30.04.2011                      26.Nisan, 5771                      Kedischim; Tag 11 des Omer

Judentum:

The Tisch: Friday afternoon in Lezajsk

A lofty spiritual plane on Shabbat can only be attained through spiritual striving throughout the week.

According to hassidic tradition, each Wednesday morning the hassidim of Rabbi Elimelech of Lezajsk (1717-1786) would savor the taste of Shabbat as they recited the psalm that the Levites used to sing in the Temple on Wednesday: a passage that ends with the three verses that open the Kabbalat Shabbat service (Psalms 95:1-3). Indeed, the connection between Wednesday and Shabbat is rooted in Jewish law: The Halacha allows the recitation ofhavdala – the prayer said at the conclusion of Shabbat – until Tuesday evening (see Shulhan Aruch OH 299:6), and considers Wednesday to already be in the sphere of the coming Shabbat.
For Rabbi Elimelech, however, the connection between Shabbat and the preceding week was not limited to Wednesday. Rabbi Elimelech wrote: “The righteous who are constantly ensconced in sanctity and throughout the week, they look to the loftiness of the Almighty, then on the holy Shabbat they achieve great clarity and the sanctity sparkles on its own.” Thus, a lofty spiritual plane on Shabbat can only be attained through spiritual striving throughout the week….