Menuchat Shabbat

Welcome to Embrace Shabbat.

Rabbi David Cohen, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Chevron, recently published Sefer Chemdat Yamim, a sefer based on his classes on Shabbat. When I visited him in Eretz Yisrael, I received a copy and over the next few weeks I would like to share tremendous chiddushim that are included this sefer:

Rabbi David Cohen quotes Sefer Afikei Yehuda (Maggid of Slonim, 27th sermon) who asks: What is the meaning of the word מְנוּחָ֖ה on Shabbat?

While on a simple level, מְנוּחָ֖ה refers to “rest,” there must be a deeper meaning when referring to מְנוּחָ֖ה on Shabbat. In Sefer Yirmiyahu (מה:ג), Baruch Ben Neria laments his lack of prophecy: “וּמְנוּחָ֖ה לֹ֥א מָצָֽאתִי,” I didn’t find menucha. Clearly, מְנוּחָ֖ה cannot be referring to rest. Baruch Ben Neria is worried that he cannot find prophecy, not rest. From here we see that menucha refers to a level of holiness and understanding of G-d.

Similarly, in our tefillos we say: יום מנוחה וקדושה לעמך נתת מנוחה שלימה, You gave a day of rest and holiness to Your nation, a complete menucha. מנוחה cannot refer to a lack of activity, resting, or relaxing on Shabbat, because these activities would not be described as מנוחה שלימה, a complete resting. A lack of doing things is not complete!

מנוחה on Shabbat refers to levels of kedusha. In his sefer Shabbat Melakata, Rav Shimshon Pincus explains that the source of all living things is spirituality. All physical objects can be broken down into atoms, which have a nucleus with protons, neutrons, and electrons. Ultimately, it is all gas- it is spiritual.

Physicality distances a person from the Source of life, which is spiritual. When a person gets involved in physicality, he becomes weak because he is distancing himself from the Source.

Chopping wood tires a person out because they feel so disconnected. On the flip side, when a person goes to sleep at night, their soul goes back to its Creator, and therefore they wake up refreshed, as they were able to bask in the light of spirituality for the weekend.

מנוחה on Shabbat refers to reconnecting to G-d. But how does G-d have menucha?

In six days, G-d was involved in creating the physical world, as it says הַמַּשְׁפִּילִי לִרְאוֹת בַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ, He lowers Himself to heaven and earth. Being involved in creating the world, something is typically below G-d’s regular dignity, made G-d “tired.”

After G-d became “tired,” Shabbat and said: וביום השביעי נתעלה וישב על כסא כבודו, On the seventh day, He lifted Himself and sat upon the throne of His honor. מנוחה refers to G-d going back to his “pre-creation state,” lowering Himself into the physical world. (We can’t understand this.) Regardless, there is a level of work and involvement during the weekdays, from which G-d engages in מנוחה on Shabbat.

מנוחה on Shabbat is a positive concept, where we reconnect ourselves to our Source. Shabbat is not just about sitting on the beach and doing nothing; it is about gaining the spirituality that is going to refresh ourselves for the week. We don’t get refreshed by sleeping an extra 4 hours; we get refreshed by learning torah, singing zemirot, and by doing anything that is disconnected from the physical world. That is true מנוחה on Shabbat.