Understanding the Shabbat
Monday, September 15, 2014
The origin of the Sabbath (Shabbat) is obscure, as are the beginning of all of the other festivals in Judaism. The seventh day of rest was first mentioned in the book of Genesis 2:1 as the day that God ceased the cycle of creative endeavor. Later, this seventh cycle was commemorated as the seventh day of rest and respite from a six day work week.
"Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days a week are set apart for your daily duties and regular work, but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to the LORD your God. On that day no one in your household may do any kind of work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; then he rested on the seventh day. That is why the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy.” (Exodus 20:8-11)
It is, first of all, very important that we understand how the Sabbath day is related to creation itself. It is no accident that God "created" the Sabbath day at the very end of a seven stage cycle, thus identifying the seventh concept with Creation, as well as "rest."
In the story of creation, found in Genesis, we find that the creation of the physical world was markedly formed with seven and its multiples. Even the time of creation is marked by seven: 7 days of Creation.
In the creation story “God saw” is repeated seven times. Sefer Yetzira (Book of Formation) explains that these seven repetitions parallel the seven double letters – shin - ש, ayin - ע, tet - ט, nun - נ, zayin - ז, gimmel - ג, tzaddik - צ, (letters which can be pronounced hard or soft) and the seven days of the week. The following is a list of the sevens and their multiples in the creation story of Bereishit (Genesis):
· 35 (7x5) times God (Elohim) is found.
· 7 times “On the Earth (Hebrew only)” is found.
· 21 (7x3) times “Earth, earth, or land” are found.
· 7 times “heaven(s), sky (excluding “heavenly sky”)” are found.
· 7 times “Good” is found.
· 7 times “Water(s) (beneath the heavens)” are found.
· 7 times “flying, fly, or birds” are found.
· 7 times “crawls, walks, land animals” are found.
· 14 (7x2) times “day or days” are found.
Thus, writes Nachmanides:
“The first day of creation, which saw the creation of light, embodies the first millennium of history--the millennium of Adam, whom the Midrash Tanchuma calls the light of the world, when the world was still saturated with knowledge of its Creator and was sustained by the indiscriminate benevolence of God; the second day, on which the Creator distinguished between the spiritual and the physical elements of His creation, yielded a second millennium of judgment and discrimination--as reflected in the Flood which wiped out a corrupt humanity and spared only the righteous Noah and his family; the third day, on which the land emerged from the sea and sprouted forth greenery and fruit-bearing trees, encapsulates the third millennium, in which Abraham began teaching the truth of the One God and the Torah was given on Mount Sinai; the fourth day, on which God created the sun and the moon, the two great luminaries: the greater luminary... and the lesser luminary, corresponds to the fourth millennium, in which the First Temple (2928-3338) and the Second Temple (3408-3829) in Jerusalem served as the divine abode from which light emanated to the entire world; the fifth day, the day of fish, birds and reptiles, unfolded into the lawless and predatory Dark Ages of the fifth millennium (240-1240 CE. in the secular calendar); the sixth day, whose early hours saw the creation of the beasts of the land, followed by the creation of man, is our millennium--a millennium marked by strong, forceful empires, whose beastly rule will be followed by the emergence of Mashiach, the perfect man who brings to realization the divine purpose in creation and ushers in the seventh millennium--the World to Come--a time of perfect peace and tranquility.”
In the book Judaism, by Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg, we read:
"In a basic Rabbinic image, mortals are God’s partners in the work of creation. God labored and then He rested; human beings labor to perform their creative tasks and they, too, must rest" (p.170).
So important is the Shabbat and it’s observance in Judaism that the Rabbi’s state the result of proper Shabbat observance by the collective of people would result in the expansion of consciousness and usher in the Messianic era:
"If the Jewish people would observe the Sabbath properly even once, the son of David [the Messiah] would come. Why? Because observing the Sabbath is equal to all the other commandments in importance" (Exodus Rabbah 25:12).
The observance of Shabbat is important and is cardinal in the spiritual life of Jews. However, the observance of the Shabbat is not a mere religious obligation nor is it an experience of oppressive legalistic directives. The Shabbat is entering into a sanctification of time and spiritual elevation that is unfettered by the normal mundane activities which one is involved in during the rest of the previous week. On Shabbat we find a spiritual rest that is best defined as sustenance for the soul and a respite from the aggressive physical labor of everyday existence.
Holiness in Time
The Jewish philosopher Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907-1973) declared of the Sabbath day:
"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 . . . .
"One of the most distinguished words in the Bible is the word kadosh, holy; a word which more than any other is representative of the mystery and majesty of the divine. Now what was the first holy object in the history of the world?
Was it a mountain? Was it an altar?
"It is, indeed, a unique occasion at which the distinguished word kadosh is used for the first time: in the Book of Genesis at the end of the story of creation. How extremely significant is the fact that it is applied to time: ’And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy' [Gen.2:3]. There is no reference in the record of creation to any object in space that would be endowed with the quality of holiness.
". . . 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" (Judaism, p.176).
The Shabbat is a commemoration of a period of time wherein a great Divine Power decided to rest. The ludicrous indication is that God is not so powerful as the Divine Provenance is susceptible to being weary. However, the confusion of rest is an English language dilemma. The Hebrew word for “rested” is נוּחַ nuach, which is more appropriately translated as a cessation, quieting down or settling. The seventh period of time was the cessation of the creative narrative of the Genesis story. There isn’t any indication that God literally took a time-out and needed a rest. This anthropomorphic ideal is a departure from Hebrew understanding concerning the nature of the Divine essence that is unlike human nature and is inconceivable to the restrictions of the finite human mind.
The seventh day (Shabbat) is not a commemoration of rest rather it is a memorial to creation and its perceived finality in the concept of the numeral seven. Nachmanides (12th century Spain) explains a beautiful Kabbalistic concept:
“Seven is the number of the natural world. There are 7 days in the week, 7 notes on the musical scale and 7 directions (left, right, up, down, forward, back and center). “Seven” - represented by the 7 days of the week is the world of nature.”
- Height
- Width
- Depth
- Top and bottom (limits height)
- Front and back (limits width)
- Left and right (limits depth)
- The connecting of the other six
The Maharal finds that the week itself is based on a primary idea. He attributes the symbolism of six and seven to the structure of space:
“When you look closely you will find that the physical has six opposing sides, which are: top and bottom, right and left, front and back. All these six sides are related to the physical, because each side has extent, and limits physical objects. But, it also has in it a seventh, and this is the middle, which has no exposure on any side. Because it is not related to any side it is like the non-physical, which has no extension [takes up no volume of space].” (Gevurot HaShem)
The cube, as a geometric shape, readily shows these attributes:
The Shabbat and the Messianic Era
Six things of equal size, for example circles or apples, exactly fit around a seventh circle (in the center) of the same size. So, if you draw a circle of any particular size, you can draw exactly six circles of the same size around that central circle, no more and no less (if you want them all to touch). This idea relates to the concept that the seventh is actually at the center and is the focus of the other six.
The connecting of the six attributes at the center of the shape fundamentally reveals the nature of seven. It is used for connection. Nothing can exist in the physical world without these seven attributes- nothing.
Shabbat is the seventh day of the week. This is no accident. Shabbat connects the six days of the week. All of the other days revolve around it. It serves as the center for the three days before it and the three days after it. Even though the seventh appears to be the final element in a linear progression, it is actually the core around which everything else revolves.
When the Torah wishes to give a name to the first day of the week, it gives it a name that describes its relationship to Shabbat, “the first day towards Shabbat”, “the second day towards Shabbat”, etc. And so it goes for the other six days. The sixth day is called “Erev Shabbat”, the eve of the Sabbath. Thus Shabbat connects the six days of the week.
When we are called “the nation that sanctifies the Seventh”, we can understand this to refer to the Jewish people sanctifying that which is at the core, the Shabbat. This alludes to us that the core is about reliance on the Creator, but that the other six, be they days of the week are about a struggle that stays centered on the core.
The Sages teach us that there are five things that we should strive to accomplish on Shabbat:
- Eat the best food of the week.
- Engage in marital relations
- Rest
- Pray
- Study Torah
Each of these seven is used for connection:
- Food connects the soul to the body
- Sex connects two physical bodies
- Rest allows us to connect with the six days of work
- Prayer allows us to connect with the Creator
- Torah study allows us to connect with a transcendent world.
Preparing for the Sabbath
To properly observe the Shabbat, it is necessary for "preparation" to be made in advance of the day itself. That is, Friday is considered the normal "preparation day." This principle is derived from Exodus 16:5, where God says relative to the Shabbat, “On the sixth day they shall prepare . . .” Says Rabbi Judah the Pious (1150-1207), one of the saintliest men of medieval German Jewry, about Sabbath preparation:
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy’ [Exo.20:8]. But is one liable to forget the Sabbath day? For it does recur every seventh day. The verse means to imply that one must remember to remove those things which would make him forget to remember the Sabbath. For example, one should not be sad on the Sabbath . . . Each Sabbath, one should do those things which remind him that it is a Sabbath. . .
"On the sixth day they shall prepare’ [Exo.16:5]. One must very diligently prepare for the Sabbath in advance. He must be diligent and quick in this as one who has heard that the Queen is going to lodge at his home, or as one who has heard that a bride and all her company are coming to his home. What would he do in such instances? He would greatly rejoice and say, ’They do me great honor by staying under my roof.’ He would say to his servants, ’Make the house ready, set it in order, sweep it out and make the beds in honor of those who are coming. I shall go to buy as much bread, meat and fish as I can, in their honor.’ What, for us, is greater than the Sabbath? The Sabbath is a bride, a Queen, the Sabbath is called a delight. Therefore, we surely must take pains to prepare for the Sabbath; each person himself must prepare, even though he has one hundred servants" (Sepher Hasidim, quoted in Judaism, p.175).
We must not forget, or neglect, to prepare in advance for God’s weekly holy day as we should. We ought to look forward with anticipation toward the Sabbath rest, from the moment the new week begins, and begin preparing for it. But the most special preparation ought to be done on Friday, the preparation day itself.
Prayers for the Sabbath
In Jewish liturgy, there are special prayers for the Sabbath day, which serve to enable us to make a conscious connection to the Creator during this period of sanctified time. A regular Sabbath prayer is rich with symbolism and meaning, and goes like this (in English):
"Those who celebrate the Sabbath rejoice in Your kingship, hallowing the seventh day, calling it a delight. All of them truly enjoy your goodness. For it pleased You, to sanctify the seventh day, calling it the most desirable day, a reminder of Creation. The Sabbath not only points back to Creation, and the God of Creation, but it also points like a signpost to the future, the seventh week in God’s celestial Plan -- the Millennial reign of the Messiah who is shortly to come! Thus it points both forward and backward -- to the past, and to the future.
Also, the Sabbath represents not only a reminder of the original Creation, completed long ago, but is a constant weekly reminder of the continuing Creation which is still going on – that is, God is still in the process of "creating" perfect, righteous, holy character in human beings, so that they may one day join Him in His Kingdom, which is typified by the Sabbath as well. God is even today creating His holy character within us. Those who are separated unto Him, by observance of His holy day, are uniquely His, and show that they belong to Him by observing the Sabbath -- and in so doing, show that they are His people, whom He is fashioning and shaping into His perfect character image and likeness.”
The Sabbath prayer continues:
"Our God and God of our ancestors, accept our Sabbath offering of rest. Add holiness to our lives with Your mitzvot [commandments] and let Your Torah be our portion. Fill our lives with Your goodness and gladden us with Your triumph. Cleanse our hearts and we shall serve You faithfully. Lovingly and willingly, Lord our God, grant that we inherit Your holy gift of the Sabbath forever, so that Your people Israel who hallow Your name will always find rest on this day. Praised are You, Lord who hallows the Sabbath" (Trans. from Siddur Sim Shalom, p.435, 437, in Judaism, p.177).
Another Sabbath prayer, prayed at the beginning of each Sabbath, declares:
"Praised are You, Lord our God, King of the universe whose mitzvot [commandments] add holiness to our lives, cherishing us through the gift of His holy Sabbath granted lovingly, gladly, a reminder of Creation. It is the first among our days of sacred assembly which recall the Exodus from Egypt. Thus You have chosen us, endowing us with holiness, from among all peoples by granting us Your holy Sabbath lovingly and gladly. Praised are You, Lord who hallows the Sabbath" (Siddur Sim Shalom, p.319).
For all of the proscribed Shabbat prayers one must look to a proper Siddur wherein the order of prayer is laid out.
In an ancient Jewish legend, God speaks to the children of Israel, saying…
"My children, if you are willing to accept the Torah and observe its precepts [mitzvot, or commandments], I will grant you a most precious gift."
"And what is this precious gift to be?" ask the children of Israel.
"The world-to-come," is the reply.
"Tell us what the world-to-come is like," retort the children of Israel.
And God responds, "I have already given you the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a taste of the world-to-come."
The Shabbat is considered to be 1/60th of the World to Come (Olam Haba) which we can experience in this world (Olam Hazeh). Entering into the Shabbat is a rich and delightful blessing- a true gift.
The Most Important Holy Day
The weekly Sabbath day, above all things, is a day of rest and spiritual rejuvenation and refreshing. It is the "day of joy" of the entire week. Properly observed, the Shabbat draws families together, and parents and children dine together on this great day. They laugh together, sing together, enjoy each other’s company. They study the Torah and pray together. They enact the role of a united, growing, harmonious family of God.
The Shabbat is considered the most important day of the Jewish calendar -- even more important than Yom Kippur or any of the other annual holy days. In one sense, it is more important than the other holy days for a very obvious reason -- it is observed 52 weeks in a year, that is, once every seven days! The other holy days or "Sabbaths" of God are observed only once a year!
The Sabbath is even more important than Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), because the penalty for desecrating the Shabbat is death itself. Violation of this day was a very serious matter. We read in the Torah: "Whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death" (Exodus 31:15); "every one that defiles it shall surely be put to death" (v.14). On the other hand, the penalty for desecrating Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, is banishment or excommunication from the people of God, the assembly of His children (Lev.23:30). In essence, then, the weekly Sabbath day is the most important day of the year! God "ceased" on the Shabbat, setting us an example of what He desires us to do on this day (Gen.2:1-3). Says Harold S. Kushner in his book To Life! concerning this "rest":
"The two words used in Biblical Hebrew to describe God resting on that first Sabbath are not the usual words for resting. The first means ’He ceased His labors,’ and the second means, ’He got His soul back.’ We are commanded to rest on the seventh day first to demonstrate our freedom from slavery, and second to get our souls back.
We are commanded to rest on the seventh day, but ’rest’ is defined as more than sleeping late and doing nothing strenuous. It has at least three other dimensions.
First, Sabbath rest is defined as leaving the world alone, restraining our impulse to tinker with it. There will be six days coming up to work at fixing what is wrong with the world. For one day, let well enough alone. Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is to stop fussing with it and let it take care of itself.
Second, Sabbath rest is defined as freedom from obligation. You don’t have to do anything. . . My own definition of Sabbath observance would involve taking my watch off at sunset Friday and not looking at it until sunset on Saturday . . . There is perhaps no more oppressive, though necessary, taskmaster in our lives than the clock, as we rush to catch a certain train, fearful of being late, fidget nervously in traffic jams . . . A day on which I didn’t know and didn’t care what time it was would be a day of
liberation for me.
And finally, Sabbath rest is a time of detaching ourselves for a day from all of our problems, everything unpleasant and unfinished. . . For one day, we try to see the world as it is supposed to be, free of pain and problems, to hold on to the vision of what it could be if we could just finally manage to get it right. We needn’t worry; our problems won’t disappear. They will all be there waiting for us at Sabbath’s end -the unpaid bills, the family conflicts, the problems at work. But for one day we will have had the liberating experience of not worrying about them" (p.98-99).
Truly, when properly observed, the Shabbat can and ought to be a "delight" - a day we put our problems behind us, and “rest” in the sustenance of this sacred time. All "work" should be put aside and not engaged in nor thought of.
The Sabbath - The Day of FAMILY!
The ceremony of welcoming the Shabbat ought to be one of the family highlights of the week. The simple ceremony of lighting the candles, the blessing of the bread and wine (the motzi and the kiddush), and the enjoyment of the festive Shabbat meal together, ought to be a wonderful family highlight and tradition, as often as possible. Neglect of such ceremonies, I believe, is why we have so many split and sundered families, so much of a "generation gap" between parents and children. We have, sadly, never really learned the essence of what it really means to be "family"! How often do modern families even sit down together at the dinner table?
Everybody is rushed in and out, like an express elevator, each going to his own destination, getting off on his own floor. So seldom it seems we have time for each other, in a relaxed, calm, peaceful, tranquil, pleasant environment! But the Shabbat, as a "cathedral in time," represents just such an opportunity!
Says Harold Kushner:
"If we do nothing to make it special, Friday night is no different from Wednesday or Thursday night. We have the power and the responsibility to make it special, to sanctify it. . . the Sabbath eve rituals testify to the power we share with God, the power to take the ordinary and make it special.
"On Friday evening, the table is set more formally than on an ordinary weekday. The family will have arranged to eat together. No one drifts in late; no one runs off early. (A psychologist friend of mine tells me, to my astonishment, that the most reliable indicator of how well a student will do in high school is how often he eats dinner with his parents!). In a home where the wife and mother is present, she lights the candles and offers a blessing praising God for teaching her how to bring holiness into her home by performing the mitzvah of lighting Sabbath candles. There is also the lovely custom of her reciting a silent personal prayer for the well-being of her family: may all the coming week be as peaceful for all of us as this moment is" (To Life!, p.101-102).
Family togetherness! What a rich opportunity! Says The Jewish Book of Why, about the importance of the Sabbath in uniting families and sealing the familial bond:
"Families were drawn together on the Sabbath. Parents and children dined together. They prayed together. They studied together. They sang together. They were a family" (p.161).
The prophet Malachi tells us that one of the major accomplishments of the prophet Elijah, or the one who comes in his power and spirit "before the great and dreadful day of the LORD" (Mal.4:5), is that he will teach the basic truths of the Torah of God, revealed through Moses, "with ALL the statutes and judgments" (Mal.4:4). One of these special statutes and holy laws is the proper reverence for the Sabbath day! As a day that powerfully reinforces family unity and cohesion, and togetherness, the Sabbath is a unifying principle of the entire Torah. By teaching its proper observance, as a family matter, Elijah will –
". . . turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse [that is, in Hebrew, "total destruction"]" (Mal.4:6).
The Lighting of Candles
Lighting of Sabbath candles at the beginning of the Shabbat is an ancient tradition. The custom originated in the eighth century, "in order to combat the hostility of the Jewish Karaite community, which forbad the use of all light on the Sabbath" (The Jewish Book of Why, p.168). The Karaites were a sect of Jews which developed in the eighth century, in opposition to the rabbis and the Oral Torah. They followed the practices resembling the Sadducees, who were very strict in terms of legalistic interpretation of the Torah of Moses. The Karaites not only forbad making any fire on the Sabbath, but
The candles are usually lit about 18 minutes before Shabbat begins (before sunset), about forty minutes before nightfall. One custom is to light two candles at the beginning of the Sabbath, representing the two important references to the Sabbath which state:
1) "Remember the Sabbath" (Exo.20:8); and
2) "Observe the Sabbath" (Deut.5:12).
One candle represents remembering, and the other observing. However, it is the custom of some people to light a seven-branch menorah on the Shabbat, with seven candles, one for each day of the week and to correspond to the original seven-branch menorah which was lit in the Temple in Jerusalem, before the Holy of Holies.
In Jewish homes, the lighting of the Sabbath candles is generally done by a woman. Rashi explains that as it was the downfall of Eve that caused the light to be diminished in the world, so a woman should be the one who lights the candles to bring the light back into the world. Therefore it is fitting for a woman to light the candles, but if she is unable, then a man may do it.
ברוך אתה ה' א‑לוהינו, מלך העולם, אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו להדליק נר של שבת.
Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu, Melekh ha'olam, asher kid'shanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hadlik ner shel Shabbat.
"Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to light the Shabbat candle[s]."
Challah -- Special Sabbath Bread
Two loaves of challah bread are customary to be placed on the table for the Sabbath meal because when Israel came out of Egypt, God showed them which day was the true Sabbath by a special miracle. He sent them a certain portion of manna six days of the week. But on the sixth day, in preparation for the Shabbat, He sent them a double portion! (Exo.16:22). Each person was to gather twice as much on the sixth day, as no manna would be sent on the Sabbath itself. The Hebrew word here is lechem mishne, which means "double allotment," or "double bread." In memory of this miracle, then, the Jewish people have two loaves of challah bread served at the Sabbath table.
Another explanation of the two loaves of challah is that the shewbread in the Temple was placed in two rows. Thus each loaf of challah represents one row of shewbread in the Temple. Each Sabbath fresh shewbreads were prepared to replace the old ones, which became the property of the priests. In order to glorify God, and to celebrate the Shabbat, the challah loaves of bread are made in a variety of shapes and styles -- rectangular, oblong, flat, braided, round, filled with raisins, sprinkled with seeds (such as sesame seeds, poppy seeds), to represent the manna in the desert.
The blessing recited for the challah is as follows:
ברוך אתה ה' א‑לוהינו, מלך העולם, המוציא לחם מן הארץ.
Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, hamotzi lehem min ha'aretz.
"Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, Who brings forth bread from the earth."
The Kiddush -- the Wine
Jews take wine at every time they are ascending from one level, in this world, to a higher level. We drink wine on occasions that mark distinction (circumcision), growth (marriage), elevation (Shabbat) and enlightenment (Purim, Passover).
The blessing recited for Kiddush is:
ברוך אתה ה' א‑לוהינו, מלך העולם, בורא פרי הגפן.
Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu, Melekh ha'olam, bo're p'ri hagafen.
"Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine."
The Blessing of the Wife
Another custom among Jewish families on the eve of the Shabbat is for the husband to read from Proverbs 31, the chapter on the "virtuous woman," and describing the godly woman. Then, upon finishing the passage, he recites the final verses which sum up the blessing on his wife, saying to her, in front of all those guests present, and before the children:
"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good, and not evil, all the days of
her life. . . .
She stretches out her hand to the poor; yea, she reaches forth her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. . .
Her husband is known in the gates, where he sits among the elders of the land. . . Strength and honor are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue in the law of kindness. She looks well to the ways of her household, and eats not the bread of idleness.
Her children arise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but you excel them all. Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that reverences the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her own hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates" (Proverbs 31:10-31).
This special honor shown to the wife certainly helps bind the couple together more firmly in love and oneness, unity and mutual appreciation and respect.
The Rabbi’s also teach us that this special blessing is a depiction of Israel and her truest lover- the Creator. The relationship between God and Israel is commonly likened unto a married couple as it was at Mount Sinai that Israel received her ketubah (marriage covenant)- the holy Torah.
The Blessing of Children
Following the Kiddush, and the blessing of the wife, and before the Sabbath meal, if there are children present, one of the most enjoyable activities is for the parents to "bless" their children at the Sabbath table. Imagine how unifying this is to a family, when parents literally "BLESS" their own children, every week, as the Sabbath day begins, or when the Sabbath festive meal is eaten!
First, a general blessing can be recited for each child, or for all together -- the blessing of the priests for Israel. It goes like this:
"The LORD bless you and keep you, The LORD make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you, The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you Shalom [peace]."
After this general blessing on the children, the blessing that is then recited for sons – the male children present -- is based on the blessing that Jacob made on the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh. It goes like this, in English:
"May the LORD make you [or bless you, and make you fruitful] like Ephraim and Manasseh."
The blessing said for the daughters is as follows:
"May the LORD make you [or bless you, and make you fruitful] like Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah."
Harold S. Kushner, in his book To Life! A Celebration of Jewish Being and Thinking, describes his own feelings about the blessing of the children. He writes:
"In families where there are young children and the father is present, after the candles have been lit, the father blesses the children. He places his hands on their heads and recites the benediction ’May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He send His light into your lives and deal graciously with you. May He
look favorably upon you and grant you shalom, peace.’ When our children were young, this was my favorite moment of the week. There is something deeply stirring about a parent blessing a child, telling them that he loves them and wishes them well. (How many adults are emotionally wounded today because they never heard their parents tell them they loved them?) This ritual has the virtue of telling you when and how to do it, instead of asking you to find the occasion and make up the words yourself" (p.103).
Time to Study the Torah
On the occasion of the Shabbat, the reading of the Torah was introduced by Ezra the Scribe. He also introduced the reading of the Torah publicly on Mondays and Thursdays. Ezra felt that since many tradesmen could not come up to Jerusalem to hear the Torah read on Mondays and Thursdays, both of which were market days, days of business affairs, that the reading of the Torah on Shabbat would provide an extra opportunity for these Jews to fulfill the obligation of hearing the Torah read.
Spending Shabbat to read the Torah, drawing close to God, learning more about the mitzvot,
is a very important obligation and duty of man. As David declared, "Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in the heavens" (Psalm 119:89). "How sweet are Your words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalm 119:103). He asserted with clarity and power, "Your word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path" (v.105).
Drawing close to God on the Shabbat is the major purpose of the day! The Sabbath should not, therefore, be so cluttered with activities and things that Torah study becomes neglected or forsaken or despised -- or eliminated! God forbid!
"Havdalah" - Concluding the Sabbath
The origin of the "Havdalah" ceremony is also attributed to the Men of the Great Assembly (Sanhedrin), of the fourth and fifth-century B.C.E. -- during or shortly after the time of Ezra the Scribe. At the Havdalah ceremony, a cup of wine is filled to overflowing, representing the overflowing joy and happiness of the Shabbat. It also represents the "abundance" of the Shabbat.
At this ceremony, it is customary to recite the passage of Scripture in Isaiah 12:2-3:
"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD is my strength and my song; he also is become my redemption. Therefore with joy shall you draw water out of the wells of redemption."
The Havdalah ceremony is a pleasant way to end the Shabbat -- with our thoughts focused on God as our Redeemer, our strength and our song -- and the thought of irrepressible JOY bubbling up out of the wells of deliverance.
Originally, two lighted candles were held during the Havdalah ceremony because the prayer recited used the plural form for light, that is: "Blessed art Thou, who created the lights of fire" -- in Hebrew, boray me-oray ha-aysh. Today, however, in most Jewish homes two candles are replaced by one double-braided candle with a double wick, which provides a more torch-like fire. This reminds us that "the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes" (Psalm 19:8).
As God’s people observe the Sabbath, and even follow such simple customs and ceremonies, it can reinforce in our hearts and minds the uniqueness and separateness - the holiness - of God’s holy Sabbath day, and remind us how distinct and different it is from all other days.
An abbreviated version of the Havdalah ceremony is as follows:
First, since havdalah is recited over a cup of wine, the blessing on wine is said:
ברוך אתה ה' א‑לוהינו, מלך העולם, בורא פרי הגפן.
Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, bo're p'ri hagafen.
"Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, Who creates the fruit of the vine."
Then, spices are smelled, preceded by the blessing on smelling spices:
ברוך אתה ה' א‑לוהינו, מלך העולם, בורא מיני בשמים.
Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, bo're minei b'samim.
"Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, Who creates varieties of spices."
The spices are then passed around and smelled by those present.
Next, a multi‑wicked candle, which has already been lit, is viewed, preceded by the blessing:
ברוך אתה ה' א‑לוהינו, מלך העולם, בורא מאורי האש.
Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, bo're m'orei ha'esh.
"Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, Who creates the lights of the fire."
The candle is held up in the air and those present look at the reflection of the light on their fingernails.
Last is a blessing of praise for God's separating the holy from the every‑day:
ברוך אתה ה' א‑לוהינו, מלך העולם, המבדיל בין קודש לחול, בין אור לחושך, בין ישראל לעמים, בין יום השביעי לששת ימי המעשה. ברוך אתה ה', המבדיל בין קודש לחול.
Baruch ata Adonai Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam, ha'mavdil bein kodesh l'hol, bein or l'hoshekh, bein yisra'el la'amim, bein yom ha'sh'vi'i l'sheshet y'mei ha'ma'a'se. Barukh ata Adonai, ha'mavdil bein kodesh l'hol.
"Blessed are You, LORD our God, King of the universe, Who distinguishes between the sacred and the secular, between light and dark, between Israel and the nations, between the seventh day and the six days of labor. Blessed are You, LORD, Who distinguishes between the sacred and the secular.”
The Shabbat and the Messianic Era
How does the weekly day of rest, the Shabbat, relate to the Messianic Era? How does it picture the final redemption?
Writes Rabbi Irving Greenberg in The Jewish Way:
"The Shabbat is the foretaste of the messianic redemption. But even as this enclave of perfection is carved out in the realm of time, the world goes on as usual in the realm of surrounding space" (The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays, by Rabbi Irving Greenberg, p.129).
The world of the Sabbath is completely different from the weekday universe, Irving Greenberg tells us. He speaks of the world of the Sabbath as "an alternate reality." In the Sabbath, there is no work to do, no deprivation. Says Greenberg, "Since such a world does not yet exist in space, it is first created in time, on the seventh day of the week. Jews travel through time in order to enter a perfect world for a night and a day. The goal is to create a reality so complete and absorbing that these time travelers are caught up in its values and renewed" (ibid.).
Says Greenberg, "The Shabbat comes to an end weekly, but it creates an appetite and a satisfaction that lasts through the week until it is renewed again" (p.130). He goes on, "This periodic taste of fulfillment became the protection against the bitterness of gratification indefinitely postponed. Every seven days, the people of Israel were ’married’ again to the Divine Lover and to the beloved Shabbat queen."
Greenberg continues:
"The Shabbat experience nurtures that special kind of love called chessed. Chessed embraces the world even in its grimmest reality. Because love accepts life totally, love is not discouraged by its flaws. Simultaneously, chessed affirms life’s capacity to be perfected. By embracing all of being, chessed sets in motion the very process of becoming perfect. A person blessed with the wisdom of chessed knows that life is rooted in the infinite. Therefore, life can grow out of its fetters and flaws. Life can outgrow death by creating more life before death comes. Therefore, notwithstanding the universal power of death, life will overcome it."
In these poignant remarks, Irving Greenberg describes how the Sabbath is in reality a sanctuary in time -- and a remarkably powerful reality in itself, picturing and foreshadowing the Messianic age. It is a powerful builder of character, the character that God desires to see perfected in His people. Observing the Sabbath is the route -- the roadway -- the highway – to the Messianic Era.
The weekly Sabbath day is a tiny microcosm of the World to Come. It is a foretaste – a predictor -- of the final redemption, and what it will be like. Therefore, every time we observe it, and enter into its rest, we in a sense enter into the World to Come itself! It empowers us, spiritually; it recreates within us the courage, fortitude, and spirit of boldness to face life’s difficulties and dilemmas. God works His Spirit, and in a special sense His Sabbath day, to strengthen and enrich and empower us, spiritually, to do His Work, and to fashion within us His very character and likeness -- His "chesed," which means "loving-kindness"!
Says Greenberg,
"The weekly encounter with messianic perfection saves one from internalizing the indignity and injustice of the status quo. The taste of salvation gives new energy to resist the counsels of despair and to press on for higher levels of dignity and justice for all. It gives the Jew and all who benefit from the Sabbath the renewed strength to affirm with renewed credibility the classic proclamation: ’I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah, and even though the Messiah tarry, I will continue to wait every day.’
"And when the final deliverance comes, there will be those who will know what to do . . . where to go" (The Jewish Way, p.132).
The week consists of six days in which man is told to do his work. This is followed by the seventh day Sabbath of rest. Thus for six days man is commanded to rule the earth, and subdue it -- settle it, and fulfill its potential. But on the seventh day man is commanded to stop working, and to reflect on what he has done, what he has made, during the preceding week, and to put it aside, and to enjoy the peace of the Sabbath.
Says Greenberg,
"The Shabbat rest teaches us that change is completed by peace, and action is enriched by contemplation. Since power is sometimes perfected by restraint, the overwhelming power of God is put aside to allow a truly equal partnership between God and humanity or between one human and another. Shabbat is the completion and celebration of that partnership" (p.139).
Greenberg adds,
"The movement from weekday work to Shabbat is a move from acting outward to developing inward. The Shabbat is more than a day of being, it is a day of becoming. Rest is more than leisure from work, it is a state of inner discovery, tranquility, and unfolding. The ability to accept and affirm life in its own right frees me to become more than I am -- through self-development and through intensified relationships with others. The Sabbath command is not just to stop working, it is actively to achieve menuchah (rest) through self-expression, transformation, and renewal. On this day humans are freed and commanded to explore themselves and their relationships until they attain the fullness of being" (p.139-140).
God has called us to be His "partners" in the expanding Universe -- in the process of Creation of new worlds and new horizons. We are, as the Scriptures say so eloquently, "His offspring" -- His "children," made in His own image and likeness.
The weekly Shabbat is a very vital part of this divine program! To ignore it, and to trample it under foot, is to miss out on the power and salutary benefits that accrue to those who observe it faithfully, and whole-heartedly.
It is a tremendous honor to be your reader. A tremendous Parashat, that is it, a full, powerful, detailed, and excellent Parashar. Excellent, Jason. Excelence and Excellent!.