For our discussion, Friday night, Hakadosh Baruch Hu keviyachol marries the Jewish nation, as we say in the tefillah קדשת אתה. The Mateh Moshe (siman 450) says that this means there is a kiddushin, marriage on this night. Let us be cautious that we don't throw out this precious marriage ring and instead be busy with spoiled meat, and the foolishness of this world.
9. Torah studied at night (also on a weekday) has a special quality, and there is a specialness of the "winter nights."
Tzaddikim called the winter nights, נעכט ווינטער הייליגע די, 'The holy winter nights', because one can acquire a lot of Torah on these long nights" (Darkei Chaim v'Shalom, Munkatz, 810).
The Ropshitzer zt'l would say after Succos, "After the heilige teg (the holy days of the yomim tovim) passed, now comes the heilige necht (the holy nights)."
Rebbe Pinchas Koritzer zt'l called these nights נעכט גאלדענע די, "Golden Nights." Rebbe Bunim of Peshischa zt"l would call these nights, פריינד גוטע די, "The good friend" (Nesivos Shalom).
Rebbe Yissachar Dov of Belz zy'a said in the name of the Ateres Tzvi of Zidichov zt'l "The winter nights have the kedushah of chol hamoed." Also, the Rebbe of Zidichov said, "In the winter nights, before daybreak, one can accomplish [with his tefillos] the same as on Yom Kippur, during Neilah."
Rebbe Moshe Mordechai of Lelov zt'l said in the name of the Beis Aharon of Stolin zt'l that after the "holy days" pass, he feels very down. But then comes the long winter nights, and that calms him. The Rebbe, Reb Moshe Mordechai asked, "Why did the long nights calm the Beis Aharon? He learned day and night, winter and summer! What was special about the 'winter nights'? It is because in the winter, it is cold, and it is hard to get out of bed. Therefore, these days were so precious to him, and to all tzaddikim. An avodah with toil is very precious to Hashem.
Now, that the winter Shabbosim are beginning. When the nights are longer and we can have a Friday night of 13 hours etc., and all the gates of heaven are opened. Whoever wants to take bounty and blessings can take and receive it. A person should think about how he spends these long nights, how many hours he is occupied with Torah and tefillah and songs to Hashem, and how many hours are lost, without any benefit, chas ve'shalom?
Perhaps you will say that sleeping is a mitzvah on Shabbos, as we say in the zemiros, משובחת השינה, and Chazal (Yalkut Reuvani, Ve'eschanan) writes, תענוג בשבת שינה, that sleeping on Shabbos is a pleasure, but behold the Vilna Gaon (beginning of Divrei Eliyahu) zt'l said that תענוג בשבת שינה, it is a pleasure, like the dessert that comes at the end of the meal. The pleasure of the desert is, when the person eats a bit, to leave over a good taste in his mouth, but when a person eats too much sweets, he throws up everything he ate. So, it will be when a person sleeps too much. (He certainly shouldn’t sleep from 9:00 pm until late in the morning...)
The Ben Ish Chai zt'l told a mashal of two people who didn't have parnassah. They both decided that they should go collecting door to door. At the end of the day, the two men met. One of them had a very good meal prepared, the other had just some scraps of old food. He asked, "What is your secret? How did you get such good foods? I went around the homes for hours, and this is all I received." The other replied, "I went around just a short time, and I gained more. My secret is that I go around when people are eating, so they give me a portion from the foods they prepared for themselves."
The nimshal is that Friday night there are many hashpaos tovos, bounties, prepared in heaven. If we spend these nights with holiness, we can receive so much. We can receive much more than we receive at other times of the day.
There was a person who didn't have parnassah, and he told his plight to the Yismach Yisrael. The Yismach Yisrael zt'l knew that this person's store is opened on Shabbos Hashem Yerachem, and he knew that if he tells him to close the store, he won't listen to him because he will say that the main day for business is on Shabbos. Instead, the Yismach Yisrael told him, "I want to be a partner with you in your business." The man was very happy with this offer, because he understood that if the rebbe is his partner, Hashem will bestow his brachos on the business, and he will have parnassah. The Yismach Yisrael told him, "Let’s write up an agreement that one seventh of your business belongs to me, and that I receive 1/7th of the profits" (about 15%). The person wrote up the document. Then the Yismach Yisrael said, "Now that I am a partner of 1/7th of the store, I have a right to ask that the store be closed on Shabbos."
With this story, we can explain the pasuk (Shemos 20:9) וְיוֹם ,ָמְל ַאכְתֶּך כָּל וְעָשִׂיתָ תַּע ֲבֹד יָמ ִים ֶׁתשֵׁש א ֱלֹק ֶיךָ 'לַה שׁ ַבָּת הַש ְּׁבִיעִי, "Six days you work... and the seventh day is Shabbos for Hashem your G-d." Hashem is saying that He is a partner with all our business and work, and 1/7th is His. The day Hashem chose for Himself is Shabbos. If you will act on this day as Hashem wants, to make it holy with Torah and tefillah and avodas Hashem – הוא קדוש יום צאתו ועד מבואו, a holy day from when it comes until when it leaves – you will merit that מלאכתך כל ועשית, that you will succeed with your work.
For our topic, we understand that if we will be cautious with the Friday nights, we will receive a brachah the entire week.
Learning Torah on Shabbos
In particularly, it is important to be happy on Shabbos. Pirkei Avos (6) states that one of the 48 traits needed to acquire Torah is שמחה, joy. The Maharal (Derech Chaim Avos 6) explains, “Simchah is a great level. When one is happy, he has perfection (sheleimus). And when he has perfection, he can receive the Torah, which is the perfection of man.”
The Ibn Ezra (in his Igeres HaShabbos) writes, “Every day the gates of comprehension open, but on Shabbos one hundred gates open.” Therefore, it is much easier to understand Torah on Shabbos than on a weekday. Likewise, the Chazon Ish zt’l writes that on Shabbos, one can understand the sections of Torah that he failed to understand during the week. Perhaps this is because people are happier on Shabbos, as Shabbos is called שמחתכם יום, “Your day of joy.” And joy is one of the 48 keys necessary for acquiring the Torah.
Torah is acquired with simchah, and Torah study itself makes us happy, as it states (Tehillim 19:9), לב משמחי ישרים 'ה פקודי, “Hashem’s mitzvos are upright; they gladden the heart.” Nothing is more joyous than studying Torah and the performance of the mitzvos.
