One pre-Sabbath preparation is to check one’s pockets. Perhaps some coins or other muktzeh objects were forgotten there. In a location without an eiruv, any item left in a pocket would be considered ‘carrying’ if taken outside. This custom of checking one’s pockets is mentioned in the Talmud (Shabbat 12), where Rabbi Yosef exclaimed, "This is an important Halachah for the Sabbath!”

• Even if one did leave something in his pocket — it would be completely unintentional (mitaseik), and would not require any form of atonement. Why did the Sages nonetheless stress checking one’s pockets?

• Why did Rabbi Yosef so highly praise this custom? What is so fundamentally important about checking pockets?

Even the Pockets

During the week, we are often compelled to perform activities which conflict with our inner truth. Life’s daily struggles cause us to loose sight of our true goals and aspirations. Often we find ourselves in complex situations which actually compromise our inner integrity.

Shabbat, however, is a day of sublime rest and refinement. The soul restores its inner purity. The contradictions between our inner and outer life disappear. One of the fundamental principles of Shabbat is this harmony between our inner selves and our external lifestyle.

To achieve this consistency, it is necessary to observe the sanctity of Shabbat at all levels, including the most superficial. Clothing must be neat and honorable. Food should be special for Shabbat. The Sages prohibited certain activities even though they are intrinsically permissible, since they appear to violate the Sabbath spirit. All of this is in order that our external living, which truly needs correction, should also benefit from the spirit of rest and spirituality.

Perhaps the aspect furthest removed from our inner intellectual- spiritual life is forgetting something in a pocket. This cannot be considered a true violation of the Sabbath. Yet over time, repeated occurrences could serve to deaden the aura of Shabbat. Therefore, it is important to safeguard the sanctity of Shabbat even on this most external level.

This then is the important Halachah of Rabbi Yosef. For the simple act of checking one’s pockets serves to tie together all aspects of life to the Sabbath spirit — from the highest, innermost level, to the most superficial one. Our external life then matches our ethical-spiritual essence, the soul’s Divine image, and Shabbat succeeds in unifying our inner and outer selves.

(adapted from Olat Re’iyah vol. II p. 28)