(א) יִשמַח משֶׁה בְּמַתְּנַת חֶלְקו. כִּי עֶבֶד נֶאֱמָן קָרָאתָ לּו. כְּלִיל תִּפְאֶרֶת בְּראשׁו נָתַתָּ. בְּעָמְדו לְפָנֶיךָ עַל הַר סִינַי. וּשְׁנֵי לֻחות אֲבָנִים הורִיד בְּיָדו. וְכָתוּב בָּהֶם שְׁמִירַת שַׁבָּת. וְכֵן כָּתוּב בְּתורָתֶךָ:
(ב) וְשָׁמְרוּ בְנֵי יִשרָאֵל אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת. לַעֲשות אֶת הַשַּׁבָּת לְדרתָם בְּרִית עולָם: בֵּינִי וּבֵין בְּנֵי יִשרָאֵל אות הִיא לְעולָם. כִּי שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים עָשה ה' אֶת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֶת הָאָרֶץ. וּבַיּום הַשְּׁבִיעִי שָׁבַת וַיִּנָּפַשׁ:
(ג) וְלא נְתַתּו ה' אֱלהֵינוּ לְגויֵי הָאֲרָצות. וְלא הִנְחַלְתּו מַלְכֵּנוּ לְעובְדֵי פְסִילִים. וְגַם בִּמְנוּחָתו לא יִשְׁכְּנוּ עֲרֵלִים. כִּי לְיִשרָאֵל עַמְּךָ נְתַתּו בְּאַהֲבָה. לְזֶרַע יַעֲקב אֲשֶׁר בָּם בָּחָרְתָּ: עַם מְקַדְּשֵׁי שְׁבִיעִי. כֻּלָּם יִשבְּעוּ וְיִתְעַנְּגוּ מִטּוּבֶךָ. וּבַשְּׁבִיעִי רָצִיתָ בּו וְקִדַּשְׁתּו. חֶמְדַת יָמִים אותו קָרָאתָ. זֵכֶר לְמַעֲשה בְרֵאשִׁית:
(ד) אֱלהֵינוּ וֵאלהֵי אֲבותֵינוּ רְצֵה בִמְנוּחָתֵנוּ. קַדְּשֵׁנוּ בְּמִצְותֶיךָ וְתֵן חֶלְקֵנוּ בְּתורָתֶךָ. שבְּעֵנוּ מִטּוּבֶךָ וְשמְּחֵנוּ בִּישׁוּעָתֶךָ וְטַהֵר לִבֵּנוּ לְעָבְדְּךָ בֶּאֱמֶת. וְהַנְחִילֵנוּ ה' אֱלהֵינוּ בְּאַהֲבָה וּבְרָצון שַׁבַּת קָדְשֶׁךָ. וְיָנוּחוּ בו יִשרָאֵל מְקַדְּשֵׁי שְׁמֶךָ: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' מְקַדֵּשׁ הַשַּׁבָּת:
Moses rejoiced at the gift of his destiny when You declared him a faithful servant, adorning him with splendor as he stood in Your Presence atop Mount Sinai. Two tablets of stone did he bring down, inscribed with Shabbat observation. And thus is it written in Your Torah:
The people Israel shall observe Shabbat, to maintain it as an everlasting covenant throughout all generations. It is a sign between Me and the people Israel for all time, that in six days the Lord made the heaves and the earth and on the seventh day He ceased from work and rested.
You have not granted this day, Lord our God, to other peoples of the world, nor have You granted it, our Kind, as a heritage to idolaters. Nor do those outside the covenant know its rest which You have given lovingly to the people Israel, Your beloved descendants of Jacob. May the people who make the seventh day holy find satisfaction and delight in Your generosity. The seventh day have You chosen to make holy, declaring it most precious, a day recalling the work of Creation.
Our God and God of our ancestors, accept our Shabbat offering of rest. Add holiness to our lives with Your mitzvot and let Your Torah be our portion. Fill our lives with Your mitzvot and let Your Torah be our portion. Cleanse our hearts and we shall serve You faithfully. Lovingly and willingly, Lord our God, grant that we inherit Your holy gift of Shabbat forever, so that Your people Israel who hallow Your name will always find rest on this day. Praised are You, Lord who hallows Shabbat.
Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath
Judaism tries to foster the vision of life as a pilgrimage to the seventh day; the longing for the Sabbath all days of the week which is a form of longing for the eternal Sabbath all the days of our lives. It seeks to displace the coveting of things in space for coveting the things in time, teaching man to covet the seventh day all days of the week. God himself coveted that day, He called in Hemdat Yamim, a day to be coveted. It is as if the command: Do not covet things of space, were correlated with the unspoken word: Do covet things of time.
The Spice of the Sabbath
Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism, by Howard Schwartz
Why is Sabbath food so fragrant? Some say there is a certain spice named Shabbat, and when put into food it renders the dish fragrant. And where does that spice come from? From the Garden of Eden.
Ever since they took leave of this world, the patriarch Abraham and his wife, Sarah, have made their home in the Garden of Eden. During the week Abraham wanders through the Garden and gathers leaves that have fallen from the trees of Eden, especially those of the Tree of Life.
And on the eve of the Sabbath, Sarah crushes those leaves and takes the powder made from them and casts it into the wind. And winds guided by angels carry it to the four corners of the earth, so that all those who breathe in even the smallest speck have a taste of Paradise, and the Sabbath is filled with joy for them.
The Women in Paradise
Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism, by Howard Schwartz
There are six places in Paradise where the souls of the righteous women make their home. Each of these righteous women has a place of her own. In each chamber there are beautiful canopies, with angels set over them, and every day they are crowned with the radiance of the Shekhinah.
The first palace is ruled by Bitiah, Pharaoh's daughter, who raised Moses as if he were her own son. She teaches the commandments of the Torah to the many thousands of myriads of pious women who are with her, and she serves as their queen. These women still maintain their human form, and they are clothed in garments of light, and there is great joy among them. Three times a day Bitiah goes to a place where there is a curtain, and bows before the image of Moses, saying, "Fortunate am I for drawing such a light out of the water."
The next palace is that of Serah bat Asher, who rules over thousands of myriads of righteous women. They busy themselves with praises of the Lord, and contemplate the commandments of the Torah. Three times a day Serah goes to a curtain and bows before the image of Joseph, saying, "Happy was the day on which I have the good news about Joseph to my grandfather, Jacob."
the other palaces are presided over by Yocheved, the mother of Moses, Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Moses, and Deborah the prophetess. All day long the women are by themselves, as are the men, for there is a curtain spread out in Paradise that separates them. But every night they come together at midnight, for that is the hour of copulation. Then they cleave soul to soul and light to light, and the fruit of this union are the souls of those who become converts to Judaism.
Hidden deep within these six palaces are the four hidden palaces of the matriarchs, Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, and Rachel. No one can imagine what joy and purity are found there, for no one has seen these palaces, or is permitted to reveal anything about them.