Sfas Emes : The Gift of Shabbos

For nearly a century, Sfas Emes (1847-1905) has been the challenging and provocative fare of outstanding scholars. One of the most brilliant roshei yeshivah of the last generation said, ''I study the Sfas Emes every year, and whenever I review it again, I discover new ideas.'' Embedded between the lines are diamonds waiting to be mined. It is a work that defies categorization. It is replete with the sort of insights that makes the perceptive reader gasp with the thrill of discovery, smile at the realization that a novel idea is truly the essence of the passage.
But the concise and complex language and thought process of this classic are daunting to all but a select few. Who would open the portals of its wisdom?

The Gift of Shabbos is a clear and brilliant work. Among the topics it explores are: Melachah (creative work), Menuchah (rest), Shabbos as a Divine gift, the three meals, Lechem Mishneh (the two loaves of bread), Oneg (delight) Shabbos, Shabbos as a microcosm of the World to Come, a commentary on the Kabbalas Shabbos service.

In addition , it features an introduction to the Sfas Emes' mode of thought, which includes a treatment of the sage' s approach to such concepts as Nekudah Hapenimis and Hashgachah Pratis.