"Satiate us with your goodness, and gladden us with your salvation."

Our Sages teach, writes the author of the work Yismach Moshe, that on Friday evening we light Shabbos candles near our table. One reason for this is because one cannot properly and fully enjoy a meal which he does not see. Merely tasting the food isn't sufficient. Only when one is actually able to see what one eats can he fully enjoy his meal.

In our Friday evening prayers we express this idea on another level. Intellectually we know that Hashem is constantly showering us with his beneficience. Everything that befalls us is really for our good. Yet at the time, we are unable to see this, and therefore we fail to recognize the good that Hashem bestows upon us, and we do not appreciate it properly.

So in our prayers, we do not merely ask Hashem to provide for us. Indeed we know that everything Hashem does for us is really for our good. But we ask for something special: "Satiate us with your goodness, and gladden us with your salvation." We ask that we may be given the gift to be able to perceive the good in everything Hashem gives to us. We ask to be given that vision which would enable us to understand all that befalls us. Then we will be satiated and be gladdened by all of the bounty which Hashem bestows upon us.

The Shabbos is a time when the Jew has a few moments to take out for contemplation. And so, it is on the Shabbos day that one may come to achieve this special perceptiveness, and one may be able to properly thank Hashem for all that He has given us.

Copyright (c) 1998 by Rabbi Levi Langer

Courtesy of www.JewishAmerica.com
Have a good Shabbos!