"shabbat is called a delight" - עונג קרא לשבת

Recently, a close friend was let go from a job. Someone who was incredible at what he did was sent home for one reason and one reason only - his salary was no longer in the budget. On paper another person is on the job hunt but what has been lost is so much more than a salaried position.


And so I awoke at five o’clock this morning in tears, feeling acutely the impact if the world economic collapse, recognizing it as the beginning of the steps in the “birth-pangs of mashiach,” the steps leading us towards the Redemption. I cried begging Hashem not to give us more reasons to cry and being unable to fathom how this friend could go into shabbat with the oneg and enjoyment that the day demands of us. If the day is indeed “a taste of the world to come,” how are we to experience this slice of heaven amidst heartbreak and uncertainty?


What makes shabbat special? Certainly halacha provides us with a blueprint of the “don’ts” but among the “dos” provided by the guidebook is the singing of zemirot. Singing zemirot is but one of the ways we bring joy to shabbat and going over the words in my head I suddenly I understood the zemirah that we sing each Friday evening and understood a message I had overlooked millions of times. The zemirah where every USY kid will yell out “valley chicken!” during the refrain and where girls will sing “u’leshadech habanot” in decibels to rival the deafening tones at mt. Sinai. The words of the last verse of “ma yedidot" - "what a beloved friend" jumped out at me:

מֵעֵין עוֹלָם הַבָּא יוֹם שַׁבָּת מְנוּחָה
כָּל הַמִּתְעַנְּגִים בָּהּ יִזְכּוּ לְרוֹב שִׂמְחָה
מֵחֶבְלֵי מָשִׁיחַ יֻצָּלוּ לִרְוָחָה
פְּדוּתֵנוּ תַצְמִיחַ וְנָס יָגוֹן וַאֲנָחָה

Gleaned from midrashic literature the zemirah tells us the following:

Shabbat, the day of rest, is a taste of the world-to-come.
All those who enjoy themselves on it will merit such happiness
They will be spared from the birth pangs of the messiah (an era of tumult and suffering even if its final outcome is redemptive, TB Shabbat 118a)
Make our redemption flourish, so that sorrow and sighing will take flight

It is a message I have heard countless times. Our sages teach us that as much as the Jewish people keep shabbat it is shabbat that guards the Jewish people. The zemer illuminates this idea so poignantly. When life in this world is most difficult shabbat comes to us as a gift, a rose among the thorns, a diamond beckoning from the rough. It is not a matter of searching for enjoyment in shabbat during times of tribulation but it is shabbat itself that saves us from the hardships.


May we approach each shabbat as the inheritance and treasure it is meant to be and may we have added kavanah and intention when we sing this zemirah to ease our inevitable suffering in the times ahead.


With blessings for a peaceful, restful, meaningful and joyful shabbat.


Ma Yedidot was composed by Rabbi Menachem ben Machir of Ratisbonne (France, 11th Century). English translation was taken from here

An explanation of the zemirah in hebrew can be found here.


מה ידידות מנוחתך - סימן מנחם
מַה יְּדִידוּת מְנוּחָתֵךְ אַתְּ שַׁבָּת הַמַּלְכָּה
בְּכֵן נָרוּץ לִקְרָאתֵךְ בּוֹאִי כַלָּה נְסוּכָה
לְבוּשׁ בִּגְדֵי חֲמוּדוֹת לְהַדְלִיק נֵר בִּבְרָכָה
וַתֵּכֶל כָּל הָעֲבוֹדוֹת לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ מְלָאכָה
לְהִתְעַנֵּג בְּתַעֲנוּגִים בַּרְבּוּרִים וּשְׂלָיו וְדָגִים

מֵעֶרֶב מַזְמִינִים כָּל מִינֵי מַטְעַמִּים
מִבְּעוֹד יוֹם מוּכָנִים תַּרְנְגוֹלִים מְפֻטָּמִים
וְלַעֲרוֹךְ כַּמָּה מִינִים שְׁתוֹת יֵינוֹת מְבֻשָּׂמִים
וְתַפְנוּקֵי מַעֲדַנִּים בְּכָל שָׁלשׁ פְּעָמִים
לְהִתְעַנֵּג בְּתַעֲנוּגִים בַּרְבּוּרִים וּשְׂלָיו וְדָגִים

נַחֲלַת יַעֲקֹב יִירָשׁ בְּלִי מְצָרִים נַחֲלָה
וִיכַבְּדוּהוּ עָשִׁיר וָרָשׁ וְתִזְכּוּ לִגְאֻלָּה
יוֹם שַׁבָּת אִם תִּשְׁמֹרוּ וִהְיִיתֶם לִי סְגֻלָּה
שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תַּעֲבוֹדוּ וּבַשְּׁבִיעִי נָגִילָה
לְהִתְעַנֵּג בְּתַעֲנוּגִים בַּרְבּוּרִים וּשְׂלָיו וְדָגִים

חֲפָצֶיךָ אֲסוּרִים וְגַם לַחֲשׁוֹב חֶשְׁבּוֹנוֹת
הִרְהוּרִים מֻתָּרִים וּלְשַׁדֵּךְ הַבָּנוֹת
וְתִנּוֹק לְלַמְּדוֹ סֵפֶר לַמְנַצֵּחַ בִּנְגִינוֹת
וְלַהֲגוֹת בְּאִמְרֵי שֶׁפֶר בְּכָל פִּנּוֹת וּמַחֲנוֹת
לְהִתְעַנֵּג בְּתַעֲנוּגִים בַּרְבּוּרִים וּשְׂלָיו וְדָגִים

הִלּוּכָךְ תְּהֵא בְנַחַת עוֹנֶג קְרָא לַשַּׁבָּת
וְהַשֵּׁנָה מְשֻׁבַּחַת כְּדַת נֶפֶשׁ מְשִׁיבַת
בְּכֵן נַפְשִׁי לְךָ עָרְגָה וְלָנוּחַ בְּחִבַּת
כַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּים סוּגָה בּוֹ יָנוּחוּ בֵּן וּבַת
לְהִתְעַנֵּג בְּתַעֲנוּגִים בַּרְבּוּרִים וּשְׂלָיו וְדָגִים

מֵעֵין עוֹלָם הַבָּא יוֹם שַׁבָּת מְנוּחָה
כָּל הַמִּתְעַנְּגִים בָּהּ יִזְכּוּ לְרוֹב שִׂמְחָה
מֵחֶבְלֵי מָשִׁיחַ יֻצָּלוּ לִרְוָחָה
פְּדוּתֵנוּ תַצְמִיחַ וְנָס יָגוֹן וַאֲנָחָה
לְהִתְעַנֵּג בְּתַעֲנוּגִים בַּרְבּוּרִים וּשְׂלָיו וְדָגִים


Ma Yedidot / What a Beloved Friend
Refrain: This is the time to enjoy pleasures: geese (like King Solomon’s fare) (I Kings 5:3),
quail (like those God sent with the manna in the desert) (Exodus 16:12),
and fish (like those the children of Israel remembered so fondly from the Nile in Egypt, when they were
bored with manna) (Numbers 11: 8).

Ma. What a beloved friend your Rest is! (See Psalm 84:2-314)
You are Shabbat, the queen! /
So let’s run to greet you: Come, my princess bride/kallah (just as the ancient Rabbis
Hanina and Rabbi Yannai used to welcome her at sunset - TB Shabbat 119a)/
Dressed in desirable clothes, we light the (Shabbat) candle with a blessing.
All labors are finished (just as Moshe finished all the labors in making the Mishkan in the desert)
(Exodus 39:32): So “you shall do no work” (Leviticus 23:3).

Mei-erev. In advance all is prepared, all sorts of tasty delicacies. /
While it is still daylight, the juicy, plump chickens are ready. /
We set a (table) - with assorted foods, to drink fragrant wines, and /
(to taste) a connoisseur’s special dainties – three times, (the three Shabbat
meals).

Nakhalat. One will inherit “Jacob’s legacy” (Isaiah 58:14), “an inheritance without
boundaries” (“which is granted only to those who take pleasure in observing
Shabbat”).( TB Shabbat 118a) /
Both rich and poor should honor Shabbat and thereby all of you will earn
redemption.
(In fact, “if all of Israel were to keep Shabbat twice, then they would be redeemed immediately”) (TB
Shabbat 118a; TJ Ta’anit 1:1) /
So if you keep Shabbat, “you will be a treasure to Me” (as God promised Israel at Mount
Sinai) (Exodus 19:5):/
“Six days you shall labor” (Exodus 20:9), but on the seventh let us celebrate.

Khafatzekha. (Pursuing) your business affairs are forbidden, as are computing
your accounts. /
However purely mental calculations are permitted. So too are:
(1) matchmaking for your daughters (which often involves dowry calculations) (TB Shabbat
150a), /
(2) teaching a child to study a book (or arranging to hire a teacher),
(3) singing melodies / and (4) contemplating, wherever you are, “beautiful words
of wisdom” (Genesis 49: 21). 15
Hilukhakha. Let your gait be relaxed (TB Shabbat 113a), since “Shabbat is called Oneg
, a delight” (Isaiah 58:13)./
Sleep is highly commended, for it properly restores the soul. /
Hence my soul longs for you - Shabbat, to rest with affection. /
Shabbat is “encircled by lilies” (Song of Songs 7:3) (fenced in by protective prohibitions) (Avot
d’Rabbi Natan source???).
Both son and daughter will rest on Shabbat (Exodus 20: 10) .

Mei-ein.
Shabbat, the day of rest, is a taste of the world-to-come. (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 1:36) /
All those who enjoy themselves on it will merit much happiness. /
They will be spared from the birth pangs of the messiah (an era of tumult and suffering
even if its final outcome is redemptive, TB Shabbat 118a). /
Make our redemption flourish, so that sorrow and sighing will take flight.

Shabbos is Coming!

Shabbat is in an hour but you’re taking a nap, maybe watching TV, checking facebook. The chicken needs to be cooked, shabbos clocks set, toilet paper ripped but you’re chilling out and it’s ok, you’re friend said he’d take care of it. Cut to an hour later when you wake up groggy in a dark house, street lights illuminating a raw chicken that never quite made it to the oven. How upset would you be? Who would you blame for a miserable shabbat? Your friend who promised to take care of it? Yourself?...


The argument against making aliya because the government is corrupt does no hold water as far the “eim habanim smeicha” is concerned and in fact serves his argument! While Rav Kook sees it as something positive that secular Jews were awakened to return to Zion the “eim habanim smeicha” sees the building up of the State of Israel by secular and socialist Jews as a punishment. It is the torah-observant Jews who should have been at the forefront of the Zionist movement! But, while torah-true Jewry stood by the sidelines, unobservant, secular Jews struggled to build up the Land. Rav Teichtal who penned “eim habanim smeicha” invokes the words of the talmud: “one who prepares for shabbat will eat on shabbat.” In essence the gemarah tells us that one who puts in the effort will benefit from the labor. Just as one who does not prepare for shabbat will not eat on shabbat, so to in building up the land of Israel. Since the orthodox world as a whole did not participate in the groundwork and did not prepare the State we are not “eating of its fruits” and have little say in forming the its character. Secularists built the country and infused it with secular values. The “eim hanbanim smeicha” argues that had Orthodox Jews taken a greater role, the State would have been granted a more sanctified character. The Rav writes: “Now that they kept themselves at a distance, they should not wonder or question the situation, for they are at fault.” In his generation the Rav placed the blame on Orthodox Jewry. The trend of Orthodox Jews ignoring the calls to make aliya continued and even after the holocaust the majority of world Jewry remained dispersed across all corners of the exile. Chazal tell us that each generation that does not see the building of the Temple it is as though that generation destroyed the Temple. Each generation that does not rebuild the temple perpetuates that broken world we live in today. (more than that, they re-create that imperfect world over and over again). If the Rav puts the blame of a secular state on the Orthodox Jews who refused to make aliya 50 year prior to his writing, I would further the argument of the Rav and say that our grandparents and parents generations, by not making aliya and losing the opportunity to elect a better government, may be responsible for the political mess we’re in today. The actions of our parents shaped the world we know it follows that our choices will impact the world our children grow up in. If you don’t like this reality what are you doing to ensure that the political landscape is different for our children?


I think there is a second layer to the words of the gemarah. It's not only that “One who prepares for shabbat will eat on shabbat." Regardless of whether or not you prepare shabbat, shabbat is coming. Shabbats arrival is not dependent on your preparation but your enjoyment of the day is based solely on the effort you put into it. Whether you bake your challah or not the sun will set and shabbat will come. “or chadash al tziyon ta’ir, ve’niskeh kulanu mehaira l’oro.” Even if you're uncertain where we are in the process of redemption be it the "night" or "dawn", one day the sun will rise and a "new light will illuminate zion." Geulah is on the way. What are you doing to prepare?



“Eim Habanim Smeicha” is the seminal work by Rav Yisachar Shlomo Teichtal which he wrote during the Holocaust. The book was first published in 1943 and while the work along with many others the Rav wrote during his lifetime miraculously survived the Holocaust, Rav Teichtal himself did not and died in a train headed to Mauthausen concentration camp in 1945.