Tefillos Shabbos- LoKel asher shovas

Shiur 18– lokeil shovas

Let’s first look at some halachos about the berachah of lokeil shovas. If a person forgets to say the berachah of lokeil shovas, he must go back. If he only remembers after saying  בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יְ-יָ יוֹצֵר הַמְּאוֹרוֹת then he must say it after the shemoneh esrei. We do not find this halachah with any of the other birchos kriyas shema. This is because the berachah of lokeil shovas expresses the essence of Shabbos. 

In addition, whenever we need to return to say lokeil shovas, we must first repeat ‘shevach nosnim lo etc.’ (the ending of keil odon), where we praise Hashem. Why do we need to add this beforehand? Shevach nosnim lo etc. is the pinnacle of the penimius world of Shabbos-the praising of Hashem. Lokeil Shovas flows from this.

Now let us take a look at the berachah (together with the final clauses of keil odon).

שֶׁבַח נוֹתְנִים לוֹ כָּל צְבָא מָרוֹם

תִּפְאֶרֶת וּגְדֻלָּה שְׂרָפִים וְאוֹפַנִּים וְחַיּוֹת הַקֹּדֶשׁ

All the heavenly hosts give Him praise

Splendour and greatness, seraphim and ophanim and holy animals

לָאֵ-ל אֲשֶׁר שָׁבַת מִכָּל הַמַּעֲשִֹים

To Hashem, Who rested from all actions

We praise Hashem. Who is He?

The One Who rested from doing melachah on Shabbos.

 בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי הִתְעַלָּה וְיָשַׁב עַל כִּסֵּא כְבוֹדוֹ.

On the seventh day He rose and sat on His throne of honour

The Aliyah connotes gadlus. It is like somebody who climbs higher and higher up a mountain but then needs to find a place to sit and rest. Lehavdil, Hashem goes higher and higher, and He then sits at this new height, in a state of menuchah.

The world in the penimius, leosid lovo, will go higher and higher, until even the essence of the world will go higher. However, we are not describing this here. Hashem goes higher and then stops, finding a kissei to sit on.

Menuchah of Shabbos

The Mesillas Yesharim states that there is no menuchah in olam hazeh. The whole time, we find ourselves in a state of battle with the yetzer harah. There is an obvious question: What about the menuchah of Shabbos?

We must acknowledge that, despite still facing specific challenges on Shabbos with the yetzer and having to perform avodah, all these things are in a state of menuchah. Just as Hashem is ‘nisalah’ on Shabbos, which entails working and going to a higher level, He nevertheless goes to ‘sit on His chair’ in a state of menuchah at the same time.

תִּפְאֶרֶת עָטָה לְיוֹם הַמְּנוּחָה, עֹנֶג קָרָא לְיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת

In tiferes He was cloaked for the day of menuchah, delight He called to Shabbos

Tiferes

What is tiferes of Hashem?

Hashem has this middah of tiferes. He wants that klal Yisroel and the creation at large should give Him ‘pe’er’, ‘beauty’. Tiferes, by definition, must come from someone other than yourself.

On Shabbos, our actions carry special significance, and this is referred to as tiferes. Since Hashem gets a tiferes from our actions on Shabbos, our actions are meaningful to Him in His realm. 

This explains the special phenomenon that when a person makes kiddush on erev Shabbos (provided it’s after plag haminchah), it becomes Shabbos for him, even if it’s not yet shekiyah. The reason why this person can bring on himself issur melachah before the time is not because their personal acceptance of Shabbos is a neder, similar to that of a nazir.

Instead, accepting Shabbos early comes from our ability to change reality. Ordinarily, we are unable to change reality. However, as far as Shabbos is concerned, based on our actions, Hashem will make the day Shabbos. This is because our actions are meaningful in the realm of Hashem, and this is tiferes.

Oneg

What is oneg?

Opening oneself up to be touched by something. 

First, we will contrast oneg with taavah and hanaah. Taavah is something very thick and not delicate, something a person feels the need to grab. Hanaah is something that can be forced upon a person. When one eats an apple, they automatically derive benefit from it—eating forces the person to gain benefit.

Oneg on the other hand cannot be forced. The only way to have oneg is through first opening oneself up to have oneg. A person needs to be touched by the thing; otherwise, it’s illusory. Shabbos is the day of being touched by ruchniyus and by the presence of Hashem.

I recall that the Mashgiach was personally translating a Hebrew sefer that he had authored into German. He spent three weeks working on the translation of the phrase ‘veyisangu mituvechah’. Afterwards, he came up with a gaones in loshon. He translated it as ‘zer vernen gerirt fun deine gutskeit’. ‘Gerirt’ was the word he used for ‘yisangu’, ‘to be moved’ or ‘to be touched’. The Mashgiach said that ‘oneg’ comes from the word ‘nogeah’, meaning to be touched by something.

Oneg is far deeper than hanaah. The feeling can only be achieved by first opening oneself up to it.  

The constant battle with the yetzer hora, as described in the Mesillas Yesharim, is lessened when a person realizes that their actions affect the realm of Hashem. The Nefesh Hachaim is based on the concept of tiferes, which explores how our actions impact the higher realms. He says that once we are aware of this, the milchamah with the yetzer horah is much easier.

The Nefesh Hachaim is not telling us a hashkafah. Instead, he is saying that a person who tries to do what is right to be a ‘good boy’, to avoid getting Gehinnom, finds the milchamah with the yetzer much harder. Whereas the person who fights the yetzer based on the awareness of how influential his actions are in the heavenly realms is in a much stronger position.

Similarly, a person who has oneg, finds it much easier to fight the yetzer horah. He is feeling the depth of ruchniyus.

So, the way to understand this berachah is that due to tiferes and oneg, despite us working and climbing higher, we can nevertheless sit and have menuchah. This is just like Hashem, Who also on Shabbos goes higher but due to His tiferes and oneg, sits.

Practical advice

1) Kadmonim write that talmidei chachomim, on Shabbos, learn something easier than the rest of the week, like aggadatah.

When we say Pirkei Avos at Shabbos minchah, we begin with ‘kol Yisroel yesh lohem chelek loolam habo’. This is not part of Pirkei Avos. Why do we say it?

There was a minhag that many people would learn perek chelek on Shabbos because it was aggadatah. Chazal tell us that aggadatah draws a person close to Hashem.

There is a very big inyan of having a specific sefer only for Shabbos-a sefer that you want to learn. This sefer should be a geshmake learning experience and should make you feel closer to Hashem. This is giving a tiferes to Hashem.

2)To be mefoer Hashem at the seudah: 

We are prone to saying a big dvar torah at the Shabbos table to make it very special. This is a big mistake. We cannot force or expect the children to stay at the table and listen. They should sit for a little while and then be allowed to go away and play. We need to say something nice at the table. This doesn’t mean nice in your realm, but nice for all those listening.

תִּפְאֶרֶת עָטָה לְיוֹם הַמְּנוּחָה

Otoh means wrapped. We don’t just want menuchah-restraining from doing any melachos. Instead, we want menuchah wrapped in tiferes. Just like we hold a thing via its wrapping, so too we hold menuchah via its wrapping of tiferes.

 עֹנֶג קָרָא לְיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת

The kriyah here is like when Hashem was koreh to Betzalel, being called to prepare oneself. Like we said, oneg is not something forced upon us. Instead, we need to prepare ourselves to be opened up to be touched.

I will share with you an example of opening yourself up to be touched that I have personally experienced. On Shabbos, I have a hanhagah not to look for specific foods that seem tastiest and not to add things like mustard, etc. I am content with whatever food my wife serves me. Everything is all very edible. In doing this, I opened myself up to be touched by the kindness of my wife. Let me tell you, when I did this, the food was a different food. One doesn’t automatically get touched by this unless we first open ourselves up to it.

If certain dishes that your wife makes for you are tasty, but they could be made even better, is it correct to tell her how they need to be improved, or is it better to remain quiet and eat the food as it is?

I believe it is better not to tell her anything and just eat it as it is. If you tell her how to improve it, so that it’s in the perfect state for you, then all you are interested in is your taavah. Whereas, if you eat what she made, despite it being possible to be better, then you are primarily interested in your wife.

When people eat the tastiest foods in hotels, why do they not tend to go and express their gratitude to the chef? Because the foods were so delicious and fit you so perfectly, the only thing you were interested in was fulfilling your taavos. You are not interested in who the cook is. Reb Aryeh Levin was the only one who would have thanked the hotel cook after having eaten! He had the correct hakaros hatov.

זֶה שֶׁבַח שֶׁל יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי, שֶׁבּוֹ שָׁבַת אֵ-ל מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ

This is the praise of the 7th day that Hashem rested from all of His work

Shevach of the thing means the good part of it. This is of great value,.

הַמַּנְחִיל מְנוּחָה לְעַמּוֹ יִשְֹרָאֵל

The One Who inherits to His people Israel

Shabbos is an inheritance that comes to us automatically.

תִּתְבָּרַךְ מוֹשִׁיעֵנוּ עַל שֶׁבַח מַעֲשֵֹה יָדֶיךָ

You should be blessed our Salvation over the praise of the actions of Your hands

Hashem is blessed not simply because of His actions but because of the praiseworthiness of His actions.

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Written by Rabbi Rapport