Parashat Kedoshim: Understanding the light of Shabbat

Our Torah portion, Kedoshim (holiness), expounds on pillars of sanctity that support the fabric of Jewish life for the individual, the family, and the community. It opens with the basic concepts of honoring parents and observing Shabbat.

Revering one’s mother and father is the backbone of the Jewish family, and Shabbat is the innermost core. By honoring one’s parents and Shabbat, we elevate our consciousness to a more sublime level. Our sages tell us that the honor of parents “is compared to the honor of the Creator” (Kiddushin 30b). “When a person honors his father and his mother, the Holy One, blessed be He, says, ‘I consider it as if I dwelt among them, and they honored Me.’”

Later in Kedoshim, keeping the Sabbath is mentioned again, this time in the context of the Holy Temple: “You shall observe My Sabbaths and revere My Sanctuary. I am the Lord.”

Our sages tell us that Shabbat is so holy that keeping it takes precedence over building the Temple, and we treat the Sabbath like the Temple. If the Temple is the sanctuary in space and Shabbat is a Temple in time, then the Shabbat table is a holy time and place for family.

Three times in Kedoshim we are told to “keep” the Sabbath – the Hebrew word shamor can also mean “guard, protect, observe.” The same word shamor is also used in connection with Shabbat in the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5:12, whereas in the Exodus 20:8 version of the Ten Commandments the word zachor (remember) is used instead. On Shabbat we light at least two candles – one for shamor and one for zachor.

The meaning of keeping Shabbat

What does it mean to keep Shabbat, to honor and respect the sanctity of Shabbat? To honor Shabbat, we act differently, dress differently, speak less of mundane things, and change our weekday menu as we gather at our Shabbat tables for Kiddush and the Sabbath meal. The Zohar tells us that all the blessings of the week are dependent on and inspired by Shabbat. Shabbat is called the “great gift” from a heavenly treasure house, and our tables are vessels to receive its blessings.

IN YORAM RAANAN’S painting Shabbat Table Crowns, a table with candles seems to be rising upward, the candle flames becoming a golden aura reflecting the uplifting power of Shabbat. But Shabbat is also a gift from Above, crowning us with divine light, and so a multitude of crowns seem to be gently descending. The crowns can also be seen as bowls holding blessings that flow down onto the Shabbat table.

For generations, families have gathered together at their Shabbat tables glowing with light. We are probably all familiar with the famous statement that more than the Jewish people kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath kept the Jewish people. We wonder how the Jewish people could have endured if not for this weekly infusion of both physical and spiritual delight. Among the great gifts we receive on Shabbat are oneg (enjoyment and pleasure) and menuha (rest).

Making the Sabbath holy begins with lighting candles. Tradition tells us that this custom stretches all the way back to Sarah. The light in her tent was said to stay lit from Shabbat to Shabbat.

In my home, I love to light many candles, each one with a prayer. A prayer for each member of my family, a prayer for the release of the hostages, another candle for a hostage in my heart, a candle for healing, for the soldiers, one for redemption, another for the Messiah. The candles encircle the room and cast reflections in the garden, creating the impression that we are entering another realm, the realm of the Holy Sabbath.

“The glory of Shabbat is its candles. If you light the Shabbat candles, I will show you the candles of Zion.... It will not be necessary for you to use the light of the sun to see; rather, I will provide illumination for you with My glory.... In the future, the nations will walk by your light.... Why do you deserve all of this? Because of the candles you light for Shabbat” (Yalkut Shimoni).

May we be granted to see the light of redemption soon!■

Meira Raanan is the author of Art of Revelation: A Visual Encounter with the Jewish Bible, a commentary on the paintings by her husband, Yoram Raanan. She also teaches Jewish meditation.

Esther Cameron is a poet, scholar, and essayist living in Jerusalem. She is editor-in-chief of The Deronda Review.