בואי בשלום עטרת בעלה גם ברינה ובצהלה
Bo’i b’shalom ateres baalah gam b’rinah u’v’tzahalah
Come in peace, crown of her husband, also in joy and gladness.
Shabbos Kodesh is given a new identity in this piyut: Ateres Baalah, the crown of her husband. This means that just as a crown is the “crowning” point of a king’s identity, the part of him that rises above all else, Shabbos rises above the natural order and adds glory beyond one’s physical essence. Shabbos transforms the Jew struggling with weekday conflicts and challenges into a spiritual person. He transcends the areas of human life that occupy his time and distance him from his spiritual essence. As Ateres Baalah, the Crown of her husband/Hashem, Shabbos represents the tiara with which Hashem adorns Himself. Furthermore, we derive from here that Shabbos Kodesh is much more than a spiritual island in time, but represents a relationship with Hashem. The Jew who properly observes Shabbos enters into this relationship. The Jew who sadly does not observe Shabbos, does not realize that not only is he transgressing another mitzvah of the Torah, he is rejecting a relationship with Hashem. This should provide food for thought even for those who observe Shabbos, but do not aspire to absorb its spiritual essence.
