576. A Shabbat Dish
“The Caesar said to Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Hanania, ‘Why is the Shabbat [Sabbath] dish so fragrant?’ He said to him, ‘We have a dish called ‘Shabbat.’’ He said to him, ‘Let us have some of it.’ He replied, ‘Anyone who observes the Shabbat, it is good for him. But to one who does not observe the Shabbat, it is not good for him’” (Shabbat 119a). The MAHARSHA interpreted that the Caesar thought that there is a type of vegetable called “Shabbat.”
We should ask how the Caesar knew that it was fragrant? He must have tasted it. Thus, what does “Let us have some of it” mean? Some interpret that it means “Give it to us,” meaning that he himself would cook the dish, for only when Israel cooks, the foreigner can also taste and feel the taste, that it is fragrant.
But when the foreigner himself cooks, since he does not observe the Shabbat, he cannot feel the taste, that it is fragrant. This is the meaning of what Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Hanania replied to him, “Anyone who observes the Shabbat, it is good for him,” etc.
The meaning in ethics is that it is known that within a person himself there is a Jew and there is a foreigner, meaning the Caesar, who is called “an old and foolish king,” and there is the good inclination. The difference between Shabbat and the weekdays is that there is a time of work and a time of receiving reward. Shabbat is regarded as awakening from above, which means that there is no time of work on Shabbat, for Shabbat is a similitude of the next world, which means it is a time of reception of reward.
For this reason, it is forbidden to work on Shabbat, as it is a time of wholeness, and it is forbidden to cause any deficiency on Shabbat, and when he does work, it indicates that something is missing.
On weekdays, which is the time of work, it means labor in the war against the inclination, since man should work against nature, since human nature is to receive pleasure for himself, for man is unable to make a single move unless it yields pleasure for himself. For this reason, when he wants to work for the sake of the Creator, it is a great effort.
To the extent that he accustomed himself to work for the sake of the Creator, when Shabbat comes he tastes a taste on Shabbat. At that time, the body, too, enjoys the Shabbat, meaning that the foreigner, called Caesar, the old king, also enjoys. This is the meaning of what our sages said, “He who toils on the eve of Shabbat shall eat on Shabbat” (Avoda Zarah 3a), for Shabbat is the time of reception of the pleasure.
To the extent that he has Kelim [vessels] of “for the sake of the Creator,” the Shabbat dresses in those Kelim and also spreads to the body, meaning to the gentile, too, as our sages said, “When the Lord favors man’s ways, his enemies, too, make peace with him,” referring to the evil inclination (Jerusalem Talmud, Trumot, Chapter 8). For this reason, the body, too, enjoys observing the Shabbat, since it feels a good taste on Shabbat.
This is the meaning of Caesar’s question about the fragrant Shabbat dish, meaning that in everything he does on Shabbat, he feels a fragrant taste. This is why he said, “Let us have some of it,” meaning that he himself wants to cook the dish and wants to have its fragrance for himself. That is, he wants to engage in Torah and Mitzvot [commandments] not for the sake of the Creator, yet taste the taste of Shabbat while working.
But why is it not fragrant when he works with the aim to delight himself? To this he replied, “We have a dish called ‘Shabbat.’” That is, Shabbat is light that shines in the manner of the conclusion of heaven and earth, which is a similitude of the next world. This is why at that time, we taste pleasure on Shabbat. At that time, the body says, “Let us have it,” meaning “I will cook for myself; I want to feel this flavor while I am performing the Mitzvot with the aim to delight myself, and then I will always perform good deeds and Mitzvot.”
The whole difficulty about observing Mitzvot is that I want to enjoy the work I am doing, yet I do not feel any flavor. Hence, let me enjoy my work, and by this I will always let you engage in Torah and Mitzvot. Then he replied to him that to those who observe Shabbat, doing the Mitzvot helps them feel the taste. In other words, when can one feel the taste of Shabbat? Only when he observes Shabbat, for only on Shabbat is he careful not to awaken any lack, and wants only to praise the Creator, but his aim is not the pleasure.
During the weekdays, he works on his intention being for the sake of the Creator, and by this, when Shabbat comes, he has Kelim that are ready to receive the abundance, meaning he has desires that he wants to bestow contentment upon the King, and the abundance of Shabbat is poured into these desires.
Conversely, if he does not observe Shabbat, namely his intention is not to praise the King, but rather his aim is only to receive the pleasure, it follows that he is not observing the Shabbat so as not to desecrate it with the desires of the body, called “will to receive pleasure,” so he has no Kelim in which the Shabbat can spread.
It follows from all the above that only when one’s intention is for the sake of the Creator, he feels a flavor that is fragrant in Torah and Mitzvot, as it is written, “When the Lord favors man’s ways, his enemies, too, make peace with him.” But if his intention is only to please himself, he cannot taste the taste of Shabbat. For this reason, he does not feel any flavor in Torah and Mitzvot, for only the labor during the six workdays qualifies him to be worthy of receiving the light of Shabbat.