How to Take
Advantage of the Shabbos Neshama Yeseira/נשמה יתירה Experience
Chazal[1] tell us that although every mitzvah was given
to the nation of Israel publicly, Shabbos was given privately as the Torah
tells us in this week’s parshah, “בֵּינִי וּבֵין בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אוֹת הִוא .../It is a sign
between Me and the children of Israel …” (31:17) What do Chazal mean
when they say that Shabbos was given to us privately? Obviously, the nations of the world know
about Shabbos. In answer to this
question, Chazal explain that although the nations of the world know about
Shabbos, there are aspects of Shabbos that the nations of the world do not –
cannot - know about. There is an aspect
of Shabbos called, “נְשָׁמָה יְתֵרָה/additional
soul,” which only Jews can experience.
Only Jews can experience it because Shabbos was given only to the nation
of Israel to experience.
The Torah alludes to the additional soul in the words, “... וּבַיוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שָׁבַת
וַיִּנָּפַֽשׁ/… and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.” (Shmos
31:17) In a play on the word “וַיִּנָּפַשׁ/He was refreshed,”
Chazal say that it suggests, “וַוי אָבְדָה
נֶפֶשׁ/Woe, the soul is lost.,”
Chazal therefore translate the pasuk, “Since He rested, woe, the soul is
lost.” This Chazal is difficult. The plain meaning of the Chazal is that the
additional soul is lost as a result of His resting. How can this be? The additional soul is given specifically
when He rests. It takes leave when
Shabbos ends.
The Sfas Emes explains that Chazal’s hint derives
specifically because we experience Shabbos.
Since we experience the additional soul on Shabbos and feel its loss
when Shabbos ends, we know that it exists.
In the words of Chazal, “Since He rested, woe the soul is lost.” Only because we experience Shabbos can we
experience the loss of the additional soul when Shabbos ends.
The Ba’al Shem Tov takes this idea a step further. The Ba’al Shem Tov[2]
says that knowing about the additional soul can help us to serve God
better. The Torah’s allusion to the
additional soul – it leaves when the day ends – is given on Shabbos
specifically (שבת וינפש),
to encourage us to take advantage of it.
The additional soul helps us experience a closeness to God that we would
otherwise not be able to experience. To
take advantage of this gift we need to cultivate a sensitivity towards it.
The Sfas Emes explains further, that cultivating a
sensitivity towards experiencing the additional soul thereby being sensitive to
its loss with the onset of the coming week, can lead us to repentance. After such an enlightening experience, who
would not want to forsake his sins in its favor. The end result of this sensitivity is that
the enlightenment spills over to the following week making it easier for us to
experience and serve God during the weekdays as well. May we merit it!
