Lets get started. Root 1/Branch1/Leaf1

We will skipping the introduction for now and will hopefully get back to it later.


The first Root: Shabbat bo Tashuv- On shabbat we will return
Branch 1, Leaf 1 (Paraphrasing)
Rabbi Chaim begins with very lofty praises of Hashem, who has given us so many blessings and goodness according to his great mercy and generosity towards us. And on top of everything, he gave us Shabbat. However the true value and depth of Shabbat is very hidden and most people do not understand the true holiness that Hashem has placed in it, and how much Hashem has elevated Shabbat above everything else.

The holy Shabbat is different from all our other holy days (mikraei kodesh). The Zohar explains (I am definitely paraphrasing here!) that Shabbat is different from the holy days of Pesach, Shavuot, and Succot. Those holidays are "invited" to be holy. However Shabbat is in a different category. Its holiness is intrinsic by inheritence. It does not need to be "invited" to holiness, since it is already holy. The Zohar gives the parable of King who had one son who he loved so dearly. The king invited all his friends over to eat with him but he did not give his son an invitation. It would not be appropriate to invite his son since his son can come and eat in his father's house whenever he wants.

It says in a different place in the Zohar that Shabbat is different from the mikraei kodesh listed above (Pesach etc.) Those days are refereed to as mikraei kodesh- whereas shabbat is just referred to as kodesh- holy. And this same idea is discussed in the writing of Rav Chaim Vital.

It similarly says in the book Shaarei Gan Eden that the seventh day is holy from itself, without any of our help. We don't need a beit din to establish its holiness, in contrast to Rosh Chodesh and the other moadot (holidays). Rather Shabbat is intrinsically holy from Hashem, as it says in Bereishit 3:2, "And Hashem made the seventh day Holy" The days that are referred to as mikraei kodesh, are days in which Beit din is active in establishing them as holy days. On those holidays and new months, we use the beracha in Shemona Esrei, "He has made Israel Holy, and the new months Holy (Mekadesh Yisrael vRashei Chodashim, or Mekadesh Yisrael Vehazmanim)", since the holiness of those days is dependent on Beit din. This is not the situation on Shabbat, and thus we use the bracha "He has made Shabbat Holy (mekadesh HaShabbat)", since it is Hashem alone that makes Shabbat holy without any active role on our part.

(Here he starts to get into the theme of the whole book)
Thus from the begining of Shabbat to the end, all of our intentions are not like our intentions on other holy days. On other holy days, through our prayers and intentions, and through our work down in this world, we cause/awaken things to happen up in the higher worlds. However on Shabbat, we are not trying to do things down here to make things happen up above, since things are already happening up there automatically (these concepts will all be explained in detail later on!!)

Rather on Shabbat, we are trying to align our prayers and actions in this world, to be in accordance to what is happening at that time of Shabbat up in the higher worlds. But we are not causing things to be happening up in the higher worlds (which is what we do on the other holy days)
(This is end of the quote from the book Shaarei Gan Eden and this is the end of Root 1/Branch 1/Leaf 1)

The structure of the book

The book is structured into Roots, Branches, and Leaves. Each root, which represents a large chapter is given a name whose first letters are always an acronym for Shabbat.

In the most recent publication of this book, it is somewhat randomly divided into sections based on the weekly Torah portions so that if one learns a few pages each week, he can finish the whole book (both volumes) in two years. Since the weekly division are just a suggested study calendar do not expect that the portion dedicated to a particular Parsha, will have anything to do with that parsha.

I am not yet sure if I will be trying to do a close translation, or just to explain the main ideas in my own language. I may play around with different ways and please let me know what works best.

Sidduro Shel Shabbat??!?

For those who are unfamiliar, Sidduro Shel Shabbat is an awesome sefer that explains the deeper meaning behind all the aspects of Shabbat. In the process of explaining this, the author also gives us a very clear understanding of many of the fundamental concepts of Chassidut.

The author is Rabbi Chaim of Chernovitz (1760-1816) also known as the Be'er Maim Chaim which is his sefer on the weekly Torah portions. He was a student of a student of the Baal Shem Tov. I will try to give some more background in the future, but I definitely recommend the mp3 shiurim of Rav Weinberger to explain a little more about his life.

Rabbi Chaim of Chernovitz is buried in Tzfat in a cave a few meters away from the Arizal.

I have been really enjoying his seforim for a few years. Rabbi Weinberger refers to him as a real baal masbir.....someone who really explains things very clearly. He does not just allude to lofty concepts but tends to really explain them fully using many parables, which makes his teaching particularly special.

(If anyone is reading this......please let me know!)