(ב) וַיְכַ֤ל אֱלֹהִים֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מִכָּל־מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָֽׂה׃ (ג) וַיְבָ֤רֶךְ אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶת־י֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י וַיְקַדֵּ֖שׁ אֹת֑וֹ כִּ֣י ב֤וֹ שָׁבַת֙ מִכָּל־מְלַאכְתּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֥א אֱלֹהִ֖ים לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃ (פ)
(2) On the seventh day God finished the work that He had been doing, and He ceased on the seventh day from all the work that He had done. (3) And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on it God ceased from all the work of creation that He had done.
(א) ויכל אלהים ביום השביעי. ר' שִׁמְעוֹן אוֹמֵר בָּשָׂר וָדָם, שֶׁאֵינוֹ יוֹדֵעַ עִתָּיו וּרְגָעָיו צָרִיך לְהוֹסִיף מֵחֹל עַל הַקֹּדֶשׁ, הַקָּבָּ"ה שֶׁיּוֹדֵעַ עִתָּיו וּרְגָעָיו, נִכְנָס בֹּו כְּחוּט הַשַּׂעֲרָה, וְנִרְאֶה כְאִלּוּ כִלָּה בוֹ בַיֹּום. דָּ"אַ מֶה הָיָה הָעוֹלָם חָסֵר? מְנוּחָה, בָּאת שַׁבָּת בָּאת מְנוּחָה, כָּלְתָה וְנִגְמְרָה הַמְּלָאכָה:
(1) ויכל אלהים ביום השביעי AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY GOD FINISHED — R. Simeon says: A human being (literally, flesh and blood) who cannot know exactly his times and moments (who cannot accurately determine the point of time that marks the division between one period and that which follows it) must needs add from the week-day and observe it as the holy day (the Sabbath), but the Holy One, blessed be He, who knows His times and moments, began it (the seventh day) to a very hair’s breadth (with extreme exactness) and it therefore appeared as though He had completed His work on that very day (Genesis Rabbah 10:9). Another explanation: What did the world lack? Rest! Sabbath came — Rest came; and the work was thus finished and completed (Genesis Rabbah 10:9)!
God continues to create. God creates a Sabbatical. God is not just resting on the 7th day; God is not just ceasing work. God is creating a holy time. On days one through six, God worked—it was mundane (from the Latin mundus meaning “world;”) dictionary defines mundane as “of this earthly world rather than a heavenly or spiritual one.” On the 7th day, God created a spiritual entity of time/ clearly distinguished from the mundane entities of time (days 1-6). Gen. 2:3—God blesses time—the seventh day itself. This is the only day (not the created thing of that day) which God blesses. Now (Day 7), God is the God of the space-time continuum. So we have to think not of the six days of creation, then God resting on the 7th day. We have to think of God creating the mundane world and mundane time for the first six days, then the process of creation continues into the 7th day with God creating a new dimension—sacred time.
If you consider that Shabbat is Sacred Time, then how does that affect and impact your observance of Shabbat?
Does your consideration of Shabbat as Sacred Time, enhance your appreciation of the day? And does your appreciation of the day impact your behavior?
When you think of Shabbat specifically as Sacred Time, what do you differently from Friday evening until Saturday evening?
Summary: If we consider that Creation was a seven day process with Sacred Time being created on the seventh day, how does that affect our understanding of the whole process of creation; of our appreciation for Shabbat; for our observance of Shabbat; and for our relationship with the Divine?
#seventhdayofcreation
# SacredTime
https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/129829?editor=1