The first thing you may notice about the middle, Shabbos-related, berakhah of Shabbos Minchah is that the opening parallels the berakhah immediately before it.

אַתָּה קָדושׁ
וְשִׁמְךָ קָדושׁ
!וּקְדושִׁים בְּכָל יום יְהַלְּלוּךָ סֶּלָה

You are Holy,
and Your name / presentation before people is Holy
and holy ones praise you daily – Selah

And now we have the same order declaring unity — but with “Amkha Yisrael — Your nation Israel” in place of “Qedoshim”:

אַתָּה אֶחָד
וְשִׁמְךָ אֶחָד
!וּמִי כְּעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל גּוֹי אֶחָד בָּאָרֶץ

You are One (i.e. Indivisible and Unique)
and Your name / presentation before people is One
and who is like Your nation Israel, a singular nation in the world!

When we looked at Atah Qadosh I suggested it was patterned after “Qadosh, Qadosh, Qadosh…” as explained by the Targum: the first Qadosh the angels utter refers to the Holiness of Hashem as perceived in heaven, and thus that of “Atah” — Hashem as a “You”. The name of Hashem refers to how people perceive and refer to Him, so “veshimekha Qadosh” refers to his holiness down here on earth. And the Targum’s last clause of “forever and to all eternity— is Hashem of hosts; the whole earth is filled with the radiance of His glory” is what the “holy ones who praise Hashem daily” are working toward bringing into this world the holiness that right now is only perceived in heaven.

Hashem is One in a way that is beyond our comprehension, we are limited to using the word metaphorically since we cannot understand the literal. That unique. Indivisible. Not even into Essence and other attributes.

Then there is the Oneness we can comprehend. The reason why Hashem alone is worthy of worship. Why partnering with His Plan is the only appropriate highest priority to set for our lives.

And the Jewish People were chosen to bring this message into the world. To raise the perception of Divine Unity and unity of purpose.

Friday night’s Shabbos was that of creation. Shabbos morning — that of revelation, of mitzvos.*

But now we are at the Shabbos that is the image of the World to Come — Me’ein Olam haBa. And that’s when people will be able to perceive Hashem as the angels do. Where we understand how pain and suffering serve the ultimate good. That Hashem is One and entirely Compassionate.

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Next time, likely after Pesach, I want to explore how that segues into the rest of the paragraph’s discussion of Menuchah — being relaxed and at rest, centered and grounded.

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*Yes, at Mussaf we started to discuss Shabbos as bringing Hashem’s ultimate purpose, from the tav of the plurality of existence to the alef of Divine Unity. But the core of the berakhah is still the Qorban Mussaf. Fitting, given that Mussaf can be said at any time during the day, it carries elements of both morning and afternoon themes.