The Sabbath by Abraham Joshua Heschel

Author:Abraham Joshua Heschel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published: 2011-08-22T16:00:00+00:00

There are two aspects to the Sabbath, as there are two aspects to the world. The Sabbath is meaningful to man and is meaningful to God. It stands in a relation to both, and is a sign of the covenant entered into by both. What is the sign? God has sanctified the day, and man must again and again sanctify the day, illumine the day with the light of his soul. The Sabbath is holy by the grace of God, and is still in need of all the holiness which man may lend to it.

The Sabbath is meaningful to God, for without it there would be no holiness in our world of time. In discussing the meaning of the verse, “and on the seventh day He finished His work,”5 the ancient rabbis suggested that an act of creation took place on the seventh day. The world would not be complete if the six days did not culminate in the Sabbath. Geniba and the rabbis discussed this.6 Geniba said: This may be compared to a king who made a bridal chamber, which he plastered, painted and adorned; now what did the bridal chamber lack? A bride to enter it. Similarly, what did the universe still lack? The Sabbath. The rabbis said: Imagine a king who made a ring: What did it lack? A signet. Similarly, what did the universe lack? The Sabbath.7

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.