Friday is Yom HaShishi - The Sixth "Day" Saturday is Shabbat, or Sabbath. Human beings need a transition between holy and worldly. When one speaks of the Holy Shabbat, that transition is provided by Erev Shabbat, Shabbat Eve. What occurred on the first Erev Shabbat? Let us look at the Bible, where that event is described.
"…And Hashem said, 'Let us make Man in our image and in our form, and let them rule over the fish in the sea, and the birds in the sky, and over the cattle and over all creatures that are above the earth, and over all things that creep upon the earth.' And the L-rd created Man in His image; He created him in the image of G-d; male and female did He create them…"
"…And G-d saw all that He had done, and behold it was very good; and it was evening and it was morning; the Sixth "Day."
Paraphrasing Rabbi Kaplan : "…Shabbat must also be a do-it-yourself project. In order to really feel the Sabbath, you cannot wait for it to come to you. You must get into it. Every person must make his own Shabbat. You must prepare yourself and get into the mood. Only then will you be able to feel its true significance. True understanding only comes from doing and feeling. In a way, Shabbat is like (being in) love. You can talk about love for the rest of your life, but if you have never experienced it, you will never understand it. Once you have been in love though, no further discussion is necessary."
Sabbath is a bond of love between people and Adonai.
And so I am setting up the Shabbat table, and looking forward to lighting the candles, reading scriptures, saying blessings, partaking of the grape juice and the challah bread - all in preparation for tomorrow - the Sabbath, a day of rest and pleasure.
Shabbat Shalom! Twyla
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