Welcome to Embrace Shabbat.
In his sefer שימוש חכמים, Rav Shach tells stories about his rebbe- Rav Elya Lopian. In one of those stories, he quotes Rav Elya speaking about his teacher- the Elder of Kelm- and his stringent observance l’chvod Shabbat. The Elder of Kelm had special clothing for Shabbat that he did not wear during the weekdays, as many of us do, as well. However, when his bigdei Shabbat became outdated and he necessitated new clothing, he would not downgrade his Shabbat clothing to his weekday wardrobe, in accordance with the principle of מעלין בקודש ולא מורידין, we go up in holiness and don’t go down.
Furthermore, everything, down to his socks, was special for Shabbat. He had special Shabbat plates and dishes, as do many people today. However, he took it one step further: he had special pots for cooking his Shabbat food, just like he had special pots for cooking for Pesach. He would not use weekday pots to cook the special food for the meals.
He describes the incredible effects of these holy customs. During the week, his color was slightly jaundiced. But on Shabbat, his face would turn into a reddish, ruddy color. That is the outcome of all of the hachanot for Shabbat.
The more a person respects Shabbat and prepares for it properly, the more special Shabbat will become to him and the greater impact it will have. Hachana is the ikar- the main point is the amount of preparation that a person invests.
This principle can be extended beyond Shabbat, as well. When counting from Nisan, Tishrei is the seventh month of the year, parallel to Shabbat, which is the seventh day of the week. Elul, the sixth month, correlates to Friday, the sixth day of the week. Just as a person must use Friday to prepare for Shabbat, Elul is a time to invest and prepare for Rosh Hashana. This power of hachana will transform a person’s Tishrei, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.
Dayan Wosner, the great tzaddik of Bnei Brak, quoted the Shulchan Aruch’s ruling that Sephardim have a custom to get up early during the month of Elul and say Selichot. The Rama paskans that this is not the custom amongst Ashkenazim. Rav Dayan Wosner explains that while it is not the Ashkenazi custom to recite selichot during the entire month of Elul, everyone has the custom to get up early. Everyone has to do something different, change, and add.
The more preparation you put in, the greater the product.
Have a Shabbat Shalom.