In the city of Tsfat in the 15th and 16th centuries, every Erev Shabbat, Friday night, the mystics would gather out in a field and sing love songs, like Lecha Dodi. They believed that Shabbat, the day of rest, was also a day of wholeness, both in our world and in the heavenly realm. They treated Erev Shabbat as a cosmic wedding, and they celebrated the unity which is God. Tradition also teaches that every Jew receives a neshema yetera, a “second soul” on the Sabbath, so that on this day we become complete.

Los Angeles is not like that mountaintop city of mystics, however every Friday night at 6:15, we gather together in joy and in love, each of us striving toward a sense of wholeness. Whether or not we receive a second soul, one thing is certain: our spirits become full. Our stresses peal away and our souls expand as we are embraced with music, poetry, meditations and teachings of Torah.