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Biography of Yehuda Katz | Archives | This Week's Parsha

VAYAKHEL

"............a day of complete rest for Hashem....."(35:2)

In Mechilta ,Exodus 20:13 it states the following:"He who observes Shabbos testifies before the Creator that He(G-d) created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th. As it says (Isaiah 43:10),You are My witnesses, said the L--d.

When the Jewish people keep Shabbos properly, they in essence proclaim to the world and themselves that Hashem is the Creator of the universe..........We coronate Hashem as King of the universe.......This is a very important fundamental principle in Judaism........Acknowledging and recongnizing Hashem as King can and will dramatically change how we perform the Mitzvot of the Torah............

When we proclaim Hashem as King, we in essence fullfill our purpose of acknowledging G-ds presence in the world........Perhapes this concept can be better explained with an original" Moshal" (parable) as follows: A very benevelent king wished to go amonst his countrymen in order to better understand his peoples needs. However,this king was faced with a problem, how will he be able to go amongst his people without being discovered. Therefore ,this king descided to take off his royal crown and garb and don himself with the commonors clothing.By doing this he will soon discover if he'll be recognized or not..............When the king went in the streets dressed as as a peasant ,it soon became apparent that nobody recognized him due to his humble attire.......................The same can be said about Shabbos.................Shabbos is G-ds crown......This is how Hashem becomes known in the world........Therefore, when a Jew keeps Shabbos properly, he or she testify to G-ds existance..................What a powerfull concept to consider....................If we could only fathom it properly,perhapes our whole attitude towards Shabbos would change.....................Have a good Shabbos

 


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