ב"ה
Article Summaries of Editors' Picks
![]() The Zohar
The Zohar teaches that smell sustains the
Nefesh in man; the soul enjoys the smell - not the body. Thus, when Shabbat departs a person should smell aromatic
spices when the extra Ruach
which a person receives when Shabbat enters has now departed and the
Nefesh of the
person is left bereft. (Ruach
is derived from the same root as re'ach/smell.)
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![]() Mystical Classics
There is little doubt that a person who prepares himself to receive the Shabbat benefits from the additional soul which inhabits every Jew on Shabbat. However -as the Shelah teaches - if it were not for the heavenly assistance received, his spiritual accomplishment would have been far more modest.
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![]() Beginner
Chasidic Masters
It is appropriate to take any measures necessary to guard against anger on Shabbat, and it is incumbent upon every Jew to heal any wound that his anger caused during the week.
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![]() Contemporary Kabbalists
The Mishkan was composed from inanimate, vegetable, and animal
products in order to elevate the material of this world to Holiness, to create a
vessel for the dwelling of the Shechinah which will descend from "above
to below". This is opposed to Shabbat, when the material world ascends to
the spiritual worlds.
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![]() Ascent Lights
"Six days shall your work be done, and the seventh day will be holy for you".
The Lubavitcher Rebbe explains that this is commanding us to not delve into the physical world, running after our livelihood more than necessary. The Jews need not do the work (actively) to make a living, rather the necessary tasks will be completed effortlessly, even by others, if the Jews will do G‑d's will. |