The Special Shabbat Kedushah During the musaf prayer service on Shabbat, we recite a special kedushah prayer, which is lengthier than, and considerably different from, the standard weekday kedushah . This is true in both the Ashkenazic and Sephardic traditions, notwithstanding the differences between the text of the kedushah in these traditions. The Kolbo explains that the difference between the texts of the weekday kedushah and the special Shabbat kedushah reflects a fundamental difference between these recitations. On weekdays, we say that we recite the kedushah כנועם שיח סוד שרפי קודש – like the beautiful words of the angels, who sing kedushah in the heavens. This means that the primary kedushah is sung by the angels, and we merely follow their example. On Shabbat, however, we recite our own kedushah , so-to-speak. We are not just mimicking the kedushah of the angels, but rather reciting a kedushah prayer that is all our own. The Seventh Wing The Kolbo develops this idea further by noting the Midrash’s comment that the angels all have six wings, and each wing is used to sing on each day of the week. On Shabbat, the angels wonder how they will sing praise to Hashem, as they do not have a seventh wing with which to sing on this day. Hashem tells them that they do not need a seventh wing on Shabbat, because on this day, Am Yisrael is the “wing”; we are the ones assigned the task of singing praise to Hashem on Shabbat. Shabbat is our special day, when we assume the role assigned by the angels the rest of the week, and we sing the primary songs of praise on this day. The Kolbo cites in this context the pasuk in Yeshayahu (24:16), מכנף הארץ זמירות שמענו – “We have heard songs from the corner [or ‘wing’] of the Earth.” This means that on Shabbat, the primary songs of praise are heard not in the heavens, but rather from the Earth, where Am Yisrael assumes the role of the כנף – the wing in charge of singing praise to G-d. (Interestingly, the Torat Haim commentary to Masechet Sanhedrin explains on this basis the famous comment of the Midrash that each day of the week has a “partner,” and the partner of the seventh day, Shabbat, is the Jewish People. The conventional understanding is that each pair of days are partners of one another, and Shabbat, the seventh, is left without a partner, so Am Yisrael is assigned as its partner. The Torat Haim , however, explains that each day of the week has an angel’s wing associated with it, which is responsible for singing Hashem’s praises on that day, but the “wing” of Shabbat is not in the heavens, but here on Earth, as Am Yisrael assumes this role on Shabbat.) This role results in our assuming a unique stature of importance on Shabbat, which exceeds even that of the angels. Moshe Rabbenu tells Beneh Yisrael in Sefer Devarim, את ה' האמרת היום...וה' האמירך היום – “You have elevated Hashem today…and Hashem has elevated you today.” The Or Zarua (2:4) explains the word היום (“today”) in this pasuk as referring to Shabbat. On Shabbat, we “elevate” Hashem through our beautiful songs of praise, and as a result of this role which we fill, Hashem “elevates” us to a lofty stature high above the stature of the heavenly angels. שמע ישראל Somewhat mysteriously, the special kedushah recited during the Shabbat musaf prayer includes the pasuk , שמע ישראל ה' אלוקינו ה' אחד . Why is this verse added to the kedushah on Shabbat? How is this relevant to kedushah ? The common reason given for the inclusion of this pasuk , as the Kolbo and others explain (citing Rav Sar Shalom, one of the Geonim ), is that there was a period when the authorities forbade the Jews from reciting שמע ישראל , and guards were posted in the synagogues on Shabbat to enforce this edict. In order not to miss this important mitzvah , communities inserted the recitation of שמע ישראל in the kedushah of musaf , as the guards left the synagogues by that late stage in the service. The Rabbis decided to maintain this custom even after the edict was lifted as a commemoration of this miracle. There may, however, also be a deeper connection between שמע ישראל and the kedushah of musaf . The Gemara in Masechet Hagigah (3a) discusses the aforementioned verse in Sefer Devarim – את ה' האמרת...וה' האמירך – and explains it to mean that we “elevate” G-d through our recitation of שמע ישראל , and He “elevates” us by declaring, ומי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ – “Who is like Your nation, Yisrael, a singular nation on Earth.” It emerges, then, that the special “song” with which we give praise to Hashem on Shabbat, when we take over this responsibility from the angels, is the pasuk of שמע ישראל . Therefore, we insert this pasuk into the kedushah on Shabbat, which reflects the special status we attain on Shabbat, when we assume the role of singing praise, primarily through the verse of שמע ישראל . Moreover, the Gemara in Masechet Hulin observes that Am Yisrael are, in a sense, greater than the angels, as demonstrated by the different praises we give to Hashem. The angels, when they sing praise, declare, קדוש קדוש קדוש ה' , uttering G-d’s Name after reciting three words, whereas we sing praise by declaring, שמע ישראל ה' – uttering G-d’s Name after just two words. And thus the pasuk of שמע ישראל expresses Am Yisrael ’s special stature which exceeds that of the angels, and which is underscored specifically on Shabbat. Appropriately, then, we add the pasuk of שמע ישראל in our Shabbat musaf prayer. The notion that Am Yisrael rises to a special stature through Shabbat observance is highlighted by a passage in the Midrash cited by Tosafot , commenting on the Gemara in Hagigah. The Midrash comments that Am Yisrael and Hashem proclaim the greatness of Shabbat; Am Yisrael and Shabbat proclaim the greatness of Hashem; and Shabbat and Hashem proclaim the greatness of Am Yisrael . Tosafot comment that for this reason we recite in our Minhah prayer on Shabbat, ומי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ – Hashem’s declaration of the Jewish People’s singularity. When we observe Shabbat and use it as a time for praising Hashem, He, in turn, praises us, and proclaims our unique stature, which exceeds even that of the angels. Waiting for the Tzadik Earlier, we cited the pasuk from Sefer Yeshayahu that is understood as an allusion to Am Yisrael ’s role as the “wing” that gives praise on Shabbat: מכנף הארץ זמירות שמענו – “We have heard songs from the corner of the Earth.” This pasuk concludes with the words, צבי לצדיק – “yearning for the tzadik .” The Hid”a, citing one of the famous Kabbalists, explains this phrase based on a comment of the Midrash ( Yalkut Shimoni , Lech-Lecha) regarding the five special letters that appear differently when they are situated at the end of the word. The letters מ,נ,צ,פ,כ have a different form when they appear at the end of the word – ם,ן,ץ,ף,ך . The Midrash comments that all these letters are associated with a form of גאולה (redemption), and it cites pesukim in which each letter appears twice within a phrase. The letter כ' appears twice in the phrase ל ך -ל ך (Bereshit 12:1); מ' appears twice in כי עצמת ממ נו (Bereshit 26:16); נ' appears in הציל נ י נ א (Bereshit 32:12); פ' in פ קד פ קדתי (Shemot 3:16); and צ' in צ מח שמו ומתחתיו י צ מח (Zecharyah 6:12). These pairs, the Midrash explains, allude to the “double” quality of these letters, that they have two different forms in which they are written. Now the first three of these pesukim refer to Hashem’s assistance to the patriarchs, and the fourth refers to the Exodus from Egypt . These four are all redemptions that have already occurred. The fifth, however, the pasuk associated with the letter tzadik ( צ' ), speaks of the final redemption for which we still yearn. Accordingly, the phrase צבי לצדיק has been explained to mean that we yearn for the tzadik , for the fulfillment of the pasuk צ מח שמו ומתחתיו י צ מח , when our final redemption will unfold. This will happen in the merit of מכנף הארץ זמירות שמענו , our utilizing Shabbat as a time to give praise to Hashem, fulfilling the role assigned to us to serve as the “wing,” the instrument of praise, on this special day. Appropriately, then, after we recite שמע ישראל in the kedushah on Shabbat, we add a prayer for redemption: והוא יושיענו ויגאלנו . We ask that in the merit of our proclaiming שמע ישראל , our fulfilling our role of giving praise to Hashem on Shabbat, He should bring us our long-awaited redemption, speedily and in our days, אמן .