The lighting of Shabbat candles symbolizes our desire that our family and the people of Israel attain wholeness, and that we all feel like one family.
The light of the candles hints at perfection and the great abundance that will be felt when complete love dwells among us.
This perfection is also expressed in the greeting “Shabbat Shalom” (“Shabbat of peace”).
Regarding this, my teacher, Kabbalist Baruch Shalom Ashlag (RABASH) wrote:
“Shabbat is called ‘Shabbat of peace,’ since Yesod, which is the middle line, makes peace between the lines, which are called ‘right’ and ‘left.’”
In other words, the greeting points to harmony between the positive and negative forces within us.
During the Kiddush we say, “For You have chosen us and sanctified us.” RABASH would explain that holy means one who bestows. In order for created beings to receive abundance, there must be equivalence of form, that the created beings also desire only to bestow.
When we seek to resemble the upper force of love and bestowal by doing good to one another, just as its nature is love and bestowal, we prepare ourselves to feel its influence. In the wisdom of Kabbalah, this is explained through the law of equivalence of form.
The Kiddush is recited over wine. Wine means abundance. There is never any lack in the abundance itself. Everything depends on the receiving vessels, whether they are whole and not broken. If we correct the self-centered desire, we become like a cup filled with the blessing of the Creator.
Over the challah bread we recite: “Who brings forth bread from the earth.” This blessing emphasizes the active participation of human beings in the correction of creation. The “bread from the earth” means that abundance comes through the actions of those below, i.e., from us people.
The Shabbat meal symbolizes the corrected state, where all our desires are fulfilled through the connection and harmony between us and with the upper force.
The songs sung at the Shabbat table praise this elevated state and express longing for it.
Based on “New Life 171 – The Sabbath” with Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman. Written/edited by students of Kabbalist Dr. Michael Laitman.