Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
(א) וַיְכֻלּ֛וּ הַשָּׁמַ֥יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ וְכָל־צְבָאָֽם׃ (ב) וַיְכַ֤ל אֱלֹקִים֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה וַיִּשְׁבֹּת֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מִכָּל־מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָֽׂה׃ (ג) וַיְבָ֤רֶךְ אֱלֹקִים֙ אֶת־י֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י וַיְקַדֵּ֖שׁ אֹת֑וֹ כִּ֣י ב֤וֹ שָׁבַת֙ מִכָּל־מְלַאכְתּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֥א אֱלֹקִ֖ים לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃
(1) And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. (2) And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. (3) And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it He rested from all His work which God in creating had made.
- Shabbat is there for us to rest so that we can then work
- We work during the week so that we can rest and enjoy Shabbat
What is YOUR relationship with Shabbat and the week?
Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
The meaning of the Sabbath is to celebrate time rather than space. Six days a week we live under the tyranny of things of space; on the Sabbath we try to become attuned to holiness in time. It is a day on which we are called upon to share in what is eternal in time, to turn from the results of creation to the mystery of creation, from the world of creation to the creation of the world...(p.10)
He who wants to enter the holiness of the day must first lay down the profanity of clattering commerce, of being yoked to toil...He must say farewell to manual work and learn to understand that the world has already been created and will survive without the help of man. Six days a week we wrestle with the world, wringing profit from the earth; on the Sabbath we especially care for the seed of eternity planted in the soul. The world has our hands, but our soul belongs to Someone Else. Six days a week we seek to dominate the world, on the seventh day we try to dominate the self. (p. 13)
(16) The children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to make the sabbath for their generations, a perpetual covenant. (17) It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel for ever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He ceased and rested (souled).’
What holds you back from making Shabbat a bigger part of your life?
These are the things that the LORD has commanded you to do: (2) On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death.
Why does Israel count by the moon, with each month starting when the new moon emerges? Because the moon, unlike the sun, waxes and wanes, nearly disappears and then grows bright again. So the Jewish people go through cycles of prosperity and suffering, knowing that even in darkness there are brighter days ahead.
Just as God showed Noah the rainbow as a sign of the covenant, God shows Moses the sliver of the new moon as a symbol of Israel’s capacity for constant renewal.
Judaism teaches us to be attached to holiness in time, to be attached to sacred events, to learn how to consecrate sanctuaries that emerge from the magnificent stream of a year. The Sabbaths are our great cathedrals; and our Holy of Holies is a shrine that neither the Romans nor the Germans were able to burn….
Judaism is a religion of time aiming at the sanctification of time. Unlike the space-minded man to whom time is unvaried, iterative, homogeneous, to whom all hours are alike, quality-less, empty shells, the Bible senses the diversified character of time. There are no two hours alike. Every hour is unique and the only one given at the moment, exclusive and endlessly precious.
דאמר ר' שמעון בן לקיש נשמה יתירה נותן הקב"ה באדם ערב שבת. ולמוצאי שבת נוטלין אותה הימנו שנאמר (שמות לא, יז) שבת וינפש כיון ששבת ווי אבדה נפש:
Talmud Bavli, Beitzah 16a
Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: The Holy One, blessed be He, gives the Jew an extra soul ("Neshamah Yetayrah") on Shabbat eve. After Shabbat ends, it is taken away from the person, as it says, "He ceased working and rested - Shavat Va'Yinafash" (Exodus 31:17), since it ceased, the soul is lost.
- How could that "extra soul" manifest? Do you feel different on shabbat?
(א)ארבעה דברים נאמרו בשבת שנים מן התורה ושנים מדברי סופרים והן מפורשין על ידי הנביאים. שבתורה זכור ושמור. ושנתפרשו על ידי הנביאים כבוד ועונג שנאמר וקראת לשבת עונג ולקדוש ה' מכובד.
There are four aspects of the observance of Shabbat: Two originating in the Torah and two from our Sages via the prophets: In the Torah, they are: "Remember the Sabbath Day" and "Observe the Sabbath Day." In the prophets they are honor and pleasure, as it is written in the book of Isaiah (58:13): "And you shall call the Sabbath a delight, sanctified unto God and honored."
- What are the differences in the aspects of remembering, observing and seeing the Shabbat as "honor and pleasure"? Why do we need all of them?
(8) Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy. (9) Six days you shall labor and do all your work, (10) but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God: you shall not do any work—you, your son or daughter, your male or female slave, or your cattle, or the stranger who is within your settlements. (11) For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth and sea, and all that is in them, and God rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and hallowed it.
וַיְהִי עֶֽרֶב וַיְהִי בֹֽקֶר--יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי. וַיְכֻלּוּ הַשָּׁמַֽיִם וְהָאָֽרֶץ וְכָל צְבָאָם. וַיְכַל אֱלֹקִים בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה, וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי, מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה. וַיְבָֽרֶךְ אֱלֹקִים אֶת יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אֹתוֹ, כִּי בוֹ שָׁבַת מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ, אֲשֶר בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים לַעֲשׂוֹת.
סַבְרִי מָרָנָן וְרַבָּנָן וְרַבּוֹתַי:
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, בּוֹרֵא פְּרִי הַגָּֽפֶן.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ מֶֽלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָֽׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו וְרָֽצָה בָֽנוּ, וְשַׁבַּת קָדְשׁוֹ בְּאַהֲבָה וּבְרָצוֹן הִנְחִילָֽנוּ זִכָּרוֹן לְמַעֲשֵׂה בְרֵאשִׁית, כִּי הוּא יוֹם תְּחִלָּה לְמִקְרָאֵי קֹֽדֶשׁ, זֵֽכֶר לִיצִיאַת מִצְרָֽיִם, כִּי בָֽנוּ בָחַֽרְתָּ וְאוֹתָֽנוּ קִדַּֽשְׁתָּ מִכָּל הָעַמִּים, וְשַׁבַּת קָדְשְׁךָ בְּאַהֲבָה וּבְרָצוֹן הִנְחַלְתָּֽנוּ. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי, מְקַדֵּשׁ הַשַּׁבָּת.
Kiddush for Friday Evenings
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, creator of the fruit of the vine. Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Ruler of the Universe, who sanctified us with God’s commandments and favored us. Lovingly You have favored us with the gift of Your holy Shabbat as our inheritance, a reminder of creation, first among the sacred days which recall the Exodus from Egypt. You have chosen us of all peoples for Your service, [Reconstructionist version: You have called us to Your service] and You have given us a sacred purpose in life. In loving favor You have given us Your holy shabbat as a heritage. Blessed are You, Adonai, who hallows Shabbat.