This coming Shabbat is especially timely. We have a Zemirah that speaks about Noach, Yonah Matzah Vo Manoach, whose message is particularly meaningful today after the difficult years of war and challenges our people have faced. The song was written by Rav Yehuda HaLevi, author of the Kuzari, nearly nine hundred years ago in Spain, and its words speak directly to us today.
In the parasha, Noach sends the dove three times to see if the flood waters had receded. The first time it returned, finding no resting place; the second time it came back with an olive leaf, a sign of hope; and the third time it did not return at all, having found rest - signaling that the flood had ended.
Rav Yehuda HaLevi writes in his Zemirah:
“Yonah matzah vo manoach, v’sham yanuchu yegiei koach”
“The dove found rest on it (Shabbat), and there the weary will rest.”
The words bo and sham are deliberate and profound. Bo refers to Shabbat as a time - the day when our neshamot, souls, receive the Neshamah Yeterah and can pause, reflect, and renew. Sham refers to Shabbat as a place - a holy space where the soul finds rest. Shabbat is both time and place: Shabbat is a mikdash in time - a refuge where the neshama finds menuchah, rest and renewal.
The dove symbolizes both the individual neshama and Klal Yisrael. Even with the yetzer hara, the neshama can find refreshment through Shabbat. Klal Yisrael, like the dove, has faced danger, war, and hardship. Rashi explains (Bereishit 15:10, s.v. VeEt HaTzipor Lo Batar) that the Jewish people are compared to a dove - Hashem will not allow the entire nation to spiritually self-destruct. Even after storms and trials, the dove - and the people it represents - finds rest and hope.
The olive leaf reinforces this lesson. Just as the dove returned with a sign that the waters were abating, Klal Yisrael endures, survives, and is renewed. Shabbat gives us a time and place for our neshamot to be strengthened, to connect to Torah, and for our people to rekindle hope, spiritual rest, and continuity.
On this Shabbat, Parshat Noach, when we sing Yonah Matzah Vo Manoach, we must: daven with focus and intention for our neshamot, our families, and all of Klal Yisrael; pause and reflect on the gift of the Neshamah Yeterah and the menuchah that Shabbat gives; learn Torah alone, with family, or in community, and share words of Torah at the Shabbat table; perform acts of kindness, inviting family, friends, or guests, and helping those in need; and sing the Zemirah with understanding, knowing that the dove resting on Shabbat models our own rest, renewal, and spiritual growth.
This Zemirah reminds us that, just as the dove finally rested after the flood and brought back the olive leaf, so too our neshamot can be renewed, and Klal Yisrael can endure and strengthen itself spiritually. Especially after two years of war, when our people are weary and long for peace, Yonah Matzah Vo Manoach speaks to our collective yearning - our Yonah still seeks menuchah, rest, and simcha, joy.
Shabbat gives us the strength to continue. It is not merely a pause in time, but the essence of menuchah and hope - a divine gift that restores the neshama, strengthens our emunah, faith, and reminds us that even in the midst of hardship, HaKadosh Baruch Hu grants His people a place of safety and rest.
Singing Yonah Matzah Vo Manoach allows us to spiritually elevate ourselves - to feel aas though we have reached the next world, me’ein Olam Habbah. It is especially important in times of war, when the struggle is not only physical but also emotional and spiritual.
Shabbat, Torah, tefillah, and Zemirot strengthen us internally, giving clarity, renewal, and the ability to face the challenges ahead. Just as the dove carried the olive leaf to Noach, we believe there is hope and renewal on the way for Am Yisrael.