Y6k
Shabbos is the ultimate expression of freedom. When a Jew liberates himself from work on the day that G-d sanctified, the individual experiences an unparalleled sense of freedom. All the demands made on us from the outside world are suddenly removed. We no longer feel subservient to our employer, the telephone, modern technology and all the concerns and anxieties that punctuate our workweek.
Seeing and Seeing
Wen Moses first recognized the plight of his brothers and sisters in Egypt, the Torah relates, “He saw their hard labor and he saw an Egyptian man strike a Hebrew man.”
The Torah does not repeat itself needlessly. That the Torah repeats the word “and he saw” dictates that there were two distinct forms of seeing. The second “and he saw” refers to the literal seeing of an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man. However, the first mention of “and he saw their hard labor” refers to a more profound form of seeing. He reflected and contemplated about their slavery.
What precisely did Moses reflect on?
The Midrash explains that he reflected on the misery of the Jewish people and what he could do to help them. He then went to Pharaoh and said to him “Do you want the work they do to be complete? Grant them one day out of every seven days to rest on so that they can perform their work.”
The Midrash concludes that Pharaoh acceded to Moses’ request. Thus when the precept of Shabbos observance was given to them in the desert at a place called Marah, after they were liberated from Egypt, the Torah states: Behold, G-d gave you the Sabbath.” It does not say, “G-d is now giving you the Sabbath,” but that He already gave it to them. This, the Midrash states, confirms that they had already been granted a respite from their work on the Shabbos in Egypt.
We can easily understand why Moses wanted the Jews to rest at least one day a week. Without some rest it would have been virtually impossible for them to survive their ordeal as slaves. What still needs to be clarified is why he chose the Sabbath? He could have selected any day of the week for them to rest on. After all, they did not yet have an obligation to observe the Sabbath.
The Two Dimensions of the Shabbos
The answer lies in a better understanding of the significance of the Shabbos. Shabbos is really a composite of two spiritual dynamics. One dimension of the Shabbos is the awareness that G-d is the true and only Creator. And although he has given us the right, and even the obligation, to be His partners in Creation six days a week, on the seventh day, we rest to demonstrate our awareness that there is only one truly Creator.
This theme is reflected in the words that we recite in the Kiddush prayer with which we usher in the Shabbos that the Shabbos is “a remembrance of the act of Creation.” This is, in fact, the reason given for the observance of Shabbos in the Ten Commandments.
There is also a second dimension of Shabbos. In the same Kiddush prayer we also state that the Shabbos is a “remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt.” And, this theme is mentioned in the second version of the Ten Commandments in the book of Deuteronomy.
Shabbos is the ultimate expression of freedom. When a Jew liberates himself from work on the day that G-d sanctified, the individual experiences an unparalleled sense of freedom. All the demands made on us from the outside world are suddenly removed. We no longer feel subservient to our employer, the telephone, modern technology and all the concerns and anxieties that punctuate our workweek.
True, one can take any day off, but by doing so that rest is not in harmony with the internal dynamics of creation. The world that G-d created in six days continually generates a sense of the need to create. The universe pulsates with life and energy that begs to be harnessed. Resting then, while not forbidden, is not exhilarating and liberating because the rest of nature is hard at work. Moreover, when one’s actions or inaction is not in harmony with the inner dynamic of the universe, it will not be satisfying rest. One will always feel that they’ve been deprived of a crucial element of life.
True Freedom
Only on the Shabbos when G-d Himself imbued the entire cosmos with an inner state of rest and peace, does one’s resting truly liberate oneself from all the demands and constraints of nature. Shabbos, therefore, is the day that we can dedicate to that which is above nature—the G-dly dimension of life. When one is so connected, one experiences true freedom, freedom from all the constraints of the world, freedom for the soul to experience that which it craves the most, an unhampered relationship with G-d.
We can now understand why Moses suggested that their day of rest should be on the Sabbath, not just any day of the week. Not only was he seeking to give them some respite from their backbreaking slave labor, but also he was attempting to provide them with the true taste of freedom. Bereft of this sense of freedom, they might have become so overwhelmed by their state of servitude, that they could not have ever been liberated and become a free people. To free ourselves from the shackles that enslave us, we must first have an experience of a true inner peace and freedom that emanates from the freedom of the soul.
The Art of Wine-Tasting
Our sages have compared the six days of the week to the six millennia of history since the creation of Adam.
We are now poised on the threshold of the sixth millennia (yes, Y6K), the era when the entire world will experience true freedom. To be able to appreciate the experience of freedom, we were given a taste of it even now. Every time we observe the Shabbos, by desisting from work and by dedicating the day to an appreciation for the spiritual aspects of life, we hasten the process of Redemption and are afforded a taste of it now.
Much like the wine connoisseur who tastes his wine to know which wines will suit his palate, so too, we are given a taste of the Celestial Wines of Moshiach whenever we observe the Shabbos.
No wonder then, that we actually use wine to usher in the Shabbos. It is not only because wine induces joy and creates the right atmosphere for the Shabbos, but it is because it symbolizes the belief that we are getting a sampling of the true wine, that represents the “Secrets of the Torah” and of the universe that will be revealed in the Messianic Age.
With the world obsessed with Y2K, just a few years ago at the turn of the secular millennium—that occurred on Shabbos, our sample of Y6K—we as Jews should realize that to experience even one Shabbos is the most liberating and fulfilling experience. It was this experience that provided the Jews with their ability to survive the Egyptian exile, and it is the experience that will usher in the future Redemption.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Shmos by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
