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Thought for the Day: There Is No ב In יקנה''ז

Sweet smelling spices have a starring role in the havdala ceremony. True, if you do not have spices, you can still fulfill your halachic obligations via a vis the havdala ceremony; but you'd miss them. After all, they rejuvenate us after the departure of our נשמה יתירה/"extra soul". (Interestingly, Google translates נשמה יתירה as "excessive soul"... how can soul be excessive?!) 

The reason I keep using the term "havdala ceremony" is because I want to go through each step, which includes the bracha at the end. It is that bracha that is actually called "havadala"; it is the reason for the ceremony, so we commonly just call the entire ceremony havdala. That is similar to the fact that we call the kiddush ceremony simply "kiddush", even though the ceremony includes a bracha on wine. Interestingly, that is also why we call the bread we eat on Shabbos "challah". The custom, as brought by the Rema in Shulchan Aruch, was to specifically bake large loaves of bread on erev Shabbos -- large enough, in fact, to require taking challah. We often name things after the main mitzvah that is the reason for the ceremony.

The transition from Shabbos and Yom Tov, is complicated by two competing requirements: the havdala ceremony marking the end of Shabbos and the official inauguration of Yom Tov via the kiddush ceremony. The complexity stems from  of not being allowed to eat/drink before kiddush and also not being able to drink (anything other than water, that is) before havdala. Chazal have provided a solution: יקנה''ז. First the bracha over wine (which covers the requirement for both ceremonies), then the bracha of kiddush sanctifying the Yom Tom, then a bracha over and benefiting from the light of the candle, followed by the שהחיינו for the Yom Tov, and finally we drink the wine. Great; covered everything from both ceremonies. Let's eat!

Wait... wait... what happened to those sweet spices that rejuvenate our soul? No worries, explains the Mishna Brura... the special foods of Yom Tom make the spices unnecessary; your soul will still feel rejuvenated. Just food? How about that gala malave malka? No, not just food. It is the good food eaten on Yom Tov because on Yom Tov we also have a נשמה יתירה. So that's why you don't need spices for the havdala/kiddush ceremony that commemorates exiting Shabbos and entering Yom Tov. (For a bit more about how that works, see Thought for the Day: K'dusha, Kavod, and Oneg Shabbos.)

But that just begs the question: So why don't we use spices for the havdala ceremony after Yom Tov. Fair question. In fact, I started this TftD to address that very question; we just needed the intro. We don't need spices in the havdala ceremony after Yom Tov because the נשמה יתירה never leaves! We experience Shabbos and we are rejuvenated by Shabbos, and we have more time for spiritual pursuits on Shabbos, and our observance of Shabbos sustains the world. All true. But we are not fundamentally changed by Shabbos. Yom Tov, though, brings us the opportunity for fundamental change and to grow while still in this world in our spirituality, to build a stronger, deeper, and permanent connections between our physical and spiritual selves.

There is much to say about the spiritual dimensions of perfection available with each Yom Tov and how each has its own unique character. There is much to say about how each Yom Tov in our yearly cycle is a preparation for the next. But now this idea notes something even more: When I celebrate Pesach next year, it will not be the same celebration as this year. I will be a different person. Every seder is a brand new experience. Each shofar blast resonates differently. My eating in the Sukkah this year will be different from last year and will make my eating of matzah a different experience in the next Pesach.

And round and up we go.

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