It's hard to believe that only a few weeks ago, I was learning about the creation of the Shabbat Kabbalat service in the very place that it was created...Sfat, Israel.
Sfat is a beautiful community in the Northern Galilee. Considered, Israel's highest city, it became an important center of Jewish life in the late 15th/early 16th centuries. After the expulsion from Spain, Sfat became the home of many Jewish mystics whose work changed Judaism in a relatively short period of time. The kabbalist, Rabbi Isaac Luria, known as the ARI, only lived in Sfat for two years, but his impact on the world surrounding him and our world was powerful and long-lasting. When it came time for Erev Shabbat each week, Rabbi Luria would leave the city with his students and go to the surrounding fields just before sundown. Together they would welcome the Sabbath as if she were a bride by facing west, the direction of the setting sun. The purpose of going to the field was to promote a contemplative mental state that would be willing to accept the commandments related to the Shabbat. Today, those of us who attend synagogue on erev Shabbat still follow the tradition of facing west (the direction of the setting sun) when we say the words in the final verse of L'cha Dodi.
It is easy in Jerusalem to feel people preparing to welcome the Sabbath Bride. The markets on Friday are bustling. Houses are being cleaned, men are visiting the mikveh, meals are being prepared, and when the Shabbat siren sounds, everyone observant and non-observant is aware that Shabbat is approaching. When Shabbat does arrive, it is easy to hear singing coming from the various small synagogues all around the city and from families sitting around tables in apartments with windows that are open. The sounds of commerce and traffic stop.
The sense that Shabbat is truly different that the rest of the week is evident in Yerushalayim. It is day of harmony and peace, sharing meals with other families, resting after a hectic week, and taking time to praise G-d for the bounties of life. Shabbat also becomes a day of eating one's finest food, of wearing one's special clothes, and spending time with one's family.
Seeing the Sabbath as a bride that is to be greeted, is not an attempt to personify the Shabbat. After all, there are many brides in the world, but only one Shabbat. Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel stated that such a metaphor, "puts into words the preciousness of the Sabbath as Sabbath. Observance of the seventh day is more than a technique of fulfilling a commandment. The Sabbath is the presence of G-d in the world, open to the soul of man." We use rituals such as Lecha Dodi to retain the idea of the Shabbat as a bride. In addition, the metaphor is carried out further by saying Kiddush to sanctify a cup of wine just as is done in the wedding ceremony.
So here we are in Lincoln, and we've just finished chanting the Kabbalat Shabbat service. No we're not in Yerushalyim and no most of the people among whom we live do not even recognize that this day is any different than the other days of the week. Yet, we need to remember that Kabbalat Shabbat means we are receiving the Shabbat as well as taking upon ourselves the obligation of making this day different than all the rest of the week by resting from our work. May we be able to sense the special nature of this day today and every Shabbat as we welcome the Sabbath bride together.
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