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£The Spiritual Treasure of Shabbat£The Spiritual Treasure of ShabbatThe Spiritual Treasure of Shabbat The Hebrew word for “I” (ani), the ego, also has the numerical
value of sixty-one, as does the Hebrew word for the seemingly
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opposite state of being, “nothingness” (ayin). The ego according to
Chassidut is rectified, and elevated through a constant process of
“And Moses said: Eat it today, for today is a Shabbat for God, today self-nullification. The goal is not to obliterate the ego, but rather to
you will not find it in the field” (Exodus 16:25). This verse is part of purify it of selfishness, jealousy, greed, and the desire for honor and
the extensive instructions Moses gave the children of Israel about the power. Ideally one should strive to experience both the rectified “I”
manna, the “bread from heaven,” that sustained them throughout and a sense of spiritual nullification at each and every moment.
their forty year sojourn in the desert. Moses told the people not to
expect the manna to fall on Shabbat, instead a double portion would Amazingly, the Torah relates exactly when the people complained
fall on Friday so that they could prepare for Shabbat in advance. In about a lack of food, and God, in response, began providing them
the verse mentioned above, the word “today” appears three times, with manna. This all occurred on the fifteenth day of the second
the basis for the tradition of eating three meals on Shabbat. A more month, exactly one month, or sixty-one meals after they had left
extensive investigation of the word “today,” which we will now Egypt (see Rashi on Exodus 16:1)! Only after the Jews had run out
conduct, reveals other key aspects of the Shabbat. of the dough and matzah that they had taken from Egypt were they
open to the new possibilities inherent in the desert.
One of the keys to fully taking advantage of the spiritual treasures
available on Shabbat is being in the moment, the “today” alluded to From this we learn a critical spiritual and material lesson. Often
in the verse. For this reason, the Sages teach us that on Shabbat we in life, we only become open to new possibilities or to considering a
must refrain from thinking about the past or making plans for the fresh perspective when circumstances change and we cannot go on as
future. By adhering to this advice, we wipe past and future from our we have been. Empty and searching for alternatives, we are open to
minds and are able to live in the eternal present of Shabbat. Shabbat new possibilities. Only when the Jews’ ongoing reality in the desert
is characterized as “pleasure,” and a good measure of this pleasure is was nullified did they demand something new to fill the vacuum, and
derived from simply experiencing life as it unfolds without the heavy God responded accordingly. From this we learn a crucial lesson: in
burdens of the past and future. order to receive Divine assistance – “bread from heaven” – we need
to be “open receptacles.”
The Hebrew word for “today” (hayom) has the numerical value
of sixty-one. In Jewish law – especially the dietary laws of kashrut Thus, in order to truly receive Shabbat we need to feel that the 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 8 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Magenta #24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 8 - A | 18-01-28 | 12:12:04 | SR:-- | Yellow 24107-EYAL - 24107-EYAL | 8 - A |
– this number is very significant. When certain foods become mixed six days of the week have really ended, so that we are ready to be
together (either a forbidden food with a permitted one or two types imbued with an entirely new energy. Shabbat provides a spiritually
of food which may not be mixed together), the question becomes at conducive atmosphere in which we not only rest physically but also
what point does the mixture become forbidden? If the ratio between gain a respite from the psychological and emotional pressures of
the two foods is less than 1:60, the smaller amount becomes nullified the week. This atmosphere allows the essential and pure self to be
in the larger amount and (presuming the larger amount is permitted) simultaneously revealed and nullified in the “today,” the spiritual
the mixture is permitted. This number represents the concept of pleasure of God’s immediate presence and light.
nullification both in Jewish law and in spiritual matters. On Shabbat
we live in the day, nullifying any thoughts of past or future.
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