Shabbat Prayers: Shacharit Amidah: Beit haLevi: The Creation of Shabbat

The 4th of Iyar is the Yahrtzeit of Rav Yosef Dov (Yoshe Ber) Solovetchik of Brisk, the Beis Halevi: “You did not give it it (Shabbat), God, our Lord, to the nations of the lands, nor did You make it the inheritance, our King, of the worshipers of graven idols. And in its contentment the uncircumcised shall not abide, for to Israel, Your people, have You given it in love, to the seed of Jacob, whom You have chosen.” (Shabbat Morning Amidah)

There are two aspects to the gift of Shabbat: the first is the laws of Shabbat, and the second is the actual creation of Shabbat.

A person must understand that the Shabbat is a creation all to itself, as Rasheed teaches; “what was the world lacking? Menuchah, the menuchah of Shabbat. It did not exist before it was created.

Those who are not attached to the laws of Shabbat are unable to access the gift of its creation. (Beit haLevi, Likkutim 136)