How can “stopping” be the most powerful way to serve Hashem? Shabbos is built on a daring idea: we rest because Hashem “rested.” Not because Hashem gets tired—He sustains reality every second by His רצון—but because Shabbos trains us to copy Hashem in the one place we usually refuse: control. Other mitzvos aren’t “because Hashem does it,” but Shabbos is different—it’s meant to make us similar to Him in the act of ceasing.

Then comes the image that reframes everything: malchus is like a mirror, reflecting whatever stands opposite it—like the moon reflecting the sun. The moon has no light of its own; it shines only by facing the source. And streetlights can drown out that brightness—meaning a noisy life can drown out reflection. Shabbos creates the “dark sky” where reflection becomes visible: Shabbos itself reflects the אור of Hashem into the world, and it trains us to do the same. Practical takeaway: pick one “mirror-point” this Shabbos—patience, kindness, restraint, gratitude—and treat it as your single job: face the Source, and reflect.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don’t forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!

What if the deepest drive in your life isn’t your desire—but Hashem’s desire for you? Chazal call the late-Shabbos window of Mincha and Seudah Shlishis “Rava d’Rabbanan”—Ratzon HaRatzonos, the desire beneath all desires. That’s not hype; it’s a claim about reality: the reason anything exists is because Hashem wants it to exist, down to the smallest detail. If He didn’t want you alive right now, you simply wouldn’t be. So Shabbos doesn’t just refresh your energy—it peels back the noise until you can feel that you’re being held in רצון.

From there the focus sharpens: the world has countless “supporting actors,” but there’s a “main event”—man, and then the choosing of Klal Yisrael for a deeper purpose. Even a blade of grass has a mission; how much more a human soul, and how much more the nation charged with revealing Hashem in the world. The takeaway is to treat the last hours of Shabbos like a private audience: ask one clean question—“What do You want from me, beneath what I want?”—and let that question follow you into the week as your compass, not your guilt.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don’t forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!

Why do we say “Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh” — three times?

The Musaf Kedusha is the spiritual summit of Shabbos. Rabbi Klapper reveals that each “Kadosh” is a step higher — separation, elevation, and eternity. While the weekday world sees Hashem through filters, on Shabbos even the malachim ask in awe, “Where is His place?” because His presence fills everything. Musaf is no longer waiting for the Shechinah — it is standing in it.

Through the imagery of Yosef HaTzadik bringing kedusha into Mitzrayim, we learn that our task on Shabbos is to lift the earth to heaven and then draw heaven down to earth. Each Shema Yisrael in Musaf is a mini-Beis HaMikdash moment: not “when will You reign?” but “Hashem is reigning now.” The practical reflection: as you say Kadosh, realize — this is the day you stand inside Hashem’s presence.

Hosted by Rabbi Ari Klapper and produced by Eli Podcast Productions, this episode is part of the Real Judaism series, available on RealJudaism.org. Don’t forget to subscribe and share to stay connected with our daily lessons and timeless Torah insights!