VOLUME 107 NUMBER 2
Av 10, 5783
July 28, 2023
PARSHAS VAESCHANAN
Candlelighting Time 7:59 PM
Shabbos connects us with Hashem as we focus on the creation of the universe from a total nothing to what it is now, full of galaxies, super novas, our solar system, the incredible resources that we have available to us on this planet and the myriad types of creatures that populate the world. We are the recipients of wonderful gifts that abound all around us. Therefore, the affiliation that we develop from experiencing Shabbos is a benefit that we grasp what Hashem showers upon us. However, our rich legacy that we merited through the three Yomim Tovim are on a different scale.
Meshech Chochma explains that our Yom Tov connection to Hashem begins with Pesach, when we were recreated, so to speak, as we had been absorbed within the Egyptian culture and a total assimilation had affected us. When we crossed the Sea, the angels ‘challenged’ the validity of that miracle performed for us since we also were in the midst of idol worship when we left Egyptian bondage. However, we merited that exodus and the subsequent miracles in the desert as Hashem inundated us with His ongoing graciousness and abundance.
Shavuos is the second level of our relationship to Hashem. At this plateau we are no longer only receiving but rather we are also ‘givers’. From the time of our leaving Egypt until Shavuos we count Sefira, the 49 days of preparation that primes us to accept the Torah. At this juncture, the connection is double fold since we make the effort to become proper recipients of Torah and Hashem in His ultimate kindness imparts the Torah to us.
Then, we attain a level of connection that far surpasses the original two. Although we mistakenly constructed the Golden Calf and danced around it seemingly accepting it as our source of benevolence, nonetheless we did repent. We were commissioned to build the Mishkan which was an atonement for that terrible sin. Vilna Gaon adds an incredible insight. The Clouds which hovered over the camp and shielded us from danger disappeared at that time and returned when we repented. The point is that all this occurred at Yom Kippur and right before Succos. Therefore, Succos which is reminiscent of the Clouds that returned at that time and continued to protect us in the desert symbolized a total involvement of the nation in creating a finalization of our relationship with Hashem where we cemented it with our actions.
We can now see the balance in our relationship with Hashem. On the one hand we have Shabbos which represents Hashem’s ongoing compassion and generosity. There isn’t a day that we don’t benefit from Hashem in many ways. Yom Tov climaxed with the Yom Tov of Succos after the build-up from Pesach through Shavuos and on to Succos. Hashem is always giving and caring for us and we in return so to speak respond and observe the Yomim Tovim which lead to our realization that when we have abused our connection and maybe even severed it, we need to assess the situation and turn it around.
A BYTE FOR SHABBOS
We stress that Shabbos was given to us because we were slaves in Egypt. Maharal explains that this reason is to identify that Shabbos was given to us specifically because now we became the servants of Hashem.
S’FAS EMES
GOOD SHABBOS
