Shabbat: The Beating Heart of the Jewish People

From Candlelight to Redemption: Living the Holiness of Shabbat

Rabbi Yitzchak Kolodetsky shares a powerful memory of his late mother-in-law, Rebbetzin Batsheva Kanievsky: she didn’t wait until Shabbat began to feel its holiness; she lived it all week long. Everything she did was accompanied by the words, “Lichvod Shabbat Kodesh!” (“For the sake of the holy Shabbat!”) For the people in her household, it wasn’t just a phrase. It was a way of life.

But, without question, the most powerful moment was candle lighting itself. When the Rebbetzin lit Shabbat candles, time stood still. It wasn’t only a pause in the schedule of the day. It was a pause in the soul. To her family, she appeared like the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) kindling the Menorah in the Holy Temple: with awe, reverence, and a trembling holiness. She didn’t just light candles. She kindled the Shabbat itself.

For a long time after lighting the candles, she would stand near them, eyes moist with tears, heart pouring out prayers for anyone in need of salvation. She understood that in that moment, as Shabbat spread its wings over the world, the gates of heaven were open wider than at any other time. Her prayers weren’t only her own. They were said on behalf of everyone.

Shabbat Is the Pulse of the Jewish Nation

The revered Chafetz Chaim, Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan, once made a powerful statement about Shabbat: “Shabbat is the heart of the Jewish people and of Judaism. And first and foremost, we must strengthen the heart.” He offered a parable: Imagine doctors gathering around a patient who is suffering from multiple ailments. Each one prescribes a treatment for a different symptom. But the senior physician says, “Don’t you see that his pulse is weak? First, we need to strengthen his heart. Otherwise none of the other treatments will help!”

“The same is true for the Jewish people,” said the Chafetz Chaim. “We face many challenges and trials, but the heartbeat of the Jewish people is Shabbat. When Shabbat is weak, the entire nation is weak.”

He also famously said: “Shabbat is the sign of the Jew. And when a person removes that sign, it’s as if he is saying he no longer lives here.”

It’s important to remember that keeping Shabbat is the most powerful spiritual remedy for redemption. The prophet Jeremiah promises explicitly:
"But if you indeed listen to Me, declares Hashem, and do not bring a burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, and you sanctify the Sabbath day and do no work on it, then kings and princes will enter through the gates of this city sitting on the throne of David... and this city will be inhabited forever” (Jeremiah 17:24–25).

Shabbat is the key to redemption. It is the most powerful means to draw the long-awaited salvation closer.