The exodus from Egypt reached its completion when the people of Israel stood at the foot of Mount Sinai. There, the unity was completed, as our Sages expound (Mechilta, Yitro, ch. 1) on the verse (Exodus 19:2)—(Rashi ad loc.).
The Sinai revelation soon concluded, and three months later, Moses assembled the people of Israel and commanded them regarding Shabbat:
Through these verses, Moses revealed to the people of Israel: You have the ability to attain that same wonderful unity that had shone at Mount Sinai – every Shabbat! On each and every Shabbat, the light of unity shines — a light with the power to raise you to the coveted level of “one man with one heart”!
We quote Rabbi Shimshon Dovid Pincus Zt”l (p. 173): "Every Friday afternoon, the sanctity and beauty of Shabbat begin to permeate our world. Certainly, every Jew yearns and wants to merit drawing from it as much holiness as possible... But when you want to benefit from something, you must first understand it properly. Many of us don't know how to derive greatness and beauty from Shabbat because we do not understand what Shabbat really is; consequently, we are unaware of the tremendous benefit we can gain from it.
Not long ago, an esteemed young Torah scholar who is a baal teshuvah came to me with the following claim: ‘When I was secular and people tried to bring me closer to Judaism and Torah observance, they described to me how wonderful it is to learn Torah, how wonderful it is to fulfill the commandments. Among other things, they told me with great enthusiasm how wonderful Shabbat is — the Shabbat table, the aura of Shabbat, etc. They painted such a beautiful picture of Shabbat.’
'And now,' he continued, 'thank G-d, I have become a yeshivah student, and I am happy and blessed. But the beauty and the light of Shabbat that I was promised I would see — I still haven't found or felt. Thank G-d, I have a wonderful family and a Shabbat table, but I cannot seem to find the special beauty and delight! How can I find the beauty of Shabbat?'
That was his question. We can add to his question and ask: We all know that Shabbat is a very holy and very spiritual day, and yet, we are occupied for most of this holy day with physicality! We eat and drink, fulfilling the mitzvah of oneg Shabbat (delighting in Shabbat) by eating the three Shabbat meals. This is in line with what our Sages have said (Beitzah 16a):
Rashi (ad loc.) explains: On a weekday, if a person were to sit and eat meals the way he eats on Shabbat, he would feel a sense of disgust. But on Shabbat, one eats and drinks and then eats again another meal, and yet the soul does not grow weary of eating.
These words are astonishing: can it be?! Is that the true depth of the concept of the Shabbat meals?
Apparently, we are truly unaware of Shabbat's beauty and inner content. The uplifting Shabbat illumination that shone openly in past generations has now disappeared from us... Thank G-d, we study Torah, we fulfill mitzvot, and we adhere to all of the halachic stringencies. But if we are missing the presence of G-d, it is a lifeless Judaism...
In earlier generations, they felt the presence of the Holy One, blessed be He, within every step of life... and that is why they sensed and felt the sanctity of Shabbat in the Shabbat meals, and the physical relaxation of Shabbat was permeated with holiness and sanctity... Thus, the more we succeed in bringing the Creator into our lives, being constantly aware of Him, and praying to Him, the more we will merit to feel this sanctity of Shabbat..."
