Embrace Shabbat

Welcome to Embrace Shabbat. There is a special connection between Shabbat and Sukkot. The Midrash teaches that because Avraham Avinu enabled his guests to sit under the shade of a tree and be shielded from the sun’s heat, we merited the mitzvah of sukkah , sitting under the shadow of the schach. Avraham Avinu had an eshel , a tree, where he gave his guests food and drinks. When his guests thanked him after the meal, he told them, “Don’t thank me, thank the One that you ate from- the Creator.” Avraham Avinu understood the concept that we are at G-d’s table. That is the lesson of the sukkah. We sit out in nature, rather than in our homes, showing that we are in G-d’s home at the “table of nature.” Rav Meir Tzvi Bergman, son-in-law of Rav Shach and Rosh Yeshiva of Rashbi Yeshiva, teaches that after the war with the kings, Avraham Avinu refused to take any money from Sedom; he didn’t want the king of Sedom to claim that he made Avraham Avinu wealthy. Avraham Avinu always viewed himself like he was at the king’s table. If a person would be invited to the king’s table, they would never bring their own doggy bag of food- that would be insulting to the king’s kitchen! Similarly, Avraham Avinu said- “I cannot bring in something that looks like my own food. Everything that I have is from Hakadosh Baruch Hu- I cannot take anything from Sedom.” After the war, Malkei Tzedek gave Avraham Avinu a unique bracha- “ ברוך אברהם לקל עליון קונה שמים וארץ ,” blessed is Avraham to the G-d above, the One who acquires heaven and earth. This term was never previously used in the Torah. Rav Bergman highlights that on Friday nights, the Chazan uses a similar phrase in his repetition of מעין שבע . Why is this term from Avraham Avinu suddenly used? The Tur explains that the three prayers of Shabbat correspond to the three fundamentals of Emunah: Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world, we received the Torah from Shamayim, and reward and punishment. The Rishonim teach that the three prayers of Shabbat also correspond to these three fundamentals of Emunah. On Friday nights, we say וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָּׁמַיִם וְהָאָרֶץ וְכָל־צְבָאָם , discussing the creation of the world. In our Shacharit prayers, we read: יִשמַח משֶׁה בְּמַתְּנַת חֶלְקו , corresponding to Matan Torah. At Mincha, we recite אַתָּה אֶחָד וְשִׁמְךָ אֶחָד , discussing the final reward and punishment. Rav Bergman further highlights this concept of Avraham Avinu with the connection between Shemirat Shabbat and Shabbat Beraishit. When a person is at a king’s house, they “do as the Romans do.” If the king is taking a day off from work, then they will take a day off too! We are in Hashem house- Hashem created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, we rest too when we are in His house! This is the message of the sukkah. The mitzvah of Sukkah is a direct merit for Avraham Avinu’s attitude toward the angels. We, too, are in the King’s house and are His servants! We leave our permanent dwellings and go into G-d’s dwelling. שם שמים שחל על הסוכה , G-d’s name is on the sukkah . The more that we feel that we are in G-d’s dwelling, the more that we can connect to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. We mention the Sukkah every Friday night with the words ופרוש עלינו סוכת שלומך because Shabbat is closely connected with the message of Sukkot. In fact, Rav Chaim Palagi asks why we don’t we need to sit in the sukkah on every Friday night if there is a סוכת שלום ? I once asked Rav Yaakov Hillel whether this shaila was meant literally, and he said that if we understood what incredible things happen on a kabalistic level on Friday night, we would fully understand Rav Chaim Palagi’s question. Of course we should be sitting in a sukkah! This year, Sukkot falls out on Shabbat. What a powerful time to drill in this lesson of קונה שמים וארץ . We are at G-d’s table with the Avraham Avinu outlook. We are servants and we don’t bring in doggy bags- we realize that everything is from the Boss. Have a wonderful day. Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach!