Shabbos

Through washing in hot water for the sake of Heaven on the eve of Shabbos, one merits rectification of the covenant. That is, to be guarded from evil thoughts and evil contemplations, for this is the primary rectification of the covenant, as explained throughout all the books of the Rebbe, of blessed memory: the primary rectification of the covenant is guarding the mind from evil thoughts. Likewise, through reading “twice Scripture and once Targum” on the eve of Shabbos, one merits rectification of the covenant—that is, rectification of the mind, which is the primary rectification of the covenant, as explained above:

Through observing Shabbos, one merits faith. That is, through being careful to refrain from labor, commerce, and all manner of activities forbidden on Shabbos, and likewise refraining from speaking mundane words forbidden on Shabbos, as explained in the Shulchan Aruch, through this one merits genuine faith. Likewise, all the charities that one gives also have no perfection except through Shabbos, which is the aspect of faith. That is, if one gives charity because of faith—believing that one must give charity in order to fulfill the commandment that Hashem, may He be blessed, commanded—and if one gives the charity to worthy poor people or for other sacred needs because one believes that this is Hashem’s will, then indeed the charity has importance and perfection. But if one gives charity not because of faith, or gives to causes that are not in accordance with the will of Hashem, may He be blessed, and this charity that one gives is because of a weakness of disposition, in that one cannot bear another person’s lack of livelihood, or because of other reasons that cause the giver to give, or one gives charity for the sake of honor, then such charity has no perfection or importance, as explained under “Truth and Faith,” subsection 16. And all the blessings and all the influences bestowed upon a person through the commandment of charity have no perfection or importance except through Shabbos, which is the aspect of faith. That is, only through believing that the blessings and influences are from His Providence, may He be blessed. For faith is the source of all the blessings and the perfection of all good deeds. For all good deeds have no perfection or importance unless one fulfills them because of faith—that is, because this is what Hashem, may He be blessed, commanded. Likewise, even engagement in genuine knowledge—that is, in Torah study and in books of mussar from true Tzadikim—has no perfection or importance except through Shabbos—faith. That is, only when one engages in them truly for the sake of Heaven:

The primary holiness of Shabbos—the aspect of faith—is drawn down through guarding the covenant. That is, it is impossible to attain the holiness of Shabbos and genuine faith except through rectification of the covenant. It is also possible to be careful to avoid desecrating Shabbos in the plain sense only through rectification of the covenant—that is, rectification of the mind from evil thoughts. For this reason, people travel to Tzadikim for Shabbos, because the primary holiness of the true Tzadikim is perfect guarding of the covenant. That is, only the Tzadikim who merited perfect guarding of the covenant are true Tzadikim to whom one must draw close, and to whom one must travel for holy Shabbos in order to receive from them the holiness of Shabbos and perfection of faith. For through drawing close to true Tzadikim, one merits the holiness of Shabbos as is fitting, and in particular one merits to be careful to avoid desecrating Shabbos. Also, through genuinely drawing close to true Tzadikim, one merits faith as is fitting, and genuine faith is the perfection of all the traits and deeds. That is, good ones; that is, all good traits and good deeds have no importance or perfection unless one fulfills them out of genuine faith, as stated above:

Every person must draw the holiness of Shabbos into the weekdays, as explained under “Truth and Faith,” subsection 40. And in accordance with the holiness with which a person sanctifies the weekdays—that is, in accordance with his occupations and affairs during the days of the week being conducted in holiness and propriety, whether in eating and drinking, whether in commerce and labor, or whether in other matters—so is the serpent’s contamination removed from him. That is, through this he is purified of the evil found within him, whether from birth or from his evil deeds and evil traits. And through this he rectifies speech; that is, through sanctifying the weekdays as explained above, one merits to be saved from blemished speech and merits to speak words of holiness: Torah, prayer, fear of Hashem, and so forth:

Through fulfilling the commandment of a vow—that is, when one vows to give charity, or vows to perform a good deed, and so forth, and immediately fulfills the vow—one merits the delight of Shabbos. That is, one merits to engage in all the bodily pleasures on the day of Shabbos solely for the sake of the commandment of delighting in Shabbos, and not because of bodily desire, God forbid. Through this one also merits to eat with holiness and proper propriety on the weekdays, which is included in the delight of Shabbos, as brought in Likutay Moharan, Part I, section 57, that the delight of Shabbos alludes to eating with holiness and propriety. And when a person merits the delight of Shabbos as explained in this subsection, he does not need to fast, because through his eating he effects the same effects that he would effect through a fast. That is, through eating with holiness and propriety, which are included in the delight of Shabbos, he merits to subdue the disgraceful trait of anger and restore his wisdom. For it is explained in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory, that through anger a person loses his wisdom. But one who merits to subdue his anger merits that the wisdom taken from him when he fell and stumbled in anger, since he did not subdue it, is restored to him through subduing anger from now onward. And through genuine wisdom, the image of God within him illuminates his countenance, and through this his enemies fall before him—that is, they are subdued and nullified before him—and no created being can harm him, as explained in the verse (Genesis 9:2), “And the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth,” and so forth:

Eating on Shabbos is exceedingly precious and important, because from this eating there is made complete holiness and Godliness, without any admixture whatsoever. That is, the sitra achra has no share whatsoever in eating on Shabbos, if one eats with holiness and propriety, truly for the sake of Heaven, as explained in subsection 5. For eating on Shabbos is entirely Godliness, entirely holy. And through eating on Shabbos with holiness and propriety as is fitting, which is in the aspect of the delight of Shabbos as explained in subsection 5, through this anger is nullified from a person; likewise, all manner of enemies and harmful forces are nullified from him, and he merits love and peace with every person:

One must increase in the commandment of charity in order to merit great peace. That is, through the delight of Shabbos—meaning eating with holiness and propriety—and fulfilling the commandment of charity, one merits such abundant love and peace that when a group of people gathers, they speak with one another because of the magnitude of the love and peace. For there are people among whom there is truly no hatred of one another, but, on the other hand, there is also not enough peace and love among them for one to converse with another when they meet. But through the delight of Shabbos and the commandment of charity, one merits genuine and perfect love and peace. That is, when people gather, they speak with one another in genuine love and unity, because through eating on Shabbos the mouth is perfected with a great light:

On the day of Shabbos, the aspect of “double bread” is drawn down—that is, “Mishneh Torah”—through the true Tzadik, and through this one merits to originate Torah insights twofold. That is, through the holiness of Shabbos, the true Tzadik reveals wondrous and exalted Torah insights, and it is possible to find in these Torah teachings abundant mussar, great arousal to fear of Hashem, and great knowledge for understanding the truth; these are called “new Torah insights.” For through these teachings, new knowledge and great arousal to fulfill the Torah penetrate the person who listens to them in truth, and because of this these teachings are called new Torah insights. And the holiness of Shabbos bestows abundant blessings upon all the worlds and sends illuminations into all the levels. That is, even simple people, and even people who are distant from fear of Hashem, when they observe Shabbos simply for the sake of Heaven, as explained in the Shulchan Aruch, merit a great illumination. That is, they merit great intellect and abundant knowledge to understand matters of Torah and faith. And through observing Shabbos according to its laws, for the sake of Heaven, one merits healing of the soul and healing of the body:

Through the illumination of Shabbos—that is, through observing Shabbos according to its laws and feeling spiritual delight on Shabbos—one is aroused to repentance because of love. That is, one is aroused to draw close to Hashem, may He be blessed, because of the love awakened in the heart. For in most cases people are aroused to fear of Hashem through suffering, God forbid. But through the illumination of Shabbos, as explained at the beginning of the subsection, one is aroused to fear of Hashem because of abundant love for Hashem, may He be blessed, and one does not need to suffer afflictions in order to be aroused to fear of Hashem and fulfillment of the Torah, which are an obligation upon every Jew. And through the illumination of Shabbos, all worthy people are healed of the afflictions that they have suffered until now, and they merit to be honored in the eyes of all. And each of the worthy people, each one according to his level, accordingly merits to receive greatness and honor. And insofar as he merits holy greatness and honor, he can receive and understand the Torah insights that the Tzadik of the generation bestows and reveals on the day of Shabbos:

Through bringing souls close to Hashem, may He be blessed—that is, to fear of Hashem and fulfillment of the Torah—and through genuine hisbodidus—that is, through secluding oneself in a solitary place where no person is present and recounting before Hashem, may He be blessed, all that has happened and all the vicissitudes, whether spiritual or physical, whether goodness and kindnesses or, God forbid, afflictions, in such a manner that for the kindnesses one thanks Hashem, may He be blessed, and regarding the afflictions one asks that Hashem, may He be blessed, remove them from him; and, in addition, he also carefully examines himself as to whether his deeds and traits are as they should be, that is, in accordance with Hashem’s will, and judges himself in all matters—through all this one merits observing Shabbos and nullifying the evil and the kelipos. That is, through this all manner of evil traits and evil deeds, which are called evil and kelipos, are nullified from a person, and he merits many rectifications:

Shabbos is the aspect of the World to Come, the aspect of truth, and through this downfall is drawn upon the wicked. That is, through observing Shabbos according to its laws, one merits truth and believes and understands that the success of the wicked is itself their downfall, while the greatness of the true Tzadikim and worthy people is revealed. Through observing Shabbos, many people are also aroused to draw close to Hashem, may He be blessed, and to call out and pray only to Him, and not to any power whatsoever. Likewise, through observing Shabbos, holy speech is perfected. That is, one is saved from blemished speech, from evil speech, talebearing, mockery, and so forth, and merits to speak only words of holiness. Through observing Shabbos, one also merits perfect prayer:

Through the holiness of Shabbos—that is, through observing Shabbos as is fitting—one merits genuine humility. That is, one feels one’s own poverty and lowliness, and feels and understands the importance of the people of Israel. And one comes to self-sacrifice for every Jew, like Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him:

On the day of Shabbos, genuine knowledge is drawn upon every person, and through this knowledge one is strengthened in the trait of compassion. That is, one understands that one must have compassion upon all manner of creatures. For the trait of compassion depends upon knowledge. That is, in accordance with a person’s genuine knowledge, so is the trait of compassion found within him. And whoever has compassion upon the creatures, compassion is shown to him from Heaven (Shabbos 151):

Eating on Shabbos is not for the sake of satiety. That is, the three meals are not in order to satisfy hunger, as is eating during the days of the week, when a person eats to quiet his hunger. The Shabbos meals must be fulfilled as explained in the Shulchan Aruch—that on Shabbos one is obligated in three meals—and in order that the weekdays be blessed. For from the holiness of Shabbos abundance and blessing are bestowed upon the entire week, and eating on Shabbos is the primary honor and holiness of Shabbos, as explained in subsection 15:

The primary honor of Shabbos is eating on Shabbos. That is, one fulfills the three meals not because of hunger, but only in honor of Shabbos. And one who does so greatly honors and cherishes the holiness of Shabbos. For eating on Shabbos is exceedingly great and important, entirely Godliness, entirely holy. Therefore, it is a great commandment to increase one’s eating on Shabbos. But the intention in eating must not be because of hunger, but only in honor of Shabbos, as explained in subsection 14. Eating on Shabbos must be with holiness and propriety, as explained under “Eating.” And eating on Shabbos as is fitting is a rectification for the desecration of Shabbos committed until now, and one can merit henceforth to be saved from desecrating it:

All the commandments that one fulfills during the days of the week cannot come before Hashem, may He be blessed, except on the day of Shabbos. For on this day, every person’s commandments come before Him, may He be blessed, and Hashem, may He be blessed, as it were, delights in them, even if the simplest of the simple people fulfilled them. And even the commandments that were not performed with proper perfection—that is, that one did not fulfill them with the fear and love appropriate to fulfilling a commandment—nevertheless, He, may He be blessed, has satisfaction and delight from these commandments. And on the day of Shabbos, the commandments make a well-trodden, broad road for those who fulfill them, so that they may walk on the upright path, the way of the Torah. That is, through the holiness of Shabbos, the commandments put great boldness and strength into a person so that he can draw close to Hashem, may He be blessed; and all this is accomplished through eating on Shabbos as is fitting, as explained above:

Shabbos is in the aspect of “son,” the aspect of “Noach.” That is, through observing Shabbos according to its laws, as explained in the Shulchan Aruch, and feeling the delight of Shabbos, through this it is possible to merit great knowledge, to which “son” alludes, as explained in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory (see Menachos 110, that their minds are settled like sons; and Likutay Moharan, Part I, section 30), that “son” alludes to knowledge and supernal intellect. And one merits proper rest, to which “Noach” alludes, for the holiness of Shabbos comforts and gladdens every person from sadness, if he observes Shabbos as is fitting. And through the holiness of Shabbos, all the commandments that one fulfills during the days of the week are elevated out of sadness, and joy is drawn upon them. And through thanking Hashem, may He be blessed, for the kindnesses that He performs for a person, and through studying laws—that is, teachings of truth through which one is aroused to fear of Hashem and fulfillment of the Torah—one merits to draw the holiness and joy of Shabbos into the six days of the week, as explained under Truth and Faith, subsection 40; one merits to rejoice in drawing close to Hashem, may He be blessed, and one merits to fulfill all the commandments with joy even on the weekdays. And through this, “the simple unity within changing actions” is revealed. That is, through observing Shabbos as is fitting, one merits to feel and believe that all the changes and events that befall the world in general, and everything that befalls each person in particular, are all solely from Him, may He be blessed, Who is called “the simple One.” And this trait of perfect faith in the unity of Hashem, may He be blessed, and in His particular Providence—that all the changes are solely from Hashem, may He be blessed, alone, and not from the course of nature—is exceedingly important to Him, may He be blessed:

Through strengthening oneself to be joyful on Shabbos, and not allowing sadness, worries, and melancholy to rule over the heart and mind because of the trials and deficiencies that befall one, through this one merits freedom. That is, one merits a mind and heart clean of all manner of confusion, afflictions, and fears. For through the joy of Shabbos one merits complete composure of mind, and because of this one believes and feels that it is impossible to accomplish anything in any detail, whether in livelihood or in bodily health; rather, in every matter and affair one must ask and pray to Him, may He be blessed. And when one feels and attains this truth, afflictions and confusions are thereby nullified from him, and he relies only upon prayer and supplication to Hashem, may He be blessed, as explained in Likutay Halachos. And through the joy of Shabbos, one merits fear that issues from knowledge. That is, one feels and believes that it is forbidden to fear any external power—that is, neither a murderer, a robber, nor a dangerous animal, and so forth—but one must fear and be afraid of Hashem, may He be blessed, alone:

One must be exceedingly careful to be joyful on Shabbos, without any worry or sadness. For the exaltedness and holiness of Shabbos are exceedingly great and precious, as explained in all the books of truth, and particularly in the book Reishis Chochmah, at the beginning of the Gate of Holiness. It is worthwhile and fitting to study there these matters concerning the greatness and importance of Shabbos, in order to be aroused with desire and a mighty will to receive Shabbos with abundant joy, for the primary honor of holy Shabbos is strengthening oneself in joy and refraining from sadness and worry. And one must increase in the delights of Shabbos, whether in eating and drinking or in garments of honor, according to one’s means. But one must intend that everything be with holiness and propriety, and one must direct every matter truly toward the honor of Shabbos. That is, one must not eat and drink because of desire, and must not dress in garments of honor because of pride or one’s own honor, God forbid. And one must know and remember that eating on Shabbos is entirely holy, entirely spiritual, entirely Godliness—not like eating on the weekdays. Fortunate is the person who strengthens himself to be joyful on Shabbos, for the primary honor of Shabbos is strengthening oneself in joy and refraining from sadness and worries, as stated:

The holiness of Shabbos is “the ultimate purpose of knowledge is that we do not know.” That is, through observing Shabbos as is fitting, one merits genuine knowledge: to understand that with human intellect it is impossible to attain or understand anything; rather, one must increase in prayer and supplication to Hashem, may He be blessed, in order to merit genuine knowledge—that is, complete, wholehearted, and simple faith—and only thus is it possible to understand the absolute truth of every matter. Thus is it explained in Likutay Halachos:

Shabbos is the Name of the Holy One, blessed be He. The holiness of Shabbos is in the aspect of the light of the eyes that shine in the Temple and throughout the entire world. Through observing Shabbos as is fitting, one merits that the eyes of the intellect be opened. That is, the genuine knowledge within a person is opened to see and understand whether his traits and deeds are proper, and one is aroused to repentance for all the blemishes that one caused in one’s traits and deeds. And through observing Shabbos, one merits to contemplate and gaze upon the greatness of Hashem, may He be blessed—that is, to understand and feel His greatness, meaning His particular Providence over every created being; one merits to understand what is being done and wrought in the world, and merits to draw close to genuine Tzadikim and genuinely God-fearing and worthy people. Also, through observing Shabbos as is fitting, one merits great knowledge. And one who merits great and genuine knowledge is considered as though he engages in building the Temple, as explained in the words of our Sages, of blessed memory (Berachos 33): “Any person who possesses knowledge, it is as though the Temple was built in his days.” And through observing Shabbos, the houses of Israel are saved from fires and have permanence: