Transcript
Ritzon... Good Erev Shabbos! Good Erev Shabbos everyone. Today's not Friday, today's Erev Shabbos, and we're turning our Friday into Erev Shabbos. I want to thank our generous series sponsors Mandy and Tzipora Fischman z'chus for חיה רבקה בת צפורה פרידל, memory of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, הרב יעקב צבי בן דוד אריה, in memory of Mandy's father. This \"turn Friday into Erev Shabbos\" is also dedicated by Amanda Dreyer Kaloski in memory of her Zeide Harry, צבי יהודה בן משה הכהן, a Holocaust survivor whose Yahrtzeit is this Motzei Shabbos. His neshama should have an aliyah. Thank you so much for your generosity. And we're davening, as always, for our brothers and sisters in Eretz Yisroel: safety, security, besuros tovos, yeshuos, and nechamos. They should have a Shabbos, a Shabbos of shalom, as everybody davens for, longs for, and deserves. They should be zoiche to have. I want to share with you an insight from Rav Avrum Schorr shlita's new sefer, Halekach Vehalibuv, Nezer Haparsha on Shmos, Parshas Vayakhel. Our parsha that begins vayakhel, \"he gathered the Jewish people\". Shabbos, the holy, the sacred, the heilige Shabbos. תחילת הפרשה מדברת מעניין שבת. ידוע מה שהקשה החידושי הרי״ם. The Chiddushei Harim wonders the following anomaly and question that offers an insight into Shabbos: למה בפרשיות בהם ציוה הקדוש ברוך הוא למשה על עשיית המשכן נכתבה פרשת שבת אחר עשיית המשכן? כי עשיית המשכן נכתב בפרשת תרומה תצוה ואילו שבת בפרשת כי תשא. On the one hand, the command for Shabbos follows the Mishkan. The Mishkan is Terumah, Tetzaveh, and then we have the command of Shabbos in Ki Sisa. But then, after the commandment of Shabbos, ואילו כאשר ציוה משה רבנו את כלל ישראל בפרשת ויקהל, but when Moshe gives it, now we have Shabbos, Vayakhel, and only then Mishkan. So Hashem has Mishkan and then Shabbos, and Moshe Rabbeinu has Shabbos and then Mishkan. Azoy fregt the Chiddushei Harim. This was the question of the great Gerer Rebbe, the Chiddushei Harim. The order: is it first Mishkan then Shabbos, or first Shabbos and then Mishkan? And said the Chiddushei Harim, the Gemara says מי שטרח בערב שבת יאכל בשבת, that if a person wants to enjoy Shabbos, you have to prepare. Only when you prepare, only when you shop, cook, set a table, clean, shower, come with a dvar Torah, come with a story, come with a great question, only then can you enjoy Shabbos. דבחינת השבת תלוי בהכנה שהכין עצמו האדם קודם השבת, that Shabbos requires preparation. Shabbos requires advance. You have to turn your Friday into Erev Shabbos. Friday's not Friday. I was trying to schedule a meeting with a group of people and one person said, \"It's gotta be before chatzos, I don't do work after chatzos.\" Now it happens to be our work is not work, it's holy work and I don't think it qualifies as work. But he said once chatzos Friday comes, I only talk about Shabbos things, only Shabbos. Not everybody has that luxury, no judgment on those who have to work on Friday, even Friday afternoon, there's no halacha, but what a beautiful idea. You turn Friday into Erev Shabbos when you say, \"As of chatzos, if it's not Shabbos related, I don't talk. We'll have to schedule it before chatzos or schedule it the beginning of next week, but if it's after chatzos, if it ain't Shabbos, I'm not talking about it.\" Ooh wah, what a beautiful thing. Halivai we should all be zoiche to be in a position to be able to live that way and to want to live that way, because you gotta prepare for Shabbos. A person only the one who's torei'ach in Erev Shabbos, yochal b'Shabbos, yochal b'Shabbos. On the other hand, the Zohar Hakadosh says, the heilige Zohar says דהוא יומא דמתברכן מיניה כולהו שיתא יומין עילאין, that it's from Shabbos that we derive all the bracha for the following week. Whatever's gonna happen in the week ahead: the defeat of Iran, the protection of the Jewish people, the closing of business deals, the parnassa, the shidduch, whatever's gonna happen in the next week is only gonna happen in the merit of this Shabbos. Shabbos therefore serves a dual role and a dual purpose. Shabbos is the end of last week, and Shabbos is the beginning of next week. Shabbos plays both roles, says Rav Avrum Schorr, quoting the Chiddushei Harim: מי שיש בכוחו מכין עצמו לשבת קודש כראוי יכול להגיע בשבת למעלות עצומות השגות נשגבות אמנם אף מי שלא הכין עצמו לשבת מכל מקום יש בכוח קדושת שבת להשפיע ולזכך עצמו לימים הבאים. Even if you didn't prepare for Shabbos, but nevertheless on Shabbos, Shabbos can prepare you for the week ahead. And based on this insight, that Shabbos is both the bookend, Shabbos is the end of the previous week and the beginning of the next week, so the Rebbe Reb Shmelke says the Gemara in Shabbos kuf yud ches: אלמלא משמרין ישראל שתי שבתות, if the Jewish people would only observe two Shabboses, miyad nig'alin, we'd immediately be redeemed. We need two Shabboses. What, two Shabboses in a row? No. The same Shabbos. If we would observe Shabbos as the end of last week and observe Shabbos as the beginning of next week and we would draw out from both energies and both components and both ideas of Shabbos. If we'd see Shabbos as the end of last week, we'd prepare, we'd get ready, it'd be the payoff, it'd be the tachlis. If we'd see Shabbos the end of next week, but Shabbos would simultaneously be the beginning of next week, that Shabbos is the day from which all bracha... Shabbos we dream, Shabbos we have ideas, Shabbos we want to be huge, Shabbos is the preparation for next... אילו שמרו שתי שבתות. If we're able to live and experience and derive both components of Shabbos, the end of last week, the beginning of next week, wah, then miyad nigalim, then we would immediately be redeemed. Immediately be redeemed. Shabbos is the beracha that's the end of last week. But Shabbos brings the beracha that will be next week. And that's our homework this week for turning Friday into erev Shabbos. First of all, prepare. מי שטרח בערב שבת יאכל בשבת. We want Shabbos to be beautiful, we gotta prepare. If you have the ability as of chatzos to disconnect and shut down and turn to Shabbos, beautiful. If you don't, don't feel guilty or shamed. Not a lot of people can. But if you can, ah, beautiful. In some way, turn our Friday into erev Shabbos. Let it be the beautiful culmination, the end of the last week, but Shabbos itself, let it be the beginning of a beautiful week ahead, a week in which all beracha will flow. To really lean in and to love and to fully embrace and experience Shabbos in such a way that only beracha will come. May we hear בשורות טובות ישועות ונחמות. May we hear good things for Klal Yisrael. עמי זכור נא מה יעץ בלק אוי אוי אוי אוי אוי אוי אוי עמי זכור נא מה יעץ בלק אוי אוי אוי אוי אוי אוי אוי.
