Welcome to Embrace Shabbat.
The passuk in Shir Hashirim (2:5) says:
סַמְּכ֙וּנִי֙ בָּֽאֲשִׁישׁ֔וֹת רַפְּד֖וּנִי בַּתַּפּוּחִ֑ים כִּי־חוֹלַ֥ת אַהֲבָ֖ה אָֽנִי׃
Hold me up with bowls full of different types of fruits. Spread apples around me for a good fragrance, because I am lovesick. (Rashi)
On the basic level, סַמְּכ֙וּנִי֙ is our plead of Hashem to hold us up as one holds a sick person, because we miss Him so much in galut and therefore need strength.
On a deeper level the Midrash explains that the word אֲשִׁישׁ֔וֹת is plural for fire- hold me up with two fires, referring to the Torah SheBichtav and Torah SheBaal Peh. As discussed previously, the Tikunei Zohar (תיקון כ”ו) “scrambles” the word בראשית to be spelled as ירא שבת. There is a fear that is within a Jewish person on Shabbat, which is why בראשית is the first word in the Torah.
בראשית can also be scrambled to spell תרי אש, two fires. When a person makes havdalah on Motzei Shabbat, their candle must have two wicks- תרי אש.
סַמְּכ֙וּנִי֙- Hold me up because on Leil Shabbat the neshama yetaira comes down and dwells within a person. However, when Motzei Shabbat comes, the neshama yetaira leaves, as it says וינפש, woah, our extra soul has left and now we are weak. Therefore, we ask Hashem to hold us up with the fires of בורא האש, which symbolize the two Torahs- Torah SheBichtav and Torah SheBaal Peh. It is that knowledge that helps a person maintain their stamina throughout the week. Once a person loses their extra neshama, they compensate for their loss with the two fires.
רַפְּד֖וּנִי בַּתַּפּוּחִ֑ים- Spread apples around me for a good fragrance. This corresponds to the fragrance of בורא מיני בשמים, whose purpose is also to provide strength after the neshama yetaira has left.
בורא מאורי האש is recited on Motzei Shabbat because it was then that fire was created, as the original light was destroyed. After Adam HaRishon sinned in Gan Eden on Friday afternoon, the Zohar explains that בורא מאורי האש was instituted to strengthen the neshama yeteira.
After learning this idea, I developed a question:
On Motzei Shabbat that goes into Yom Tov, we say יקנה”ז, which stands for יין ,קידוש ,נר ,הבדלה, זמן. We say בורא מאורי האש on Saturday night because it is a regular Saturday night. However, we don’t smell בשמים because the neshama yetaira doesn’t leave when it goes into yom tov. Why the discrepancy? (If you have an answer, please reach out, but ensure that you have a source.)
This idea teaches that the power of Shabbat comes from our neshama yetaira. We get weakened because the neshama yetaira leaves us, but we can strengthen it with the two fires- Beraishit and תרי אש, that we have in the havdalah candle on Motzei Shabbat.
Have a Shabbat Shalom.