(א) הכנת הסעודה לשבת. ובו ב סעיפים:
ישכים בבוקר ביום הששי להכין צרכי שבת ואפי' יש לו כמה עבדים לשמשו ישתדל להכין בעצמו שום דבר לצרכי שבת כדי לכבדו ומהם ילמוד כל אדם ולא יאמר לא אפגום כבודי כי זה הוא כבודו שמכבד השבת: הגה ויש להשחיז הסכין בערב שבת כי זהו מכבוד השבת שמכין עצמו לאכילה (כל בו וב"י בשם ספר חיי עולם):
(1) A person should be arise on friday early to prepare for shabbat; even if he has many servants to serve him he should find something small to do. We see this with Rav Chisda who would cut vegetables finely; Rabah and Rav Yosef, who would chop wood; Rabbi Zeira who would light the flame; And Rav Nachman, who would clean the house and replace the weekday cutlery with cutlery designated for Shabbat. We can emulate these people and one should not say: "It is unbecoming of me," for this is the honour of shabbat. Rama: Additionally one should sharpen his knife to ease eating.
The Baal Shem Tov once welcomed the Sabbath in a field wherein sheep grazed also. Soon the BeShT found himself surrounded by the entire flock. Bleating and crying out, as he offered his own prayers, one by one, all the sheep lifted
up their front legs and stood on their hind legs like human beings. And this, claims the legend, was because the prayers of such a holy person are so pure that they sanctify even nearby creatures and raise each soul to its source on high. In this way, even nearby animals sensed the Baal Shem's elevation and raised themselves. Rabbi Israel of Ryzhin explained it this way: Through the fervor and intensity of his prayer, the BeShT went all the way back to Adam, even before Adam's sin, and from that place of primal purity, he was able to mend the world. And, from such a place, even sheep could be brought to a consciousness of their creator. Such a return to Eden- like innocence is the legacy of each Jew as he or she welcomes the seventh day.
Kabbalt Shabbat is the cream masquerading as milk: it looks like ordinary words and sentences, but it is much richer than that–––Larry Hoffman
Components of Traditional Kabbalat Shabbat
(15th Century, Palestine)
1. Six Psalms 95-99, 29
2. A poem, Ana B'koach
3. Lecha Dodi
(By 5th Century Palestine)
4. Two Psalms, 92 and 93
(By Eight to 9th Century, Babylonia)
5. Mishnah Shabbat, Chapter 2,
Bameh Madlikin
(א) לְ֭כוּ נְרַנְּנָ֣ה לַיהֹוָ֑ה נָ֝רִ֗יעָה לְצ֣וּר יִשְׁעֵֽנוּ׃ (ב) נְקַדְּמָ֣ה פָנָ֣יו בְּתוֹדָ֑ה בִּ֝זְמִר֗וֹת נָרִ֥יעַֽ לֽוֹ׃ (ג) כִּ֤י אֵ֣ל גָּד֣וֹל יְהֹוָ֑ה וּמֶ֥לֶךְ גָּ֝ד֗וֹל עַל־כׇּל־אֱלֹהִֽים׃ (ד) אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּ֭יָדוֹ מֶחְקְרֵי־אָ֑רֶץ וְתוֹעֲפֹ֖ת הָרִ֣ים לֽוֹ׃ (ה) אֲשֶׁר־ל֣וֹ הַ֭יָּם וְה֣וּא עָשָׂ֑הוּ וְ֝יַבֶּ֗שֶׁת יָדָ֥יו יָצָֽרוּ׃ (ו) בֹּ֭אוּ נִשְׁתַּחֲוֶ֣ה וְנִכְרָ֑עָה נִ֝בְרְכָ֗ה לִֽפְנֵי־יְהֹוָ֥ה עֹשֵֽׂנוּ׃ (ז) כִּ֘י ה֤וּא אֱלֹהֵ֗ינוּ וַאֲנַ֤חְנוּ עַ֣ם מַ֭רְעִיתוֹ וְצֹ֣אן יָד֑וֹ הַ֝יּ֗וֹם אִֽם־בְּקֹל֥וֹ תִשְׁמָֽעוּ׃ (ח) אַל־תַּקְשׁ֣וּ לְ֭בַבְכֶם כִּמְרִיבָ֑ה כְּי֥וֹם מַ֝סָּ֗ה בַּמִּדְבָּֽר׃ (ט) אֲשֶׁ֣ר נִ֭סּוּנִי אֲבֽוֹתֵיכֶ֑ם בְּ֝חָנ֗וּנִי גַּם־רָא֥וּ פׇעֳלִֽי׃ (י) אַרְבָּ֘עִ֤ים שָׁנָ֨ה ׀ אָ֘ק֤וּט בְּד֗וֹר וָאֹמַ֗ר עַ֤ם תֹּעֵ֣י לֵבָ֣ב הֵ֑ם וְ֝הֵ֗ם לֹא־יָדְע֥וּ דְרָכָֽי׃ (יא) אֲשֶׁר־נִשְׁבַּ֥עְתִּי בְאַפִּ֑י אִם־יְ֝בֹא֗וּן אֶל־מְנוּחָתִֽי׃ {פ}
raise a shout for our rock and deliverer; (2) let us come into His presence with praise;
let us raise a shout for Him in song! (3) For the LORD is a great God,
the great king of all divine beings. (4) In His hand are the depths of the earth;
the peaks of the mountains are His. (5) His is the sea, He made it;
and the land, which His hands fashioned.
(6) Come, let us bow down and kneel,
bend the knee before the LORD our maker, (7) for He is our God,
and we are the people He tends, the flock in His care.
O, if you would but heed His charge this day: (8) Do not be stubborn as at Meribah,
as on the day of Massah, in the wilderness, (9) when your fathers put Me to the test,
tried Me, though they had seen My deeds. (10) Forty years I was provoked by that generation;
I thought, “They are a senseless people;
they would not know My ways.” (11) Concerning them I swore in anger,
“They shall never come to My resting-place!”
Psalm 95 in kabbalistic thought, the opening six psalms (95-99,29) correspond to the six dsays of the week, each representing a day of creation. While reciting the psalms, one contemplates the corresponding day of the week, reflecting on ways to improve it. In so repairing each day, one's fragmented soul is made whole, a process known as tikkun hanefesh. Once whole, it can serve as a receptacle for an additional Shabbat soul, the n'shamah y'teirah. ––Reuven Kimelman
Let us sing to Adonai: Literally, "go, let us sing...." Understood by mystics as "go to the synagogues" in order to sing to Adonai. The first words evoke the words of the stanza of L'kah Dodi that begin "L'khu V'Neilkah (Let us Go), to make the point that by goign to Shabbat we got to he aspect of God which, like Shabbat, is identified wth the sefirah of Malkut (Majesty) ––Reuven Kimelman
sing to the LORD, all the earth. (2) Sing to the LORD, bless His name,
proclaim His victory day after day. (3) Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wondrous deeds, among all peoples. (4) For the LORD is great and much acclaimed,
He is held in awe by all divine beings. (5) All the gods of the peoples are mere idols,
but the LORD made the heavens. (6) Glory and majesty are before Him;
strength and splendor are in His temple.
(7) Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. (8) Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name,
bring tribute and enter His courts. (9) Bow down to the LORD majestic in holiness;
tremble in His presence, all the earth! (10) Declare among the nations, “The LORD is king!”
the world stands firm; it cannot be shaken;
He judges the peoples with equity. (11) Let the heavens rejoice and the earth exult;
let the sea and all within it thunder, (12) the fields and everything in them exult;
then shall all the trees of the forest shout for joy (13) at the presence of the LORD, for He is coming,
for He is coming to rule the earth;
He will rule the world justly,
and its peoples in faithfulness.
Let the earth exult,
the many islands rejoice! (2) Dense clouds are around Him,
righteousness and justice are the base of His throne. (3) Fire is His vanguard,
burning His foes on every side. (4) His lightnings light up the world;
the earth is convulsed at the sight; (5) mountains melt like wax at the LORD’s presence,
at the presence of the Lord of all the earth. (6) The heavens proclaim His righteousness
and all peoples see His glory. (7) All who worship images,
who vaunt their idols,
are dismayed;
all divine beings bow down to Him. (8) Zion, hearing it, rejoices,
the towns of Judah exult,
because of Your judgments, O LORD. (9) For You, LORD, are supreme over all the earth;
You are exalted high above all divine beings.
(10) O you who love the LORD, hate evil!
He guards the lives of His loyal ones,
saving them from the hand of the wicked. (11) Light is sown for the righteous,
radiance for the upright. (12) O you righteous, rejoice in the LORD
and acclaim His holy name!
"Light is sown [or zaru'al for the righteous [latsaddik)" By reading "Light is sown (or zar'a) for the righteous (latsaddik)" literally, Rabbi Moshe Hayyim Ephraim of Sudilkov (1748-1800), in his Degel Machaneh Ephraim, gets "light is sown into a tsadik. He teaches, then, that God takes light from God's own essence and, as it were, sows it in the world. And, from those light-seeds blossom the tsadikim, the righteous ones of each generation. Abraham, for example, was like the dawn light, clear and bright; Isaac, classically associated with the afternoon, had a reddish cast. Moses was the light of Torah itself. Other tsadikim have the light of one particular mitzvah or another. In this way, each righteous person has his or her own unique hue of light. And that is why a tsadik is brought into the world, that we may ask (in the words of Shabbat 118b), "With what mitzvah did your father shine?" We now wonder ourselves: which mitzvah is the source of our own personal light? ––Rabbi Lawrence Kushner
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for He has worked wonders;
His right hand, His holy arm,
has won Him victory. (2) The LORD has manifested His victory,
has displayed His triumph in the sight of the nations. (3) He was mindful of His steadfast love and faithfulness toward the house of Israel;
all the ends of the earth beheld the victory of our God. (4) Raise a shout to the LORD, all the earth,
break into joyous songs of praise! (5) Sing praise to the LORD with the lyre,
with the lyre and melodious song. (6) With trumpets and the blast of the horn
raise a shout before the LORD, the King. (7) Let the sea and all within it thunder,
the world and its inhabitants; (8) let the rivers clap their hands,
the mountains sing joyously together (9) at the presence of the LORD,
for He is coming to rule the earth;
He will rule the world justly,
and its peoples with equity.
peoples tremble, the earth quakes.-a (2) The LORD is great in Zion,
and exalted above all peoples. (3) They praise Your name as great and awesome;
He is holy!
(4) Mighty king-b who loves justice,
it was You who established equity,
You who worked righteous judgment in Jacob. (5) Exalt the LORD our God
and bow down to His footstool;
He is holy!
(6) Moses and Aaron among His priests,
Samuel, among those who call on His name—
when they called to the LORD,
He answered them. (7) He spoke to them in a pillar of cloud;
they obeyed His decrees,
the law He gave them. (8) O LORD our God, You answered them;
You were a forgiving God for them,
but You exacted retribution for their misdeeds.
(9) Exalt the LORD our God,
and bow toward His holy hill,
for the LORD our God is holy.
Ascribe to the LORD, O divine beings,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. (2) Ascribe to the LORD the glory of His name;
bow down to the LORD, majestic in holiness. (3) The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD, over the mighty waters. (4) The voice of the LORD is power;
the voice of the LORD is majesty; (5) the voice of the LORD breaks cedars;
the LORD shatters the cedars of Lebanon. (6) He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,-a
Sirion, like a young wild ox. (7) The voice of the LORD kindles flames of fire; (8) the voice of the LORD convulses the wilderness;
the LORD convulses the wilderness of Kadesh; (9) the voice of the LORD causes hinds to calve,
and strips forests bare;-b
while in His temple all say “Glory!” (10) The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood;
the LORD sits enthroned, king forever.
(11) May the LORD grant strength to His people;
may the LORD bestow on His people wellbeing.
There are seven occurrences of the Hebrew word kol "voice" in Psalm 29, corresponding to the seven different kinds of voices. these, in turn, would therefore correspond to he seven midot, the characteristics of the psyche, which in turn are associated with the seven lower (of the ten) sefirot (Chesed, love,; G'vurah, rigor; Tiferet, harmony; Netsach, achievement; Hod, reverberation; Y'sod, connectivity; and Malkhut, the presence of God.) (These sefirot receive many translations, corresponding to the many ways they are manifest in the universe. ) ––Rabbi Ze'ev Wolf of Zhitomir
Lecha Dodi
לְכָה דוֹדִי לִקְרַאת כַּלָּה. פְּנֵי שַׁבָּת נְקַבְּלָה:
שָׁמוֹר וְזָכוֹר בְּדִבּוּר אֶחָד, הִשְמִיעָנוּ אֵל
הַמְּיֻחָד. יְיָ אֶחָד וּשְמוֹ אֶחָד. לְשֵׁם וּלְתִפְאֶרֶת וְלִתְהִלָּה: לכה
לִקְרַאת שַׁבָּת לְכוּ וְנֵלְכָה. כִּי הִיא מְקוֹר הַבְּרָכָה. מֵרֹאשׁ מִקֶּדֶם נְסוּכָה. סוֹף מַעֲשֶׂה בְּמַחֲשָׁבָה תְּחִלָּה: לכה
מִקְדַּשׁ מֶלֶךְ עִיר מְלוּכָה. קוּמִי צְאִי מִתּוֹךְ הַהֲפֵכָה. רַב לָךְ שֶׁבֶת בְּעֵמֶק הַבָּכָא. וְהוּא יַחֲמוֹל עָלַיִךְ חֶמְלָה: לכה
הִתְנַעֲרִי מֵעָפָר קוּמִי. לִבְשִׁי בִּגְדֵי תִפְאַרְתֵּךְ עַמִּי: עַל יַד בֶּן יִשַׁי בֵּית הַלַּחְמִי. קָרְבָה אֶל נַפְשִׁי גְאָלָהּ: לכה
הִתְעוֹרְרִי הִתְעוֹרְרִי. כִּי בָא אוֹרֵךְ קוּמִי אוֹרִי. עוּרִי עוּרִי שִׁיר דַבֵּרִי. כְּבוֹד יְיָ עָלַיִךְ נִגְלָה: לכה
לֹא תֵבוֹשִׁי וְלֹא תִכָּלְמִי. מַה תִּשְתּוֹחֲחִי וּמַה תֶּהֱמִי. בָּךְ יֶחֱסוּ עֲנִיֵּי עַמִּי, וְנִבְנְתָה עִיר עַל תִּלָּהּ: לכה
וְהָיוּ לִמְשִׁסָּה שֹׁאסָיִךְ. וְרָחֲקוּ כָּל מְבַלְּעָיִךְ. יָשִׂישׂ עָלַיִךְ אֱלֹהָיִךְ. כִּמְשׂוֹשׂ חָתָן עַל כַּלָּה: לכה
יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאל תִּפְרוֹצִי. וְאֶת־יְיָ תַּעֲרִיצִי. עַל יַד אִישׁ בֶּן פַּרְצִי. וְנִשְׂמְחָה וְנָגִילָה: לכה
בּוֹאִי בְשָׁלוֹם עֲטֶרֶת בַּעְלָהּ. גַּם בְּשִׂמְחָה וּבְצָהֳלָה. תּוֹךְ אֱמוּנֵי עַם סְגֻּלָּה. בּוֹאִי כַלָּה, בּוֹאִי כַלָּה: לכה:
Go forth my love to meet the bride.
Shabbat's reception has arrived!
"Observe" and "remember"-two words
as one,
Proclaimed by the Only, forgotten by none.
Adonai is One. His name is One.
Praised, and renowned, and glorified.
Go forth my love ...
To meet Shabbat, come, let us go
For she is the source from which blessings
now.
From creation's beginning a royal veiled
glow
The last thought created, the first sanctified.
Go forth my love ...
Regal city, the king's holy shrine,
Rise up and leave your upheaval behind.
Too long in the valley of tears have you
pined.
The Compassionate One will compassion
provide.
Go forth my love ...
Shake off the ashes. Rise up from them!
Wear glorious clothes, my people, my gem.
Through the son of Yishai of Bethlehem
Redeem my soul. Draw near to my side.
Go forth my love ...
O'Awake, awake! Your light is here.
Arise. shine out light bold and clear:
Wake up! Wake up! Sing verse to hear:
Through you the presence of God comes
alive.
Go forth my love ...
Be not despondent. Be not cast down.
Why be dejected; why face the ground?
In a city rebuilt on its own ancient mound,
The poor of my people find shelter inside.
Go forth my love ...
Shunned are all who would shun you.
Gone are those who'd overrun you.
The joy of your God shines upon you
Like the joy of a groom and a bride.
Go forth my love ...
Spread out to the left and the right
Proclaiming the Holy One's might.
We'll revel in our delight
Through Peretz's son magnified.
' Go forth my love ...
Come forth in peace her husband's pride,
Joyful, happy, gratified.
Into the midst of the faithful tribe,
Come forth bride; come forth bride!
Go forth my love ...
(יב) לְכָ֤ה דוֹדִי֙ נֵצֵ֣א הַשָּׂדֶ֔ה נָלִ֖ינָה בַּכְּפָרִֽים׃
(12) Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.
Shlomo Alkabetz on Shir HaShirim:
Here this verse specifies the necessary condition for prophetic inspiration – namely, the need for self-imposed solitude (hitbodedut). For anyone who wishes to unite (dvekut) one’s soul with supreme spiritual forces, must remove distractions and go out to the field for that is a place of meditational solitude.
Sefer HaPeliah I 36b
Just as the Kallah arrives before the Hatan, dressed beautifully, with jewelry and perfume, So Shabbat arrives before Israel dressed beautifully with jewelry….
Just as the Hatan is dressed in magnificent attire, so a person should dress magnificently for Shabbat. Just as the Hatan enjoys pleasures all seven days of the wedding,
so a person should indulge in pleasures on Shabbat.
Just as the Hatan takes off from work, so does person refrain for work for Shabbat….
One should not eat on Shabbat afternoon so as to enter Shabbat with an appetite,
just as the Hatan fasts from food and drink on the day of the wedding.
So a person should be very careful to sanctify Shabbat with wine,
Just as Hatan is careful to sanctify (kiddushin) his bride [with wine].
(ח) ד"א למה ברכו, ר' ברכיה ורבי דוסתאי ורבי שמואל בר נחמן, רבי דוסתאי אומרים שאין לו בן זוג, חד בשבתא, תרי, תלתא, ארבעתא, חמשא, ערובתא, שבתא לית לה בן זוג. . . . תני ר"ש בן יוחאי: אמרה שבת לפני הקב"ה "רבש"ע לכולן יש בן זוג, ולי אין בן זוג", א"ל הקב"ה "כנסת ישראל היא בן זוגך",וכיון שעמדו ישראל לפני הר סיני אמר להם הקב"ה זכרו הדבר שאמרתי לשבת כנסת ישראל היא בן זוגך היינו דבור (שמות כ) "זכור את יום השבת לקדשו".
Why did God bless Shabbat? Rabbi Berekiah says: "Because it has no partner. The first day of the week has the second, the third has the fourth, the fifth has the sixth, but Shabbat has no partner. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai taught: Shabbat pleased with the Holy One, Blessed be God saying: "Everyone else has a partner, but I have nothing!" God answered saying: "The community of Israel will be your partner." God continued: "And when they stood before Sinai, God said to the Israelites: "Remember what I said to Shabbat, that the community of Israel is your partner, [in the words of scripture] "Remember Shabbat and keep it holy" (Exodus 20:8)...
5. For your Maker is your husband; the Lord of hosts is his name; and your redeemer the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the earth.
6. For the Lord has called you as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, but a wife of youth, Can she be rejected? says your God.
7. For a small moment have I forsaken you; but with great mercy will I gather you.
8. In overflowing wrath I hid my face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on you, says the Lord your redeemer.
18. And it shall be at that day, says the Lord, that you shall call me My husband ("Ishi"); and shall no more call me My master ("Baali").
19. For I will take away the names of Baalim from her mouth, and they shall no more be mentioned by their name.
20. And in that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the birds of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground; and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them lie down safely.
21. And I will betroth you to me for ever; I will betroth you to me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in grace, and in mercies.
22. I will betroth you to me in faithfulness; and you shall know the Lord.
ומאי דבר אחד הן דבדיבור אחד נאמרו כדתניא (שמות כ, ז) זכור (דברים ה, יא) ושמור בדיבור אחד נאמרו מה שאין יכול הפה לדבר ומה שאין האוזן יכול לשמוע
What is the meaning of the phrase "they are one" It means that they were said in one utterance as we find in the Torah Whereas in (Exodus 20:7) it says "remember", its parallel (Deuteronomy 5:11) reads "observe." This is to teach that both words were said in a single utterance, one that human mouth can't utter, and one that a human ear can't hear.
Tradition connects the two candles lit on Shabbat to the two forms of the Shabbat commandment found in the Torah: "זכור remember" and "שמור observe."
From a kabbalaistic View, זכור represents זכר (male). The sephirot (system of divine attributes) calls this masculine falice yesod יסוד. The word שמור represents שכינה, God's female attribute, also called מלכות. On Shabbat, the two unite together, bringing about the offspring of redemption and holiness.
אָנָּא בְּכחַ גְּדֻלַּת יְמִינְךָ. תַּתִּיר צְרוּרָה:
קַבֵּל רִנַּת עַמְּךָ. שגְּבֵנוּ טַהֲרֵנוּ נורָא:
נָא גִבּור. דּורְשי יִחוּדְךָ. כְּבָבַת שמְרֵם:
בָּרְכֵם טַהֲרֵם. רַחֲמֵי צִדְקָתְךָ. תָּמִיד גָּמְלֵם:
חֲסִין קָדוש. בְּרוב טוּבְךָ. נַהֵל עֲדָתֶךָ:
יָחִיד גֵּאֶה. לְעַמְּךָ פְּנֵה. זוכְרֵי קְדֻשּתֶךָ:
שוְעָתֵנוּ קַבֵּל. וּשמַע צַעֲקָתֵנוּ. יודֵעַ תַּעֲלֻמות:
בָּרוּךְ שם כְּבוד מַלְכוּתו לְעולָם וָעֶד:
We beg you! With the strength and greatness of your right arm, untie our bundled sins. Accept your nation's song; elevate and purify us, O Awesome One. Please, O Heroic One, those who foster your Oneness, guard them like the pupil of an eye. Bless them, purify them, pity them. May Your righteousness always reward them. Powerful Holy One, in much goodness guide Your congregation. Unique and Exalted One, turn to Your nation which proclaims Your holiness. Accept our entreaty and hear our screams, O Knower of Mysteries.
Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom, forever and ever.
The poem has seven lines of six words each, making forty-two words in all. The initial letters of the words combine to spell God's forty-two letter name, held by the kabbalists to be particularly effective in working wonders
“The ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything is… 42!”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
The Baal Shem Tov teaches that the forty-two journeys in the wilderness – from Egypt to Israel – reflect the forty-two journeys or phases that each person experiences throughout life. “These are the journeys of the Israelites, who had left Egypt” on the way to the Promised Land: All the 42 journeys are about freeing ourselves and transcending the constraints and limitations (Mitzrayim) of our material existence which conceals the Divine, subduing and sublimating the harsh “wilderness” of selfish existence, and discovering the “Promised Land” – a life of harmony between body and soul.
Shekhinah is the Sabbath Queen entering the palace of time every Friday evening at sunset. As the seventh sefirah below Binah, Shekhinah is the seventh primordial day. Friday evening is the time of her union with her masculine counterpart, the sefirah of Tif'eret. The Sabbath is God's wedding celebration.
Daniel Matt, The Essential Kabbalah, p. 189
(8) Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy.
or it could be translated:
“Remember the Sabbath day to marry it. (kiddushin)”
The task of the singer of L’cha Dodi is to comfort the mourning city and to urge her to “get up” from sitting shivah, to change clothes and to leave behind the emek ha’baca/the valley of tears. He reassures her that the original beloved bridegroom who abandoned her will be back and now it is time to ready herself for his return.