Today is the 4th of July, and it is also Shabbat. Tonight, there will be fireworks celebrating the birthday of the United States of America.
When Shabbat coincides with July 4th, great light shines through. As we welcome the Shabbat bride and sing L’cha Dodi, we say these words Hitorri hitorri ki va orech kumi ori, “Awake and arise to greet the new light, for in your radiance, the world will be bright.”
This Shabbat, when we hear the fireworks outside the door and see the lights in the sky, let us then look at our Shabbat table and the light we bring into our home; we should be conscious that the spirit of Shabbat does not enter once a year that but each week, we have a responsibility to awake, arise, and bring in light to a radiant world.
