Parashat Yitro

“Remember the day of Shabbat to make it holy.”

Rav M. Elon

As with last week’s shi’ur, when we discussed “Eshet Chayil” – “A woman of Valor” – from Mishlei, we will also dedicate this week’s shi’ur to the study of Shabbat.

At the outset we will offer an introduction as to the place of women in the redemptive process from Egypt in particular, and in any redemption in general, recalling the sainted memory of the young girl who sacrificed her life while defending her young brother in Sderot, Ayala Chaya, may God revenge her blood.

When Moshe was a baby in the ark, the Torah describes how his sister, Miriam, minds him from a far.  The verse uses the terminology of:

“And his sister stood herself (“va’ti’tatzav” – literally “and she had herself stand firm”) from afar in order to know what occurs to him.”

(Shemot 2:4)

Why does the verse not employ the term “And she stood” – “va’ta’amod?”  What is the significance of this peculiar term “va’ti’tatzav?”

The significance of this verse is that Miriam’s “standing” from a far, as well as the stance of all the daughters of Yisra’el throughout the generations, is in fact more an act of “va’ti’tatzav.”  Not simply standing on the side, but rather a stance of unyielding power and strength, a determined, firm stance that stems from a deep, formidable, internal faith that is often silent, yet it is the cleaving to this faith that forms sturdy foundations for everything.

In the great song of praise, Shirat ha’Yam, (“The song said on the sea,”) that follows the exodus from Egypt, there appears a concept that we do not pay full attention to, and this concept too indicates the great strength of the women of Yisra’el.  In the Shirat ha’Yam the nation is required to sing, to sing praise of it’s redemption and liberation from Egypt, to sing of “horse and rider He cast in the sea,” (ibid. 15:1,) to sing of the collapse of the Egyptian slave kingdom.  Yet this nation, who experienced such miracles and wonders, has in fact just experienced a tremendous holocaust.

“And Bnei Yisra’el rose well-armed (“chamushim”) out of the Land of Egypt.”

(ibid. 13:18)

Our Sages expounded this verse to indicate that only one-fifth of Bnei Yisra’el left Egypt, (“chamushim” sharing the same route as the word “chamishit” – “fifth.”)  In other words, out of every five Jews only one merited the redemption from the Egyptian inferno.  And then this nation stands on the sea shore, after having experienced a grand salvation, and it is required to sing songs of praise – yet how is it capable of doing this?  It makes sense that there was not a single family that did not have relatives who had perished under the Egyptian slavery – how, then, is it possible to offer songs of praise?

This is where the stage is dominated by the women.  The Ramban notes that the verse:

“And all the women went out after her with drums and dancing; and Miriam answered them: ‘Sing to God for His great victory, horse and rider He cast in the sea.”

(ibid. 15:20,21)

is in fact a record of Miriam and the women’s urging and inspiring the men to sing.  The women call out to the men: “Sing!”  The men then sing one verse, being unable to continue, and once again Miriam and the women call out: “Sing!”  The men then sing one more verse, and once again halt, each time requiring the urging of the women in order to complete the Shirat ha’Yam.

Rashi’s commentary to this verse – based on the Midrash – is well-known: Where did the women produce drums from?  Indeed when they left Egypt they were so certain that God would perform miracles and wonders for Yisra’el that already then they took drums with them in anticipation of the praise they would offer to God after He would save His nation.

Therefore it was the women through their impervious faith, and their determined stance when the waves of destruction swept over Yisra’el, and then their insistence that the nation offer praise to God for the redemption, who form the backbone of our nation’s faith and strength.  It is in the merit of this strong ‘spine’ that the Jewish nation merits its salvation.

It was at the miracle of the splitting of Yam Suf that Yisra’el understood the power of “It’aruta de’li’tata” – “the awakening from below.”  For then Yisra’el learned of the power of faith that can split seas, and the power of faith that despite being lost in the desert, seemingly having “the desert had closed in on them,” (ibid. 14:3,) despite this the ocean was split open, and they passed through on dry land.  The women of Yisra’el hold the birthright of the powerful faith and unyielding belief in God in the process of our exodus from oppressive circumstances.

May these words be in memory of the holy of Yisra’el who endangered and sacrificed themselves for the nation and its achievements.

We will now concentrate our discussion on an additional aspect of the Mitzvot of Shabbat, the mitzva of “Kiddush al ha’Yayin,” “Sanctifying the day over wine.”

This mitzva has a number of interesting aspects: it is a mitzva mi’d’oraita, i.e. a Biblical requirement, yet unlike other mitzvot that are d’oraita whose content is then mi’d’rabanan (“From the Rabbis,”) for instance the mitzva of Tefilla, (Prayer, in the view of the Rambam,) which is mi’d’oraita, yet the text of Tefilla is mi’d’rabanan – the entire mitzva of Kiddush is mi’d’oraita.

Our Sages derived the mitzva of Kiddush from the verse that we will read this week in the Ten Commandments:

“Remember the day of Shabbat to sanctify it.”

(ibid. 20:8)

The Sefer ha’Chinuch writes as follows:

“To speak words on the day of Shabbat, when it enters and again when it exits, in which there is a remembrance of the day’s greatness and exalted worth, and of its being set apart for praise from the days before and after it, as it is stated: ‘Remember the day of Shabbat to sanctify it,’ i.e. remember it by recalling its holiness and greatness.”

(Sefer ha’Chinuch, mitzva 31)

Remembering Shabbat must be done verbally, then, yet not solely through words alone:

“And our Sages told us explicitly that we are commanded to say these words over (a cup of) wine – for thus the interpretation came (down to us in our tradition): ‘Remember it over wine,’ (Pesachim 106a.)”

(ibid.)

The Sefer ha’Chinuch then moves on to explain nature of the mitzva:

“And its matter is that a revi’it (a “quarter” of a log) of full-strength or diluted wine is poured into a cup, or more than a revi’it, but not less.  How to dilute it is common knowledge: to one part of full-strength wine, three parts of water (are added.)  And the blessing of the Kiddush of Shabbat is recited over it, with the text that is known among the Jews.  So too, as Shabbat exits, a blessing is again said over (a cup of) wine in honor of the day, and this blessing at the departure of Shabbat is called ‘Havdalla’ – ‘Distinction.’”

(ibid.)

Then in the manner that he does throughout the entire work, the Sefer ha’Chinuch moves on to explain “the root of the mitzva.”

“At the root of this mitzva lies the purpose that we should be stirred, as a result of this deed, to remember the greatness of the day and affirm in our hearts our enduring faith in the renewal of the world, ‘For in six days God made the heaven and the earth…’ (Shemot 20:11.)”

(ibid.)

Man by his nature is “influenced” – in other words his conscious is awakened by deeds, and therefore in order to remember the “greatness” of the day and to affix in our hearts the faith in the renewal of the world – we are to make Kiddush over wine.

And the reason is:

“For a man’s nature is greatly stirred by it (wine) for it sustains and gives joy.  And I have already told you that to the degree that a man is moved and inspired by his deed, so he is always influenced.”

(ibid.)

However if man’s conscious can be awakened and if his nature can be influenced through the consumption of bread – then indeed he may recite Kiddush over bread, as there in fact exists an opinion as such in the Gemara, and as the Sefer ha’Chinuch writes:

“And in view of this root purpose, our Sages of blessed memory said in the Gemara (Pesachim 106b) that if one prefers bread (over wine,) then he should make the Kiddush over bread, for then his nature will be stirred more by that which he desires.”

(ibid.)

[It is important to note that this is one opinion in the Gemara.  The Halacha ascertains when and how one may perform the Kiddush over bread, and this topic requires further examination.  The Sefer ha’Chinuch merely uses this statement in the Gemara to illustrate the concept that he has explained, regarding one’s nature and the deeds that influence and awaken one’s conscious.]

As a direct continuation to the words of the Sefer ha’Chinuch, we will examine the words of Rabi Shim’on bar Yochai in the Midrash:

“‘Remember the day of Shabbat to sanctify it’ – Rabi Shim’on bar Yochai taught: ‘(The day of) Shabbat said before God: ‘Master of the Universe, everyone has a partner, yet I do not have a partner.’’”

(Bereshit Rabba 11:9)

Indeed all the six days of the week can be divided into pairs, until we reach the seventh day of the week which seems to be superfluous and inconsistent in the context of the other six days.

It is important to note that this is not merely an insignificant comment that Shabbat lacks a partner, for the entire structure of the world can be seen as a structure of pairs: male and female, husband and wife, night and day, Diaspora and redemption, and so on.  A pair contains a fertile, constructive dynamic, and it is the lack of such a structure that the Shabbat protests.  However it is then that the Divine answer rings out:

“God said to her: ‘The nation of Yisra’el is your partner.’”

(ibid.)

In other words – Shabbat characterizes the fusion of the day which is not an ordinary day in the spectrum of time.  Its partner is that nation that also contains within it the infinite spirituality that sets it aside from the family of nations.

The Midrash then concludes as follows:

“And once Yisra’el stood before Har Sinai, God said to them: ‘Remember that which I told Shabbat – ‘the nation of Yisra’el is your partner’’ – this is the commandment ‘Remember the day of Shabbat to sanctify it.’”

(ibid.)

“Remember the day of Shabbat to sanctify it” thus indicates that on the night of Shabbat a betrothal took place between God and the nation of Yisra’el.  It is not for naught that on Shabbat we have the Birkat me’ein Sheva, (the “Seven-faceted Blessing,”) which reminds us of the Sheva Berachot – the Seven Benedictions recited at a wedding.  And we also say “Ata kidashta” – “You sanctified” or “You betrothed” – in our Friday night Amida prayer, which both indicate the betrothal of Shabbat with the nation of Yisra’el.  The sanctified time is paired with the holy nation.

When reciting Kiddush one is required to observe the Shabbat candles, and the Mishna Berura notes that this serves as a ‘segula’ – it offers ‘a favorable quality’ – for “great sight.”  The Mishna Berura’s source is the Gemara in Berachot that states that a “large step decrease one measure out of five-hundred of a person’s sight,” (Berachot 43b.)  The Gemara then asks how this loss is to be regained, and the answer is: by looking at the Shabbat candles while reciting Kiddush.

The significance of this Gemara is that one who makes a “large step” is in fact expressing that time is not sanctified, and therefore he attempts to gain control over time.  This is what running or taking large steps is about – for as he rushes he is unable to pay attention to that which comes into his way, in his haste ignoring much of his environs.

The Kiddush of Shabbat night is the prime expression of the sanctification of time, and therefore it renews a person’s sight, his deeper perception, granting him “great sight,” – the perception of time which has been sanctified.

What does one achieve by the act of Kiddush?

The Ramban explains:

“‘And He sanctified it’ – for he draws from the holy.”

(Ramban, Bereshit 2:3)

The Ramban then adds:

“And if you understand my explanation here, you will understand that which they stated in Bereshit Rabba ‘for it has no partner,’ and that which they stated that ‘the nation of Yisra’el will be your partner,’ and you will comprehend, for on Shabbat there is truly an additional soul.”

(ibid.)

This is not merely a technical, perfunctory wedding.  It is rather a bond through which the nation of Yisra’el is able to draw the holy into the world.  This is the day that offers the world its significance – via the medium of the nation of Yisra’el.  Without the day of Shabbat we would be counting the billionth day since the creation of the world.  Shabbat forms the anchor in the flow of time that renews and rejuvenates the world on a weekly basis, each and every Shabbat.

The Akeidat Yitzchak comments in a similar manner:

“‘The nation of Yisra’el will be your partner’ – that is to say that the guarding of Shabbat and the refraining (from work) on it will be required of the nation of Yisra’el, until its nature will not solely be to rest and be inactive, rather it will be action and complete deed, as the verse states explicitly: ‘And Bnei Yisra’el guarded the Shabbat to make, (‘la’asot’ – literally ‘to do’) the Shabbat,’ (Shemot 31:16) – the resting on Shabbat and its observance is termed ‘action’ (‘ma’aseh’ i.e. ‘la’asot’) proper.”

(Akeidat Yitzchak, Bereshit, 4)

Refraining from constructive activities on Shabbat is not to be understood as futile inactivity.  In this refraining from work there is also “action and complete deed.”  In observing Shabbat by refraining from the forbidden actions, one in fact perpetrates a proper action, for it is testimony to the Creator of the World, to the Infinite, and it is in this deed that God and His nation come together in intimacy, as the Akeidat Yitzchak writes:

“And this is since this ‘shevita’ (‘resting,’ ‘refraining’ from work) grants them the wondrous knowledge that the world was created and renewed  out of the complete Divine Will after nothing had existed, as the verse states: ‘Remember the day of Shabbat to sanctify it’ – as it enters and thereafter in prayer, in Torah (study,) and in delight of God, for in this manner Shabbat will find its partner who will activate it.”

   (ibid.)

Therefore the wine of Kiddush is in fact the wine of the marriage between the nation of Yisra’el and the Shabbat, and of the marriage between Am Yisra’el and God.  This is the rectification of the wine, (according to one opinion in the Gemara, the grapevine was the forbidden “Tree of knowledge of good and bad” in the Garden of Eden.)  The wine which was the object of Adam’s sin and which distanced Adam from all that was good, now is the object of man’s advance and cleaving to that which is sanctified. 

This may also be the case with the more common spousal pairing of man and wife.  Were it not for God’s Presence that rests upon them as a result of the purity of the relationship between them, were it not for the Eternity that binds them, two individuals as one in a wondrous union, then the result would be “fire consumes them,” (Sotah 17a.)  

The union of man and wife is not merely a technical union, nor is it simply the union of two lovers, it is far more than this – they hold between them a fusion of Eternity, of the Infinite spirituality that materializes through the pair.

This is the nature of relationship between Yisra’el and the Shabbat – a covenant of marriage – which is as we say on Shabbat night “le’kadsho’ – “to sanctify it” – which is a term of Kiddushin, Betrothal, as the Torah Sheleima comments:

“And the erm ‘le’kadsho’ is a proper term of Kiddushin, as our Sages stated: ‘The nation of Yisra’el will be your pair,’ and they will inherit you as a husband inherits his wife, and therefore our Sages instituted (the term in the Tefilla) ‘And You did not give it as an inheritance, our King.’”

(Torah Sheleima, Bereshit 2:3)

This, then, is “le’kadsho” – a derivation of Kiddushin.  This is also the meaning of “And You did not give it as an inheritance, our King, to idolaters” that we say in our prayers, the term “inheritance” being literally the inheritance that a husband inherits from his wife.  Once again this is an expression of the intimate-internal connection, a connection that is only made possible due to the Infinite and spiritual that resides in the husband and wife pair, the sanctified day and the holy nation.

Rav Kasher, the author of Torah Sheleima brings an additional explanation from the Sefer Tziyoni:

“And in the Sefer Tziyoni it states: ‘And He sanctified’ is from the term of Kiddushin, as a result of this (our Sages) instituted to say: ‘You sanctified,’ (‘Ata kidashta,’) on the night of Shabbat, and the proscribed time of the Torah Sage (that he spends with his wife) is worthy to be on it, in order to know that ‘there is a time for planting,’ (Kohelet 3:2.)

Furthermore the Sages of the Kabbala said that this is as God said to the eunuchs who observe (Shabbat,) and rain on Shabbat night is a sign of blessing.’”

(ibid.)

Once again “va’yekadesh” – “and He sanctified” – is a term of Kiddushin, and since this is a day whose nature is of bonding and becoming a pair, therefore the proscribed time for Torah Sages to be with their wives (the conjugal duty) is most suitable to Shabbat, and he merits (in the words of Our Sages) to bring lofty souls into the world.  This is also the promise of the prophet to the eunuchs who will observe Shabbat, [Cf. Yeshayahu 56:1 – 4,] those who are unable to procreate yet observe Shabbat – which is the ‘spouse’ of Yisra’el and which thus symbolizes the pairing of God and His nation, Yisra’el - that God will give them “a memorial better than sons and daughters,” (Yeshayahu 56:5,) and therefore rain on Shabbat is a sign of blessing, for once again rainfall hints at fertility and life.

Why do we recite the Kiddush over wine or over bread?  For man’s first sin, Adam’s first fall while in the Garden of Eden was with the fruit of “the Tree of Knowledge of good and bad.”  That was the moment that the covenant with Heaven was broken, and all of humanity and the world was then to begin its long-lasting journey to recover the Garden of Eden which had been lost.  And according to our Sages, the “Tree of Knowledge” was either a grapevine in the view of one sage, or wheat in the view of another – and therefore Kiddush is recited over either wine or bread.

It is imperative to recall that at the moment of the first sin of Adam and Eve the entire dynamics of the pairs were shattered – Adam betrayed the Divine command, he then blamed his wife with his sin, and she said: ‘The snake seduced me and I ate it,” (Bereshit 3:13.)  Do not read it as – “Hishi’ani,” (with the letter shin) - “seduced” or “aroused” - but rather “hisi’ani,” (with the letter sin,) – “Betrothed me,” as a term of marriage; in other words the wife was unfaithful to her husband, Adam, and both Adam and Eve were unfaithful God.

On Shabbat night, when the sixth day, Friday, exits, we say:

“The sixth day, and the heavens and the earth, and all their host were completed.”

(ibid. 2:1)

It is from this verse that our Sages derive the Halacha of Tosefet Shabbat – adding from the secular week onto the day of Shabbat.

This verse also contains the first mention of God’s name yud, hey, vav, hey.  It is not explicitly recorded, but rather appears as the first letter in the first consecutive words of the verse: “Yom ha’shishi va’yechulu ha’shamayim,” (literally: “The sixth day, the heavens were completed.”)  For the revelation of God in this world is affected through the annexation of the secular, the mundane, to the holy; or in other words, it is in the connection of the holy to the mundane that God’s name appears, the name “yud, hey, vav, hey” which indicates “haya,” (“Was” – i.e. the past,) “hoveh,” (“Is” – i.e. the present,) “yihyeh,” (“Will be” – i.e. the future,) thereby signifying eternity.

We thus see that through the Kiddush we create anew that which the world lost in the sin of the Tree of Knowledge, for at that moment a barrier, a wall, was created between man and his God, and thus also between man and himself, and between man and his wife.  Prior to the sin, Eve has no name, the bond with Adam is so simple, powerful, and deep; yet after the sin she now requires her own, independent definition.  “The woman” is no longer simply “woman” to exist aside “man,” now she is “Eve.”

We began our shi’ur questioning how Kiddush expresses the commandment “Remember the day of Shabbat to sanctify it,” and we have reached the understanding that the Kiddush is in fact the Kiddushin (Betrothal) of the nation to this holy day, and also the Kiddushin between the nation and its God.

On the night of Shabbat we enact a rectification to our having become distanced from God, to our understanding the relationship between us and God as merely mechanical.  And it is fitting that the Kabbalists comment regarding the Sheva Berachot of Adam in the Garden of Eden as follows:

“By Adam drinking the wine of the blessings of his wedding, and then becoming intoxicated, he transgressed God’s command, and ultimately he was cursed with the bite of the snake.”

The rectification is by drinking the Kiddush wine, the wine of the renewed Kiddushin between us and Shabbat, between us and the Master of the Universe.

Translated by Sholem Hurwitz.

Copyright Keren Yishai\Rav M. Elon