Fear of Shabbat Fear of Bet HaMikdash

Welcome to Embrace Shabbat. In this week’s parsha it says: אֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתַ֣י תִּשְׁמֹ֔רוּ וּמִקְדָּשִׁ֖י תִּירָ֑אוּ אֲנִ֖י ה , you shall guard My Shabbat and fear my Beit HaMikdash; I am Hashem . The Sefer Yereim explains the passuk based on the Gemara in Yevamot that just as HaKadosh Baruch Hu commanded us to give fear and honor to the Beit HaMikdash, so too, He commanded us to have respect and honor for Shabbat. What does it mean to have fear of Shabbat? A person should be concerned about being עובר the mitzvot Shabbat . It is not that a person should be afraid of Shabbat; rather they should be afraid of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, Who warns about Shabbat. If a person does not learn Hilchot Shabbat, they are going to end up failing to keep Shabbat properly. A Rabbi once quipped that if a person wants to ensure that they will not be עובר on Hilchot Shabbat, they should tie themselves down to a chair. Where do we find a remez to the seriousness of Shabbat? The Zohar says that if you scramble the word בראשית , it spells ירא שבת , fear of Shabbat. The Ben Ish Chai explains that a person should be more fearful of Shabbat than any other mitzvah because there are so many issurim that a person can be עובר . When a person goes through Shabbat, they should picture that they are going through a minefield and will be facing a serious situation. Obviously a person should not be anxiety-ridden on Shabbat, but they should realize that there is something to be careful about and one must learn the laws properly. The Gemara in Masechet Taanit quotes a passuk in Sefer Malachi (3:20) וְזָרְחָ֨ה לָכֶ֜ם יִרְאֵ֤י שְׁמִי֙ שֶׁ֣מֶשׁ צְדָקָ֔ה וּמַרְפֵּ֖א , for those of your that fear My name, a shining sun of charity shall rise to bring healing. What does this mean? The Gemara explains that the sun on Shabbat is charity to the poor. Rashi explains that just as a cold person especially enjoys the heat of the sun, so too the poor people enjoy the tzedakah given to them on Erev Shabbat. When a person gives tzedakah to the poor, it is like they are shining the sun on the poor Shabbat observers. Further, the wording of the passuk is וְזָרְחָ֨ה לָכֶ֜ם יִרְאֵ֤י שְׁמִי ֙ שֶׁ֣מֶשׁ צְדָקָ֔ה , those who fear my name, is deliberately chosen. The Gemara derives that יִרְאֵ֤י שְׁמִי ֙ refers to those who keep Shabbat. In his sefer Gilyoney Hashas, Rabbi Yosef Engel concludes that a Shabbat observer is a יִרְאֵ֤י שְׁמִי ֙, from those who fear My name. In another interpretation of this phrase, the Zohar teaches that Shabbat is one of G-d’s names. (e.g., - the Ben Ish Chai says that you are not supposed to say “Shabbat” in the bathroom, bathhouse, or mikvah because it is G-d’s name and it has a holiness to it.) That is a further reason why there is yirah , fear of Shabbat. Shabbat is G-d’s Name and it is directly connected to HaKadosh Baruch Hu. Therefore, we have to fear Shabbat like the fear of the Beit HaMikdash. There is a deeper explanation, which we have mentioned in the past. Every Shabbat, we recite: ופרוש עלינו סוכת שלומך and על ירושלים עירך . There is a feeling of Yerushalayim that comes down upon us. Therefore, it is not just a loose connection that just like we fear the Beit HaMikdash, we fear Shabbat. On Shabbat, we are IN the Beit HaMikdash because Shabbat in time is like a Beit HaMikdash in space. On Shabbat we recognize that we are in a holy place, G-d is here and we have kedusha.