Weekly Wedding  

WE tend to think of Shabbos as a 24-hour oasis of heightened spirituality. But while of course that is true, it’s more nuanced than that. Shabbos is a world of its own, with multiple climates and varying dimensions. The spiritual uplift of Friday night is different from that of Shabbos day, and, as the end of Shabbos grows near, the kedushah only intensifies, taking us to an entirely new realm altogether.

Let’s explore these mystical concepts, demonstrating how each of these stages is reflected by the various tefillos and minhagim we observe throughout Shabbos.

1. The Avudraham points out a discrepancy between the three tefillos we recite on the weekdays and the three tefillos we recite on Shabbos. During the weekdays, the words of all three Shemoneh Esrehs are the same. On Shabbos, however, there are entirely separate sets of wording for the respective Shemoneh Esrehs . On Friday night we say “Atah Kidashta,” on Shabbos morning we say “Yismach Moshe,” and on Shabbos afternoon we say “Atah Echad.”

The Avudraham explains that the varying verbiage reflects the different elements of kedushah that are present throughout Shabbos. Shabbos is a union between Klal Yisrael and Hashem, and it takes on the pattern of a halachic marriage. It begins with kiddushin, is followed by nisu’in, and culminates with yichud.

Corresponding to the stage of kiddushin, says the Avudraham, is the tefillah of “Atah Kidashta.” Corresponding to the nisu’in is the tefillah “Yismach Moshe” because it is after the nisu’in that the rejoicing of the wedding celebration begins. And corresponding to the yichud element, which takes place on Shabbos afternoon, is the tefillah “Atah Echad.”