F1: Shabbat

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Become Special

The answer to what was actually created on the seventh day lies at the very beginning of the Torah:

"And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it God rested from all the work that had been done in creating it...." (Genesis 2:3)

So, on the seventh day, God made "holiness". The Jewish concept of holiness has nothing to do with the common image of flying angels and glowing halos etc. The root of the Hebrew word that the Torah uses is "kadosh". In fact, although the word kadosh is commonly translated as holy, there is a far better word which comes much closer to the idea of kadosh and helps us to understand it. That word is SPECIAL.

So perhaps it word be more accurate to say that on the seventh day, God created the idea of 'specialness' and made the world a special place. Without Shabbat, the Earth would have just been a planet that we live on, with no real connection to it. The actions that we do and the lives we lead would mean nothing in the greater scheme of things. After all, who cares what a few billion bipeds do on a tiny chunk of earth at the edge of a moderately sized galaxy?!

One of the main things therefore, according to Jewish scholars, that makes our world special and gives our lives meaning is Shabbat and the knowledge that we have Shabbat. The specialness of Shabbat literally makes a world of difference where everything matters. God made the world a valuable place where the lives of we who inhabit it make a difference both to God and to us. Shabbat makes us care.

That is why Shabbat is a day of rest: by resting from work we have the time to concentrate on the important things in life. We can take time out to relax and think about what really matters to us. Family. Friends. Chatting. Fun. Happiness. Love. People need time to think, express emotions, to just 'be'. No deadlines, no presentations, no pressure. Psychologists, doctors and work-health specialists all recognise the value in spending time away from work. Shabbat allows people not to be slaves to their work. It gives us a window in the week where we are not obliged to labour, when we can spend quality time following worthwhile pursuits. Just as important is that during the hardships of our week, we can feel reassured with the knowledge that Shabbat will always be there at the end of it.

Every Shabbat we are different people; we've grown a bit, changed a bit, developed a bit. The week is a unit of time which has passed and on Shabbat we notice how we have changed. In this way, everything we have achieved in the week is appreciated on this day. By experiencing a good Shabbat, we move on in our lives.

Living with the Rule

Seen in this way, the Friday Night "rule" is not really a rule at all, it's not even a negative thing - it is more of an opportunity. Maybe it's the only chance in the week when your whole family can sit down together for a meal without some of you rushing in and out. For many it's the time to catch up on what each other has been up to over the past week.

For those that have more of a traditional Shabbat, the Kiddush (same Hebrew root as kadosh) is not just a blessing over the wine, it is a statement by which we recognise the Shabbat to be holy - i.e. special. We acknowledge to God that we know why we are here and what we are doing. Thus the meal, the chat, and the atmosphere all become part of a spiritual experience.

Who Keeps who?

There is a very famous saying which has been uttered by many Jews over thousands of years:

More than the Jews have kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept the Jews.

In other words, many Jews have stopped keeping Shabbat altogether and this has often led to their move away from Judaism. As long as a Jew has some connection to Shabbat - no matter how slight - s/he can be more assured of staying a Jew. We may not always appreciate the value of this day, but it is always there for us. Every week of the year, every year of our lives. It is one of those things that all Jews across the globe share in common, even if they celebrate it slightly differently.

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