Tikkun 19 – 4

The two aspects of the Torah, which are the Oral and the Written are represented by the 53 Torah portions that are read on Shabbat.

The inner courtyard of the Holy Temple represents the written Torah and the outer yard is the oral Torah. The gate between them is opened only on Shabbat.

The 53 comes from Song of Songs 4:12 “גַּן נָעוּל, אֲחֹתִי כַלָּה; גַּל נָעוּל, מַעְיָן חָתוּם” “A garden is shut up, my sister, my bride; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. “. Garden = גַּן= 53.

The gate to the Garden is locked during the six days and on Shabbat it is opened.

God created the world in a 6 day process and on the seventh day he opens the supernal gate to provide energy to his creation. The opening of the gate on the first Shabbat was supposed to stay open forever. Because of the Sin, the gate closed to separate between the Tree of Life that is inside the Garden (inner courtyard with the Holy of Holies) and the tree of Knowledge Good and Bad outside the gate (outer courtyard).

Genesis 3:24 “He drove out Adam…. and put the flaming sword to keep the way to the Tree of Life.”

Adam’s sin corrupted the balance in the Garden of Eden and created separation between the upper and lower.

This is the explanation to Song of Song 4:12 “a fountain is sealed”.

Since “the sin” we need to work to earn the Light. On Shabbat we receive the Light that we earned for the work we did during the past week. The light of Shabbat is given based on the individual spiritual vessel created that week. Our sages said “Whoever does the work before Shabbat, eats on Shabbat”. “מי שטרח בערב שבת, יאכל בשבת”

Shabbat is the resting day because it is all about receiving the light. Don’t close the gate to your light.