Rabbi Efrem Goldberg | Shabbos Face Value

Every Friday night we sing the greati written by the cabalist of alabets who introduces us to welcoming shabas with the song of and we say p shabas naba. We want to greet the shabas queen. We want to greet pen shabas the face of shabas. But perhaps there's another meaning. You know when a bride and groom and kala get married in order for them to recite for seven days they have to have panadash they need people who've not been to the wedding people for whom this union this celebration is new but to say that shabas is panhadash on shabas you could recite shabas even if there's no one who wasn't at the wedding because shabas itself is the panadash what does that mean that shabas the shabas queen is the new face is the panhadash writes in a safer he says what it means that shabas is the is not that the day itself acts as some source of a new audience it means that the very same people who were at the wedding they were wearing their weekday face come shabas and all of a sudden we put on a shabas punim it's not wrinkled and it's not creased and it's not worried and it's not anxious and it's not shvitzing and it's not sweating and it's not running and it's not fragmented that Shabasa's face is a face of serenity, of calm, of peace, and of joy. On Shabas, the very same people who were at the wedding, but they were there during the week. Shabas, they're wearing a new face. And he suggests that's what we mean Friday night when we sing pabas. It means before we go home and have our suda, our meal, as we sing and we welcome and greet the shabas, pabas, put on your shabas pan. Take a deep breath, relax, and let go. Don't carry all the stress, all the anxiety, all the regret, all the shame, all the guilt of the week. Go into shamas, a fresh start, a new beginning, disconnected from all that is around us, and reconnected to our roots and to what matters. And when we do, we can let it all go from our face and relax our muscles. And we could release the wrinkles and we can feel a serenity and a tranquility as we p shabas nabla as we put on our shabas face. So as we enter the holy shabas each and every week we sing the song shabasa to put on our shabas pan that that's what our families see when we come home. That's what our friends see while we're at shul that that's what hashem sees is that for 25 hours we wear our shabas panim. Put on your shabas panim and experience the most serene tranquil shabas yet. I