Tag Archives: erev Shabbat

Sukkat Shalom

(In memory of Chaim Barukh Yehudah ben Dovid Tzvi zl)

Extra Protection

[Summary: The holy Zohar tells us that as Shabbat begins the sacred Shekhinah spreads her wings over the world and settles herself in the world. As a result, the “outside,” i.e., negative, forces are forced into hiding and can exercise no authority on the world. The world has an extra measure of protection on Shabbat; even the denizens of Hell get the day off. This is why the closing of the final Maariv blessing differs from its weekday version.]

The holy Zohar says:

 

Come! Expand your vision!

As the sun sets Friday afternoon, the Sukkat Shalom (canopy of peace) settles and expands into the world. Who is Sukkat Shalom? Shabbat, the Shekhinah. All the evil demons—subtle and fierce and in-between—and every carrier of impure energy, goes into hiding. The simple presence of Shabbat sanctity weakens them; they cannot stir themselves. The impure spirit flees from the sacred.

The world has then an extra measure of protection. There is no need to pray for it as we do on weekday: “Who protects His People, Yisrael, forever.” It’s a blessing made for the weekday because on weekdays the world needs protecting!

But not Shabbat! With the Sukkat Shalom spread over the world, guarding the world from all sides—even the Hell dwellers are safe and resting—all the worlds, upper and lower, are peaceful and tranquil.

So on Shabbat the blessing closes, “Who extends the Sukkat Shalom over us, over all His people Yisrael and over Jerusalem.” Why “Jerusalem”? Because Jerusalem is where the Shekhinah resides.

And we need to invite the Sukkat-Shekhinah who has spread her wings over us, to be with us and watch over us, as a mother does for her children. Then we will have no need to fear the Sitra Achra.

Zohar 1:48a

 

© Copyright 2014 148west.com/O. Bergman

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Erev Shabbat with the Zohar (Part 2 of 2)

(In memory of Chaim Barukh Yehudah ben Dovid Tzvi zl)

Up, Up and Away!

On erev Shabbat Rav Hamnuna the Elder would immerse in the local river in order to purify himself. When he came out he would look skyward and smile. What did he see?

He said that he saw the joy of the angels on High. Some were going up [to bring neshamot from the Lower Gan Eden (Garden of eden) to the Higher Gan Eden]. Others were coming down [to distribute to each Jew his/her neshamah yeteirah for Shabbat]. {OB: Wish my eyes were as holy as Rav Hamnuna’s!}

Every erev Shabbat a Jew sits in the rarefied atmosphere of Olam HaNeshmaot, the World of Souls. Fortunate is the one who knows the secrets of his Master.

Zohar 2:136a, Parshat Terumah

 

Shir HaShirim—It Contains the Past, the Present and the Future

It is an old and well-established custom to read the entire Shir HaShirim (the Song of Songs) erev Shabbat.

Do you want to get an idea of how “awesome” Shir HaShirim is? Read this.

  • It contains the entire Torah.
  • It contains the entire workings of how Creation was made.
  • It contains all the mysteries behind everything the Patriarchs did.
  • It contains the entire story of the Egyptian Exile and the Song of the Sea (Az Yashir).
  • It contains the Ten Commandments.
  • It tells the story of the Torah-giving at Mount Sinai.
  • It tells the story of Yisrael’s 40-year journey in desert and their entering the Land of Israel.
  • It contains the building of the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple).
  • It is the crowning of Hashem’s Holy Name in love and joy.
  • It contains Yisrael’s exile among the nations and her redemption.
  • It contains what will happen from Techiyat HaMeitim (the Resurrection of the Dead) until the day that is Hashem’s Shabbat (the Seventh Millennium).
  • It contains everything that happened, that is happening and that will happen on the Seventh Day, Hashem’s Shabbat.
  • It is all in Shir HaShirim.

This is why we are taught (Sanhedrin 101a) that if someone sings a verse of Shir HaShirim in a bar [yes, they had bars in those days], Shir HaShirim dresses herself in a burlap sack and goes to complain to Hashem, “Your children have made fun of me—in a bar.” Yes, it definitely does this.

So be careful. Make each word of Shir HaShirim a crown on your head.

Zohar 2:144a, Parshat Terumah

The Shabbat Candles—Children Who Radiate the Torah’s Light

Jewish women were entrusted with lighting the Shabbat candles. Our dear colleagues explain that is an opportunity for her to make amends; she extinguished the light of the world and lighting the Shabbat candles corrects that (Bereishis Rabbah 17:8). (When Eve caused Adam to sin, she “extinguished” his soul—made him less spiritually sensitive and aware.)

But there is a secret to why a Jewish woman lights the Shabbat candles. The Shekhinah, the Canopy of Peace, is the World-Queen. She contains all the “candles,” every Jewish neshamah. This is why Jewish women light—every one of them is a queen, part of the Queen’s retinue. She lights the Shabbat candles; the Shekhinah illuminates Jewish souls.

Lighting the Shabbat candles is a tremendous honor for a Jewish woman, so should do it gladly and with a happy heart. It earns her a great deal of merit, making her worthy of having children who illuminate the world with Torah, awe of God and who bring great shalom to the world. She also gives her husband a longer life.

Each of these is reason enough for her to make sure she lights and lights well.

Zohar 1:48b, Parshat Bereishis

 

© Copyright 2014 148west.com/O. Bergman

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Erev Shabbat with the Zohar (Part 1 of 2)

Shalom! Welcome to Zohar-Shabbos (that’s Shabbat for some you). With the help of Hashem (God), on Thursdays I will post a piece or two from the holy Zohar that relates to Shabbat. I will try to translate Hebrew/Aramaic words that may be unfamiliar; if I miss one and you want to know what it means, please ask. Other feedback is also welcome. These pieces will be “rendered,” a fancy way of saying “loosely translated, not exactly translated.”

This series of posts is in memory of a dear friend and teacher, Chaim Barukh Yehudah (b, Dovid Tzvi) Daskal, aka Chaim m’Yerushalayim z”l (may the mention of the righteous be for a blessing). What Reb Chaim did to honor Shabbat and to share Shabbat with others, I cannot describe. When I say “share Shabbat,” I do not mean the wine and the challah. I mean Shabbat herself. To spend Shabbos with him was to discover a new dimension of Shabbos. (Instead of writing these with tears at the thought of not being able to spend time with him again, I will try to write them with the joy that he brought to Shabbat and to life.)

Erev Shabbat (Part 1 of 2)

Shabbat is a day brimming with all sorts of kedushah, holiness.  Shabbat is both a destination—a day we can enjoy the fruits of our weekday labors, material as well as spiritual—and an experiential academy that teaches us how to make even more progress in our relationship with Hashem. (For convenience and brevity’s sake we will also call this “spiritual growth.”)

Spiritual growth is a gift, but it doesn’t come free. You have to work and work and work for it. This is an indication that you want it, that you are seriously interested in your relationship with Hashem. Working for it doesn’t necessarily include taxing physical labor or strenuous mental gymnastics. It does include making hard choices.

Since Shabbat is rich and powerful, those forces in the Universe which work against our spiritual growth try to keep us from accessing Shabbat as fully as we can. They scheme to have things go wrong, get us angry or upset, etc. It is crucial to know that Hashem put these “anti-holiness” forces there. The purpose is not to torture or test you. It is to raise you by having you develop the “muscles” of your neshamah (soul). As much as you a closer relationship with God, God wants a closer relationship with you even more.

Long-time Shabbat observers already know this and if you’re just starting to keep Shabbat, you’ll soon find out. Erev Shabbat, Shabbat eve (Friday afternoons) are crackling with energy. That energy is potential kedushah. The anti-holy don’t want us to have it. It’s our job to stay on the alert and not lose our cool.

A Dining Experience

Come, see! On Friday afternoon, as evening approaches, that ball of unholy fire leaps, raising itself up in order to enter with the other three unholier forces, in order to receive its nourishment by stealing some Shabbat holiness.

But at that time, if Jews are preparing food for the Shabbat meals and setting the table for Shabbat, an even stronger, and holier, spark emerges and collides with the ball of fire. Both going flying into the Sinkhole of the Great Deep, unable to cause harm. They remain there until motzei Shabbat (Saturday night, after Shabbat).

(Source: Zohar 2:203b, Parshat VaYakhel)

Washing Up for the Neshamah Yeteirah

Before Shabbat begins the people of the holy nation have to bathe and immerse themselves in the mikveh (ritual bath) to cleanse themselves from the weekday energy that powers and, too often, controls them. Why is this?

On weekdays there is a spirit, not of the holy kind, that mingles, hangs around and hovers over people. So when a person wants divest himself of that spirit and step into a holy Shabbat spirit he needs to bathe and immerse himself in order to do so.

{The Arizal writes (Shaar HaKavanot, 62a) that a person needs to dunk twice in the mikveh. The first time is to remove the soul’s weekday “clothes,” which hinder spiritual progress. The second time is to honor Shabbat by readying oneself to receive the neshamah yeteirah, the additional soul we are granted on Shabbat.}

(Source: Zohar 2:204a, Parshat VaYakhel)

 Cutting Edge

You should not grow your fingernails (or toenails) long. (“Long” means beyond the end of the finger [toe].) The longer they grow, the more you invite upon yourself spiritual troublemakers. [Fingernails are a representation of the more difficult situations of life.] You will feel uneasy.

You should keep your fingernails trimmed, but don’t throw the nail clippings underfoot. That’s disrespectful to the God’s agents you set up the difficulties; you can get hurt by them. [Life’s difficult moments are necessary. They are Hashem’s way of reminding us that we are accountable for what we do.]

This is similar to what goes on in the higher spiritual worlds. The Sitra Achra (forces of evil) tries to sneak up on the “back” of that which is holy. Its goal? To steal for itself some of the holiness. Throwing your fingernails (toenails) on the floor gives them easier access. We don’t need to do that!

(Source: Zohar 2:208b, Parshat VaYakhel)

 

© Copyright 2014 148west.com/O. Bergman

 

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