“The end of a matter is better than the beginning!” Ecclesiastes 7:8
Shabbat Shalom All! It has been a long while since my last post. A ton going on and sadly it is only getting more and more intense! It seems if you are a person who is striving and earnestly seeking to walk in the Torah of HaShem, then the adversary is moving very strongly against all of us in ways we couldn’t imagine! What is his goal? To pile the pressure so intensely on our lives we find we have let go of our studying and walking in HaShem’s Torah; not intentionally, but we wake up one day and suddenly realize we have found ourselves having let go. We are getting tired, physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally!
We see the world around us is only getting more and more dark and insane with confusion and debauchery running amok and our health issues only intensifying in reaction to the stress and pressure! Some of us are literally unable to articulate what we are witnessing in the world around us and how dark and hopeless it appears. I know I have found myself struggling in trying to stay connected to HaShem and the friends and family He has mercifully and graciously put into my life. We all are having major issues we are having to contend with. But with all this said, it is not my intent to post a depressing post, but to show, none of us are alone! We all are in the same boat per se and rowing hard against the huge, raging storm waves of the ocean.
This brings me to the topic of this post! This week’s Torah portion is ‘Yitro/Yisro’ and is found in Shemot (Exodus) 18:1-20:23. This is the Torah portion where HaShem brings Israel to His Mountain and gives His Torah to His people, whom He just redeemed and delivered from the enslavement of Egypt! One of the commandments He gives is found in Shemot 20:8 “Remember the Shabbat day, to sanctify it.” What does it mean to ‘Sanctify’ His Shabbat? Why are we commanded to do so and how are we to do this? I hope to be able to successfully present the answers to this question and hopefully will help you see by our doing so, especially in the midst of this current insane, dark world we live in, it is even more necessary for each of us today! But before we jump into this, always remember the unchanging characteristics of HaShem and His Word!
- HaShem never changes per Num 23:19/Mal 3:6/Hebrews 13:8/James 1:17
- His Word is firmly established per Psalm 119:89
- He reveals the end out of the beginning per Is 46:10
- He does nothing without first revealing it to His prophets per Amos 3:7
- He says there is nothing new under the sun per Ecclesiastes 1:9
- He says His Torah is the ONLY truth there is per Psalms 119:142
- He says His Torah is a tree of life and eternal per Proverbs 3:18-19 and Psalm 119:160
- He says His Torah is perfect and restores the soul per Psalm 19:7
- He says His Torah makes the simple one wise per Psalm 19:7
- He says His Torah Is freedom and liberty per Psalm 119:45 and James 1:25
- He says His Torah is the only good doctrine there is Proverbs 4:2
- He says His Torah will add length of days and years of life and peace per Proverbs 3:2
- He says all of the ways of His Torah are ways of pleasantness and peace per Proverbs 3:17
- He says His Torah is for our good and well-being per Deuteronomy 6:24
- He says His Torah is health for our lives per Proverbs 3:8
- He says His Torah is life to our soul and a graceful ornament for our neck per Prov 3:22
- He says His Torah is better than pearls and all desires cannot compare to it per Prov 8:11
- He says those who walk with His Torah are praiseworthy per Psalms 119:1
- He says observing His Torah is how we purify our path per Psalms 119:9
- He says His Torah is better than thousands in gold and silver per Psalms 119:72
- He says His Torah brings abundant peace to those who love Him and His Torah per Psalms 119:165
- He says there is one Torah for all per Exodus 12:49/Leviticus 24:22
- He says those who hate His Torah love death per Proverbs 8:36
- He says His Torah is the way of faith per Psalms 119:29-30
- He says His Torah makes us wiser than our enemies per Psalms 119:98
- He says His Torah is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path per Psalms 119:105
- He says one who finds His Torah has found life per Proverbs 8:35
- He says one who finds His Torah has found favor from HaShem per Proverbs 8:35
- He says Messiah Yeshua is the GOAL of His Torah, meaning without His Torah, Messiah cannot be known per Romans 10:4
- He says if we had believed Moshe/Torah, we would have believed Messiah per John 5:46
- He says His salvation is far from the wicked for they sought not His Torah per Psalms 119:155
- He says to hold fast to and guard His Torah, for it is our life per Proverbs 4:13
- He says His Torah is the bread of life per Proverbs 9:5
What is Shabbat? In its most simple explanation it is the Seventh day of the week, but it is SO much more than this. It is the day when we approach HaShem and acknowledge Him and all He has done. But further, the six day work week and the Shabbat on the seventh day is a prophetic picture of the time frame HaShem designated for humanity on earth. Six days we work i.e. six thousand years of time, followed by the Shabbat i.e. the one thousand year Messianic Era after the seven year Birth Pains, the time we, in my opinion, are so very rapidly approaching. Keep this in mind as we proceed.
In order to begin to answer the questions I cited above, one of the amazing resources to help answer these questions is ‘The Book of the Mitzvos’ published by Artscroll. This series of books explains in detail the biblical reasons for each of the 613 Commandments which comprise the Torah of HaShem. Mitzvah #31 discusses ‘The obligation to sanctify the Shabbat…’.
What is interesting is to sanctify something to HaShem, requires a verbal acknowledgement, not just mental or casual acknowledgements. This is the reason for the Siddur, i.e. the Prayer Book which contains all the recorded prayers we recite each day as commanded by HaShem in His Torah. It also reinforces why everything done in the Temple Services is verbalized and then action is taken! Such as when a person brings a Korbonot, they first must verbally declare what type of Korbon it is intended to be, they just cannot bring it out of rote.
The explanation of Mitzvah #31 is as follows: “We are commanded to make VERBAL recitations on the Shabbat day, as it enters, and likewise as it departs, that contain a mention of the day’s grandeur and exalted status, and its favorable distinction from the other days that precede it and follow it; as it is stated per Exodus 20:8 ‘Remember the Shabbat day, to sanctify it.’ This is to say, distinguish it with a mention of its sanctity and grandeur.”
The term ‘Remember’ in Hebrew is not just defined as ‘Remembering or recalling something’ but more importantly it means to ‘Mention’. Devarim (Deuteronomy) 5:12 commands us to ‘Safeguard the Shabbat day’ and this would include remembering it during our week of labor, but would be better understood for us to ‘Mention/speak/declare/verbally acknowledge’ Shabbat!
How do we ‘Remember’ Shabbat and sanctify it verbally? Per the Tractate Pesachim 106a from the Talmud Bavli, which says “The verse states ‘Remember the Shabbat day to sanctify it. This commands us to mention the Shabbat day over a cup of wine i.e. to RECITE KIDDUSH UPON THE ARRIVAL OF SHABBAT.” Additionally, per Pesachim 103b-105a, at the end of Shabbat, we are commanded to recite a blessing over the wine i.e. recite Havdalah in order to honor the departing of Shabbat and entering back again into the six day work week.
Per Hilchot Shabbat 29.1 from the Mishneh Torah it states “It is a positive commandment of Scriptural origin to sanctify the Shabbat day with a VERBAL statement, as implied by Exodus 20:8: ‘Remember the Shabbat day to sanctify it’ i.e. remember it with words of praise that reflect its holiness. This remembrance must be made at the Shabbat’s entrance and at its departure. At the day’s entrance with the Kiddush that sanctifies the day, and at its departure with Havdalah.”
What is at the heart of both the Kiddush and Havdalah prayers? They both thank HaShem for the promises of His redemption both from Egypt and from the exile we are currently living in! We will see shortly as I will post these prayers in this Op.
It is important to note, the command to recite both Kiddush and Havdalah applies in both the Land of Israel and in the Diaspora (The exile we are currently living in) and during the times when the Beit HaMikdash (Temple of HaShem) is standing in Israel or not! In other words, it applies everywhere and at all times throughout human history!
You may be asking ‘What is the purpose of the Kiddush and Havdalah prayers?’ Per Mitzvah #31, “Among the underlying purposes of this mitzvah is so that through performing this activity we should BECOME INSPIRED to recall the grandeur of the Shabbat day, and we should thus establish in our hearts a belief in HaShem’s Creation of the world, as expressed in the verse from Exodus 20:11 ‘For in six days HaShem made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day.'”
There are two cross references connecting to Shemot (Exodus) 20:8 which I want to quickly discuss before examining the Kiddush and Havdalah prayers. The first is from Hosea 14:8 which is a prophecy of the End of Days and what keeping His Shabbat means to His people. It says “Those who dwell in His shade (A definition of Shabbat!) WILL RETURN; they WILL REVIVE like grain and BLOSSOM like a vine; their repute will be like the wine of Lebanon (Lebanon is a reference to the Temple of HaShem).” The commentary on this verse sums it up best and says “They will gather from their exile and dwell in the shade of their Messiah; their dead will be revivified and they will enjoy an abundance of good!”
The second verse to cross reference with Shemot 20:8 is Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs/Solomon) 1:4 which says “Draw me, we will run after You, the King has brought me to His Chambers; we will be glad and rejoice in You; we will recall Your love more than wine; sincerely they love You.” The commentary from Me’am Lo’ez Shir HaShirim states “Impelled by her great love, the young bride, Israel, followed her Beloved into the desert. Poorly prepared and lacking provisions, she did not hesitate. She did not ask how this could be demanded of her, but ventured into the land of desolation and the shadow of death. Because she had done this great thing, her Elohim and Master enveloped her in Clouds of Glory i.e. Chambers.” This is a great picture of what Shabbat is to be for us!! He initially draws us via blessings and judgments, and then we, without hesitation, run to Him because in those times of blessings and judgments we see how precious HaShem and His Torah truly are and Shabbat is the key! Shabbat encapsulates the Temple of HaShem which in turn encapsulates the entire Torah of HaShem! It all goes hand in hand, cannot have one without the other! On a side note when I talk about the Torah, I am referring to both the Written and Oral Torah!
Additionally, remember Psalm 92 is THE specific Psalm recited for Shabbat! I will let you explore this Psalm on your own!
Below is the posted Kiddush prayer from the website ‘My Jewish Learning’ article discussing the Kiddush which says:
The sixth day: And the Heavens and the Earth and all they contained were completed, and on the seventh day God desisted from all the work that he had done. And God rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, for on that day he rested from all the work which he had done in creating the world.
[Leader:] By your leave, rabbis, masters, teachers!
[Diners:] To Life!
Blessed are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, who creates the fruit of the vine.
Blessed are you, Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe, how has sanctified us with his commandments and favored us, and given us in love and favor his holy Shabbat as an inheritance, as a remembrance of the act of creation. For this day is the beginning of all holy days, a remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt. For you have chosen us and you have blessed us from among all the nations. And you have bequeathed us your holy Shabbat in love and favor. Blessed are you, Lord, who sanctifies Shabbat.
Can you see the remembrance of the Exodus of Egypt quoted? A picture of the promised Final Redemption from Egypt i.e. the World in the End of Days, may it be so very soon in our days.
Now let’s see the Havdalah:
Behold, God is my unfailing help; I will trust in God and will not be afraid. God is strength and song, my Deliverer. With joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation. God alone is our help; may God bless His people. God of the universe is with us; the God of Jacob is our protection. There was light and joy; gladness and honor for the Jewish people. So may we be blessed. I will lift the cup of salvation and call upon God’s Name.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the universe, Creator of the fire’s light.
Blessed are You, Eternal our God, Ruler of the universe, Who distinguishes between the sacred and the profane, between light and darkness, between Israel and other people of the world, between the seventh day and the six days of the week. Blessed are You, Who distinguishes between the sacred and the profane.
Amazing references to HaShem being our protection, our salvation, our strength and song, our Deliverer and Who distinguishes between the sacred and the profane, between light and darkness and between Israel and the nations of the world!
We so desperately need this in our lives today in the world we are currently living in!!
I hope and pray this was a good reminder and a blessing and may everyone thank HaShem for it is only He Who can get us successfully through this storms of this life! May our Final Redemption be so very soon in our days!
Shabbat Shalom!
SOURCE MATERIALS:
- The Book of the Mitzvot by Artscroll
- Sefer Zemanim Halachot Shabbat, Mishneh Torah by Rambam
- Me’Am Lo’Ez Shir HaShirim
- Me’Am Lo’Ez The Book of Tehillim (Psalms)
- The Midrash of Psalms
- The Chumash book of Shemot with the Teachings of the Talmud by Artscroll