‘A Gift Called Shabbat’

The Torah informs us that in an ironic twist of fate, our very redeemer was raised on the lap of our nation’s arch nemesis, King Pharaoh. Before fully investing himself as Hashem’s agent of our salvation, Moshe would try to lighten the crushing burden of his brethren from within the enemy’s ranks. Our sages tell us that one of the first things Moshe advocated for in the palace was a royal day of rest for the king’s slaves. As Moshe couched it, how can the body work without rest and yet be expected to produce fine results? We are taught that, being a prophet, Moshe had anticipated Hashem’s commandment for a day of rest, and desired to bestow it upon his brothers earlier in their exile. Moshe’s petition was accepted by Pharaoh and lauded for its great wisdom, but a question remains. Why did Moshe risk his popular standing in the king’s court for a day called Shabbat?

Our Rabbis clearly inform us in multiple places that Shabbat is one of the greatest Mitzvot in the entire Torah. The Torah contains 613 commandments, and our sages explain that these mirror and represent the 613 components of our body. However, even within our own bodies, we recognize that certain components are more central to our existence than others. For example, a functioning heart is integral to our survival, while missing fingers will not jeopardize overall health. Mitzvot operate in a similar fashion: together they make and nourish a complete ‘spiritual body’. However, some are more integral to the overall spiritual entity. In this sense, the Mitzvah of Shabbat reflects the spiritual ‘heart’ or ‘brain’ of a person. A Jew who does not keep Shabbat is like a person missing a heart or brain; he is for all intents and purposes not spiritually alive. Shabbat is central to Judaism and plays a very special role.

The Talmud teaches us that a Shabbat kept properly is great enough to undue the sin of idolatry. Idolatry is the very antithesis to Judaism, and yet Shabbat has the power to wipe away its contamination. Shabbat is also the source of our success. The Zohar explains that every day of our week derives blessing from the preceding Shabbat. These blessings include material gains, which emanate from within the spiritual fabric of Creation. Shabbat is thus the ‘trunk’ from which the branching days of our week receive their ‘nourishing fruit’. If we keep Shabbat properly, we greet the following week vested with the capacity to accept Heavenly bounty.

Shabbat also brings a special gift for each and every soul called a ‘Neshama Yeterah’. The term refers to a special portion of spirituality which attaches itself to our soul on Shabbat, expanding our consciousness and divine awareness. On top of this, Hashem utilizes Shabbat to spread a ‘Sukkat Shalom’ above our heads which affords further protection on this special day. Shabbat can therefore be seen as not only a day of physical rest, but also a day of rejuvenation and spiritual convalescence.

Our Sages also make it clear that disregarding the gift of Shabbat is tantamount to denying our soul its essential ‘oxygen’. Hashem gave us the Torah to empower us and maximize our potential, in a spiritual as well as material sense. Shabbat is what organizes the potential so that it can actualize. Our source of great pain should therefore be any Jew who remains unaware of this great gift. Even more so, we now hear of a supposedly Jewish Mayor in the city of Tiveriah (Tiberius) who is unsatisfied with publically disdaining the Shabbat in a predominantly traditional and religious city. This misguided Mayor allegedly goes so far as to incentivize the public to disregard the Shabbat with the novelty of ‘free’ Shabbat bus rides which cost the Jewish soul a most precious treasure. This same person also schedules sporting events specifically on the Shabbat and also imports ‘guests’ from other irreligious areas to disturb the serenity in his city on the universally recognized Jewish day of rest.

Hashem has blessed us so that our non-Jewish neighbors accommodate us and uphold their democracy, to live and let live. In America, Europe, and the rest of the Western world, Jews have the freedom to keep the Shabbat. Our observance of this special day benefits all of Hashem’s Creations, and grants our neighbors countless blessings as well. The final result of our Shabbat is hinted to by our sages, who have said that if our nation keeps the Shabbat in all of its beautiful detail, we would immediately usher in the Final Redemption. We look forward to this time, and hope that we all merit the coveted era of universal peace and recognition of the One and Only G-d, Amen v’Amen.