“…Yehuda reviewed in his mind the events that had befallen the brothers. Acknowledging that the entire episode came from HaShem, he accepted it ‘besimcha‘ (with joy)…

Yehuda could then take what was for him the obvious next step: to come closer to HaShem.

The Sfas Emes tells us that when a person encounters a rough patch in life, he should realize that he is also gaining the opportunity for a richer relationship with HaShem. …the way to handle such an encounter is to come closer to the penimiyus (the inner reality) of the situation; that is, to HaShem.

To come closer to the penimiyus, [in our daily life might entail removing the intellectual and emotional blockages that obstruct our access to HaShem. However, on Shabbat, the substantial change which occurs at the cosmic level makes us easier to come closer to Him. To actualize this potential, we should remove all the extraneous elements in our minds], …free ourselves from thoughts that are not ‘Shabbosdick.’

If we want to experience Shabbos as coming closer to HaShem, we must be careful about not only what we do, but also what we say, and what we think.”