Turn Friday into Erev Shabbos #80 - Light Up Your Home and Your Life

a good narrative shabbos good arab shabbos everybody it's time to turn friday into arab shabbos i get nervous special thanks to our heir of shabbos turn friday into arab shabbos sponsors menden support official associated questions for the freedom of memory regular jonathan sacks are yaakov and david arya thank you so much to the fishmans for all that they do here comes that siren and it's even more important than ever because i'm not just turning friday into arab shabbos but it's also it's and it's also a frey-looking to all wishing everyone hoping everyone's having a little hanukkah that's filled with light that is illuminating our lives illuminating the path illuminating the world this is a very special privilege the shabbos because we have two sets of candles we're momentarily going to light the shabbos candles as we do every friday night we're going to increase and promote the sense of shalom bias the peace the harmony in our homes in our hearts and in our lives we're going to light up our homes illuminate the way that light will dispel the darkness but it is coupled that's joined this week not only with the shabbos lights but with the hanukkah candles the double light we're up to the sixth night of hanukkah we're almost there burning bright combined with the shabbos candles it is the double double candles the more nine the shnobla writes the mishnah tells us that even the wicks even the oil even the candles that are ineligible for shabbos candles alcohol everything israeli everything is legitimate everything is a candidate to light the chanukah candles and the more understands it to mean that even the jews who don't get lit up by shabbos who shabbos is routine shabbos is weekend and weak out shabbos can feel like khalil a burden even for the jew who's uninspired even if the jew is not uplifted or elevated from shabbos but the chanukah candles have the capacity to break us out of that dark the kanaka candles have the capacity to light up a path and light up that way for us so that is this shabbos chanukah it's both shabbos it's rosh it's new beginnings says that the convergence of these three a shabasana which will take out three sephirah torah taking out three sephora is a very very powerful idea every torah that we open up the letters jump off the pages they're purchased behavior the energy and the theme of that torah reading jumps out of the safer torah into the world and into our lives so when we open up not one and not two but we take three sifrey torah out of the ark we open up and we read from three torah scrolls it is each of these themes and each of these essence that jump out that inspire that inform our lives so the says that the three torah readings that we'll do tomorrow the three torahs that we'll take out correspond for shabbos and correspond to the three things that the syrian greeks wanted to outlaw that they wanted to preclude to prevent us from observing or from keeping they told us we can no longer observe shabbos they told us we can no longer circumcise bris and they told us no longer rosh chodesh don't sanctify the new moon so the fact that we read the weekly portion which is shabbos will read the portion for rashford which is of course our observance of calculating the new month our capacity for renewal rejuvenation our capacity to begin again our capacity to manage and own our own time which is really what freedom and what light is all about and lastly mila character is all about preparing the eyes chanukah is all about our capacity to be careful and judicious and to filter what we see what we think about how we act and how we act out to be disciplined to not only strive for happiness but to strive for and to achieve a sense of a sense of holiness that is our mission and that is our mandate we bring light into our lives when we secure these three relationships we offset and we have the antidote to what the syrian greeks wanted to extinguish our fire they said no shabbos but a jew needs shabbos to be on fire they said no rash but a jew needs new beginnings a new opportunity and a fresh start to believe in ourselves they said no brass mila but a jew needs the capacity the ambition the aspiration for holiness not only for happiness to find meaning to find purpose to find inspiration and to find relevancy in this world these are the three things they wanted to extinguish they are the three things that we turn the dimmer up that we increase the fuel and we increase the flame we make lighter and we make even brighter we open three torahs tomorrow and we offset those three enactments we bring an even greater light into our lives so even the jew who struggles to become lit to become on fire by shabbos hanukkah is an opportunity an invitation to dispel and offset that darkness to not only light the candles but to light ourselves to become lit to become on fire passionate and devotion and dedicated excited invested immersed in all that we are doing to be able to lift ourselves but how do we do it so i'll tell you an interesting insight by the bashem salamar quotes the mark subbas tells us that if a person dies under shabbos it's a good omen it's a good sign how is that a good sign you die in our shabbos how is dying ever a good sign and is a person in control of when they die do we get to put in a request do we get to schedule our death fashion god forbid we live to 100 years old 120 and beyond and we die when we die we leave this world when we leave what does it mean that if a person expires if a person dies may spare of shabbos if you die on friday simon yaffalo it is a positive omen or a positive sign so said basham though said the holy bashem it doesn't mean to die physically on a friday but may spare of shabbos means that our sense of ego our sense of self our attachment to this world to the physical to the material to the mundane if we're able to make it expire if we're able to kill it to murder it to suspend it if we're able to nourish our neshama for able to have a more expansive a more endowed a more engaged soul may spare of shabbos simon yephilo if you want to have a great shabbos you may have to spend friday turning it into heir of shabbos if you want to have semenya fellow you want a positive moment and a good sign about a great shabbos for you to have then the sim in jaffa is may spare of shabbos then the positive sign is to take whatever ego whatever ambition whatever effort in this world we know that when it comes to the kingdom the candles are not there for us in a utilitarian fashion we don't use them to see the candles are not there to navigate and to do more and accomplish more achieve more and be more independent for a half hour after you like candles you have to sit still you're not allowed to use them can't use them to count money you can't learn them to learn safari you can't learn to do any activity just look at them look at them and use them to look around at your life and to feel incredibly grateful so in these final moments moments a week in which we have to be ready earlier than ever not only do we have to be ready to light the shabbos candles we have to be ready to light and to become lit from the chanukah candles which come even before we light the chanukah candles and the shabbos candles are built on that and it's incredible the image for our homes we light this menorah this kanuki in our home to commemorate the manure that was in the basement dash the best the temple might have been destroyed but by lighting the menorah we turn our homes into miniature temples and that's what it means to go into shabbos mesa arab shabbos our home is not a place to gather things our home is a place for experiences and conversations for for hospitality our home is a place for enrichment and elevation our home is a place for relationships when may spare of shabbos when we're able to negate our sense of self our ego and our our uh insatiable appetite for more it's a simin jaffa what a positive ominous sign for the kind of shabbos that we can have so light the candles light the shabbos candles like the chanukah candles be ready do it early don't do it with a rush we spoke last week allah said don't light balahat if we are able to be present without lighting with pressure then we never fear pressure the entire week the environment of our home will be calm and peaceful and serene and loving if we're able to be ready and we're able to be mindful that when we light both the chanukah candles and the shabbos candles we do so with a sense of peace so wishing everyone to lift the geshabas and alex we should have a shabbas and a hanukkah that are all lit up that are holy that are light that are happy that are optimistic that are positive until next time stay happy stay healthy stay holy shabbos going just [Music] everybody