The Zohar says, יומין שתא כל מתברכין מיניה, "The six days of the week receive their blessings from Shabbos."
The Gemara (Shabbos 119.) asks, from which good deed do the wealthy people in Eretz Yisrael earn their wealth? The Gemara replies that it is because they give maaser. "How do the wealthy in Bavel earn wealth? It is because they honor the Torah. In other countries, what merit do they have to become wealthy? It is because they honor the Shabbos. Reb Chiya bar Aba said that he once came to the home of a wealthy person in Ludkiya, where they brought a table made of gold before the host. It was so heavy that sixteen people had to carry it. Sixteen silver chains were attached to it... and all types of foods, sweets, and besamim were on it. I asked him, 'My son, for which good deeds did you receive this wealth?' He replied, 'I used to be a butcher. When I saw a beautiful animal, I said to put it aside for Shabbos.'" In the merit of honoring Shabbos, he merited wealth.
Also, today, people earn wealth from giving maaser, honoring the Torah, and honoring Shabbos. It seems from the Gemara that most people in chutz l'aretz earned their wealth from honoring Shabbos. Therefore, let us invest in Shabbos with good food, song, divrei Torah, and joy. One of the many benefits will be wealth in this world.
But remember, the Mishnah states (Uktzin 3:12), לישראל ברכה מחזיק כלי הוא ברוך הקדוש מצא לא השלום אלא, that the vessel in which to receive brachos is peace. Hashem gives His brachos when we honor Shabbos, but we need vessels to receive Hashem's brachos. The vessel is peace, shalom bayis, shalom with our fellow man, also in thought, and no machlokes.
We must always be cautious not to become angry, but it is even more important not to become angry on Shabbos because anger on Shabbos can cause us to forfeit receiving Hashem's amazing brachos.
It states (Shemos 35:3), משבתיכם בכל אש תבערו לא השבת ביום, "Do not kindle a fire in all your dwelling places on the Shabbos day." Literally, this means we may not make a fire on Shabbos. However, the Zohar says this is referring to the fire of anger. We must be cautious not to become angry on Shabbos because then we will lose all the brachos and wealth that come from Shabbos.
The Chofetz Chaim zt'l gives a mashal of an oil merchant who came to a town to sell oil. Everyone came with their vessels, to have something to hold the oil. When their vessels were full, they said, "We want to buy more, but we don't have jugs to hold the oil."
The merchant replied, "I want to sell you more, but I have nowhere to put it."
The nimshal is that Hashem gives brachos, but we need a vessel in which to receive the brachos. From keeping and honoring Shabbos, one can receive tremendous bracha, but he needs a vessel. The vessel is peace. When that is lacking, the brachos come down, but there is nowhere for them to go.
Rebbe Eizik of Kaliv zt'l asked a merchant, "Do you have potatoes?"
"No, I don't."
"Do you have a basket?"
"No, I don't have that either."
Rebbe Aizik commented to his gabbai, "He doesn't have a basket, and therefore he doesn't have potatoes."
The point is that to receive shefa, bounty, a vessel is required to obtain the blessings.
Another vessel is hishtadlus
Hishtadlus creates a vessel in which Hashem places the parnassah. Rebbe Mordechai of Neshchiz zt'l says that in the desert, the mon was packaged in טל, dew. Today, parnassah is essentially the mon, in a more physical form. It is also packaged in טל, the מלאכות ל"ט, thirty-nine categories of work that people perform to earn their parnassah. This is the package, the vessel, with which Hashem gives us parnassah.
The importance of peace
The Gemara (Gittin 52) tells us about a couple that the Satan caused to bicker every Friday evening. The holy tana, Reb Meir, came to pay them a visit on Friday because he knew they wouldn’t fight in his presence. He went there for three weeks in a row, and then Reb Meir heard the Satan say, "Woe! Reb Meir drove me out of the house."
The Chasam Sofer explains that this story happens in many homes on Fridays. The yetzer hara comes and tries to disturb the peace to prevent them from receiving Hashem's blessings.
The holy sefarim write that if your wife or daughter etc., did something wrong on Erev Shabbos (they didn't clean or cook properly, and there are countless other examples), you shouldn't become angry with them. They aren't at fault. The culprit is the yetzer hara, who desires to stir up a fight in your home on Fridays. With this awareness, it is easier to avoid getting angry at that time.
The words of the Gemara are, מביתיה גברא לההוא מאיר 'ר דאפקיה ווי, "Woe, Reb Meir drove this man out of his home." It seems that the Satan was referring to himself, that Reb Meir banished him from the house. So why does it state גברא ההוא, "that man"? The Satan isn't a man.
B'derech tzachus, we can answer that "that man" refers to the husband. Reb Meir taught the husband that he shouldn't be home too much on Fridays. He advised him to go to beis medresh to be maavir sedra, do some shopping, or take the children for a walk, but he shouldn't sit around at home. Reb Meir understood that this would help their shalom bayis. Sometimes, the best advice for shalom bayis is for the husband and the wife to give each other some breathing space.
The Gemara (Brachos 56:) says, "There are three signs of peace: a river, a bird, and a pot." When one sees a river, a bird, or a pot in his dream, it is a sign that he will have peace. The Gemara adds that when a person sees a pot in his dreams when he wakes up, he should say (Yeshayah 26:12), לנו שלום ישפות 'ד, "Hashem, arrange peace for us."
Why is a pot a sign of peace?
The miforshim explain that water and fire are opposites, but when a pot goes between them, they can coexist and unite to create a better product.
And the primary vessel is peace and harmony.
The Navi (Malachim 2, 4) says that the wife of Navi Ovadyah told Elisha that her husband was niftar and that a creditor threatened to take her two sons as slaves for the payment. Elisha asked her, "What do you have in your house?" She replied that she had a jar of oil. "Borrow empty vessels from your neighbors..." The oil in her jar became like a fountain, and she poured the oil and filled all the empty vessels. When all the vessels in the home were full, and there were no more, the oil stopped.
From this episode, the meforshim learn that vessels are required to receive bounty. One can't receive shefa if he doesn't have where to put it. And, as we explained, the primary vessel is peace.
