Daf Yomi - Beitzah 16 - Neshamah Yeseira and Crowns

From Shabbos: Taam HaChaim Ki Sisa 5765. For more inspirational thoughts on Shabbos and other topics, please visit www.torahthoughts.com

In this week’s parasha, it is said: וביום השביעי שבת וינפש, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed. The Gemara derives from the word וינפש, and was refreshed, that upon the exit of Shabbos, the neshama yeseira, the extra soul that enters a person when Shabbos commences, leaves a person. The expression of the Gemara is וי נפש, woe to the soul, i.e. that the neshama yeseira has departed. The obvious question is, why does the Gemara derive the concept that one has a neshama yeseira on Shabbos from an expression that has a negative connotation? Would it have not been more appropriate to extol the positive aspect of the neshama yeseira, rather than focus on its absence? I believe that the answer to this question can be found in the juxtaposition of this verse with the verse that follows. It is said: ויתן אל משה ככלתו לדבר אתו בהר סיני, when He finished speaking to him on Mount Sinai, He gave Moshe…. The Gemara states that the crowns the Jewish People received upon accepting the Torah were taken away from them when they worshipped the Golden Calf. Nonetheless, it is said that Moshe Rabbeinu returns those crowns to the Jewish People every Shabbos. This, then, is the meaning of the Gemara that states וי נפש, woe to the soul, i.e. that the neshama yeseira has departed. The Jews sinned by worshiping the Golden Calf, and this caused them to lose their crowns. The crowns were a reward for their willingness to accept the Torah. Similarly, when a Jew accepts the Shabbos, he receives an extra soul, i.e. a crown that he adorns himself with on the day that Hashem’s Kingship is manifested. When Shabbos ends, that reward, the extra soul, is removed and the Jew begins again the struggle with his Evil Inclination that lasts until the next Shabbos. Moshe Rabbeinu, however, was unique that he reached the level of an angel, and Moshe was given the crowns that were taken from the Jewish People. On Shabbos, Hashem affords us the opportunity to regain our former glory. Let us use the Shabbos wisely, by acting in a manner befitting of kings.