מִשִּׂיחוֹת אַאַזְמוּ"ר — אֱלוּל תּרל"ה: ג' יָמִים קוֹדֶם הַשַׁבָּת הוּא הֲכָנָה לְשַׁבָּת. אוֹיף שַׁבָּת זאָגט עֶר אִין זֹהַר דְּמִינֵּיהּ מִתְבָּרְכִין כּוּלְהוּ יוֹמִין. כּוּלְהוּ יוֹמִין אִיז כָּל שֵׁשֶׁת יְמֵי הַשָּׁבוּעַ, וואָס אוֹיף דעֶם האָט דעֶר אוֹיבּעֶרשְׁטעֶר געֶגעֶבּעֶן אַ בְּרָכָה כְּלָלִית וּבֵרַכְךָ ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר תַּעֲשֶׂה, אִיז דִי בִּרְכַּת הַשַּׁבָּת מִלְּפָנָיו וּמִלְּאַחֲרָיו, דִי הֲכָנָה צוּ שַׁבָּת אִיז מִיּוֹם ד', אוּן דעֶר אָנְזאָג אִיז דעֶר קְלֵיינעֶר לְכוּ נְרַנְנָה, וואָס אִיז ג' פְּסוּקִים.

From a talk of my revered grandfather, the Rebbe [Maharash], in Elul, 5635 (1875):1 The three days preceding Shabbos are a preparation for Shabbos. With regard to Shabbos, the Zohar2 states: “All of the days are blessed from it.” “All of the days” refers to the six weekdays, for which G‑d granted a comprehensive blessing: “And G‑d your L‑rd will bless you in all that you do.”3

The blessing of Shabbos extends to the days that precede it and follow it. The preparations for Shabbos begin on Wednesday,4 and are heralded by the brief Lechu neranenah, the three verses5 [recited at the end of Wednesday’s Song of the Day].

Delving Deeply

Everyone should ask himself: Where is my primary focus in life — Shabbos or the weekdays?

There are people whose principal energies are devoted to their weekday activities. That is where they are most active and productive. For them, Shabbos is a time of rest. This does not merely refer to those who sleep their Shabboses away, but even to those who daven, study, and spend quality time with their families. Still, their focus lies elsewhere: they feel most invigorated when they are immersed in their weekday activities.

There are others who take the opposite approach. They live from Shabbos to Shabbos. They take their weekday activities seriously, both spiritually and materially, but they live with the awareness that the week is really a preparation for Shabbos; that is when they truly express themselves. On Shabbos, their prayers, Torah study, and interaction with their families and friends take on a deeper, spiritual dimension.