Rabbi Roodyn

Shabbos and especially Shabbos afternoon is representative of Yichud, unification with Hashem.

On Friday night we say ata kidashta, which is a reference to Kiddushin. On Shabbos morning we say yismechu bemalchuscha, which alludes to the chosson being like a king at his chuppa. We also daven mussaf which is a hint to the tosefes (addition) to the kesuba. On Shabbos afternoon we say ata echad, where the entire theme of the paragraph is the unity between Hashem and His people.

This sense of unity between mortal man and Infinite G-d can only be achieved on Shabbos as it is a midway point between the two. On Shabbos we are imbued with an extra neshama that adds kedusha to our very beings and gives us the capacity to experience spiritual delight in a physical world. This, coupled together with the all-encompassing nature of hilchos Shabbos created an environment where even the most mundane physical acts are elevated to a much higher spiritual plane, thereby creating this unification between ourselves and Hashem.