DVAR HALACHA 25

DVAR HALACHA 25

The Shulchan Aruch in siman reish samech beis writes that once a person has prepared for Shabbos and dressed in Shabbos clothing, he should joyfully anticipate the arrival of Shabbos as one who goes out to greet a king, or as a chosson goes out to greet his kallah.

The Gemara relates that Rabbi Chanina and Rabbi Yannai would actually go outside as Shabbos approached and say: "Bo'i Kallah, Bo'i Kallah" welcoming the Shechinah as Shabbos entered.

Over the generations, the tefillos of Kabbalas Shabbos gradually took shape, with different communities adopting various customs. The Piskei Teshuvos notes that although Kabbalas Shabbos does not require a minyan, b'rov am hadras Melech certainly applies, making it preferable to welcome Shabbos together with a tzibbur whenever possible.

The Ta'amei HaMinhagim asks an interesting question. We begin Kabbalas Shabbos with the words "Lechu neranenah." Since we ourselves are about to praise Hashem, why do we say "Lechu", "go!", rather than "Neilech", "Let us go"? He quotes Rav Shimon of Yaroslav, who explains that as Shabbos begins and we receive the neshamah yeseirah, we are able to tell the influences of the weekday that distance us from Hashem, "Lechu", leave us, “neranenah” while we go and sing as our neshamos turn toward the kedushah of Shabbos. Along these lines, the Ba'al Shem Tov explains the pasuk:"Korvah el nafshi ge'alah." As Shabbos begins, the neshamah experiences a personal geulah from the relative galus of the weekdays.

Kabbalas Shabbos therefore contains two complementary emotions: dveikus and simchah.

The Shelah HaKadosh writes that this is reflected in the minhag to sing the first half of Lecha Dodi with slower, more contemplative melodies that express closeness to Hashem, while the latter half is often sung with more lively tunes that express the joy of welcoming Shabbos.

The Mishnah Berurah records that although some communities still go outside to greet Shabbos, today the common minhag is to remain inside the shul and turn around while reciting "Bo'i B'Shalom." In most shuls, this creates no question. The Aron Kodesh is placed on the mizrach wall so that the tzibur faces mizrach during davening, while the entrance to the shul is generally in the back, toward the west. Thus, when everyone turns around for "Bo'i B'Shalom," they are simultaneously facing both the entrance to the shul and the western horizon. The discussion among the poskim arises in a shul whose layout is different, where the entrance is not in the west. Rav Nissim Karelitz explains that the purpose of turning is to symbolically greet the arrival of Shabbos Malkesah, just as one would turn to welcome an honored guest entering the room. Accordingly, even in an unusually designed shul, one should turn toward the entrance. Rav Moshe Feinstein, however, understands that the focus is not on the doorway but on the direction from which Shabbos visibly arrives. Since the sun sets in the west and shkiyah marks the beginning of Shabbos, the minhag of turning recalls the earlier practice of actually going outside to greet Shabbos. Therefore, even if the entrance is elsewhere, one should turn specifically toward the west. Rav Moshe concludes, however, that one need not be overly particular about this minhag, since in either case the intention is the same, to honor and welcome the arrival of Shabbos.

The Mishnah Berurah elsewhere teaches that whenever halachah requires turning, one should preferably turn to the right. Accordingly, the minhag is to turn to the right when turning around for "Bo'i B'Shalom."

Finally, the Ta'amei HaMinhagim explains why the chazzan traditionally leads Kabbalas Shabbos from the bimah rather than from the amud. Originally, the tzibbur would follow the chazzan outside to greet Shabbos, and since the bimah was generally closer to the entrance, it served as the natural place from which to lead the tzibbur.

Good Shabbos,

Rabbi Reuven Eidlitz

Yeshiva Eitz Chaim, Monsey NY 

This dvar halacha is l’zchus refuah sheleima for Avraham ben Chaya Leah and Shmuel Avigdor ben Rivka b’soch sha’ar choley Yisroel