At the conclusion of the Shabbos evening shemoneh esrei, we recite once again the vayechulu passage from parshas Beraishis, which states that on the seventh day the creation of the world was complete, and Hashem rested. The vayechulu passage is recited three times on Friday evening: during the shemoneh esrei, after the shemoneh esrei by everyone in the shul together, and at the introduction of the kiddush service when one commences the evening meal.

Abudraham writes that the reason the vayechulu is recited three times is in order to ensure that all Jews will be able to take part in this all-important affirmation of the Creation by the hand of Hashem. First, each individual recites it during shemoneh esrei. Then, it is recited in a collective manner following the shemoneh esrei, in order to include those who are not fluent in the prayers and were not able to recite it as part of the prayer. After one has arrived home, he recites it for a third time during the kiddush in order to include all of the members of his family within this affirmation.

The Kabbalists inform us, however, that this triple recitation of the vayechulu is important in itself. Tzeror Hameor explains that in the context of the Creation, we can speak of three "worlds" which Hashem created. There is the Upper World, which contains all the angels and the celestial beings. There is the Intermediate World, which consists of the infinite reaches of space and all of the galaxies contained therein. And then there is the Lower World, which is peopled by Man and the many other living creatures which inhabit the earth. The three-fold repetition of vayechulu is an affirmation that all these worlds, without exception, were created by Hashem during the days of creation.

It may be that there is something we can learn from this. The great teacher of mussar, Rabbi Yisroel Salanter, commented that it is relatively easy for man to acknowledge the kingship of Hashem over all four corners of the earth, and over the heavens above and the depths beneath the sea. What is more difficult, said Reb Yisroel, is for us to acknowledge Hashem's kingship and mastery over ourselves. The real challenge is not in being able to speak of Hashem's dominion over the vast reaches of space, but rather it is found in being able to commit ourselves to doing what is right in His eyes.

In the synagague we recite the vayechulu twice, and we acknowledge the fact of Hashem's creation of the Upper and Intermediate Worlds. Then we come home, and we recite it for a third time. And that is perhaps the most meaningful recitation of them all. For it is then that we state that this world upon we ourselves dwell, and within which we ourselves live out our lives--this world, too, owes every bit of its existence to the handiwork of Hashem.

Perhaps it is no coincidence,then, that this third vayechulu is recited in the home.

For it is with this third recitation that we take the story of Creation and make it something real, something meaningful to us. We recite those words yet another time, and with that recital we commit our lives to being an expression of the ideas contained therein.

Copyright (c) 1998 by Rabbi Levi Langer

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