Welcome to Embrace Shabbat.
There is a passuk in Daniel 9:7 says that is included in the selichot prayers: לְךָ֤ ה' הַצְּדָקָ֔ה וְלָ֛נוּ בֹּ֥שֶׁת הַפָּנִ֖ים, to You, Hashem, is the righteousness, and the shame and embarrassment is on us. G-d is righteous and we have sinned, and therefore are embarrassed of our sins.
The Chidah explains in the name of Rabbi Yonatan that G-d has gifted us with many segulot which have the power to easily cleanse us of our sins. For example, if one is Shomer Shabbat, he can quickly bring the Geula. This does not only refer to the Final Redemption, but a personal redemption, as well. We say in Kabbalat Shabbat: קָרְבָה אֶל נַפְשי גְאָלָהּ, come close to My soul and it will be redeemed. Shabbat has the ability to bring a person his own personal redemption.
There is a well-known concept that if the Jewish people keep two Shabbatot, the Geulah will come. This doesn’t only refer to a redemption for the entire Jewish people, but for each individual person. If a person properly keeps two Shabbatot, he can bring HIS Geulah. This is why the sefarim teach that we should be especially careful with the Shabbatot in Elul, because Shabbat can bring us a kapparah at the end of the year. לְךָ֤ ה' הַצְּדָקָ֔ה וְלָ֛נוּ בֹּ֥שֶׁת הַפָּנִ֖ים- G-d gave us these opportunities and it is a shame not to take advantage of them!
The Chidah explains further that this concept is hinted to in the word בֹּ֥שֶׁת, which has the same letters as שבת and תשוב. Through Shabbat, a person can return in Teshuva. Therefore, לְךָ֤ ה' הַצְּדָקָ֔ה וְלָ֛נוּ בֹּ֥שֶׁת הַפָּנִ֖ים- We had Shabbat, but didn’t use it properly, so וְלָ֛נוּ בֹּ֥שֶׁת הַפָּנִ֖ים. It is a shame that G-d gave us such great opportunities and we didn’t take advantage of them. The Chidah also says that Shabbat is the letters of בֹּ֥שֶׁת because if we keep Shabbat properly, it causes embarrassment to the yetzer hara; he is embarrassed by what we ended up doing with this gift.
Parshat Re’eh is always read on the Shabbat before Chodesh Elul because Re’eh is an acronym for ראה אלול הגיע, be cognizant that Elul has approached. It is read on Shabbat because it has the power to help us in our month of Elul, the month of teshuva.
Many people have the custom to read Shir HaShirim every Friday afternoon. It contains beautiful pesukim of love between G-d and the Jewish people. One of the most famous hints to the month of Elul is found in Shir Hashirim: אני לדודי ודודי לי, I am to my beloved and My Beloved is to me. Our Rabbis teach that this means that we have to make the first move. When we are אני לדודי, then ודודי לי. Shabbat is about the relationship between a Chatan and Kallah. It is compared to a marriage between the Jewish people and Shabbat and between G-d and the Jewish people (as has been discussed previously. It is a triangulation between G-d, the Jewish people, and Shabbat).
Let us take advantage of Elul and strengthen our Shemirat Shabbat in the last four Shabbatot of the year. We recently came out with a book called Living Shabbat for Children- Volume 2 which can be incorporated into our homes to foster chizzuk on Shabbat. The book contains 20 stories to make Shabbat enjoyable for children! You can also purchase Living Shabbat for Children- Volume 1 for another 20 stories, which will last you almost the entire year! Adults can enjoy Living Shabbat and Embrace Shabbat. Let us be mechazek ourselves to dedicate this year to Shabbat.
Have a Shabbat Shalom and a Chodesh Tov.