Yismach Moshe
Adapted from Rabbi Braun’s sermon in 5774
by Rabbi Braun
I have run out of ways to talk about counting Jews and the meaning of counting and the meaning of numbers. Thus it seems like the perfect week to do something different that will hopefully bring some meaning to our Tefillah.
I would like to try and gain a better appreciation of the Amidah that we recited at Shacharis this morning.
The Shabbat Amidah has the same first 3 blessings and last 3 blessing as the weekday Amidah.
In place of the middle 13 blessings that we recite during the week, we insert one blessing on Shabbat to each Amidah that reflects the nature of the day.
In Shacharit we find one blessing with 3 sections. Please open your siddur for a moment to page 424
The first section begins with Yisamch Moshe.
The second begins with veshamru
The third begins with velo netato.
The second and third sections make sense.
Veshamru describes the Jews keeping Shabbat as the sign of our covenant with God and it reminds us that we do so to remember creation and God as creator.
Velo netato teaches us that we alone received this gift, the other nations did not and for that we must be thankful and appreciate the gift that we received.
Elokainu could be seen as an extension of the third or its own.
It is the first section that is most challenging to understand.
יִשְׂמַח מֹשֶׁה בְּמַתְּנַת חֶלְקוֹ, כִּי עֶֽבֶד נֶאֱמָן קָרָֽאתָ לּוֹ. כְּלִיל תִּפְאֶֽרֶת בְּרֹאשׁוֹ נָתַֽתָּ לּוֹ, בְּעָמְדוֹ לְפָנֶֽיךָ עַל הַר סִינָי. וּשְׁנֵי לוּחוֹת אֲבָנִים הוֹרִיד בְּיָדוֹ, וְכָתוּב בָּהֶם שְׁמִירַת שַׁבָּת, וְכֵן כָּתוּב בְּתוֹרָתֶֽךָ:
Q1. Moshe rejoiced at the gift of his portion. What gift or portion is that?
Q2. Why is Moshe mentioned here? We generally try and shy away from including Moshe in our liturgy for fear of it distracting us from God.
Thus for example, we do not mention Moshe in the Hagaddah at all because the Exodus is all about God, despite Moshe’s role and contributions.
When we bring our bikkurim and retell the story of leaving Egypt we do not mention Moshe.
There are 3 general approaches:
- The Tur -281 writes that the gift the Moshe rejoiced over refers to an incident in Egypt. Moshe went to Pharaoh when the servitude was tough and asked for one day a week on which the Jews could rest. Pharaoh agreed and chose Shabbat as the day of Jewish rest. The present was Shabbat in Egypt.
This seems to argue that Shabbat was critical and special and important even before it was given to the Jews. It has an eternal nature if you will that even Pharaoh sensed. The sequence then is as follows. Establish the unique nature of Shabbat – keep it as a sign and remember creation – think about how lucky you are that it is you who have it.
- The Avudraham writes that the gift over which Moshe rejoices is kee eved …, that Moshe is called his faithful servant. According to this we are setting up Moshe as the one worthy of receiving the Torah. The sequence then is as follows. We received the Torah via revelation thru Moshe and that included Shabbat. This is Shabbat and be happy its yours.
- Many point to the Gemara in Shabbat (10b) as the source for this section. The Talmud records that God says to Moshe – I have a special present in my treasure trove and Shabbat is its name. I would like to give it to you so please go and inform the people.
The gift is Shabbat!
The sequence according to this is: Appreciate the gift of Shabbas, this is shabbas, and then again appreciate that you have the gift of Shabbat.
I must admit to being partial to this last approach. Shabbat is a gift is so many ways.
I will conclude with one.
I was at a wedding on Thursday night in Williamsburg. During the chuppah everyone was on their phones. Some bored to tears playing games, some checking the hockey or baseball scores. Even those paying attention to the wedding were jockeying for position to get the best angle for a photo. Others were recording the whole time. Everyone was so busy that no one stopped to enjoy and appreciate the moment. There is a beautiful moment under the chuppah when two people come together. Even the bride and groom were busy, he was playing guitar and singing and she was swaying reciting psalms. No one stopped to enjoy the moment.
Our lives are very busy. Shabbat is the time for us to stop, reflect and enjoy the moment. Enjoy the moment with God, enjoy the moment with our family.
That is shabbat’s gift to us!
