Both Shabbos and sleep are compared to a fraction of the next
world, one sixtieth, to be precise. That means that the
pleasure and peace, the contentment and spiritual elevation
that we experience at those times are a taste of things to
come.
On the other hand, we are also familiar with that feeling on
Shabbos when we spill something on our favorite dress and
can't do anything to save it, or when someone accidentally
turns something on and it can't be turned off, or when we
remember we forgot to prepare something we needed for
Shabbos. There's that feeling of frustration and helplessness
when we have to stay put.
I don't believe that the metaphor of 1/60th of the World to
Come is only a positive one. Truth is, that when we get to
the next world we're pretty much stuck at the place we arrive
at. We are possibly elevated by the deeds of our progeny and
theirs but we, ourselves can no longer do anything else. Our
sages tell us that this is a pretty painful predicament. Much
worse than being unable to clean the dress or turn off the
light.
Every week when we delight in the pleasures of Shabbos and
every night when we fall into bed exhausted, we can and
should relish the tranquility and relief of rest and
relaxation of the body and spirit. But, it is also a good
daily and weekly reminder that we only have a certain amount
of time allotted to us to be all we can be and then, we enjoy
the fruits of our labor. How much we derive is in keeping
with our efforts. As the dictum says, "He who toils on Erev
Shabbos, will eat on Shabbos." They weren't only talking
`cholent.'
In the banquet of mitzvos, we have to load up our
plates during our time in this world because when we sit down
to the feast of Liviasan, all we'll have is what we
put on our plates.
Beteyavon! — Bon appetit!
