbos.
And so that’s our subject today: How to make use of Shabbos the way Hakadosh Baruch Hu wanted, it should be a bracha; that it should give us happiness in this world—mamesh happiness. Because that’s the point of Shabbos! To remind us that the world was made for happiness, for ta’anug! The world was made for enjoyment, and Shabbos is the special day set aside for this purpose.
Eliyahu Hanavi Delayed
In Mesichta Eiruvin (43b) the Gemara makes a statement about Eliyahu Hanavi. Everyone is waiting for Eliyahu Hanavi. It's an open possuk: יƒכֹנָ‡ ה≈ּנƒה ‡ָרֹוּנַה¿ו לֹו„ָ‚ַה ה׳ םֹיו ‡ֹּב י≈נ¿פƒל ‡יƒבָּנַה הָלי≈‡ ם∆כָל ַח≈לֹוׁ ̆. Before the geulah Eliyahu Hanavi has to appear and therefore we're waiting for him.
And yet, even though we're mitzapim l’yeshuah, we're hoping and waiting, but the Gemara makes a statement. It says that on erev Shabbos you should forget about it. Don't hope. He won't come. ל≈‡ָר¿ׂ ̆ƒי¿ל ם∆הָל חָט¿בּמו רָב¿ּכ – It's promised to Yisroel, ֹ̇ו ָּ̇בַׁ ̆ י≈ב¿רַﬠ¿ּב ‡ֹל ‡ָּבּהוָּיƒל≈‡ ין≈‡∆ׁ ̆ – that Eliyahu Hanavi will not come erev Shabbos. That's one day that you shouldn't expect. He won’t come.
And why? The Gemara says חַ רֹטוַה י≈נ¿ּפƒמ – because it will disturb us if he comes. We need the time to prepare ta’anugim for Shabbos and it’ll interfere with our preparations if we have to greet him.
Delayed for a Better Chulent
Now that seems such a puny small explanation that it's astonishing to hear. You mean to say that the preparations for Shabbos are more important than Moshiach?
It’s not talking about keeping Shabbos—we’ll keep Shabbos anyhow. And we’ll have something to eat too. But in order not to detract from the full enjoyment of the Shabbos, from all the maadanim that we can add by proper preparation, Eliyahu Hanavi is not able to come on that day and disturb our efforts.
It’s a remarkable statement and it pays to think about that. We can't just wave it away. The Chachomim are telling us that oneg Shabbos is such a great ideal, that it cannot yield even for Eliyahu Hanavi—so it becomes of the vastest importance to understand the meaning of oneg Shabbos. Because if you don’t understand it, you won’t utilize the Shabbos for it.
The Terrible Cheit
Here’s a man, he’s so indoctrinated with the idea that this world is nothing—so as he sits down and he eats the cholent and the chicken, he says, “It’s nothing. This world is nothing; lo klum.”
“Ooh,” Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, “That’s kulo chatas. You’re missing out.” Because included in יƒיעƒב¿ׁ ַ̆ה םֹיו ̇∆‡ יםƒ ֹ̃לו¡‡ ך∆רָב¿יַו, that He gave a brachah to the seventh day by making it a day of oneg, is that we should gain an attitude that this is a good world. Not a good world—a very good world!
“I am giving you a day of brachah,” Hashem says, “and you should utilize it as a way of putting on mishkofayim—mishkofayim are eyeglasses[1] that give you hashkafah—to look at the world through this great lesson that it’s tov me’od; it’s going to change everything in your life. Not only your Shabbos will be different. Sunday will be different and Monday will be different. The whole week will be different!”
And if you don’t utilize Shabbos, that’s ı≈בֹרו ̇‡ָ טַח חַ ̇∆ּפַל – at the entranceway to a new week, you’re missing out on a most important opportunity. Because a happy Shabbos is the pesach, the doorway to a happy week.
Practice Makes Prefect
Only that you have to practice up. When you sit down on Shabbos at the seudah, it's time to get to work. You’re sitting at the seudah and on the table is challah and fish and all delectable dishes—that’s the work you have to do on Shabbos. That’s your melachah on Shabbos. Get busy working now, seeing how good everything is.
So you start with your piece of bread. Put the piece of challah in your mouth and begin to chew. That’s the easy part; but you have to think too. “Ah, a piece of bread! It’s so good, so sweet.” I always tell you the same thing. Bread has starch in it. And in your saliva, you have an enzyme called ptyalin that causes the starch to turn into sugar. So the longer you chew the bread, the sweeter it becomes. And the sweeter it becomes in your mind too. And so, the Shabbos Yid, when he eats his piece of bread he enjoys it to no end. How good the challah is!
Shabbos Work
Now when is the best time to do this? Of course, the best thing is if you do that all week long, but Shabbos is the time when it’s being demanded of us! Shabbos is the time! That’s why they give you better bread on Shabbos—in order to emphasize the oneg. Bread with an exclamation point! Challah!
And the fish too. Fish of course is a taanug. That’s why all Jews eat fish on Shabbos. It’s part of the happiness of Shabbos which teaches the chessed of
