Parsha Kedoshim, the parsha about holiness starts with Shabbos: You shall be holy, you shall fear your mother and father and you shall guard the shabbos.

A quick story:  This Thursday morning, during davening the SD was thinking about this upcoming  Shabbos. The SD must travel for personal reasons to a place where there is no shul, no jews, nothing.  The SD was thinking of what shortcuts or allowances would have to be made.

Immediately after davening and walking to the daf yomi room, the SD passed the  sweet, wonderful, muscular, Hispanic porter at the shul. He was in the process of lifting large heavy boxes. As the SD passed him, he heard the porter  let out a little gasp of air (as if to say “oy Veh”) and then the porter gently murmured one word: “SHABBOS”.   The porter was not talking to the SD, rather to himself. He was almost consoling himself that Shabbos was coming.

What an ephiphany.  Even the porter, who barely speaks English and does the hard work in the shul looks forward to, recognizes, and senses in a viceral way  the beauty, warmth and holiness of Shabbos.   The porter knows what a special gift shabbos is.

The SD was a little ashamed.  Here the SD was looking to cut corners,  and rationalizing any allowances that needed to be made and possibly detract from the Shabbos, when the porter who works so hard, cleans the floor, does the heavy work knows the value and beauty and looks forward to Shabbos.