By Leibel Estrin
“And G-d rested on the seventh day… and He blessed it and made it holy.” (Genesis 2:3)
“Remember the Shabbos day, to keep it holy. Six days shall you labor and do all your work; but the seventh day is a Sabbath unto the L-rd you G-d; in it you shall do no type of work, neither you, your son, daughter, servant, maid-servant, cattle, nor the stranger within your gates; for in six days, the L-rd made the heaven and the earth, the sea and all that exists within, and rested on the seventh day, therefore, the L-rd blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.” (Shemos 20: 8-11)
Shabbos is one of the greatest gifts ever given to the Jewish people. It is indeed a day of rest. But it’s more than that. Shabbos is a day of rejuvenation, physically, mentally, and emotionally. It is an island of sanity and serenity in the sea of confusion called life. Above all, it is a reflection of the Time to Come, when mankind will be liberated from our selfish nature.
Shabbos serves as a sign that G-d created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. Shabbos also serves as a sign that G-d chose the Jewish people at Mount Sinai, and charged us to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”
The two dimensions of Shabbos are hinted by two words. The first word is zachor, as the10 Commandments in Shemos 20:8, states, “Remember the Shabbos day to sanctify it.” The second word is shamor, “to guard.” In Devorim 5:12, the Torah states, “Guard the Shabbos to sanctify it.” According to our sages, G-d communicated both words at the same time to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai[1].
On Shabbos, each Jew receives an additional soul. This “Shabbos soul” bestows an extra measure of light, understanding, peace, energy, strength, and last but not least, appetite. Our “Shabbos soul” gives us extra strength and power to reveal the Divine energy that is latent in the world.
How do we fulfill the commandment to “Remember the Shabbos to sanctify it?” According to our sages, we leave the world with its worries behind. We accomplish this by lighting Shabbos candles, dressing in different clothes, reciting kiddush over wine or grape juice, and eating special foods such as challah, special bread.
In addition to acts that emphasize the specialness (i.e., holiness) of Shabbos, we avoid weekday activities, like discussing business, playing strenuous sports, and watching television or radio. In fact, we avoid all types of creative labor, even thought they may be fun, “therapeutic.” etc. Shabbos is a time to “let go and let G-d.” Our “job” is to relax and enjoy the day by oneg, the pleasure that comes from good food, nice clothes, good friends, even an afternoon nap. Saturday evening, we can enter the world again.
“It’s G-d’s Problem.”
On Shabbos, we have to view that all our work is done, whether or not it actually is. One of the most dramatic examples of this occurred in December 1999. Back then, most software used two digits to describe the year. This worked well up through 1999. Once the calendar turned to Jan. 1st, 2000, however, people feared that the computers would switch to 1900, causing chaos. Experts predicted that banks would lose track of deposits and accounts. The navigation systems on large oil tankers would quit. The software that kept planes flying could have bugs.
At the time, my neighbor worked as a senior programmer for Westinghouse. His division built atomic-powered, electric generating plants, such as the one at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. To operate these plants, they generated millions of lines of code and virtually all of that code used the two-digit scheme for recording dates. Needless to say, the team developing the software patch had worked long hours. But even they didn’t know whether the patch would work. As the day approached, I asked my neighbor what he thought might happen.
“I don’t know,” he replied honestly. “But I’m not going to worry about it.”
“Why not?” I responded incredulously.
He looked at me and smiled. “Because January 1st is Shabbos. So it’s G-d’s problem, not mine.”
[1] Like shamor and zachor are associated with Shabbos, G-d commanded Adam, the first man two mitzvos to l’avda “work it” and l’shamra “to guard it.” These correspond to the two commandments that G-d said directly to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai: “I am the L-rd your G-d” and “You shall have no other deities before Me.” According to our sages, “I am the L-rd…” includes all the 248 positive mitzvos and “You shall have no other deities…” corresponds to the negative mitzvos.
