The Secret to Being Blessed All Week
Kabbalistic Insights from the Zohar on Parashas Yisro 5782
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Parashas Yisro addresses a number of topics, such as the 10 Commandments. There are articles in the Zohar about Shabbos (Shabbat / the Sabbath), and one of them speaks to the relationship between the meals of Shabbos and what a person receives from Hashem during
the six days of the week.
As the Zohar on page 88b says,
אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר לְאָבוּי, אִלֵּין סְעוּדָתֵי הֵיךְ מִתְתַּקְנִין
Rabbi Elazar said . . . ‘What is the Tikkun of
the meals of Shabbos?’
אָמַר לֵיהּ, לֵילְיָא דְּשַׁבְּתָא, כְּתִיב, וְהִרְכַּבְתִּיךָ עַל בָּמֳתֵי אָרֶץ. בֵּיהּ בְּלֵילְיָא, מִתְבָּרְכָא מַטְרוֹנִיתָא, וְכֻלְּהוּ חֲקַל תַּפּוּחִין, וּמִתְבָּרְכָא פָּתוֹרֵיהּ דְּבַר נָשׁ, וְנִשְׁמְתָא אִתּוֹסְפַת
About the night of Shabbos, it is
written (Yeshayahu / Isaiah 58:14), ‘I let you ride on the hills on the land,’ which means Hashem is giving us the potential to control the land, but this depends upon our taking advantage of the potential of the first meal of Shabbos, at night. And the reason for this is there are blessings that are coming to the queen, which is the Shechinah. The Zohar explains that this is the time that our bread is being blessed, according to our Shabbos meal. Bread here includes all of the sustenance, all
of the livelihood, of a person. And there is an additional soul.
אָמַר לֵיהּ, לֵילְיָא דְּשַׁבְּתָא, כְּתִיב, וְהִרְכַּבְתִּיךָ עַל בָּמֳתֵי אָרֶץ. בֵּיהּ בְּלֵילְיָא, מִתְבָּרְכָא מַטְרוֹנִיתָא, וְכֻלְּהוּ חֲקַל תַּפּוּחִין, וּמִתְבָּרְכָא פָּתוֹרֵיהּ דְּבַר נָשׁ, וְנִשְׁמְתָא אִתּוֹסְפַת
The night is the time of the joy of the queen—again, the Malchus, the Shechinah.
וּבָעֵי בַּר נָשׁ לְמֶחדֵי בְּחֶדְוָותָא, וּלְמֵיכַל סְעוּדָתָא דְּמַטְרוֹנִיתָ
When we are eating the first meal of Shabbos with joy, it is like we are participating in the joy of the queen, the
Shechinah.
That's for Shabbos night.
The Zohar continues,
בְּיוֹמָא דְּשַׁבְּתָא, בִּסְעוּדָתָא תִּנְיָינָא, כְּתִיב אָז תִּתְעַנַּג עַל יְיָ.
Of Shabbos day, at the second meal, it is written (Yeshayahu / Isaiah 58:14), ‘Then you will have joy upon Hashem.’
This is a verse we say at Kiddusha Rabbah (the Great Kiddush), the kiddush preceding the second meal. What does it mean, ‘you will have the joy upon Hashem?’ What does it mean “upon Hashem?”
' עַל יְיָ' וַדַּאי. דְּהַהִיא שַׁעֲתָא אִתְגַּלְיָא עַתִּיקָא קַדִּישָׁא, וְכֻלְּהוּ עָלְמִין בְּחֶדְוָותָא, וּשְׁלִימוּ וְחֶדְוָותָא דְּעַתִּיקָא עַבְדֵּינָן, וּסְעוּדָתָא דִּילֵיהּ הוּא וַדַּאי.
Hashem here is referring to the level of Zeir Anpin, which is the next level up after Malchus, the Shechinah, which we spoke about in the
night. But here we are going higher, on top of Hashem, on top of Zeir Anpin, and to the level of Atika Kadisha, which is a very high level. And this is the level of the second meal of Shabbos.
And then about the third meal,
בִּסְעוּדָתָא תְּלִיתָאָה דְּשַׁבְּתָא, כְּתִיב וְהַאֲכַלְתִּיךָ
נַחֲלַת יַעֲקֹב אָבִיךָ
It is written, ‘you will eat the inheritance of your forefathers,’ meaning you will inherit it; you will be able to enjoy it.
דָּא הִיא סְעוּדָתָא דִּזְעֵיר אַפִּין, דְּהַוֵי בִּשְׁלֵימוּתָא. וְכֻלְּהוּ שִׁיתָא יוֹמִין, מֵהַהוּא שְׁלִימוּ מִתְבָּרְכָן
And this is the meal of Zeir Anpin, and that is the completion of the three meals of Shabbos; and the blessings for the six days of the week comes from these meals.
So if you want your work throughout the six days to be blessed — as a Jewish person, in particular — you must put emphasis on and strengthen your
Shabbos meals, so that they will be full of joy and happiness.
When we talk about the joy of Shabbos meals, this doesn't necessarily refer to spending a lot of money on all kinds of delicacies and fancy foods. It’s nice if you can afford such things, but this is not the point. The point is to have joy in your heart at the meal. Most-anyone can probably relate to the fact that it’s possible to eat a
simple meal and have more joy than participating in a big feast, with who knows what fancy food, but without peace, and without happiness.
B’ezras Hashem, I hope that everyone will have plenty and the nice foods that you like, but the main thing, more than the ingredients, more than the dishes of the Shabbos meals, is to prepare yourself, mentally and emotionally, to have joy; to come to the meal with
that intention, and with that state of mind, regardless of what you have to eat. Even if there is something you want to have on your Shabbos table that you cannot currently afford, when you come to the meals of Shabbos, do not think about those things — do not focus on what is missing, on what you do not have — as doing so is obviously not be the way to be full of joy.
Instead, when you come to the
meals of Shabbos, you must see whatever is set before you with appreciation and gratitude, and connect yourself to positive emotions throughout the Shabbos meals. Think about holy concepts, such as the things that we have been speaking about in this series, such as the blessings that Hashem has given you, and of good things to come for those who love Him. Take some time for meditation and for singing, holy things that bring you joy.
The level of joy you have throughout the Shabbos meals determines the measure of the blessings you receive throughout the Shabbos, throughout the week, and throughout all of your life, b'ezras Hashem.
The Zohar continues:
וּבָעֵי בַּר נָשׁ
לְמֶחדֵי בִּסְעוּדָתֵיהּ, וּלְאַשְׁלְמָא אִלֵּין סְעוּדָתֵי, דְּאִינּוּן סְעוּדָתֵי מְהֵימָנוּתָא שְׁלֵימָתָא, דְּזַרְעָא קַדִּישָׁא דְּיִשְׂרָאֵל
We must have the meals of Shabbos, which are the meals of the emunah (faith) of Am Yisrael (the people of Israel).
The Zohar is telling us that the three meals
of Shabbos are the foundation of the emunah of Am Yisrael, i.e., they are super important, and no matter what, you don’t want to miss them.
In other words, when a Jewish person does not have the three meals of Shabbos, G-d forbid, it demonstrates a certain lack of emunah in the person. And of the different things that are important to have in our lives, emunah is the most important thing. Emunah is
the beginning of all spiritual growth, all spiritual elevation; it is the foundation of the Torah, empowering us to learn the Torah properly and to really pray to Hashem, from the heart.
The Zohar continues,
דִּי מְהֵימָנוּתָא עִלָּאָה, דְּהָא דִּילְהוֹן הִיא, וְלָא דְּעַמִּין עוֹבְדֵי
עֲבוֹדַת כּוֹכָבִים וּמַזָּלוֹת. וּבְגִינִי כַּךְ אָמַר, (שמות לא) בֵּינִי וּבֵין בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל
Again, those meals are the covenant between Hashem and Am Yisrael, which is why they are part of the foundation of the emunah of Am Yisrael. It is a special connection between Am Yisrael and Hashem, which was not given to the nations.
Having said this, we have come to the days of Mashiach (the Messiah), so that the other nations can have this connection with Hashem through Am Yisrael. So if there are people from the nations who are reading this, from among Bnei Noach (the Children of Noah), it is possible to connect to the emunah of Am Yisrael, but this must happen through and with Am Yisrael, through the Torah.
There is a lot to say about how the Torah applies to the nations seeking to express their emunah in Hashem. I think most people know that the Shabbos is not given to the nations, but this does not mean that the nations cannot enjoy Shabbos meals, for example. It is not for the nations to keep all of the halachos (laws) of Shabbos, but lighting Shabbos candles and having a festive meal in honor of Shabbos is certainly something for Bnei Noach. Beyond this, this is a
conversation for another time.
The Zohar continues,
תָּא חֲזֵי, בִּסְעוּדָתֵי אִלֵּין, אִשְׁתְּמוֹדְעוּן יִשְׂרָאֵל, דְּאִינּוּן בְּנִי מַלְכָּא. דְּאִינּוּן מֵהֵיכָלָא דְּמַלְכָּא, דְּאִינּוּן בְּנִי מְהֵימָנוּתָא
By these meals Yisrael are distinguished as the King's children, belonging to the palace of the King as people of emunah.
וּמַאן דְּפָגִים חַד סְעוּדָתָא
Someone that is blemishing one of the Shabbos meals — by not having the meal, or by having it but not in the
proper way — shows an incompleteness above, and he testifies of himself that he is not one of the King's sons, not part of the palace of the King, and not of the holy seed of Yisrael.
For example, someone who, G-d forbid, is not washing their hands before eating the bread, jumping into the meal like an animal, to consume the food, and he does not honor Shabbos, to eat with the right manners, and with
patience, to say all of the brachos (blessings), this is an example of blemishing the meal.
Other examples include thinking evil thoughts and therefore experiencing negative emotions, speaking evil things, arguing and fighting around the Shabbos table. This is something we must be very alert and careful about, that whatever is said at the Shabbos table is proper. There are endless things to say about
such things, about shalom bayis (a peaceful home) and the education of children, etc. We cannot cover all of the subjects here, but there is definitely a lot to learn.
And this is one of the reasons it is important for anyone who feels he is lacking in certain areas to visit good Rabbis for Shabbos meals and to learn from them, how they manage their Shabbos table, and how they lead those who are
present in order to get everyone involved in singing, sharing words of Torah, nice stories about tzadikim (righteous people), inspiring everyone at the table, and so on.
So if you have an opportunity to be a Rabbi’s guest for Shabbos meals, take the opportunity, and after a few such experiences, you should feel more confident about hosting your own Shabbos meals and improving the experience of your
Shabbos table.
And there are additional benefits of doing all of these wonderful things.
The Zohar says,
וְיָהֲבִין עָלֵיהּ חוּמְרָא דִּתְלַת מִלִּין, דִּינָא דְּגֵיהִנָּם וְגו
A person who is honoring the Shabbos by having the three meals in the proper way receives leniency in a few areas, the first of which is the judgment of Gehinnom (“Hell”). When someone is very conscientious and puts appropriate effort into being full of joy at the Shabbos table, one of his rewards will be that, if he deserves to go to Gehinnom, the judgment against him will be much more lenient, b'ezras
Hashem, and he can even be completely spared from that suffering as a result.
There are other things to say about these matters that we will leave for another time, but another essential point to give over here that the Zohar brings down is the difference between Shabbos and Yom Tov. On Yom Tov, it is very important to have a guest, especially someone who is poor, and if someone who should have a
guest on Yom Tov does not have a guest, there are terrible curses that result. Shabbos, however, is different, because Shabbos is so important in the expression of the personal, intimate relationship between Am Yisrael and Hashem. So even if a person does not have a guest for Shabbos — although it is important to have guests for Shabbos — there are no punishments or curses that result.
One of the ways
that I understand this part of the Zohar is that Shabbos is not necessarily the best time to bring guests; it is good, but if it happens to be that you do not have a guest on Shabbos, it is not a waste of time. Shabbos is also a great time to work on your relationship with your wife or husband, your children, whoever is around the table, and, if you are by yourself, to work on your relationship with Hashem, using the the time of the Shabbos meals to speak to Hashem, to pray to Hashem, and to
experience the special intimacy that you have with HaShem during Shabbos, b’ezras HaShem.
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Bracha v’hatzlacha (Blessing and success),
Shabbat Shalom Umevorach (a peaceful and blessed Shabbos)
Many, many
blessings,
Rabbi Ya’akov Avraham Shepherd
