There are two mitzvos d’Rabbanan, (mitzvos of rabbinic origin), that are somewhat similar when it comes to Shabbos. One is the mitzvah of Kavod Shabbos, which is a mitzvah to be involved with activities that bring out the honor, dignity and supreme kedushah of Shabbos. For example, cleaning the house and lighting candles before Shabbos are forms of Kavod Shabbos. Anything we can do to show how Shabbos is so special and uplifted, transcendent and amazing, is a fulfillment of Kavod Shabbos. Then there is another mitzvah called Oneg Shabbos: to have pleasure and delight on Shabbos. Eating good foods, enjoying oneself, doing something that makes you happy, are examples of Oneg Shabbos.
We usually tend to think of these two mitzvos as independent of each other. There are certain activities you can do to show the exaltedness and transcendence of Shabbos, and that is Kavod Shabbos, and then there are activities you do to make yourself happy and to give yourself a nice experience on Shabbos, and that’s called Oneg Shabbos.
The Rambam in the last chapter of the Laws of Shabbos says that the way to fulfill the mitzvah of Oneg Shabbos, is specifically by using the things that you prepared l’kavod Shabbos. So preparing food before Shabbos is the fulfillment of Kavod Shabbos, and then eating those foods on Shabbos is the fulfillment of Oneg Shabbos. It would seem that the Rambam is linking these two mitzvos and making them dependent on each other. What is the deeper meaning of the relationship between these two mitzvos, and why would Chazal link these two mitzvos together in this way?
As we mentioned before, Kavod Shabbos are activities that highlight the transcendent, exalted kedushah, and the Divinity of the day of Shabbos. One might have mistakenly thought that the kedushah of Shabbos is somewhat alien to us; we can look at it from a distance and admire it from our ‘ground floor’, but it is still unrelatable to us. Comes the mitzvah of Oneg Shabbos – which is specifically a mitzvah to engage in activities that you personally enjoy, and teaches us that this mitzvah of Kavod Shabbos is given to you; it is your rightful possession because the Jew himself is also transcendent and holy, to the point that you are a perfect match for Shabbos!
Kavod Shabbos says: “Shabbos is amazing, Shabbos is exalted.” Oneg Shabbos says: “The exalted Shabbos is your rightful portion,” not something exceedingly holy to such a degree that it is unusable or that we can only look at it from a distance. This is what we highlight in Kiddush. Its focus is to describe the holiness of the day and also to describe that Shabbos is our portion: that we were chosen by G-d to be the rightful owners of Shabbos, giving us the gift of experiencing Shabbos.
This unity between the exaltedness of Shabbos and our participation in it is what Chazal were highlighting by giving us these two interlinked mitzvos of Kavod and Oneg Shabbos. This is the deeper understanding of why the Rambam writes that the mitzvah of Oneg Shabbos is to use and enjoy the things you prepared l’kavod Shabbos. We should be zocheh to appreciate how significant we are, and to see what Hashem is telling us about ourselves by giving us the amazing gift of kedushah.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 13.
