.יוֹם זֶה לְיִשְׂרַאֵל אוֹרָה וְשִׂמְחָה שַׁבָּת מְנוּחָה
Yom zeh l’yisrsel orah v’simcha Shabbat menucha.
Your gift to those who strive with You
is joy and light: Shabbat Menucha.
As we approach the Sabbath we are reminded of creation, the Exodus from Egypt, and the holiness of the day itself. It brings us closer to the Divine and refreshes our souls. The gift of the Shabbat brings the light of God’s presence into our lives, it warms our souls and opens our hearts to the “midot”—attributes of compassion, forgiveness, love, and partnership with God in repairing the world.
Shabbat is a window looking into the “world to come,” the olam habah, a vision of a world healed, at peace, with justice and freedom as its foundation—the Garden of Eden, resurrected from the story of the beginnings of our universe. Shabbat is a lesson in how we might be able to live joyously basking in the Divine light created on “Day One.”
If we take the time that Shabbat affords us to reestablish our connection to the Holy One of Blessing, we will feel the joy that awaits: the joy of family, friends, community, the joy of striving to do maasim tovim, acts of goodness and kindness. Shabbat is truly a taste of that “world to come.“
Shabbat shalom umevorach, a Shabbat of peace and blessing.
— Cantor Nathan Lam