Welcome to Embrace Shabbat.
At the end of Parshat Ki Tisa, Moshe Rabbeinu descends from Har Sinai with the second luchot, and his face is shining so brightly that he necessitates a veil to cover it. The next parsha begins with the mitzvah of Shabbat. The Baal HaTurim explains the juxtaposition of these two concepts: every person’s face has a markedly different look from the rest of the week- it has a special shine.
One of the explanations given for why Moshe Rabbeinu’s face shone is because the crowns that were removed from the Jewish people were given to Moshe. The Arizal teaches that every Friday night, the Jewish people are atoned from their sin and Moshe Rabbeinu then returns the crowns to them. ישמח משה במתנת חלקו- Moshe is happy because he can give up his portion and transfer the shine to the Jewish people. The paragraph of ישמח משה continues: וּשְׁנֵי לֻחות אֲבָנִים הורִיד בְּיָדו, He carried down two tablets of stone in his hands. There is a connection between Moshe Rabbeinu carrying down the luchot and his joy in giving away his special shine.
At the end of Parshat Mishpatim, the Sforno questions the significance of the 40 days and nights that Moshe spent on Har Sinai.
The number 40 has great significance throughout the Torah. It represents the concept of renewal and creation. For example, the Gemara teaches that it takes 40 days for an embryo to be fully formed in its mother’s womb. Additionally, there are 40 days between Rosh Chodesh Elul and Yom Kippur, signifying the new creation of Teshuva. (The Kaf HaChaim says that each word in אני לדודי ודודי לי ends in a י, which represents the 40 days that we need in order to create Yom Kippur.)
The Seforno continues that Moshe Rabbeinu’s face shining is another indication that a new creation happened at Har Sinai; when a person learns Torah, they become a new creation. The same is true of Shabbat, when a person becomes a new creation. Our sins are forgiven on Friday night and therefore the shine returns because each person is renewed. It is for this reason that our tefillot on Shabbat include a discussion of Matan Torah and the shine that returns. Shabbat is a time to learn Torah because in order to unleash this new “you”, a person must learn Torah.
פני שבת נקבלה- we are going to accept the “face” of Shabbat because every person receives a new face on Shabbat. For example, whereas a person must generally invite a new face, פנים חדשות, to Sheva Brachot, on Shabbat, פנים חדשות is not necessary because Shabbat IS the פנים חדשות. On a simple level, Shabbat is the “new guest” that is invited to Sheva Brachot. However, on a deeper level, everyone’s face is a new face on Shabbat because it has that special shine.
The following two stories demonstrate this idea:
When Rav Wolbe first came to the Mir Yeshiva in Europe, he thought that there were two mashgichim- one for Shabbat and one for the weekdays- because Rav Yeruchem Levovitz’s face was noticeably different on Shabbat.
Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky z”l was a patient of my father. (As an aside, my father once walked in the waiting room of his dermatology office in Money and saw Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky sitting there. My father told the secretary that if she ever sees the Rabbi sitting in the waiting room, she must call him in right away. Rav Yaakov didn’t want to use his rabbinical prestige to skip the line; he chose to wait like everyone else.)
One Shabbos, my father saw Rav Yaakov Kaminetsky at a Kiddush. He approached to greet the Rav, but Rav Yaakov didn’t recognize my father. My father introduced himself and Rav Yaakov said, “I apologize, but today is Shabbat and you don’t look the same on Shabbat. Your face on Shabbat is not like your face on the weekdays.”
We can be zoche to that special face of Shabbat. B’ezrat Hashem, פני שבת נקבלה, we will not only appreciate our shining face on Shabbat, but the fact that it indicates our ability to change through Torah learning on Shabbat.
Have a Shabbat Shalom.