Daily Chidush: A Small Huge Difference Between a Shomer and Desecrator of Shabbat

0:32Hakadosh Baruch Hu says, the children of Israel keep the Shabbat, to make Shabbat an eternal covenant for their generations, between Me and the children of Israel. A sign. It's forever. won't be able to touch you. Everything that happens in the world to a Jew is very special and different from the rest of the nations. It's very different from the rest of the nations. So much so that despite all of the Holocaust, pogroms, inquisitions, and anti-Semitism, you see that all of those countries, all of those civilizations that tried to destroy the Jewish nation,

1:40All of them are gone, but Am Yisrael, Baruch Hashem, Am Yisrael Chai. So, HaKadosh Baruch Hu says, no matter what, Am Yisrael will always be. Why? It's my chosen people, because of the Shabbat. On the other hand, what about when somebody doesn't keep Shabbat? You look at the many places in the Torah, whether it's the Gemara Masechet Eruvin, page 69b, or Chullin 5a, or you look even at Halacha from the Rambam. many places, but one of them says that in Hilchot Shabbat, chapter 30, the last halacha, halacha number 15, the Rambam writes that a Jew who desecrates Shabbat is equivalent to an idol worshiper because Shabbat is the cornerstone of Judaism; it is the cornerstone of the Torah. cornerstone of the Torah. So what does it mean that it's considered an idol worshiper? You go to the Rambam, Hilchot Ma'aseh HaKorbanot, which says that when a Jew is a kofer, an apostate who worships false gods or desecrates Shabbat in public—meaning he drives on Shabbat, smokes cigarettes on Shabbat, watches TV on Shabbat, and so on—we don't even accept any sacrifices from him at all. Even a burnt offering that's accepted from a goy

3:01is not accepted from this Mechalel Shabbat or this Kofer. This is shocking. Why? Because we know that since the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, there's no more korbanot or no more sacrifices. So the replacement is tefillah, the prayer that we have. So the Rambam is actually saying here that if we had a Beit HaMikdash, we wouldn't even be able to accept a korban from this Mechalel Shabbat. which means that if today, since we don't have the Beit HaMikdash, the prayer of a Mechalel Shabbat is not accepted to such an extent that even if you want to count this Mechalel Shabbat as part of a minyan, you can't. Why? Because as long as he continues to violate Shabbat, Hashem says, no, no, he's like an idol worshiper. You can't count him. You can't count him. He's against Me. So we see here on one hand, HaKadosh Baruch Hu tells us something amazing. He says that if you keep the Shabbat, you have this special protection. You get reward. You get parnassah. Your money will be blessed. You'll have all wonderful things. Why? Because I promised this promise already 3,000 years ago.

4:18But it's not a question of whether you receive the blessing or not. He says, no, no. If you keep it, you get the blessing. If not, Hashem Yirachem. Hashem Yirachem, what kind of curse is that? Even when a person prays because they are sick, Hashem responds, "I'm sorry, I can't." Why? Because you're violating my Shabbat. You don't have the special protection anymore. So, Ashrecha. Ashrecha Ezra. Ashrecha Yisrael. Ashrecha Am Yisrael. That's the merit of keeping the Shabbat. Why? Because that means that... You are allowing HaKadosh Baruch Hu to give you what He wants to give you. What is it? He wants to give you the blessing. And you're allowing HaKadosh Baruch Hu to give you the blessing. He doesn't want to punish anybody. He doesn't want to. He wants the blessing. And you are allowing Him to give you the blessing. Why? Because when He wrote the Torah, He wrote rules. He wrote rules for Himself even. He can't give someone a blessing if they're not adhering to the rules. So by allowing Hashem to actually give you the blessing, it's even more of a blessing. It's a double blessing. Why? Because it actually also makes Hashem happy. Now He can give you what He wanted to give you all along.

5:25So, Ashrecha Ezra, Ashrecha Am Yisrael, that you keep the Shabbat, that you connect to the Shabbat, and with the help of Hashem, you'll see a lot of blessing, you'll see a lot of great success, good development, long, complete lives, with Torah, mitzvot, and chasadim. Ashrecha Yisrael, for keeping the Shabbat. All the best, and Shabbat Shalom.