Shabbat Kodesh by Joshua Weisberg
I adore this photo my husband took of me this past Friday for a bencher he’s publishing, and here’s why…
This past Elul I set as a goal for myself that I want to feel connected with Hashem when I perform mitzvot. That is a lofty goal, and on a mitzvah connectedness scale of 1-10 I’m hovering somewhere around a 2. So (based on my dear learning partner’s advice) this year I’ve taken on a microscopic step in the right direction. I’ve chosen one mitzvah, Shabbat candle lighting, and trying to focus on how this mitzvah is opening up a channel of enhanced connection to Hashem.
I’m so pleased, therefore, that this photo captures that, kind of like photos of supposedly haunted mansions that catch a whisp of ghosts a-haunt at night. (Lehavdil) in this photo, I can clearly see the holiness, the channel, Shabbat Kodesh.
what a beautiful picture (and goal!)!
beautiful
from today’s hayom yom – 8 of shvat – there you go!
In these days especially, when by G‑d’s kindness we stand at the threshold of redemption, we must make every conceivable effort to strengthen every facet of our religion. Mitzvot must be observed b’hidur, with “beauty,” beyond minimal requirements. Customs must be kept scrupulously, nothing compromised. It is a Mitzva and duty of every Rabbi in Israel to inform his congregation that the current tribulations and agonies are the “birth-pangs of Mashiach.” G‑d is demanding that we return to Torah and mitzvot, that we not hinder the imminent coming of our righteous Mashiach