L’Chavod Shabbos Kodesh
Chazal say that whoever makes Shabbos a day of delight is given an unbounded heritage, is saved from the servitude of galus, and is granted his heart’s desires.
The Alshich points out that “making Shabbos a day of delight” implies that what one seeks to do is to enhance the spirit of Shabbos, and not merely to indulge in his own pleasures. Indeed, the more one delights in the ruchniyus of Shabbos and abstains from mundane matters, the more does he add to the kedusha of Shabbos.
In this spirit, the Alshich explains a story in the Gemara, that on erev Shabbos the amora Rav Nachman ben Yitzchak would carry bundles of food in and out, saying, “If Rav Ami and Rav Assi visited me, would I not carry for them?”
The deeper significance in this comparison is that just as Rav Ami and Rav Assi would have actually eaten the food and been delighted by it, so too, when we uplift our neshama yeseira with the Shabbos foods, we bring delight to the Shabbos within us.
(שבת קיט ע"א, תורת משה תצוה לא,יג)
The Chida writes: Someone may come and say, “I derive enjoyment from foul talk and unsavory conduct – and this is my oneg Shabbos.” This is mistaken, for we are commanded to bring delight to Shabbos, and such conduct, only causes her pain.
(מדבר קדמות ערך ענג)
Higher Pursuits
Chassidus explains that eating on Shabbos is a holy experience and is free of selfish interests. Nevertheless, if a person focuses on the physical, he will be drawn into it.
(המשך תער"ב ח"ב עמ' אקכה, לקו"ש חל"א ע' 247)
The Baal Shem Tov once showed his talmidim a man who was sitting at his own Shabbos table and resplendent in his Shabbos garb – but what they saw with their holy eyes was an ox! The reason was that since the man was investing his entire being in enthusedly eating the meat of an ox, that is what he was at that moment.
(סה"מ קונטרסים ח"א ע' 170)
The Mezritcher Maggid offers a mashal for this: A great king announced a day of nationwide feasting and celebration, and gave orders that the wishes of each of his subjects be carried out. Amongst them there was a leper. He asked that the king give him two mounds of cold manure in which he could lie, to seek relief from his leprosy. The king’s servants berated him, “Fool that you are! You could have asked the king for all the pleasures of the world, so for your leprosy you could have requested treatment from an expert doctor!” Nevertheless, the king instructed that the man’s request be fulfilled, for a king’s orders must follow through, regardless of this man’s foolishness.
(אור תורה קד,ג)
The venerable chossid Reb Hillel of Paritch was once a Shabbos guest in the home of a man who didn’t eat cholent. When Reb Hillel questioned him about his practice, he explained that he was forbidden to do so by order of his doctors. Reb Hillel was not afraid: “Eat now. It’s on my shoulders!” Full of trust, the man took a spoonful and tasted the cholent. At that point Reb Hillel stopped him: “Enough! If you wish to eat more, that’s on your shoulders...”
(שמו"ס ח"ג ע' 232)
As the youngest child of the Frierdiker Rebbe, Rebbetzin Sheina was the subject of much attention. Once, at a meal in the home of her grandfather, the Rebbe Rashab, he told her that on Shabbos she must eat, stroll and do everything l’chavod Shabbos. The little girl replied that she could do this with everything except for sleeping, since while one is sleeping, one is asleep... From this story the Rebbe derived a lesson: With the right amount of effort beforehand, everyone is capable of sleeping in honor of Shabbos.
(תו"מ ח"ג ע' 6, חמ"ב ע' 113)
Holy Food
Rebbetzin Menucha Rochel, the saintly daughter of the Mitteler Rebbe, was particular not to throw out any Shabbos food, and instead would offer it to her family members and guests. She attributed this practice to a tradition from the Alter Rebbe: One Friday night a guest joined the Alter Rebbe’s seuda. When the soup was served, the guest took a spoonful but immediately stopped eating because of its saltiness. The Alter Rebbe was deep in dveikus, and when he came to, he asked the guest why he wasn’t eating. Before the guest had a chance to respond, the Alter Rebbe helped him by adding some salt to his bowl, and again fell into dveikus. This repeated itself several times. Finally the guest managed to tell the Alter Rebbe that the soup was too salty and inedible. The Alter Rebbe immediately took the soup, ate it up, and told the guest, “No Shabbos food is not good, or harmful to one’s health. One should not throw out Shabbos food!”
(ס' הצאצאים ע' 101)
Reb Yaakov Yosef of Polonnoye, a senior talmid of the Baal Shem Tov, once took his wife along with him on a visit to his Rebbe. When she returned home, everyone wanted to know what secrets she had learned in Mezhibuzh from the Baal Shem Tov’s wife. She told them, “I learned to meditate upon the secret of the ketores while preparing the kugel for Shabbos.”
(מגדל עז ע' רמה)
Consider
How is everyone capable of “making Shabbos a day of delight”?
