Whoever Prepares on Shabbos Eve Will Eat on Shabbos!
וַיִּשְׁכֹּן כְּבוֹד ה’ עַל הַר סִינַי וַיְכַסֵּהוּ הֶעָנָן שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מִתּוֹךְ הֶעָנָן (כד:טז)
And the glory of Hashem rested upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day, He called to Moshe from within the cloud.” (24:16)
Rashi comments: And He called to Moshe on the seventh day — “To say The Ten Commandments... And some say that the cloud covered Moshe for a six-day period after the Ten Commandments were given, and these [six days] marked the beginning of the forty days that Moshe ascended to receive the Tablets. This teaches that anyone entering the camp of the Shechinah requires separation for six days.”
According to this interpretation (which concurs with the view of Rabbi Yossi HaGalili and Resh Lakish in Yoma 3b-4a—see there), the pasuk teaches us that the cloud covered Mount Sinai for six days for the sake of Moshe. Because anyone entering an area of sanctity must seclude himself for six days in preparation.
From here, we learn the concept of preparation and separation before entering a place or time of holiness. Just as anyone entering the Beis Hamikdash—considered the camp of the Shechinah—must purify and sanctify themselves for six days, so too, preparation is required before approaching holiness.
It is possible that this also alludes to Shabbos Kodesh, which is called Yoma D‘Neshmata (the day of the soul) (Zohar 2:205b). The Shabbos is akin to the Beis Hamikdash in the dimension of time, as known from the concept of “Olam, Shanah, Nefesh” (World, Year, Soul). Just as the Beis Hamikdash is the holiest place in the world, so too, the Shabbos is the holiest day of the week.
The pasuk hints to us the proper way to draw close to the sanctity of Shabbos: one attains the supreme holiness of Shabbos through separation during the six preceding weekdays. Without preparation and withdrawal from mundane matters throughout the six days of work, one cannot properly sanctify the Shabbos. The Shabbos is the soul and life force of the entire week.
For this reason, it was instituted to recite at the conclusion of Shacharis each day the Shir Shel Yom (Psalm of the Day), which begins with the declaration, “Today is the first/second/etc. day towards the Shabbos,” so as to remind and arouse a person to prepare throughout the week for the arrival of the Shabbos Queen. By doing so, one fulfills the mitzvah (Shemos 20:8), זָכוֹר אֶת יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת לְקַדְּשׁוֹ - Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it, for as explained by the Ramban, we should think of the Shabbos each day of the week in order to sanctify it, as it says (Yeshayah 58:13), And you shall call the Shabbos a delight, holy to Hashem and honored.
Similarly, the Arizal, in Shaar HaKavanot (beginning of Drushei Seder Shabbos, first Drush of Vi‘hi Noam), teaches that one must intend each day to receive a certain measure of the holiness of Shabbos. He states explicitly: “Know that one must prepare oneself to receive the additional light of the Shabbos during the six weekdays. By doing so, one fulfills the words of the pasuk, And you shall sanctify yourselves and be holy. This is an important concept—to sanctify oneself during the weekdays with the holiness of the Shabbos, and this is its preparation, etc.”
This idea is hinted at in Rashi’s words: “ This teaches that anyone entering the camp of the Shechinah requires separation for six days.” The intention is tha tone should prepare himself during the six days of the week for the arrival of the holy Shabbos, when the Shechinah dwells among Klal Yisrael. Through this preparation, one will merit the sanctity of the Shabbos, fulfilling the words of the pasuk, And He called to Moshe on the seventh day.
This concept is also reflected in the words of Chazal in Avodah Zarah 3a: “They said before Him: ‘Master of the Universe, give us the Torah from the beginning and we will observe it.’ He replied, ‘Fools of the world! Whoever prepares on the eve of the Shabbos will eat on the Shabbos; but whoever did not prepare on the eve of the Shabbos— what will he eat on the Shabbos?’” See there for further discussion.
