At the beginning of Shabbat, we go to “meet the bride,” the bride which is Shabbat herself. And we are told that she is “the source of blessing.” How are we to understand this? A midrash tells us that when the world was created, Shabbat complained bitterly that all the other days had a mate: Sunday had Monday, Tuesday had Wednesday, etc. Only Shabbat was doomed to loneliness. But G-d consoled her by saying that the People of Israel would be her mate.
Think about it: a people being married to a moment in time. That’s mind-bending, but it does lead us to an understanding of Shabbat as “the source of blessing.”
What is it that distinguishes a bride from a date? A date can be fun for the moment. A bride can be/should be the pathway to eternity. And knowing that, we can begin to examine the depths of this tantalizing “marriage.”
What do we do with our spouses? Mostly stuff. Usually stuff we have to do. Occasionally stuff we want to do. But how often do we just sit by the fireplace and quietly celebrate simply being? We rarely just enjoy the glory of our life together, feel enriched and enlivened by it. Blessed by it, even.
Similarly, what do we do with time? For the most part we fill it with stuff. Usually stuff we have to do. Occasionally stuff we want to do. But how often do we just take a breath and quietly celebrate simply being? We rarely just enjoy the glory of being in this particular moment, feel enriched and enlivened by it. Blessed by it, even.
Thus, in the same way as our beloved bride has the potential to lead us to eternity, so too every single moment has the potential to lead us to eternity. Most often, there’s lots that gets in the way. But on Shabbat, all barriers disappear. Shabbat is a taste of the timeless World to Come. And that was what G-d had in mind right from the very start: “Anointed and regal since earliest time, before creation began she was in G-d’s mind.”