Shabbat part 2

Shabbat is the pinnacle of the week. It is "a Taste of the World to Come". The command to "remember the Sabbath Day" is actually an inaccurate translation. Rather than "remember" (zechor). it says "be remembering" (zachor). We are to remember Shabbat from the first day of the week. If we find some kind of delicacy, it should be purchased and set aside for Shabbat. In the daily prayers, we recite each day the Psalm that was recited in the Temple on that day. In the introduction to the Psalm, versions vary slightly, but they all say "This is the second (or third or fourth, etc.) day to Shabbat". Although some argue that "Shabbat" simply means "week" in this context, it is far more likely that it is a means of making each day an anticipatory event for the Shabbat. Most Sepharadim (and some Hasidim) say "this is the second day to the Holy Shabbat" as if to emphasize this idea. In the Ashkenazi rite, after the Psalm for Wednesday is recited, a few lines from the service for receiving Shabbat are recited, telling us that we are now more than halfway there. Friday is all about Shabbat preparation. As no cooking is permitted on Shabbat, we cook on Friday. The Talmud records how even great rabbis personally participated in at least some of the food preparation. The Shabbat food should be tasted before Shabbat, as one would do to make sure it is suitable for an honored guest. Kabbalistically, the food already contains the Holiness of Shabbat. Some, including yours truly, recite the words from the Shabbat prayers "All who taste her, merit life" before ceremonially tasting the food. On Friday, one is supposed to also prepare the week's Torah portion that will be read in the synagogue. Ideally, it is to be read twice on Friday in the original Hebrew, and once in the ancient Aramaic translation of Onkelos. Around midday, we pare our nails, and some also cut their hair. (Hair and nails are seen in Jewish tradition as symbolic of negative forces). One must wash their hands, face and feet in hot water. Most simply shower. The simple reason for this is to be clean and refreshed for Shabbat. Kabbalistically, it represents a great Heavenly fire that comes into the world at noon on Friday, burning away all evil from "nogah", the interface of Good and Evil, allowing all permissible things to become holy. Many choose to also immerse in a mikveh at this time; washing away the ordinary, in order to receive the extraordinary. The ARI even recommended not to use a towel after mikveh, so that we may absorb the waters of the approaching Shabbat, rather than give them to a towel. After the shower (and/or mikveh) one changes one's clothes. Again, this has the dual purpose of honoring the Shabbat, and making our garments, our manifestation in the world, different, clean, and holy. Kabbalists dress in white for Shabbat, or, at the very least, wear four white garments, symbolizing the four letters of the Divine Name. The ARI warns us to wear no black garments on Shabbat. I have never seen a satisfactory explanation for the current practice of wearing black robes or suits in most communities. I am careful to wear no black on Shabbat. In Jerusalem (and some other places), one can see many Hasidim and Sepharadim dressed in white robes. Sadly, Shabbat preparations in most families go "down to the wire", causing a feeling of anxiety right at the moment of supreme holiness. The classical texts say that one should complete all necessary preparations several hours before Shabbat, allowing one to contemplate what is about to occur. The Talmud says that one should "wrap himself". RASHI interprets that to mean in fine clothing. RAMBAM says that it means to wrap ourselves in a tallit, and sit in anticipation, as we would for a very honored guest. The Sun is now well towards the West. We are about to receive the "Shabbat Bride" (In Kabbalah, this is more than a metaphor). How is this done? Next time.