{"id":7116,"date":"2016-01-05T12:00:22","date_gmt":"2016-01-05T10:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=7116"},"modified":"2016-07-10T18:02:43","modified_gmt":"2016-07-10T15:02:43","slug":"01-05-12","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/01-05-12\/","title":{"rendered":"12. Va-yekhulu<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the Amida<\/em> of Ma\u2019ariv<\/em> on Friday night we recite the \u201cVa-yekhulu<\/em>\u201d passage, the three verses that recount the first Shabbat of creation:<\/p>\n

The heaven and the earth were finished (va-yekhulu<\/em>), and all their array. On the seventh day God finished the work that He had been doing, and He ceased on the seventh day from all the work that He had done. And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on it God ceased from all the work of creation that He had done. (Bereishit 2:1-3)<\/p>\n

The Sages tell us that one who recites Va-yekhulu<\/em> on Friday night becomes like God\u2019s partner in the world\u2019s creation (Shabbat<\/em> 119b). The purpose of creation is for God to be revealed to the world, and bless it as a result. This is the primary idea of Shabbat. When a Jew attests to the creation of the world and the sanctity of Shabbat by reciting Va-yekhulu<\/em>, he realizes the purpose of creation and increases blessing in the world.<\/p>\n

The Sages add (ibid<\/em>.) that one who recites Va-yekhulu<\/em> on Friday night is escorted home by two ministering angels, who rest their hands upon his head and say: \u201cYour guilt shall depart and your sin be purged\u201d (Yeshayahu 6:7). Shabbat is also connected to teshuva<\/em> \u2013 repentance or return. This is expressed in the phonetic similarity of \u201cShabbat\u201d and \u201cteshuva<\/em>.\u201d Indeed, on Shabbat we remember the Creator of the world, and we return to all the positive strivings of our souls. One who recites Va-yekhulu<\/em> on Friday night gives expression to the deep significance of Shabbat. By doing so he merits true repentance and the forgiveness of his sins.<\/p>\n

In addition to reciting Va-yekhulu<\/em> silently in the Amida <\/em>of Ma\u2019ariv<\/em>, after the conclusion of the Amida<\/em> the congregation repeats Va-yekhulu<\/em> out loud while standing (SA 268:7). The reason for this is that when Yom Tov coincides with Shabbat, the Ma\u2019ariv<\/em> service follows the Yom Tov formulation. The sanctity of Shabbat is then mentioned only briefly, and Va-yekhulu<\/em> is not recited in the Amida<\/em>. In order to avoid skipping Va-yekhulu<\/em> on those Shabbatot<\/em>, the Sages instituted the recitation of Va-yekhulu<\/em> after the Amida<\/em> each week. Some suggest an additional reason for its recitation \u2013 it is a public testimonial to the creation of the world.[6]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

Va-yekhulu<\/em> is recited yet again in kiddush<\/em>. We often find that something important is repeated three times.<\/p>\n

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[6]<\/a>. Some maintain that following this reasoning, if one\u2019s recitation of the Amida<\/em> lagged behind the congregation\u2019s so that he did not reach Va-yekhulu<\/em> with them, he should not recite Va-yekhulu<\/em> on his own, since Jewish courts do not accept testimony from a single individual. Rather, he should seek a friend to recite it together with him. If he does recite it alone, he should read it as one would read from a Torah scroll, with the cantillation marks (Taz<\/em> 268:5). There is even an opinion that one should try to speed up his prayer in order to complete the Amida<\/em> with the congregation so that he will be able to recite Va-yekhulu<\/em> with a minyan<\/em>. This is preferable, because in its recitation there is an element of Kiddush Hashem<\/em> (sanctification of God\u2019s name), and the command to sanctify God\u2019s name applies in the presence of a minyan<\/em> (Pri Megadim<\/em>; BHL). If one finishing the silent Amida<\/em> has already said the Yehi Ratzon<\/em> prayer that precedes the paragraph of Elokai Netzor<\/em>, he may recite Va-yekhulu<\/em> with the congregation and then complete the silent Amida<\/em>. All these customs are an enhancement of the mitzva; fundamentally, one who has not completed his Amida<\/em> is not obligated to say Va-yekhulu<\/em> at all. This is because it was established to ensure that Va-yekhulu<\/em> would be included in the prayer service even on Yom Tov, and in order to give people who were not familiar with the prayer the opportunity to say it (SA 268:7). In any event, even if one is uncomfortable bothering his friend to recite Va-yekhulu<\/em> together with him, he should still recite it on his own. This way, together with his later recitation of kiddush<\/em>, he will have recited Va-yekhulu<\/em> a total of three times (see MB 268:19; \u0124azon Ish<\/em> 38:10).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the Amida of Ma\u2019ariv on Friday night we recite the \u201cVa-yekhulu\u201d passage, the three verses that recount the first Shabbat of creation: The heaven and the earth were finished (va-yekhulu), and all their array. On the seventh day God finished the work that He had been doing, and He ceased on the seventh day […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-01-05"],"yoast_head":"\n12. 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