Parshat Ki Tisa - Para 5777
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in this week's parsha the mitzvah of Shabbos. In this portion, Shabbos is referred to as an Os, as a sign. First the Torah says (Chapter 31, Pasuk 13), Ki Os He Beini U'Beineichem L'Doroseichem. Then a few pasukim later we read Bein He U'Vein Bnei Yisrael Os He L'Olam, Shabbos is a sign between Myself and Bnei Yisrael forever. What is the significance and meaning of Shabbos serving as a sign?
There is one positive command of Shabbos and that is (Chapter 20, Pasuk 8), Zachor es Yom HaShabbos Lekadsho, Remember the day of Shabbos to sanctify it. The Sfas Emes emphasizes this point; Shabbos is a day of memory. This is in contradistinction to the six days of the week which are manifest as a period of forgetting. This is the reason we have the mitzvah of Tefillin during the week. The Torah refers to Tefillin as (Chapter 13, Pasuk 9), Os al Yadcha U'Lzikaron Bein Einecha, a sign on your hand and a reminder between your eyes. This is the reason that Shabbos is not a time for the mitzvah of Tefillin. Shabbos is itself a sign and a time of memory and not a time of forgetting. This is expressed by the words of the pasuk above Ki Os He Beini U'Beineichem L'Doroseichem. The effect of Shabbos is L'Doroseichem, for generations; not something which is easily forgotten.
What has to be remembered on Shabbos that is forgotten during the week? We need to remember our purpose in the world which is to have a relationship with Hashem. And our relationship with Hashem is based on the Torah; keeping the mitzvos and learning Torah. This is why we have the mitzvah of Tefillin during the week. The continuation of the pasuk by Tefillin states, L'Ma'an Tihyeh Toras Hashem B'Ficha. The point of Tefillin is to remind us our connection to Torah and to always remain engrossed in Torah.
When we received the Torah at Har Sinai, Gd revealed Himself to Bnei Yisrael and commanded us the Torah. The Torah requires us to always remember this event, as the pasuk says (Devarim, Chapter 4, Pasuk 9), Rak Hishamer Lecha U'Shmor Nafshecha Pen Tishkach etc. The Torah warns to guard our soul lest we forget what we saw and experienced at Har Sinai, i.e. remember our purpose in life. And Chazal in Avos (Chapter 3, Mishnah 10) teach on this pasuk, anyone who forgets his Torah learning is Mischayev B'Nafsho.
The pasuk says (Chapter 31, Pasuk 17), U'Vayom Ha'Shvi'I Shavas Vayinafash. The Gemara in Beitzah 16A learns on the words Shavas Vayinafash, Keivan Sheshavas, Voy Avdah Nefesh. Once Shabbos is over, woe to the Jew for he has lost his Neshamah Yeseirah he acquired on Shabbos. And it is this dose of spirituality we receive on Shabbos that enables us to remember on Shabbos; remember our Torah and remember our purpose in life. And this is the meaning of U'Shmor Nafshecha Pen Tishkach, guard your soul so that you don't forget your Torah. Forgetting our Torah is an abandonment of our special dose of spirituality that we have on Shabbos.
This is true on a personal level as well. The Gemara in Nidah 30B teaches that when a person is in his mother's womb an angel teaches him the entire Torah. And when he enters this world he forgets everything he has learned. This is because Olam Hazeh, this world, is a place of forgetting. And Shabbos is a taste of the world to come and is therefore a place of remembering.
The Zohar Hakadosh in parshat Vayeshev teaches that when a person leaves this world and goes to Olam Habah, he remembers all the Torah which he learned and forgot in this world. And the Torah that wasn't clear to him in this world becomes clear to him in the world to come. Therefore on Shabbos when we receive a special Neshamah from the higher sphere we also acquire the ability to remember. We remember our Torah and we remember our purpose. If the one who forgets his Torah is Mischayev B'Nafsho, then on Shabbos the Neshmah Yeseirah has the ability to be Mechayeh es Nafsho, it revives our soul. And Shabbos is Zikaron L'Ma'aseh Bereishis, a reminder of the creation of the world. The physical world creates a barrier between us and Hashem and causes us to forgot. Shabbos is the time to remember; we remember Hashem as the Creator and we remember our connection to Torah.
Good Shabbos
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