Parshat Bereishit 

One of the most important concepts relating to Shabbat is that of oneg Shabbat, “the pleasure of Shabbat.” The holy pleasures of Shabbat are manifest and meant to be experienced in both the spiritual and physical domains. Every aspect of Shabbat is infused with a special ambience which gives great pleasure to both body and soul. Due to the highly spiritual nature of Shabbat it is compared in many writings, especially the zemirot (songs) of Shabbat, to the utopian ambience of the Garden of Eden.

The following verse reveals three components in the Garden of Eden: “And a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it separated and became four heads” (Bereishit 2:10). The first letters of Eden (עדן), river (נהר) and garden (גן), spell the word oneg, (ענג), “pleasure”; alluding to the intrinsic connection between the pleasure of Shabbat and the archetypal utopian experience of the Garden of Eden (Tikkunei Zohar 12a). Thus, every Shabbat is an opportunity to return to the pristine consciousness of the Garden of Eden.