“The Children of Israel shall observe the Shabbos, to make the Shabbos an eternal covenant for their generations.” (Exodus 31:16)
“He who prays on the eve of the Shabbos and recites 'and [the heaven and the earth] were finished,' (Vayichulu) the Writ treats him as though he had become a partner with the Holy One, blessed be He, in the Creation… He who prays on the eve of the Shabbos and recites and [the heaven and the earth] were finished, the two ministering angels who accompany man place their hands on his head and say to him, “and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged”… It was taught, R. Jose son of R. Judah said: Two ministering angels accompany man on the eve of the Shabbos from the synagogue to his home, one a good [angel] and one an evil [one]. And when he arrives home and finds the lamp burning, the table set, and the couch [bed] covered with a spread, the good angel exclaims, 'May it be even thus on another Shabbos [too],' and the evil angel unwillingly responds 'amen'. But if not, the evil angel exclaims, 'May it be even thus on another Shabbos,' and the good angel unwillingly responds, 'amen'.” (Talmud Shabbos 119b)
Out of the 613 Commandments that the Jewish people collectively observe, the singular mitzvah that defines a Jew is the observance of the Shabbos. Maimonides puts it this way, “Both the Shabbos and idol-worship are valued in severity like all of the commandments combined. The Shabbos is the sign between G-d and the Jewish People for eternity. Therefore, somebody who desecrates any other commandment is a sinner. However, a Shabbos desecrator (who does so openly) is akin to an idol-worshiper who has violated every single commandment.”
Why is Shabbos the litmus test of the observant Jew? The Chafetz Chaim, Rabbi Yisroel Meir Kagan, (1838-1933) explains with the following (updated) story. An elder man named Boris owned a rickety looking barbershop in Brooklyn, New York. Although he disappeared to Florida for the winter months, and to the mountains for the heat of the summer, his large neon sign and the spinning barber’s pole were still proudly displayed outside despite the small “closed” sign that hung in the window. This arrangement went on for years. Unfortunately, Boris’s health took a turn for the worse and he was eventually forced to close up shop. With a heavy heart, he painfully removed the beautiful sign and his trademark barber’s pole that had adorned his shop for all the years. Alas, his store had closed.
Similarly, Shabbos is the sign that we all hang in our windows identifying us as proud practicing Jews. Although occasionally we may go on vacation from some of the other commandments, as long as our sign of Shabbos still hangs prominently, it is evident that we are still in business. However, once we move away from Shabbos, the message we are sending is that we have closed up shop. That is how the benchmark of being a Shomer Shabbos/Shabbos observant Jew came about.
The Midrash states that at the beginning of creation, Shabbos complained to G-d that everybody had a mate except for Shabbos itself. G-d reassured Shabbos saying that its mate is the Jewish People. Accordingly, every single Jew is required to celebrate Shabbos in order to be a faithful partner to Shabbos. That is why the Final Redemption will immediately occur if the entire Jewish people celebrate two Shabbosos, as the final puzzle of creation must fall into place. (Talmud Shabbos 118b)
Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the long-time leader of Lithuanian Torah Jewry in Israel, takes it a step further. He explains that the commandment to observe Shabbos mentioned in the aforementioned verse, is actually comprised of two separate commandments. The first commandment is for each individual to observe and celebrate the Shabbos. The second commandment is to make Shabbos [for others], i.e. to ensure that fellow co-religionists celebrate Shabbos as well. That is why two angels accompany us home from synagogue on Friday night. One angel is a reward for the prayer of Vayichulu that we said for ourselves, and the second angel is a reward for the Vayichulu that we shared with our friends. Part of our obligation as Shabbos-observant Jews is to share the beauty of our active Jewish life with our family and friends. How do we go about doing that?
Rabbi Elyashiv’s father-in-law, Rabbi Aryeh Levine (1885 - 1969), affectionately known as Reb Aryeh, was known as "The Tzadik ("saint") of Jerusalem" for his kindness and attention to the poor, sick and downtrodden elements of society. He was also known as “The Father of Prisoners" for his work with members of the Jewish Underground movements who were imprisoned by the British in the central prison of Jerusalem in the Russian Compound during the British Mandate period and for his work with convicted criminals. Notwithstanding his activism, he behaved with extreme modesty and humility, exuding a quiet and personal warmth that touched many Jews, both religious and secular. One Shabbos, on his way home from Synagogue, he noticed a café that had just opened on Shabbos for the first time. Still adorned with his prayer shawl, he made his way into the café and sat down next to the entranceway without saying a word. After several minutes, the embarrassed owner got the point, came over to him, and promised the venerated and beloved Tzadik that he would never again open on Shabbos!
In another astonishing story, Rabbi Moshe Shapiro of Jerusalem hailed a taxi, and right before the taxi-driver changed the gear into Drive, Rabbi Shapiro put his hand on the taxi-driver’s hand and asked him “Does this hand celebrate Shabbos?” The taxi-driver was thrown into a quandary. He was not Shabbos-observant, but how could he tell that to the Rabbi. Right then and there he decided to begin celebrating Shabbos, and he proudly proclaimed his newfound commitment to Rabbi Shapiro!
You are probably chuckling to yourself. These are great rabbis whose caring and compassion melted those peoples hearts. How could we simple folk impress upon others the beauty of Shabbos? The truth is that very few contemporary Jews have experienced a traditional Shabbos. The best way to begin fulfilling our obligation of sharing Shabbos with others is by inviting them over to experience a traditional Shabbos. The famous saying is that “the (generic) Rabbi’s wife’s cholent and kugel brought many more people closer to Judaism than the Rabbis sermons and lectures!” There is a lot of truth to that saying! We all have coworkers and neighbors who would love the exotic Shabbos experience. All they are waiting for is an invitation!
May we all be blessed to experience the true beauty and light of Shabbos. Amen.
