The Power of Shabbat

Don Isaac Abarbanel’s Question:

If Moses has gathered the community to give them the commandments about the Mishkan, why does he begin with the commandment of Shabbat, which has already been given many times?

Purpose (Netivot Shalom - The Matter of Shabbat and Mishkan)

It is possible to explain the compatibility of the commandment of Shabbat and the Mishkan, because this took place the day after Yom Kippur. And one can say that the meaning of this is that the Holy Bountiful One sent the soul to this world, and made it descend from a high place to a low place, when its lofty and exalted purpose is to be connecting to God, and in this light how one can fulfill one's task and reach their purpose while being in a low place in this world, a world of appetites, how one can ascend to a higher level. Thus the Holy Bountiful One gave Kabbalat HaTorah...which gives a person great power, the Torah and the Commandments help one to remove one from exceedingly low states to the sacred purpose.

Power (Rabbi S. R. Hirsch on Exodus 35:1-3)

The mastery of Man over matter, in getting, producing, changing, manufacturing the raw materials of the world, attained its highest meaning in the Temple. The world submits to Man, for him to submit himself and his world to God, and for him to change this earthly world into a home for the Kingdom of God, to a Temple in which the Glory of God tarries on earth. The building of the Temple is a sanctification of human labour, and in the context here, it is represented as being a combination of all those creative activities of Man, be the cessation of which - by shevita from all melachah - the Sabbath is made into an acknowledgement of man's allegiance to God...

On the one hand, kindling fire itself is not a productive, creative, but primarily, rather a destructive activity. But on the other hand, the ability to produce fire artificially is just that which first gave Man his true mastery over the materials of the world. Only by means of fire can he create his tools, can he analytically and synthetically probe into the inner nature of things...

Persistence (Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath)

With all its grandeur, the Sabbath is not sufficient unto itself. Its spiritual reality calls for companionship of man. There is a great longing in the world. The six days stand in need of space; the seventh day stands in need of man. It is not good that the spirit should be alone, so Israel was destined to be a helpmeet for the Sabbath.

To understand the significance of that new conception, it is important to be aware of the mood of the age. Rabbi Shimeon belonged to a generation which, under the leadership of Bar Kochba, rose in arms against the might of Rome in a last effort to regain independence and to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem. Israel without the sanctuary seemed alone in the world. Revolt was crushed; it became clear that there was no possibility of another uprising. The sanctuary in space was going to remain in ruins for many a long day. But Rabbi Shimeon's idea proclaimed Israel was not alone. Israel is engaged to holiness, to eternity. The match was made long before history began; the Sabbath was a union that no one could just join. What God put together could not be set apart. (p. 52)

Pressure Release (Rabbi Reuven Hammer, The Torah Revolution)

Although the Sabbath originated in a simple, rural society, it has perhaps even more relevance in today's highly technological and highly pressured culture. For most of us, especially city dwellers, hard physical labor is not the problem, but enslavement to possessions, to the pursuit of material ends, and to the pressures of business and competition are obstacles indeed. We have tremendous need to withdraw from the everyday, to stop the drive toward acquisitiveness, to disengage from technology and reengage with people and with ourselves...."The Sabbath is the day on which we learn the art of surpassing civilization."

Strange as it may be, this ancient institution, which began as a way of freeing human beings from the tyranny of labor, is ideally suited to meet the needs of modern times as well. We have the need "to be refreshed." The word for this in Hebrew, va'yinafash, stems from the Hebrew nefesh - "life" or"soul." To give ourselves more life, a reinvigorated soul, is the goal of the Sabbath. No wonder the rabbis call the Sabbath "a taste of the world to come." (pp. 185-186)

Possibilities (Adapted from Rabbi Arthur Green's list in The Ten Challenges, p. 91)

A. Don't do anything you have to do for your work life.

B. Don't spend money.

C. Don't travel.

D. Don't look at a screen.