Shabbat: A Day of Truth and Feeling Whole

Shabbat: A Day That Holds It All

“To me, Shabbat is everything,” he begins. “It’s a day filled with the greatest contrasts, and yet it’s whole and unified. It’s a day for teshuvah (repentance), a day when you really feel how great Hashem is and how small you are. And it’s also a day for eating and delight. Everything is packed into this one day.”

There’s an intensity to his relationship with Shabbat. “You try not to speak about mundane things. The whole day is deeply concentrated. It’s powerful.”

When he’s at home with his wife and their son, Israel, Shabbat is both structured and spiritual. After synagogue, they sing a bit of Shalom Aleichem, make Kiddush, eat together, and talk. “Then I spend time with my favorite books until my eyes flutter and I fall asleep,” he says with a smile.

From Synagogue to Sacred Study

He recently moved to Modiin, so he’s still searching for a new synagogue. Until now, he prayed at Choni HaMa’agel in Be’er Sheva. “It was just a few feet from our home, and it’s become a three-generation community with grandfathers, fathers, and sons. The dominant style is Moroccan, but there’s a bit of everything.”

Though music plays a big part in his spiritual world, he doesn’t yet lead the prayers. “I’m not there yet,” he admits. “To sing in shul on Shabbat is a spiritual responsibility. It requires growth.”

His Shabbat learning routine is rich and diverse. “Every day I try to read the Hayom Yom from the Lubavitcher Rebbe, the daily Tanya, daily Tehillim, the Chafetz Chaim's laws of proper speech, and some of the Ohr HaChaim's commentary,” he says. “It’s become part of my life. And on Shabbat, I even allow myself to begin on Friday night, just because it’s so enjoyable.” He and his wife also learn Likutei Sichot together on Shabbat whenever possible.

Family, Food, and Letting Go

Shabbat with extended family varies now that they’ve moved. “In Be’er Sheva, we’d eat Friday night with my parents, then spend the rest of Shabbat at home. Now we’ll probably visit every few weeks.” As his parents’ home fills with grandchildren, Shabbat there is becoming more vibrant and joyful. “They sing more, and the structure keeps forming with time.”

One thing that definitely changes on Shabbat? His eating habits. “Honestly, I don’t eat properly during the week, maybe once a day. But when Shabbat is about to start, suddenly I’m like a forest rhino,” he laughs. “Everything tastes amazing.”

But when Shabbat ends, he feels the loss deeply. “I go into a room, put my head in my hands, and just want to fly away,” he says. "The transition from holiness back to the weekday is a strange time. Rebbe Nachman said it’s hard to sleep after Shabbat because the snake, the falsehood, returns. After a day of truth, the illusion creeps back in. That’s why Eliyahu comes, because otherwise it would be unbearable.”