Rabbi Doniel Staum, LMSW
Rabbi, Kehillat New Hempstead
Social Worker, Yeshiva Bais Hachinuch
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STAM TORAH
PARSHAS PINCHOS 5770
“SHABBOS FOR SHABBOS”
Our family’s wonderful neighbor1, Scott Kaplan, recently related to us the following personal story:
“A few months ago I was invited to a wedding of close friends. Though the bride and groom were from New York they were celebrating their wedding in a resort village in Mexico, south of Cancun. The entire city is comprised only of hotels and beaches, and is absolutely stunning. I, and five other guests who were Shomer Shabbos, together arranged all of our Shabbos needs.
“I called the Chabad Rabbi in Cancun and he told me that as long as food is processed (baked, cooked, etc.) and I do not have raw vegetables or fruits, border patrol should not give us any problems.
“I was carrying most of the baked goods, including challah, kugel, and chicken, in a carry-on bag. When I arrived at Customs and was given the declaration form to fill out, I noticed that the very first question asked about possession of food. I asked the agent if that included processed foods. He replied that I should show him what I had. I opened up my bag and pulled out a challah which was on top and showed it to him. He looked at it and replied, “You have three choices: You can eat it, throw it out, or give it to me.” I looked at him in disbelief, “Are you serious? But I thought…” He coldly repeated his words, “You can eat it, throw it out, or give it to me.”
“I was very upset but I told him that I wanted to finish filling out the rest of the form first. He pointed me towards a table off to the side. I sat down, and began to pray inaudibly that G-d please help us keep Shabbos properly.
“When I finished filling out the form, I walked back to the agent. He asked me for my passport, which I handed to him. As he flipped through it he began conversing with another custom’s agent in Spanish. I could not understand what they were saying but he kept pointing and mentioning Israel (I have been to Israel quite a few times recently).
In my mind I thought that now for sure he would never let me take the food. But then he looked up at me and said, “You’ve been to Israel?” I nodded. “Are you Moslem?” “No!” “Are you Christian?” “No, I’m Jewish!” “You’re Jewish,? Do you have one of those“… he pointed to his head in a circular motion. “Sure,” I replied, removing my hat and showed him my kippah. He looked at me and said, “You know around here everyone believes in G-d.” I replied excitedly, “I believe in G-d!” He smiled warmly and said, “That’s sababah2” “Does this mean we’re okay?” I asked nervously. By now his demeanor had completely changed, “Oh we’re totally okay. He then gave me a high five and waved me through. I grabbed my bag and hurried on3.
“On two more occasions I was stopped in the airport and my bags were searched, but both times they waved me on without further incident. The Custom’s agent drastic change of attitude was truly incredible. Never underestimate the power of prayers and the merit of Shabbos!”
Parshas Pinchas contains a listing of the offerings that are brought during each holiday throughout the year, including the daily Tamid offering and the offerings of Shabbos. Compared to the rest of the holidays, the Shabbos offerings are quite paltry. And on the Shabbos day: Two male lambs in the first year… The elevation offering of each Shabbos on its Shabbos…4”
The lexicon used regarding Shabbos is unique. In regards to no other holiday does it use an expression of bringing the offering on its own day. For example, it does not say, “the Pesach offering on its Pesach”, or “the Succos offering on its Succos”. Why is this unique expression used regarding Shabbos5?
Rabbi Chatzkel Abramsky zt’l offered the following homiletical explanation: The offerings of Shabbos are smaller than other holidays, to symbolize that the most important component of the offering of Shabbos is, “on its Shabbos”, i.e. to observe Shabbos properly, by safeguarding its laws, seeking to understand its greatness, and observing the spirit of the day to the best of one’s ability.
This thought is in tandem with the famous quote from Rabbi Shlomo Karliner zt’l6: “Master of the World, You gave me fish for Shabbos; You gave me meat for Shabbos; Please give me Shabbos for Shabbos!”
What is the meaning of the Karliner’s prayer?
“Rabbi Yitzchak said: All of the issues of Shabbos are doubled…. Its offering was doubled (as it says), “On the day of Shabbos two lambs; its punishment is doubled… its reward is doubled…its warning is doubled…its song is doubled…7”
Why is everything connected with Shabbos doubled?
When the prophet Yeshaya speaks of comforting the beleaguered and aggrieved Jewish nation following their exile he exclaims8, “Comfort, comfort My people, says G-d!” The Medrash comments9, “They were stricken doubly, and they were comforted doubly.” Why was the Jewish nation punished doubly, and subsequently required to be comforted doubly?
Rabbi Yitzchak Kirzner zt’l explained that mortal man is composed of two diverse components – chomer (physical, tangible corporeal body) and tzurah (intangible life-force, spiritual, personality).
The ultimate goal of man is to raise himself to such a level wherein his chomer is subservient to his tzurah, in that his entire being (including his physical self) is subject completely to the Will of G-d. Such a person’s behavior is dictated by his logic, and he does not allow himself to be blindly drawn after his emotions and desires.
At the time of the destruction of the Bais Hamikdash, G-d wrought retribution against Klal Yisroel, not only because the nation abused its essence on a physical level and defiled its chomer, but also because as a result of their iniquities their tzurah became sullied and spiritually debased. Not only did they use their physical bodies to sin but they contemplated ways to sin, using their cognitive abilities to think of ways to sin. Thus, the nation sinned on a dual level, and their double punishment reflected that duality. The ultimate consolation must therefore be doubled, in order to console us on a physical and spiritual level; to console both body and spirit.
With this idea in mind perhaps we can understand why every aspect of Shabbos is doubled. The greatness of Shabbos is that the holiness of Shabbos does not only envelope our tzurah - our spirit and souls, but it also affords us the opportunity to elevate and sanctify our chomer – the physicality within ourselves and the world. On Shabbos we laud G-d for the gift of being able to10 “Eat rich foods, drink sweet drinks, for G-d will give to all who cling to Him, clothes to wear and bread of allotment, meat and fish and all delicacies.”
The Gemara11 relates that on Shabbos we are granted a supplementary soul. Rashi offers a most intriguing explanation of the effect of the supplementary soul. He explains that the special soul grants us “a broadened heart for rest and joy, and to be open wide to be able to eat and drink without his soul becoming repulsed by it.” Normally when one partakes of a particularly filling and fatty meal he feels somewhat ‘animalistic’12. But on Shabbos one can indulge more than usual and not worry about that animalistic feeling, because his added soul compensates by injecting him with an added dose of spirituality.
With this idea in mind we can also understand why in our Shabbos prayers there is much mention of the ultimate redemption and our eventual return to rebuilt Jerusalem and the rebuilt Bais Hamikdash13. Our descent into exile was inextricably bound to our defilement of our chomer and tzura, both are bodies and our souls. The double consolation which must include both body and spirit is reflected and symbolized by Shabbos, the day of physical AND spiritual bliss.
Shabbos is a window into the euphoric Messianic world when this world will be completely devoted to G-d, on all levels. When we observe Shabbos we raise ourselves beyond the trivialities and sufferings of exile and focus on a world devoid of physical pain and spiritual sin. It is for that reason that the laws of the Three Weeks of mourning for the destruction of the Bais Hamikdash are suspended on Shabbos. We sing songs joyously during those Shabbasos, and even if Tisha B’av itself coincides on Shabbos we eat meat and drink wine during that Shabbos.
The exile represents the tragedy of the wandering collective Jewish body and soul, and on Shabbos wherever a Jew is he is at home in the palace of the King.
The Karliner prayed that he not only merit experiencing the physical delights of Shabbos, but also the spiritual bliss of Shabbos. At times one can observe all the laws of Shabbos properly, yet not feel the idyllic sense of elevation that Shabbos provides. One must pray that he merit that greatness, as we state in the Mussaf prayers of Shabbos, “Those who taste it merit life, and those who love its precepts have chosen greatness.”
“All of the issues of Shabbos are doubled”
“Each Shabbos on its Shabbos”
1 Scott spends most of his time teaching Torah in a day-school in Dallas, Texas
2 An Arabic word, it’s Israeli slang- the equivalent of the American, “Cool”
3 Scott added that as he hurried away he worried that perhaps his hasty departure showed a lack of gratitude. He returned to the desk and thanked the agent again, and wished him ‘shalom’. The agent looked at him quizzically, “What’s Shalom?” Scott couldn’t help but laugh that the man was familiar with the word “sababah”, but had never heard the ubiquitous “shalom”.
4 Bamidbar 28:9
5 The only exception is in regards to Rosh Chodesh it also says, “This is the elevation offering of each month on its month.” But in regards to that verse the Gemara (Yoma 65b) derives a law from those words.
6 Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach a’h repeats this thought when he sings about Shabbos
7 Medrash Tehillim (92); quoted by Rabbeinu Bechaye, parshas Pinchos
8 Yeshaya 40:1; opening verse of haftorah for Shabbos Nachamu (Vaeschanan)
9 Yalkut Shimoni
10 From the song Yom Zeh Mechubad customarily sung on Shabbos day
11 Beitzah 16a
12 In Yiddish the word is ‘grub’; it does not translate well into English
13 The majority of the mystical and beloved song Lecha Dodi speaks about the redemption, and the supplementary Shabbos prayer of Ritzey added to Grace after Meals concludes with a prayer for the consolation of Zion and the rebuilding of Jerusalem.
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