HashemisBeautiful: Shabbos

Showing posts with label Shabbos. Show all posts

Shabbos - Negative and Positive Space

July 30, 2020 - 9 Av 5780

Shabbos is one area that may pose challenges due to its melocho-oriented nature. Even people that have been frum their entire lives may find it difficult to really enjoy Shabbos due to the bundle of activities that they need to remember not to do. Notwithstanding that once you get into the groove of observance and avoiding melochos it gradually becomes second nature. However, up until that point and even afterward the ebb-and-flow of life can be distracting. Therefore a particular visualization may help you to really enjoy Shabbos.

Imagine for a moment a white sheet of paper. One of the basics taught to art students is that a good piece of art makes good use of both the empty space on the page and the area that the artist fills, known as the "negative" and "positive" space respectfully. If the entire canvas was empty there would be nothing to look at, and if the entire canvas was filled with paint it would feel cluttered and chaotic. The more balance there is between positive and negative space the more pleasing the piece of art is to look upon.

Shabbos as well is composed of negative and positive space. The negative space corresponds to the activities that you need to avoid, which are the melochos. The positive space corresponds to the actively engaged element of Shabbos, i.e., the davening, the seudos, the friends, the singing, and of course, the sleep. Fortunately for us these concepts are already built in to Shabbos in the form of שָׁמוֹר וְזַכוֹר בְּדִבּוּר אֶחַד, with שָׁמוֹר corresponding to negative space, and וְזַכוֹר corresponding to positive space.

What is Shabbos?

November 15, 2021 - Tammuz 20, 5780

Shabbos, or Shabbat, is the seventh day of the Jewish week. Sharing a linguistic root with the word "rest" or "cease (from activity)" it is the fifth commandment of the 613 (taryag) commandments that God gave to the Jews on Mt. Sinai. That commandment reads:

Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it. Six days may you work and perform all your labor, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord, your God; you shall perform no labor, neither you, your son, your daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, your beast, nor your stranger who is in your cities. For [in] six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it. (Exodus 20:8-11)

The Oral Torah and other sources reveal the association between God's cessation of activity after creating the world in seven days with our similar cessation of our own activities. The Torah describes this mandatory act, or commandment, as a sign of the permanent Covenant that God made with the Jews. According to the statement to that effect, "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'And you, speak to the children of Israel and say: 'Only keep My Sabbaths! For it is a sign between Me and you for your generations, to know that I, the Lord, make you holy.'" (Exodus 31:13)

The Insights

During the Kabbalas Shabbos service (in the stanza that starts “Hashem Malach Tagel Ha'aretz”) the siddur contains the following lines:

Lovers of God, hate evil.
He protects the souls of His kind ones, from the hands of the evil He shall rescue them.
Light is sown for the righteous one, and for straight of heart, joy.
Rejoice, oh righteous ones, in God, and give thanks for the memory of His Holiness.

A lot is going on in these few lines. If we operate under the assumption that nothing is extraneous or accidental in the davening (prayer services), then we can rightfully wonder why it is the “lovers of God” who should hate evil, and not anybody else. In addition, why is that the lovers of God are charged with hating evil and not anything else?

What's interesting about the first four words is that the word “hate” is an imperative, or a command. Why are the “lovers of God,” i.e., those who love Him, being told to hate evil? If they indeed love Him, it should be their natural position to hate evil. Because they are being told to hate evil, there must be something about them that necessitates this command.

Possessing fear (pachad) of God, which is the lowest form of worship, can go very far in preventing a person from sinning. A step higher up the spiritual ladder is awe (yira), which in my mind stands out as some combination of fear and love (ahava) of God. While love of God is the highest spiritual level, it comes with its own pitfalls. One who has reached the rung of love, and has ceased to operate based on awe, might mistakenly think that God does not care about his deeds. In other words, he might wrongfully reason that the depth of intimacy he shares with God permits him to do things that others may not. Therefore, this could be a reason that the line says, “Lovers of God, hate evil,” imploring specifically those who have reached such a level of spirituality that they must nevertheless eschew evil so as not to be tricked into it.

The third sentence reads, “Light is sown for the righteous, and for the straight of heart, joy.”

Grammatically, it seems that a few words are missing from this sentence. The intent of the sentence seems to be, “Light is sown for the righteous, and for the straight of heart, joy is sown.” It is worthwhile to focus on the noun couples in this sentence. The sentence couples “light” with “righteous,” and “joy” with the “straight of heart.” Could we not say that the righteous receive joy and that the straight of heart receive light? And further, why is it sown for them?

The word “sown” refers to something that begins at one point and comes to fruition at another. Light is given to the righteous although they do not receive it now, but at a later point in time, I'm assuming a reference to the World-to-Come. Jewish sources often use the word “light” in terms of “the light of God,” which a human being much more palpably experiences after his death. Much of Jewish thought supports this suggested reading, that the righteous are rewarded for their deeds in this life during the next.

However, what do we make of the phrase that God sows joy for the straight of heart? Does this mean that their hearts are straight in this world, but that they receive joy as a reward in the next? It is certainly conceivable that God seeks to reserve their joy for them in the World-to-Come. However, if we translate the sentence literally without the grammatical supplement, as shown earlier, it reads, “Light is sown for the righteous, and for the straight of heart, joy.” In other words, “for the straight of heart, (there is) joy,” as in, those with straight hearts receive joy right here-and-now, in this world. Joy is a direct outcome of having a straight heart, while light is preserved for a later occasion.

But why don't the righteous receive joy and that the straight of heart receive light? Perhaps they do, but it seems that the sentence means to convey a particular relationship among each noun couple, that righteousness leads to light, while straightness of heart leads to joy.

The final sentence throws us for a loop by saying, “Rejoice, oh righteous ones, in God, and give thanks for the memory of His Holiness.” The line right before told us that the straight of heart rejoice (receive joy). Now it associates the righteous with joy. Which one is it? Are the righteous or the straight of heart associated with joy?

I propose the answer to be that because the straight of heart receive joy in this world, that it is appropriate for the righteous as well to receive it in such a way. Because the light is already sown for them in the World-to-Come, they are told to rejoice so that they receive good in both places. Further, and finally, their joy is associated not with passing superficialities, but “in God.”

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Chol Hamo'ed Shabbos

July 19, 2020 - 27 Tammuz 5780

Is Shabbos a Yom (יוֹם) or a Zman (זמן)?

Why does the Shabbos davening (prayer service) couple “blessed [Shabbos]" with "from all the days," and "sanctified [it]" from "all the seasons?”

אַתָּה קִדַּשְׁתָּ אֶת יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי לִשְׁמֶךָ, תַּכְלִית מַעֲשֵׂה שָׁמַיִם וָאָרֶץ, וּבֵרַכְתּוֹ מִכָּל הַיָּמִים, וְקִדַּשְׁתּוֹ מִכָּל הַזְּמַנִּים

You blessed the seventh day for Your Name's sake, the purpose of creating the heavens and the earth, and blessed it among all the days, and sanctified it among all the seasons...

A cursory examination of the word יום as it appears in the Torah refers to a specific period of time, while the word זמן refers to a general period of time, a season, or Jewish holidays.

The first instance in the Tanakh of both words in the same verse aptly demonstrates the difference between them:

לְקַיֵּם אֶת יְמֵי הַפֻּרִים הָאֵלֶּה בִּזְמַנֵּיהֶם כַּאֲשֶׁר קִיַּם עֲלֵיהֶם מׇרְדֳּכַי הַיְּהוּדִי וְאֶסְתֵּר הַמַּלְכָּה וְכַאֲשֶׁר קִיְּמוּ עַל נַפְשָׁם וְעַל זַרְעָם דִּבְרֵי הַצּוֹמוֹת וְזַעֲקָתָם (אסתר ט׳:ל״א).

...to confirm these days of Purim in their appointed times, as Mordecai the Jew and Esther the queen had enjoined them, and as they had ordained for themselves and for their seed, the matters of the fasts and their cry. (Esther 9:31)

Shabbos - A Hybrid Creation

According to these descriptions the words of the davening may be telling us that Shabbos has aspects related to the days of the week and to the Jewish holidays, which the Torah refers to as zmanim (זמנים), or “seasons” or “times.” In other words, it is a cross-section between both of these dimensions.

The aspect of “day” (יום) seems to be a reference to the increased degree of blessing conjoined upon the day, as discussed in Holiness vs. Blessing- Three Dimensions.

And yet Shabbos has an aspect of zman (זמן), i.e., the רגלים (Pesach - פסח, Sukkos - סֻכֹּת, and Shavuos - שבועות) in terms of Halacha (Jewish Law), although it is more highly sanctified. For example, one may cook during chol hamo’ed (חל המועד, the interim period of these holidays), but not during the Yom Tov (יום טוב, the first and last day of Pesach and Sukkos). In that the Yom Tov of these holidays may be comparable to Shabbos, on which it is prohibited to cook, indicating that Shabbos is a Yom Tov of sorts. It is interesting to think of Shabbos as a Yom Tov with no chol hamo’ed. Or perhaps even more interesting, one may consider the six days of the week between Shabbos as chol hamo’ed Shabbos.

Thought Precedes Action - סוֹף מַעֲשֶּׂה בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה תְּחִלָּה

July 12, 2020 - 20 Tammuz 5780

לִקְרַאת שַׁבָּת לְכוּ וְנֵלְכָה, כִּי הִיא מְקוֹר הַבְּרָכָה, מֵרֹאשׁ מִקֶּדֶם נְסוּכָה, סוֹף מַעֲשֶּׂה בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה תְּחִלָּה

The stanza above comes from Lecha Dodi, which is said in Shabbos in shul.

The end of the second stanza (in orange above) seems to be peculiarly out of order. The meaning of these words is “The deed comes at the end, the thought comes at the beginning.” Would it not have made more sense for this to read “The thought comes at the beginning, the deed comes at the end?” In other words, shouldn’t the parts of the sentence follow the chronological order that it is trying to convey?

Perhaps the parts of the sentence are sorted according to priority and not to order. This would explain that although the act of Creation was based on the intent to do it, that nevertheless the act preceded the thought in terms of importance. This is the idea explained by “God sought a dwelling place in the lowest worlds.

אָמַר רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָן, בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁבָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת הָעוֹלָם, נִתְאַוָּה שֶׁיְּהֵא לוֹ דִּירָה בַּתַּחְתּוֹנִים כְּמוֹ שֶׁיֵּשׁ בָּעֶלְיוֹנִים. (מדרש תנחומא, נשא ט״ז:א׳)

The act of Creation is an expression so dear to God that it overrides the natural way of describing things in the order that they occurred.

This can further be applied to Shabbos itself. The whole apex of Creation was Shabbos, and so even though it occurs at the end, it was mentioned at the beginning.

The purpose of Shabbos is to try to migrate into this holy space and out of the mundane. It follows that the Shabbos davening is itself designed to facilitate that mental and emotional process, as a form of meditation. Perhaps then this wording can be used as a tool for concentration on God's initial motivation for the Creation, which can in turn help us derive pleasure from Shabbos.

Psalm 97:12 - The Price of a Good Life

July 9, 2020, updates made July 12, 2020 - 17 Tammuz 5780, Tammuz 20 5780

Summary

A phrase pattern commonly found in Tehillim (Psalms) is as follows:

[A] has been done for [B], and for [C], [D].

In case that made no sense, here's a made-up example:

Danny ordered pizza, and Sam, coffee.

The sentence above omits the word "ordered' in the second phrase, but we know that it means that Sam ordered coffee:

Danny ordered pizza, and Sam [ordered] coffee.

Application

We can apply the above to the verse below from Tehillim:

א֭וֹר זָרֻ֣עַ לַצַּדִּ֑יק, וּֽלְיִשְׁרֵי־לֵ֥ב שִׂמְחָֽה

Light has been sown for the righteous, and for the straight-of-heart, joy.

As in our made up example above, the words "has been sown" are omitted from the second phrase, but we know that it means "...and for the straight of heart, joy has been sown."

Here's what it looks like if we plug in the omitted word:

א֭וֹר זָרֻ֣עַ לַצַּדִּ֑יק, וּֽלְיִשְׁרֵי־לֵ֥ב זָרֻ֣עַ שִׂמְחָֽה

Light has been sown for the righteous, and for the straight-of-heart, joy has been sown.

However, we can reason that the word זָרֻ֣עַ (sown) was omitted to convey a deeper hidden meaning. Consider that the word זָרֻ֣עַ indicates an action that occurs now, but comes to fruition at a later time just as a seed is planted now and blooms later. Perhaps this explains why the word זָרֻ֣עַ is not used for יִשְׁרֵי־לֵ֥ב, implying that they experience שִׂמְחָֽה immediately. Surely an appropriate bonus!

In other words, if זָרֻ֣עַ can be taken to mean in the World-to-Come, the צַּדִּ֑יק receives his light (for being a צַּדִּ֑יק) in the World-to-Come, while those who are יִשְׁרֵי־לֵ֥ב receive joy in the here-and-now. These, by the way, are two different spiritual prototypes and it seems clear that one individual can be both.

The Downside

That's great news, but it may leave the צַּדִּ֑יק wondering if his reward for living a life of righteousness is suffering and misery. Not exactly a compelling perk to fight for the light side:

זו תורה וזו שכרה?! (מנחות כט:)

Is this the Torah and is this its reward?! (Menachos 29b)

Perhaps to the tzaddik's chagrin, the Torah itself confirms this:

רַ֭בֹּות רָעֹ֣ות צַדִּ֑יק וּ֝מִכֻּלָּ֗ם יַצִּילֶ֥נּוּ יְהוָֽה׃ (תהילים לד:כ)

The troubles of a righteous person are numerous, and Hashem shall rescue him from all of them. (Psalms 34:20)

The Resolution

And so the very next verse comes to explain that the righteous do receive joy in this world:

שִׂמְח֣וּ צַ֭דִּיקִים בַּֽיהוָ֑ה וְ֝הוֹד֗וּ לְזֵ֣כֶר קָדְשֽׁוֹ

Rejoice, you righteous, with the Lord, and give thanks to His holy name.

Their joy, however, is attained by leading a Godly life. This may also underline the difference between יִשְׁרֵי־לֵ֥ב and a צַּדִּ֑יק; the former derive joy from their pure intent, while the latter derive it from a direct connection to God. It may also be that the former is a gateway to becoming the latter.

Further (and no more "furthers" after this), יִשְׁרֵי־לֵ֥ב is in the plural and צַּדִּ֑יק is in the singular, which may be taken to mean that the former is more common than the latter.

So don't worry, if you want to be a צַּדִּ֑יק not only would it certainly be worth your while, God (Who designed it) apparently seems to think that you can do it!

לֹ֥א בַשָּׁמַ֖יִם הִ֑וא לֵאמֹ֗ר מִ֣י יַֽעֲלֶה־לָּ֤נוּ הַשָּׁמַ֨יְמָה֙ וְיִקָּחֶ֣הָ לָּ֔נוּ וְיַשְׁמִעֵ֥נוּ אֹתָ֖הּ וְנַֽעֲשֶֽׂנָּה: (דברים ל:יב)

It is not in heaven, that you should say, "Who will go up to heaven for us and fetch it for us, to tell [it] to us, so that we can fulfill it?" (Deuteronomy 30:12)

Insight 1 – Rejoice, Oh Righteous Ones

During the Kabbalas Shabbos service (in the stanza that starts “Hashem Malach Tagel Ha'aretz”) the siddur contains the following lines:

Lovers of God, hate evil.
He protects the souls of His kind ones, from the hands of the evil He shall rescue them.
Light is sown for the righteous one, and for straight of heart, joy.
Rejoice, oh righteous ones, in God, and give thanks for the memory of His Holiness.

Why does the verse tell those who love God to hate evil? Doesn't it follow that if they truly love God that they already hate evil, which is the opposite of God? In addition, why are the lovers of God charged with hating evil and not hating anything else?

Possessing fear (pachad) of God, which is the lowest form of worship, can go very far in preventing a person from sinning. A step higher up the spiritual ladder is awe (yira), which in my mind stands out as some combination of fear and love (ahava) of God. While love of God is the highest spiritual level, it comes with its own pitfalls. One who has reached the rung of love, and has ceased to operate based on awe, might mistakenly think that God does not care about his deeds. In other words, he might wrongfully reason that the depth of intimacy he shares with God permits him to do things that others may not. Therefore, this could be a reason that the line says, “Lovers of God, hate evil,” imploring specifically those who have reached such a level of spirituality that they must nevertheless eschew evil so as not to be tricked into it.

The third sentence reads, “Light is sown for the righteous, and for the straight of heart, joy.”

Grammatically, it seems that a few words are missing from this sentence. The intent of the sentence seems to be, “Light is sown for the righteous, and for the straight of heart, joy is sown.” It is worthwhile to focus on the noun couples in this sentence. The sentence couples “light” with “righteous,” and “joy” with the “straight of heart.” Could we not say that the righteous receive joy and that the straight of heart receive light? And further, why is it sown for them?

The word “sown” refers to something that begins at one point and comes to fruition at another. Light is given to the righteous although they do not receive it now, but at a later point in time, I'm assuming a reference to the World-to-Come. Jewish sources often use the word “light” in terms of “the light of God,” which a human being much more palpably experiences after his death. Much of Jewish thought supports this suggested reading, that the righteous are rewarded for their deeds in this life during the next.

Does this also indicate that the righteous suffer in this world, as the siddur also says:

רבות רעות צדיק ומכלם יצילנו ה'.

However, what do we make of the phrase that God sows joy for the straight of heart? Does this mean that their hearts are straight in this world, but that they receive joy as a reward in the next? It is certainly conceivable that God seeks to reserve their joy for them in the World-to-Come. However, if we translate the sentence literally without the grammatical supplement, as shown earlier, it reads, “Light is sown for the righteous, and for the straight of heart, joy.” In other words, “for the straight of heart, (there is) joy,” as in, those with straight hearts receive joy right here-and-now, in this world. Joy is a direct outcome of having a straight heart, while light is preserved for a later occasion.

But why don't the righteous receive joy and that the straight of heart receive light? Perhaps they do, but it seems that the sentence means to convey a particular relationship among each noun couple, that righteousness leads to light, while straightness of heart leads to joy.

The final sentence throws us for a loop by saying, “Rejoice, oh righteous ones, in God, and give thanks for the memory of His Holiness.” The line right before told us that the straight of heart rejoice (receive joy). Now it associates the righteous with joy. Which one is it? Are the righteous or the straight of heart associated with joy?

I propose the answer to be that because the straight of heart receive joy in this world, that it is appropriate for the righteous as well to receive it in such a way. Because the light is already sown for them in the World-to-Come, they are told to rejoice so that they receive good in both places. Further, and finally, their joy is associated not with passing superficialities, but “in God.”

Good Shabbos

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