לכה דודי לקראת כלה פני שבת נקבלה
Come my beloved to meet the bride, The Sabbath presence, let us welcome!
The beloved referred to here is none other than Hashem Himself. Together Hashem and Klal Yisrael go out to welcome the Sabbath bride.
We know that the Jewish people are referred to as Hashem’s bride in a number of places and that the process of redemption from Egypt was the journey to the unity of marriage and that Shabbos was a major factor in that process.
The first Shabbos we ever kept is recorded in Shemos 31:13 where the pasuk uses the words ani Hashem mekadishchem, I am Hashem who makes you holy, which is a reference to the Kiddushin, the placing of the ring on the bride’s finger.
Matan Torah at Har Sinai (which both took place on a Shabbos and where we were commanded to keep Shabbos) is referred to in a number of places as a chuppa (either due to the imagery of the cloud above the mountain or the mountain that was held above the people).
The third and final stage of the wedding ceremony is the Yichud (unification) also connects to Shabbos as shall be explained.
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