THE SABBATH OF CREATION

The Sabbath is introduced at the beginning of the Torah as the culmination of the creation narrative. If, as the Maharal of Prague tells us, the six days of creation symbolize the physical world which exists in the three dimensions and six directions of space, then the seventh represents the spiritual dimension, the dimension of mind, which gives meaning to the whole.

Using poetic license, the Torah tells us that God Himself, Who creates by word alone without work or effort, still in a sense needs to ''stand back" from His creation to consider its spiritual purpose and import, and by this very act brings sanctity and blessing into the world. The seventh day henceforth symbolizes the need for man to remind himself continuously of the purpose for which he was put in the world; that is, to administer it in such a way as to be a blessing to all.

THE SABBATH OF MANKIND

There are indications in our sources that the symbol of the Sabbath day of rest was once the legacy of all mankind. But the arrogant men of Babylon spurned the teaching of the Sabbath and their vaunted civilization degenerated into dissension and strife, idolatry and superstition. In ancient Babylon, it seems, there was still a memory of the seventh day called "sabbatu," but it had lost its sublime significance and had become a day of bad omen when it was considered unlucky to engage in any activity…

The Sabbath day became the symbol of the spiritual purpose of the world and of Israel's special task in the realization of this purpose…

THE SABBATH SYMBOL

How is the Sabbath to become such a symbol? How is it to become an education and a sanctification for our true task in life? "The seventh day is to be a Sabbath to God your God.'' How? "On it you shall not do any kind of work." This is much more than a mere day of rest. It is an all-embracing symbolic statement.

How does man show his domination over the earth? By fashioning all the things in his environment to suit his own purposes: the earth for his habitation, plants and animals for his food and clothing, metals and plastics for his industry, coal and oil and the atom itself for his energy. With his science and his technology he can transform everything into an instrument for his own service.

How wonderful this is! What tremendous power resides in the mind of man! But wherever we see a great concentration of power, we must ask: how is this power regulated? Uncontrolled power leads to disaster. As is true with other mitzvot, the control envisaged by the Torah is a self-imposed control. It consists in replacing selfish, materialist goals by unselfish, spiritual goals revealed to us by the world's Creator. This ensures that the way we administer the world will be beneficent rather than disastrous.

It is our task as Jews to keep this option open. We do it by maintaining the symbol of the Sabbath. On this day, at the behest of the Torah, we are to refrain from all productive activity. For this one day we relinquish our domination over the world and its resources. This is why the Hebrew name of this day is Shabbat, which does not mean "rest" but "cessation of activity." On this day we, so to speak, restore the world to God, and thus proclaim -- to ourselves and to others -- that our life in this world has higher, spiritual aims.

DEFINITION OF "MELACHA"

Refraining from work on Shabbat is thus a "sign," as the Torah puts it: an expressive symbol for all time. The bearer of the symbol -- the "work" that we refrain from on Shabbat -- is very carefully circumscribed in Jewish law. Melacha, as this type of work is called, certainly does not mean physical exertion. It refers to carrying out an intelligent purpose by practical skill -- production, creation, transport, transforming an object for human purposes; all activities which bespeak man's domination of the physical world.

A person can have tired himself out the whole day, but so long as he has not produced something of significance, or effected some significant change in an object, he has not done a melacha. On the other hand if one has brought about such a change, without the slightest exertion, then he has desecrated the Shabbat. In fact the less exertion needed, the more the act proclaims man's successful domination of his environment, and this is just the type of act that we have to relinquish on Shabbat to God.

The laws concerning the prohibition of melacha on Shabbat, which are the realization in practice of the above concept, have as their scope practically all the productive activities of man. To qualify as a melacha an act must be deliberate, it must aim at, and achieve, some significant, constructive purpose, and be done with reasonable skill. It is an important principle of the Shabbat laws that an act done in an unusual manner or for purely destructive purposes is not a melacha. A little reflection will show how all these principles fit into the concept of melacha.

CONCEPT OF MELACHA IN PRACTICE

The Rabbis grouped the melachot prohibited on Shabbat into 39 categories, derived from the types of activity employed in the construction of the Mishkan -- the desert sanctuary and its appurtenances described in Exodus chapters 25-28, 30-31, 35-40. (The sanctuary in time is modeled on the sanctuary in space.) Whether an activity is a melacha or not is decided by the Rabbis by relating it to one of these categories. We can give only a few examples here.

Thus, picking a fruit or a flower is a melacha, since one of the categories of melacha is "severing plants from their place of growth." Another category is "changing the physical state of an object by the application of heat." Under this heading we find the melachot: baking, cooking, boiling water, driving an automobile, melting metals, etc. "Furtherance of plant growth" includes planting seeds, pruning trees and watering the lawn. Knitting comes under the heading of "weaving," and fixing a loose tile under the heading of "building activities."

Most melachot involve making some material change in our physical environment. By doing them we demonstrate our control over the world. But there is one, which we earlier called "transport," which involves not so much physical as social categories. It is "taking an object from the private to the public domain and vice versa." The most usual form of this is carrying between the house and the street, or from house to house by way of the street. This activity belongs to the sphere of human society. By refraining from this activity on Shabbat, in the ways defined by our Rabbis, we bring the holiness of Shabbat into the realm of our social activities.

THE RICHES OF SHABBAT

The main thrust of the Sabbath legislation is this proclamation of the sovereignty of God and the stewardship of man. But this very far-reaching principle brings many rich and varied effects in its train.

An important aspect of the Shabbat laws is their effect on employer-employee relations in particular and social relationships in general. The opportunity given by the Shabbat to employees to rest one day in seven is emphasized in the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5:14). The Torah does not fail to mention also the beasts of burden who work for us patiently all the week; to them too Shabbat gives rest and refreshment (Exodus 23:14).

The Torah is not referring only to the obvious fact that if there is no work the servant and the animal rest. The point goes much deeper. Shabbat brings home to us our duty to administer the world and all that is in it in accordance with the beneficent purpose of the Creator. Shabbat also brings us into a close and intimate relationship with God. It is only from this vantage point that we can appreciate the image of God in our neighbor and see God's creature in the animal.

SANCTUARY OF TIME

Shabbat as the sanctuary of time has proved more durable than the sanctuary of space - the Temple in Jerusalem. It has always been, and still is, a summons to the ennoblement of life. If during the six working days people forget the true source of their power, the Shabbat comes to direct them once more towards their Creator. One can hardly imagine a greater enrichment of the environment than Shabbat in all its aspects. It has proved its power over the millennia. "The Sabbath has guarded Israel more than Israel has guarded the Sabbath."

…Jews throughout the ages have felt that Shabbat gave them a unique spiritual power, enabling them to rise above the adversities of everyday life.

This is the blessing of Shabbat. If we renew our covenant with God every Shabbat, and rededicate ourselves to His purposes, then every Shabbat God will give us renewed enlightenment, enthusiasm and strength for the fulfillment of this great task. We will experience the elevated state of life which is the blessing of Shabbat. This is what our Sages mean when they say that every Jew gains an "extra soul" (neshama yetera) on Shabbat.

"THE DISTURBED SABBATH": A TRUE STORY

Jakob de Vries was a gem merchant in 18th century Amsterdam. He had good relations with all his customers and particularly with his main customer, the local Duke. Jakob was a Torah observant Jew and it was well-known that he could never be induced to do business, or even to talk about business, on the Sabbath.

One Sabbath morning, Jakob was sitting with his family over kiddush when a ducal herald accompanied by two army sergeants appeared at the door. "A message from his Grace the Duke for Mijnheer Jakob de Vries." Jakob read the message and his face grew pale. It requested him politely, but firmly, to appear before the Duke within an hour with a selection of his choicest gems, since the Duke had urgent business to transact. A very large profit for the merchant would be forthcoming.

"My humblest respects to the Duke." said Jakob to the herald. "Tell him that there is nothing I wouId like more than to oblige him, but he knows that I never do business on the Jewish Sabbath. As soon as Sabbath is out I shall be glad to do his bidding."

But the Duke would not take "no" for an answer. Within the hour another delegation arrived, more numerous than the first. "The Duke's business brooks no delay," they said. Jakob again politely refused.

Throughout the day more and more messages came from the ducal palace, more and more threatening in tone. "Jakob de Vries should know that if he disobeys this command the Duke will break off all business relations with him and revoke his license to sell jewels in the whole province."

Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead but Jakob de Vries stood firm. "Tell the Duke," he said, "that I am loyal to him but I owe a higher loyalty to my God."

After the termination of the Sabbath -- and Jakob curtailed none of the ceremonies and songs with which observant Jews say farewell to the Holy Sabbath -- he hastened to the palace, not knowing what to expect there.

To his amazement, as soon as he entered the great hall, the Duke rose from his throne and clasped him in a warm embrace.

"Thank you, my friend," said the Duke. "You were great! And what's more you have added 10,000 guilders to my coffers. You see, I had a guest here today, the Duke of Brabant, and I told him about your loyalty to your Jewish laws. He laughed and said that no Jew could resist making a big profit, and he bet me 10,000 guilders that a combination of monetary incentives and threats would surely break your resolve. I had faith in you and bet 10,000 guilders that you would stand firm. Thank you for living up to my expectations!"

SHABBAT AND THE MODERN WORLD

If Shabbat did not exist it would have to be invented for our time. The headlong rush of modern life, the sense of purposelessness, the inability to be still, to be alone with oneself even for a moment, the all-pervasive mechanization and the resulting dangers of de-personalization and de-humanization -- all call for the institution of Shabbat.

Shabbat forces us to assert our independence. We are no longer the slaves of the machine; the television has lost its power, the peremptory ringing of the telephone goes unanswered. We are in control, and we have time to stand back and think for once about ends rather than means.

Shabbat brings parents and children together as a family; it gives us back our humanity, our true personality. In a time of shattered illusions, when mankind is groping for permanent guidelines, the world may yet come to see that its ultimate salvation lies in the direction of the Shabbat of the Torah.