"ששת ימים תעשה מלאכה וביום השביעי יהיה לכם קדש שבת שבתון 35:2לד', כל העושה בו מלאכה יומת"
“On six days, work may be done, but the seventh day shall be holy for you, a day of complete rest for Hashem; whoever does work on it shall be put to death.” The posuk says that the seventh day shall be holy for us. The posuk continues and says that it should be a day of “שבת שבתון” for Hashem. What is the meaning of “שבת שבתון”?
“ושמרתם את השבת כי קדש הוא לכם מחללה מות יומת... כל העושה מלאכה ביום השבת מות יומת” – “You shall observe the Shabbos for it is holy to you; its desecrators shall be put to death... whoever does work on the Shabbos day shall be put to death.” When the posuk says “מחללה מות יומת”, it refers to one who desecrates Shabbos at night. “ביום השבת מות יומת” refers specifically to Shabbos day. It is only at night that one can desecrate Shabbos for the Kedusha is not so great. However, by Shabbos day, the Kedusha is so great that one does not have the power to desecrate Shabbos. One who sins Shabbos by day shall be killed, but he cannot desecrate Shabbos. (עץ הדעת טוב)
The reason that Shabbos observance is fundamental is that it bears testimony that Hashem is the Creator of the world. Shabbos 10b – Hashem told Moshe that He has a gift for Klal Yisroel in His treasury, and that gift is Shabbos. Shabbos is the gift which Hashem, the allegorical groom, gave to His bride, Klal Yisroel. If the bride returns the gifts to the groom, the message is clear that the bride does not want the shidduch. One who desecrates Shabbos is in effect telling Hashem that he does not want the shidduch; he does not want the connection with the Ribbono Shel Olam. Therefore, Shabbos observance is equivalent to all the mitzvos of the Torah, (חפץ חיים)
“I have always wondered why kiddush on the day of Shabbos, which was preceded by kiddush of the night, is called ‘kiddusha rabbah’, a great kiddush. The reason usually given is that the words “קידושא רבא” is a lashon “סגי נהור” – “a fine language” – meaning that it is really not a”great Kiddush” but a low level of kiddush. This does not seem to be correct, that we would call something by a name which is the opposite of what it really is. The Zohar says that the kedusha of Shabbos day is greater than at night. We call the kiddush by day kiddusha rabbah – because the kedusha of Shabbos day is great.” (שו"ת חתן סופר)
There are two levels of kedusha on Shabbos, the kedusha at night, and the kedusha of the day. “וביום השביעי יהיה לכם קדש” – Shabbos must be kodosh to us. We must have the feeling and desire to have kedushas Shabbos. We have the opportunity to infuse Shabbos with kedusha at night. “שבת שבתון לד'” – Once Shabbos day comes, the kedusha is one of “שבת שבתון לד'”, and we can no longer infuse Shabbos with kedusha. We must prepare for Shabbos and work on our words and actions so that we can in fact infuse Shabbos with more kedusha.
May we be zoche to observe Shabbos properly.
RABBI YAKOV YOSEF SCHECHTER
