Kiddush (Part 5): Conclusion
Unity through Separation
“Although you may enjoy the rest and the tranquility of Shabbat, have in mind that you are not observing the day for your own pleasure; rather to honor the One who commanded you to do so.”
Sefat Emet (Rabbi Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter)
Kiddush concludes:“For that day is the prelude to the holy convocations, a memorial of the Exodus from Egypt. For You chose us and You sanctified us from all the other nations. And you gave us Your holy Shabbat with love and favor as a heritage. Blessed are You, Hashem, Who sanctifies the Shabbat.”
As we pick up our glass of wine on Friday night and begin reciting the magical words of Kiddush, we attest that Hashem took us out of Egypt in order that we keep His Shabbat. As Rabbi Hirsch writes, “Shabbat is so much the basis of all of Judaism that one can truly say that by redeeming us from Egypt, Hashem had appointed our people to be the bearers of Shabbat.”
Rabbi Michael Lasry is one of the most powerful orators in the Hebrew-speaking world, exposing his listeners to the beauty and the majesty of Hashem’s mitzvahs with his unique delivery. A few years ago, he experienced a terrible personal tragedy – his young son drowned. Among the many who came to comfort him during the week of shivah was a group of extremely non-religious looking Jews, sporting multiple piercings and tattoos. Despite their appearance, they were actually his devoted students, who came out of respect and love for their Rabbi. Before leaving, they told him that in honor of his child, they were committed to keeping Shabbat one time, that very week. The Rabbi obviously touched, embraced them emotionally.
After they left, some of the others in the room turned to Rabbi Lasry and asked him, “One Shabbat? That’s it? All they will keep now is one Shabbat? Why didn’t you get them to commit themselves to keeping Shabbat from now on?”
To which Rabbi Lasry replied, “Do you know what I would give to spend just one more Shabbat with my son? To take him with me to shul, to share a story with him, to sing zemirot with him, to pinch his cheek just one more time? I would give everything I own for just one Shabbat. Hashem misses His children terribly. How much would He enjoy spending just one Shabbat with them!”
Friday night. Perhaps the most spiritually uplifting moment in our week. As we bid farewell to the mundane and usher in the extraordinary by reciting Kiddush, we reconnect to the essence of who we are. We are the children of Hashem. So beloved, that Hashem removed us from slavery in Egypt and gave us His Shabbat to sanctify and to cherish for eternity.
