Good Shabbos, Good Erev Shabbos

My Rebbe always says (in the name of another Tzaddik whose name escapes me) that while many Jews are shomer Shabbos, very few in America are shomer Erev Shabbos.

One of the great things about living in Eretz Yisrael is that it is easy to shomer Erev Shabbos because there is no school and not much work. One of my favorite parts of my stays in Yerushalayim is shopping in Geulah and Machnei Yehuda on Friday mornings. There you can get the feeling of what it is to be shomer Erev Shabbos.

In the States, it is hard to get that feeling. We tend to rush home from work just in the nick of time. I try very hard to get home at least an hour before Shabbos so that I can prepare myself and not go directly from the secular world to the "real" world of "Yedid Nefesh". It's not always easy, particularly during the Winter. One more reason we all have to get over there as soon as possible.

Have a great Shabbos. And a great Erev Shabbos.