Table of Contents Acknowledgments . XVII Preface: Why This Book Was Written . 1 CHAPTER 1 Food That Is Out of This World! Preparing the Food on Erev Shabbos . .5 CHAPTER 2 I’m Perfect: Showering on Erev Shabbos . 9 CHAPTER 3 The Holy Costume Designer: Shabbos Clothing . .14 CHAPTER 4 Let There Be Light: Shabbos Candles . .18 CHAPTER 5 Hashem Melech: Kabbalas Shabbos, Part I . .21 CHAPTER 6 Who’s on the Guest List? Kabbalas Shabbos, Part II . .25 CHAPTER 7 Hashem Is Just: Kabbalas Shabbos, Part III . .27 CHAPTER 8 We Keep Shabbos and Shabbos Keeps Us: The Berachos in Friday Night Maariv . .29 XIII XIV 39 Things You Can Do on Shabbos CHAPTER 9 Did You Get It? Maariv Shemoneh Esreh . .32 CHAPTER 10 Permanent Report Cards and Self-Improvement: Shalom Aleichem . .36 CHAPTER 11 Learn from the Lady! Eishes Chayil . .39 CHAPTER 12 A Battery-Powered Universe: Making Kiddush . .43 CHAPTER 13 Satanic Sabbaticals: Birkas Habanim . .46 CHAPTER 14 Don’t Do Anything! Lechem Mishneh . .50 CHAPTER 15 Live It Up! The Shabbos Meals . .53 CHAPTER 16 Let’s Get Together: Shabbos Guests . .56 CHAPTER 17 Wake Up and Eat a Blessing: Eating Fish . .58 CHAPTER 18 L’Takein Olam: The Retzeh Tefillah . .61 CHAPTER 19 The Soul Purpose of Shabbos: The Day of Torah . .65 CHAPTER 20 Playing with the Scepter: Shabbos as a Day of Teshuvah . .70 CHAPTER 21 The World Stands on You: Shacharis Shemoneh Esreh . .73 Table of Contents XV CHAPTER 22 I Need a Drink: K’rias HaTorah . .77 CHAPTER 23 Know Your Stuff: Maavir Sidrah . .79 CHAPTER 24 REALLY Know Your Stuff: D’var Torah . .81 CHAPTER 25 The Biggest Dowry: Davening Musaf . .83 CHAPTER 26 When Are You Going to Make Something of Yourself? Kiddush Over Wine . .86 CHAPTER 27 You’re Awesome! Spending Time with Family and Friends . .88 CHAPTER 28 I Didn’t Mean It Literally! Cholent . .91 CHAPTER 29 He’s Got Your Back: Taking a Nap . .94 CHAPTER 30 Party in the House: Shabbos Party . .97 CHAPTER 31 Who Made It All? The Shabbos Walk. .100 CHAPTER 32 We’re Both One of a Kind: The Extras in Shabbos Minchah . .102 CHAPTER 33 Mazel Tov! It’s a Match! Minchah Shemoneh Esreh . .107 CHAPTER 34 Pruning the Soul: Singing Zemiros . .110 XVI 39 Things You Can Do on Shabbos CHAPTER 35 Strength for the Weak Week: Havdalah — Yayin . .113 CHAPTER 36 Spiritual Preservatives: Havdalah — Besamim . .116 CHAPTER 37 Hashem Loves You but Zeus Does Not: Havdalah — Ner . .120 CHAPTER 38 Knowing the Difference: Hamavdil and Atah Chonantanu . .123 CHAPTER 39 Forever and Ever: Melaveh Malkah . .129 Conclusion . .140 Appendix: Why Are There So Many Don’ts on Shabbos? . .142 Glossary . .146 1 Food That Is Out of This World! PREPARING THE FOOD ON EREV SHABBOS Before we even start thinking about what we can and should do on Shabbos, we first need to understand what we can and should do for Shabbos before it actually begins. The Gemara, as well as many halachah sefarim, include lists of activities one is supposed to engage in on Erev Shabbos — all named under the umbrella word hachanah (preparation). The list includes, but is not limited to, showering, nail cutting, house cleaning, and more. However, for the purposes of this chapter, let’s focus on one particular Erev Shabbos mitzvah — cooking and preparing food for the Shabbos meals. This mandate is expressed in the Torah in Shemos.1 We find there that Moshe tells the Jewish People that they should prepare the double por- tion of manna that fell on Erev Shabbos so that they would have food to eat on Shabbos: “Tomorrow is a rest day, a holy Shabbos to Hashem. That which you will [want to] bake, bake [today, enough for two days], 1 Shemos 16:23. 5 6 39 Things You Can Do on Shabbos and that which you will [want to] cook, cook [today, enough for two days], etc.” Implicit in the verse is the idea that it is necessary to prepare the Shabbos food before Shabbos, because once Shabbos begins, it is no longer permissible to do so. This idea is also expressed in the Gemara: “He who toils on Erev Shabbos will eat on Shabbos.”2 Again, this is be- cause of the simple reasoning that on Shabbos, it will be too late to cook. On a simple level, we already have a positive thing to do for Shabbos — prepare the Shabbos food in advance. However, we can delve further and pull out an even deeper message from this Erev Shabbos activity. There is a phrase in tefillas Musaf which might help us in our quest. The Shemoneh Esrei states: “M’angeha l’olam kavod yinchalu — The m’an- geha of Shabbos will inherit honor l’olam.” The reason we left the two words m’angeha and l’olam transliterated, as opposed to translating them into English, is so that we can analyze them. • Let’s start with the easier word — l’olam. This word simply means “forever” or “eternally.” Therefore, the above phrase would mean “The m’angeha of Shabbos will inherit eternal honor.” Although later in this chapter we will provide an alternative translation for l’olam, let’s stick with this one for the moment. • Now let’s turn to the other transliterated word. Who are the m’angeha of Shabbos who will inherit eternal honor? Loosely, it means those who engage in oneg Shabbos, the mitzvah to make Shabbos a pleasure. Indeed, primary in the fulfillment of this mitzvah is the consumption of three delicious meals over the course of Shabbos, amongst other physical pleasures. Essentially, m’angeha are those who fulfill the verse in Yeshayah (58: 13) which mandates “vekarasa la’Shabbos oneg — proclaim Shabbos a day of pleasurable delight.” 2 Avodah Zarah 3a. Food That Is Out of This World! 7 Based on this, the quote from Musaf can be translated as follows “M’angeha l’olam kavod yinchalu — Those who delight in Shabbos will inherit eternal honor.” However, if we would turn to the Bnei Yissaschar, we might find a deeper explanation of this phrase and of the mitzvah of hachanah.3 The Bnei Yissaschar quotes his predecessors who explain the meaning be- hind the word oneg in the following way. The Hebrew letters that spell the word oneg are ayin, nun, and gimmel. This stands for Eden, nahar, and gan. In Kabbalistic terminology, these three terms all refer to the reward of the World to Come. The reason why the word oneg alludes to the World to Come is very simply because the World to Come is the only place of true oneg — pleasurable delight. While in this world we are enjoined to work hard to study Hashem’s Torah and fulfill His mitzvos, the great pleasurable reward for doing so will only fully be found in the World to Come. Nevertheless, the Bnei Yissaschar continues, our Sages teach that there is one time that we can find a hint to the World to Come while yet living on this world: on Shabbos. Our Sages teach that Shabbos is “m’ein Olam Haba — something similar to the Next World.” This is why the prophet told us “v’karasa l’Shabbos oneg — to proclaim Shabbos a day of oneg.” It’s because although oneg will only be found in its fullest form in the Next World, a fraction of it4 can still be found in this world — on Shabbos. Based on this understanding, the Bnei Yissaschar derives the follow- ing beautiful insight into the mitzvah of hachanah. We know that the only place we can study Torah and do mitzvos is in this world. Once we get to the next world, it will be too late. Our Sages teach us: “Ha’yom la’asosam u’machar l’kabeil scharam —Today is for doing and tomorrow is for receiving reward.”5 Today (i.e., in this world) we can do mitzvos, but tomorrow (i.e., when we reach the Next World) it will be too late. The mitzvah of preparing the food for Shabbos on Erev Shabbos brings this point home so clearly: It is clear that we absolutely must prepare 3 Maamar 7, “Tefillos Shabbos,” os 15. 4 One-sixtieth worth, to be precise. 5 Eruvin 22a. 8 39 Things You Can Do on Shabbos the Shabbos food before Shabbos. We won’t be able to have any of the oneg that we are supposed to have on Shabbos if we don’t prepare be- forehand, because on Shabbos we are precluded from doing any creative labor (including cooking). So too, if we don’t prepare in this world for the Next World, we won’t have any way to enjoy the oneg of the Next World, because in that world we are precluded from earning any further reward. In other words, this world is like the days of the week.6 In this world we are able to work and prepare. If we prepare, we will enjoy the time of oneg. But if we are derelict here and now, by the time we get to the next stage, it will be too late. With this understanding, we should go back and re-read the phrase from Musaf we quoted earlier. “M’angeha l’olam kavod yinchalu.” According to the Bnei Yissaschar, this can be translated as follows: Those who prepare on Erev Shabbos (referring to the day of Friday as well as to this world) to ensure that Shabbos (referring to both the seventh day and also to the Next World) is a time of oneg, will surely inherit honor l’olam — for the eternal duration of the World to Come.