(from Or Hachayim on Devarim 4:39)
Today is Shabbat
The Torah says, “You should know today (veyadata hayom) and take to heart that Hashem is the G-d in the Heavens above and on the earth below; there is no other.” Why, asks the Or Hachayim, does the Torah refer to “today”? Doesn’t the taking to heart the verse speaks of apply every day?
The Or Hachayim offers ten (!) answers, each one reading the verse not as, “Today you should know,” but as, “You should know about “today” and take it to heart . . .” The tenth answer follows.
10. Man’s evil inclination tries to convince him that he will never be able to perfect himself. The challenge of keeping all of the mitzvot is too overwhelming. Furthermore, he tells a person, “You have already sinned, and will never be able to repair the damage you have caused yourself.”
As a response, the Torah says, “Know ‘today’” — know the Shabbat that is referred to as “today” in the verse, “It is G-d’s Shabbat today” (Shemot 16:25). The Shabbat is, according to the Talmud Yerushalmi (Berakhot 1:1), as weighty as all of the mitzvot combined. By keeping the Shabbat one can reach the perfection that keeping all 613 mitzvot brings, even if has already sinned. Know Shabbat (Hayom) and take it to heart; it will help you reach perfection and repair what you have damaged.
[prepared by Eliezer Kwass]
