Once the sun dips beneath the trees, the usual city noises are increasingly muted and are replaced with a certain calm and tranquility. The wind starts to whistle to a different tune and the birds begin to sing a slightly different song. Nature itself looks and sounds different the minute the Shabbos Queen arrives.
In Jewish households around the globe, many have the custom of bentching their children on leil Shabbos – giving brachos to our precious girls and boys as Shabbos enters the world.
Located in the beautiful “Ribon Kol Olamim” tefillah after Shalom Aleichem, we find the words of thanks that say it all; ‘Thank You Hashem for the kindness that You constantly do for me and for my family.’
In these turbulent times, we can be more thankful than ever for the gift of Shabbos, and this song should definitely help.
When Shabbos arrived, “Zaidy Schechter” would transform his humble home into an atmosphere that was undeniably Me’eyn Olam Haboh. The warmth, the kedushah, the stories, the niggunim – it was impossible not to walk away from the whole experience a more proud and elevated Jew.
Outside, darkness is setting in and the workweek is coming to a close – a week of activity, a week of growth… a tiring week. But as the sun goes down, a new day is being ushered in – the day for which we toiled the entire week, a day of rest and serenity – Shabbos Kodesh has arrived.
Many assume Shenker’s compositions are traditional; as in older-than-Moshe-Rabbeinu, pre-date-chicken-soup, or at the very least, are from some prehistoric era. That kind of traditional.
Before we start another worrisome week; before the full weight of the world falls back upon our shoulders, we are reminded of this promise and reinvigorated by the special blessing that belongs to us all, the descendants of Avraham Avinu. It is the promise that no matter what we are about to face, we will survive and thrive – not just that, but we will become great!
If there is one thing you’ve learned from our weekly posts, it’s that every Shabbos zemer has a lot more going on than what meets the eye. Hidden beneath the surface of each poetic allusion and mystical reference, one can discover layer upon profound layer of deeper meanings, each of seismic spiritual significance.
The whole world is waiting to sing the song of Shabbos.