Rabbi Yitzchak said, “Every engagement of the Sabbath is doubled.” The omer offering is doubled (Leviticus 23:16), [combining] the two omer offerings into one. Its sacrifice is doubled (Numbers 28:9), with two lambs offered on the Sabbath day. Its punishment is doubled (Exodus 31:14), one who violates it shall surely be put to death. Its reward is doubled (Isaiah 58:13), “And you shall call the Sabbath a delight, the holy [day] of the Lord honored.” Its warnings are doubled, “Remember” and “Keep.” Its Psalm is doubled, “A Psalm, a song for the Sabbath day.” (Midrash Tehillim 92)

This year Shavuos falls out on Erev Shabbos and the actual day of the kaballas Hatorah is on Shabbos itself, as it was when the Torah was given to Moshe Rabbeinu over 3300 years ago (See Magen Avraham). The offering that was brought on Shavuos was two loaves of bread. This sounds to the average fellow something like the two loaves that we have each Shabbos meal. Is there a connection between the two? I would like to share the connection that Reb Leibel Eiger makes between the two.

We know that there is an idea on Shabbos for people to indulge. In fact, the Gemora in Beitza, as explained by Rashi, teaches us that the idea of having an extra Neshama on Shabbos is so that we can enjoy more food. This idea seems a bit puzzling for we know that the proper way to serve Hashem is not to indulge in physical pleasures, when there is no need. Why on Shabbos, which is the holiest day of the week, are we supposed to indulge?

There is a famous medrash that says that every day has its mate, and the day of Shabbos complained that it was “mateless”! Hashem responded that the Jewish people would be the mate for Shabbos. I would like to suggest a possible understanding of this message. Our world is composed of both good and bad, and these two things oppose each other in every aspect of life: For each and every good thing that Hashem created, he created and equal and opposite “negative” in order to keep the world balanced. The bracha of Shabbos is that all the doubles are good, meaning that the negatives become positive as well. This is the concept that Reb Leibel Eiger explains that all things on Shabbos are created in double (see above medrash).

This is the ultimate marriage: The marriage of the Jewish people and the Shabbos. We, Klal Yisrael, are the ones who on Shabbos use the (negative things) doubles, which together with Shabbos, turns them positive. With this we can also understand that which the Torah was given on Shabbos itself. For in the Torah there is only good, and if anything appears to be negative it is only because of people are perverting the Torah.

Therefore, when we have our Shavuos as we have it this year, we have a “double Shabbos”: The Shabbos of Shavuos followed by the Shabbos itself (outside of Israel it is also Shavuos on Shabbos itself). We have our two loaves for Shabbos (“lechem mishneh”) and the two loaves for Shavuos (“shtei halechem”) together. This gives us an opportunity to possibly rise to a level not offered to us at other times. The medrash says if klal Yisrael would observe two shabbosim properly, Moshiach would come. Perhaps if we do our best to use the good aspects of these two days– kabbolas hatorah and Shabbos itself – by doubling up our positivity and doing everything for Heaven’s sake, we could merit to have Moshiach soon in our days.