Tefilos Shabbes Maariv Shmone Esre – Ato Kidashto- end of Vayechulu

Maariv Shabbos-atoh kidashta and vayechulu

The shmoneh esrei of Shacharis, Minchah and Maariv of Yom Tov are all the same. On Shabbos, they are not. Maariv speaks about maaseh bereishis, Shacharis about matan Torah and Minchah about yichud Hashem.

Let us look at atoh kidashta and vayechulu, which are the sections of the shemoneh esrei that are exclusive to Shabbos Maariv:

In addition to the three tefillos being different in their topics, they are also different as regards  the names given to Shabbos. At Maariv, we call Shabbos Yom Hashevii. At Shacharis, we call Shabbos Yom Hashabbos. What is the difference between these two names?

At Shacharis, we say that Moshe brought down from shomayim the two luchos of stone with shmiras Shabbos written on them. This means that the two luchos are an item that belongs and is suitable to shomayim. The chiddush of Shabbos is that Shabbos causes things that belong in the upper world to exist in our lower world. For this reason we call it yom hashabbos.

The reference to Shabbos as yom hashevii that we say at Maariv means that we include the fact that there were six days before it. The seventh day was the conclusion of all the work from the six days.

We say אַתָּֽה קִדַּֽשְׁתָּ אֶת־יוֹֽם הַשְּׁבִיעִֽי לִשְׁמֶֽךָ but we also sayוְקִדַּשְׁתּֽוֹ מִכָּל־הַזְּמַנִּֽים . I asked many people why we repeat the same point that Hashem was mekadesh the Shabbos. I received no clear answer.

The answer is that the אַתָּֽה קִדַּֽשְׁתָּ does not mean kedushah, holiness. Instead, it means meyached, designate, like Tosefos at the beginning of Kiddushin says that a man who says to his wife harei at mekudeshes li is not making his wife holy, but he is making her designated for him. So, too, Hashem designated the day of Shabbos for His name, exclusively for Him.

וּבֵרַכְתּֽוֹ מִכָּל־הַיָּמִֽים, וְקִדַּשְׁתּֽוֹ מִכָּל־הַזְּמַנִּֽים

And He blessed it from all the days and He sanctified it from all the times

Brocha

The concept of brocha means that there is more. There being more does not mean that there will be more items. Instead the more is that there is more than meets the eye. When there is brocha, there really is more, just that it cannot be measured.

Since the day of Shabbos is designated for Hashem and relevant for the realm of Hashem, which is above all boundaries and constraints, this brings brocha into the nature of the day.

My wife and I live in a reasonable-sized apartment—not so big. On Shabbos, my children and their families come to stay, sometimes even two families. I say to my wife that the apartment is like an expandable space —somehow, we manage to fit more people in than the objective space should allow for.

Shabbos is above all objective limitations. 

Kedusha

The concept of kedushah means that something is removed from us but in a revealed way. Shabbos is removed from us but in a way that we are still able to sense it. 

וַיְכֻלּֽוּ הַשָּׁמַֽיִם וְהָאָֽרֶץ וְכׇל־צְבָאָֽם

And He finished the heavens and the earth and all their hosts

Vayechulu is made up from the word kol-everything is in the world. All the work is finished.

וַיִּשְׁבֹּֽת בַּיּֽוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִֽי מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּֽוֹ אֲשֶֽׁר עָשָֽׂה

And He rested on the seventh day from all His work that He had done

Vayishbos means that Hashem sat, from the word yeshivah. This corresponds to the phrase atoh kidashto es yom hashvii lishmecha. Hashem designated the seventh day for Himself and He therefore comes to sit in His day, by way of taking possession of it.

וַיְבָֽרֶךְ אֱלֹקים אֶת־יֽוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִֽי וַיְקַדֵּֽשׁ אֹתֽוֹ, כִּֽי בֽוֹ שָׁבַֽת מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּֽוֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָֽא אֱלֹקים לַֽעֲשֽוֹת

And Hashem blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because on it He rested from all of His work that He had created to do

Why did Hashem give brocha and kedushah to Shabbos? Not because He finished all His melocho from the six days, but because He was shovas and sat in His day. This day being exclusively for Hashem is the reason why Shabbos receives brocho and kedushah.

I found some support for my reading that atoh kidashta lishmecha means designation for the name of Hashem and not holiness, and that vayishbos means Hashem sitting in the day to take ownership of it (instead of meaning that He rested), from the likutim of the siddur hagra. There it says that vayishbos is yichud, vayevorech is brocho and vayekadesh is kedushah. This means that there is yichud, designation, and this corresponds to atoh kidashta es yom hashevii lishmecha.

Explanation why the designation of Shabbos for Hashem brings brocha and kedusha

Now, we will explain why the designation of Shabbos for Hashem and His coming to sit in the day automatically brings brocha and kedushah.

In Shacharis, we say that the luchos were brought down from shomayim. The luchos were not present until Moshe brought them down. Moshe’s bringing them, brought this new item into the picture.

On the other hand, in Maariv, we don’t speak about introducing a new dimension into the world that wasn’t present beforehand. Whenever a world or anything that is tahor reaches its conclusion, you see that there is more there than you realized.

For example, the Shechinah is present when ten men come together to form a minyan. However, the Shechina is not a new thing that enters the picture. Instead, since there are 10 Jews who gather to daven and form a whole reality, the Shechinah is there. Despite the fact that the Shechinah is an existence of the upper world nevertheless, the Shechinah being in the minyan is not something (1)new. 

We are discussing the world of Shabbos being designated for Hashem. No new item comes down from shomayim into the world. Instead, the world reaches a conclusion.

There is a difference between kedushah and tumah. With kedushah, the additional dimension is in the thing itself. When the final destination and conclusion are reached, Hashem is there but not as something additional. Whereas, while tumah is connected to Hashem, the connection to Hashem is not inside the tumah. Hashem remains outside of the tumah.Hashem finished all His work on the 7th day, and then He sat. This means that in the conclusion of the creation of the world, Hashem was present but not as something additional. He was simply there as the seventh day was designated for Him. This is what brings down brocha and kedushah(2).

Editor’s note

      [1]The Shechina is not something separate from the minyan. It is part of what the essence of a minyan is. Therefore, once the minyan is formed the Shechinah is not a new component that comes into the minyan. Rather, it is there immediately.

    [2]Hashem’s presence in the penimius of the world is what makes the world be in a state whereby it is without measurable constraints. 

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Written by Rabbi Rapport