Shemiras Shabbos

The Torah says after the Mishkan, Pasuk Yud-Gimel: U'shmartem Et Shabtosei. Pasuk Yud-Daled:

ושמרתם את השבת כי קדש היא לכם מחלליה מות יומת כי כל העושה בה מלאכה ונכרתה הנפש ההיא מקרב עמיה.

Again, U'shmartem Et Ha-Shabbat. Pasuk Tet-Zayin:

ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת לעשות את השבת לדרתם ברית עולם.

So within the span of a few Pesukim the Torah says no less than three times Shemiras Shabbos, the Lashon Ha-Shemirah. Similarly in the Dibros Achronos: שמור את יום השבת לקדשו. In Parshas Kedoshim later in Sefer Vayikra: Et Shabtosei Tishmoru. The Torah constantly emphasizes Shemirah with regard to Shabbos. The Meshech Chochma points this out and says the other place where you find this repeated emphasis on Shemirah is with regard to Chag Ha-Matzos. שמור את חודש האביב. U'shmartem Et Ha-Matzos. According to one view in the Tannaim: ושמרתם את החוקה הזאת is referring to Korban Pesach. Again, repeated emphasis on Shemirah. He relates this with the fact that Chazal tell us that Hishamer like pen is a Lashon Lo Ta'aseh. And basically what the Torah is here emphasizing is that both with regard to Shabbos as well as with regard to Chag Ha-Matzos the Ikar of the Yom is the Lo Ta'aseh shebo. The Ikar of Shabbos is the Lo Ta'aseh and the same is true for Chag Ha-Matzos. The Ikar is the Lo Ta'aseh. With that he finds as Tosfos has a Kashya in Yevamos that the Gemara darshans: כל שישנו בשמירה ישנו בזכירה, so

נשים החייבות בקידוש היום דאורייתא. כל שישנו בבל תאכל חמץ ישנו בקום אכול מצה,

so נשים המחויבות באכילת מצה in both cases despite the fact that it's מצוות עשה שהזמן גרמה. So Tosfos a Kashya. Similarly there seems to be a Hekkesh between the Issur of Shatnez, Tzemer u'pishtim yachdav, with Mitzvas Tzitzis. So why don't you say that

כל שישנו בבל תלבש שעטנז ישנו בקום לבוש קום הטל ציצית?

Tosfos a Kashya. So the Meshech Chochma says that the basis for the Hekkesh is not just or what the basis for what we darshan from the Hekkesh, what we do with the Hekkesh is not only the Be-Dibbur Echad Ne'emru, it was not only the inclusion of Matzah and Chametz in the same Pasuk, but the fact that the Ikar of Shabbos is Lo Ta'aseh, so Mimeila even the Mitzvas Aseh shebo is Dinam Ke-Lo Ta'aseh, and that's why Nashim Ha-Chayavos, that's what underlines the Hekkesh. The Ikar by Chag Ha-Matzos is the Lo Ta'aseh, so even the Aseh shebo Dinam Ke-Lo Ta'aseh, and that's what underlines and that's what drives the Hekkesh that נשים החייבות בקום אכול מצה because we're treating it Ke-Lo Ta'aseh. And that's what's communicated with this repeated emphasis on Shemirah הן לגבי שבת הן לגבי חג המצות. So perhaps, beginning a little bit tonight and Bli Neder, Im Yirtzeh Hashem, continuing as we have occasion, let's start to understand a little bit what it means or what the Al Derech Ha-Gada what the message is in this characterization of both Shabbos and Chag Ha-Matzos. and Pesach and Chag HaMatzos as ikara d'oraisa. Meshech Chochma says that's his, he adds yet another remez in the fact that that Pesach is referred to as Shabbos and Mimochras HaShabbos again because they share this common denominator of ikaro lo sa'aseh and that even the asei shebo are nidon k'lo sa'aseh. So what does it mean? So let's initially, let's for tonight we'll discuss what it means legabei Shabbos, the explanation which doesn't apply to Chag HaMatzos, bli neder we'll have occasion to hopefully to explore a different pshat there and then maybe yet one pshat which ties the two in together. So when we say that Shabbos is ikaro lo sa'aseh, so clearly just the peirush hamilos is that the dominant mitzvah of Shabbos, that which gives Shabbos its core identity is the issur melacha shebo, right? That's what it means when you say that Shabbos is ikaro lo sa'aseh, that the issur melacha shebo is not one of a few mitzvos, it's not just a mitzvah alongside mitzvas Kiddush, no but that's the dominant defining mitzvah of Shabbos is the issur melacha. What's pshat in the issur melacha? What's pshat in saying that it's this which gives Shabbos its character? Doesn't that sort of make everything very passive and... So one explanation is as follows. I think Rav Pinkus gives this mashal, I believe in Shabbos Malkesa. He says imagine if the king of a vast empire is coming to visit a certain town, certain village. So what happens both in anticipation of his visit and even more so on the day of his visit? So naturally what's going to happen is everyone closes their businesses, everyone closes their shops, everyone comes in from the field and they go out to greet the king, they line the streets to be able to catch a glimpse of the king, to be able to be mekabel panim for a kabbalas panim. And it's unthinkable that when they're being given this indescribable, almost unimaginable kavod of a visit from the king so the shoemaker's going to say, "No, ich bin moichel, I'm going to stay in my sandlaria and I'm going to continue putting new heels on shoes." And the silversmith is going to continue making his silver keilim. It's inconceivable. So what happens? Everyone closes up shop and everything stops, all other activity stops and everyone is totally, totally focused on the visit of the king. So says Rav Pinkus, that's pshat in issur melacha of Shabbos. Issur melacha of Shabbos, it isn't just a question of constraint and restraint, it's that when the Melech comes, so everything stops as an expression of reverence, of awe, of love for the king. Shabbos in many respects is the key to a person's avoda. Now this is true for everyone, but it's especially true for someone whose path in life is going to be that he's going to be osek in whatever mictzoa is the right thing for him to be involved with. Whatever the profession is, be it law, accounting, business, medicine, doesn't make a difference, a person's going to be involved, so that's what again after making his cheshbon hanefesh, asking for siyata d'shmaya in making that cheshbon hanefesh, being shoel eitzah appropriate, so that's the path a person finds himself on. Shabbos is doubly, triply important, if that's one's path in life. Because as a person's Shabbos goes, that's the way a person's whole life goes, and that's true for two reasons among others, but at least two reasons. The Or HaChaim HaKadosh has an idea that he refers to repeatedly. כי ששת ימים עשה ה' את השמים ואת הארץ. Or HaChaim HaKadosh comments among others in the footsteps of the Ramban, the Torah doesn't say besheishes yamim, the Torah is not describing how many days it took Hakadosh Baruch Hu to create the briah, but ששת ימים עשה ה'. Something that Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world for six days. Says the Or HaChaim HaKadosh, eina nami, that's what it means. When Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world, he gave it a charge that as long as he would will it, so the world could continue for six days. And every Shabbos, Shabbos is mechadesh the briah. Ki vashavas, not just on the day of Shabbos Hakadosh Baruch Hu rested, but kivo means through Shabbos. Through kedushas Shabbos Hakadosh Baruch Hu doesn't need to be mechadesh the briah because that's what Shabbos does. Shabbos gives a chiyus. Shabbos is mechadesh the briah. Shabbos gives a chiyus. It renews the charge that the world has for the next six days. If one's chiyus, everything's chiyus, but that relates to every person as a yachid as well, if one's chiyus is drawn from Shabbos, so that means that the ruchnius in a person's life, the kedusha, the attachment to kedusha, to tahara, that Shabbos isn't just one-seventh of a person's life, but is disproportionately important and crucial because it's Shabbos that gives a chiyus and reverberates throughout the week. That's one reason. A second reason is that our very kedushas Yisrael. feeds off of Shabbos. When the Medrash says that Klal Yisroel is the bas zug of Shabbos, it means the same way there's no shemiras Shabbos in the world without Klal Yisroel, in a reciprocal fashion there's no complete kedushas Yisroel in the world without Shabbos either. And that perhaps is the the sum of the omek of the din that a mechaleil Shabbos rachmana litzlan מומר לכל התורה כולה dino k'akum, it means it affects his kedushas Yisroel. So both on the level of on a cosmic level Shabbos is the source of chiyus for the world, on a personal level of one's own kedushas Yisroel is rooted is anchored in kedushas Shabbos, kedushas Yisroel is anchored in kedushas Shabbos. To spend the day of Shabbos as it should be spent as a mikra kodesh is absolutely pivotal to a person's whole avodas Hashem. And again it's true for anyone and everyone but it's doubly true if one has more limited time available during the week for learning. There is a famous Zohar hakadosh that many of the seforim quote that says that a talmid chacham is bechinas Shabbos. Talmid chacham is bechinas Shabbos. So it means a talmid chacham is bechinas Shabbos eich shehu through his involvement his attachment to Torah he has more of of Shabbos during the week as well. But for the rest of us chol is a bechina of chol and it's only Shabbos which is a bechina of Shabbos. And because Shabbos is again is the mekor hakedusha the mekor hachiyus that sustains us during the week is just so absolutely pivotal to our avodas Hashem. What does it mean l'maiseh? So it means a lot l'maiseh but maybe just to highlight one one specific area. Some of the meforshim I think maybe the Ibn Ezra has it already I think the Or Hachayim hakadosh as well ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת לעשות את השבת. So obviously everyone talks about that double lashon. So one of the pshatim suggested is ושמרו בני ישראל את השבת person has to guard Shabbos all week long if it's going to culminate in his being oseis haShabbos come the seventh day. If a person is not if Shabbos isn't on his mind all week long and certainly on erev Shabbos it's going to be extremely difficult for him to achieve the la'asos es haShabbos. It has to be sheyishmru yemei hashavua. It has to be that a person is being shomer Shabbos during the week before Shabbos l'maiseh. It's difficult if at all possible to exaggerate just what a tremendous difference But being mekabel upon himself that that even again if that's where his path in life is going to take him, that he's he's going to be a baal avodah in in whatever profession it is. That's the correct path for him. That's the ratzon Hashem for him, so that's what he should be doing and ובלבד שיכוין לבו לשמים. But a person can't work till the last minute on Erev Shabbos. Even forgetting rachmana litzlan the the danger of of chillul Shabbos if there's something unexpected on the roads, if there's something unexpected in terms of winter weather. Even forgetting rachmana litzlan that danger, which one can't and shouldn't forget even for a second. You know, if if you're driving on on on a highway and the from the edge of the road there's ich veis a three-inch drop. Okay, lo nora. So you you can drive on the edge. Worst comes to worst, okay, so the car goes down three inches, not so bad. You'll you'll it's probably not going to cause a flat tire or anything. Okay, let's say instead of a three-inch there's a there's a three-foot drop. So you're not going to drive so close to the edge of the road anymore. You're going to stay further away. Let's say instead of a three-foot drop it's one of these winding country roads up a up a mountainside. And instead of a three-foot drop it's a thirty-foot drop. So then even though the odds of it happening haven't changed at all, but when the consequences become greater and greater, so then even if it's the same very slight remote possibility of something going wrong, but it's a risk that we can't we can't assume. So that we're not even talking about that a person can't can't even when when going away for for Shabbos to a to a simcha or whatever the occasion is, that a person can't time things that, okay, if everything goes according to plan, you know I should arrive ten minutes before licht bentschen. But beyond that, that's that's not even a hava amina. A person has to has to leave work so long before Shabbos that he enters Shabbos not only without any possible dangers rachmana litzlan in terms of חילול שבת רחמנא לצלן, but that he enters Shabbos with yishuv hadaas with a menuchas hanefesh. One of the stories that that I grew up with that my father zichrono livracha used to used to tell us. You know, it was the kind of, I think we we all have that with our parents or rebbeim, there's certain stories we hear again and again. And not necessarily because our parents or rebbeim are are intentionally repeating and and looking to reinforce, there wouldn't be anything wrong with that, but more just because it's just something which is so much on their minds and is just just always on their minds and always comes to mind that that naturally they they they repeat it, almost unconsciously. So this story was was one of them. He used to used to recount how his father zichrono livracha wouldn't leave the house to go anywhere, even if it was a forty-five minute trip, which was the the the trip in question, after twelve o'clock on on Friday. Even if it was a summer day and and shkiya was six hours later, he wouldn't begin if it was twelve o'clock. And once it happened, he was supposed to go for a Shabbos somewhere, a suburb of Boston, forty-five minutes away, and the ride showed up two minutes after twelve, three minutes after twelve, he's not going, not going. That's one application, one application again of of of recognizing. That the source of our chiyus, of everything's chiyus, and especially the source of our kedusha, of our tahara, is in the Shabbos day, is in the day of Shabbos, is that a person has this geder for himself of by a certain point on erev Shabbos, I have to turn my attention to preparing for Shabbos. And it's something which can totally, totally transform because of the reverberations from Shabbos, can totally, totally transform a person's life, a person's avoda.