As the six days of creation drew to a close, Hashem ushered in the very first Shabbos, whose beauty and sanctity has echoed at the end of every week since. The Gemoro in Shabbos produces a rather cryptic statement saying that anyone who davens on Erev Shabbos and says “Vayechulu” (the verse that acts as a testimony to Hashem’s creation of all existence) is considered as a partner to G-d in the work of the formation of the universe. How do we understand this seemingly implausible status bestowed upon this act?
The time that Shabbos begins is determined by the setting of the sun, but in actual fact, if we so desire, we can bring in Shabbos earlier than that, within certain halachic boundaries. The exact legal parameters of doing so is beyond the scope of a musing, but it will suffice to say that a person is able to start Shabbos, and all the ramifications of its arrival, before would otherwise be its commencement. The Be’er Yosef explains that this is what is meant by the declaration of our Gemoro. Noticing that it uses the term “Erev Shabbos”, which implies the day before Shabbos, he understands it to mean that one who davens and says “Vayechulu”, ushering in Shabbos before it would naturally begin, is a partner in creation because they have actually created Shabbos already on Friday, in the same manner in which Hashem decided that it begin the day after.
This is firstly another startling example of the power that we have been endowed with by Hashem, but could perhaps also be highlighting the value of increasing sanctity, wherever and whenever possible, into our lives. For most of us life is full of mundane activities that are simply necessities to our daily living, but there are always opportunities to try and squeeze some extra holiness into our days. It need not be only by adding time to our Shabbos, but could be attained by finding even a few extra minutes a day to learn some Torah by ourselves, with our spouse, a friend or colleague. Is there some extra act of kindness we could be performing that will not take much of our time but could mean so much to another? Or perhaps we could take what we are already doing and give it some extra depth and meaning or some extra devotion and joy in its performance. In a world where there is so much that is impure and unholy, adding one more spark of kedusha could have an immeasurable impact on ourselves and all who walk this earth. Give it some thought, you’ll never regret it.
May our love and delight in Shabbos bring greater kedusha to the world.
L’ilui Nishmas Leah bas Avrohom
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