When describing the joy I experience on Shabbat to the uninitiated, I often am met with a great deal of skepticism. After all, once they learn about the myriad of laws associated with the day, the response more often than not is one of dismay at the restrictive nature of the day rather than appreciation at its joyous content. For this reason, it is worthwhile to consider the very first halacha brought down by the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) regarding Shabbat. Being first, it presumably is meant to color our understanding of the subsequent halachot.
And what is this halacha? It is not, perhaps to one’s surprise, about the need to restrict one’s behavior on the Shabbat as an expression of its holiness; nor is it about the positive obligations to pray, study or otherwise engage in obviously holy activities. No, it is all about the joy – or to use the language of the Shulchan Aruch, the oneg – one must have during Shabbat.
One specific example offered is the need to eat three festive meals during Shabbat (in ancient times, average people usually only ate two meals a day, so the additional meal was a statement of royalty and celebration). And not just any meals, but meals containing food and drink that a person loves to eat and drink, no matter the expense or appearance of excess. Yes, indeed, the normally spend-thrift Rabbis of old encouraged free spending when it came to acquiring food – and the attendant joy – for Shabbat. So much so, they even allowed a poor person to borrow money from the community in order to insure his Shabbat table was overflowing with celebratory foods (and the community, of course, was encouraged to happily comply).
Lest one think this emphasis on the physical – the concern with such a mundane matter as the menu one should eat on Shabbat to insure the oneg of the day – was an invention of Rabbinic imagination, the Mishna Brura begins his commentary on the Shulchan Aruch with an impressive exposition of the ancient sources supporting the importance of celebrating the day. Not only did the prophets of old call the Shabbat specifically a day of joy, but so too is it alluded in the Torah itself. He goes on to say that anyone who honors the Shabbat with joyous observance – notice what he said … the way to honor the day is to enjoy it! – will receive a great number of earthly rewards, including wealth, peace of mind and freedom.
Just pause for a moment and contemplate the words of the usually assumed-to-be stern Mishna Brura. God rewards us not for restricting ourselves on this day (though obviously we must be careful to fulfill these obligations as well), but by enjoying ourselves. To be truly holy, and to be truly observant, one must also be truly happy. To be God-fearing doesn’t mean to be a sour face, but rather a smilely face.
Joyous Judaism 