Every Friday night, the world fills with light. In that glow of the Shabbos candles lies the same secret hinted in the Torah’s first word, Bereishis (בראשית). The seforim teach that the entirety of the Torah is contained within that one word, with numerous remazim hidden in its letters, each revealing another facet of meaning.
Rav Tzadok Hakohen in Pri Tzaddik1 explains based on the Zohar that three core mitzvos are hidden within the word Bereishis:
Yiras Hashem - from the letters ירא בשת
Bris - from the letters ברית אש
Shabbos - from the letters ירא שבת
I would like to focus on the third mitzvah, Shabbos, which Rav Tzadok teaches includes within it both Yirah and the Bris. A Shomer Shabbos is called a Yarei Hashem, and Shabbos itself is called both an Os and a Bris.
What is the real secret of Shabbos? Shabbos is not mentioned in the Torah until after Creation, when Hashem completes His work of heaven and earth and rests on the seventh day.
So how can it be the very essence of creation if it …
