Two Shabbats

This week, two sections of the Torah are read: Behar (On the Mount) and Bechukotai (In My Laws). The book of Vayikra (And He Called) is also concluded.

In the parashah Behar, we find a seemingly innocuous verse that offers a much deeper insight into a Jewish practice (which has become widespread): Shabbat. In practice, it is Judaism that introduced the world to the idea of a day of rest. For six days one works, and on the seventh, one rests. In its simplest form, it is about recovering physical energy for the coming work week, but it contains a much deeper meaning.

The Torah (Leviticus 26:2) says: "Take care of My [days of rest] (Shabbat) and fear My temple, for I am the Lord." It literally speaks of observing Shabbat, that is, keeping its laws, not doing any of the 39 prohibited tasks or their derivatives, nor the rabbinic decrees associated with them, and sanctifying it with clean clothes, festive food, and enjoyment.

However, upon closer examination of the verse, it speaks of two levels of Shabbat. The singular is Shabbat, My Shabbat, while the plural is Shabtotai, My Shabbatot (the plural of Shabbat is Shabbatot). What are these two Shabbatot about?

On one hand, our sages tell us that Shabbat is something God brings into the world; it does not depend on human action. Unlike holidays such as Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot, which depend on the sanctification of the earthly judgment (related to the sighting of the new moon), Shabbat depends on nothing; it is sanctified by God. On the other hand, the Torah itself says (Exodus 31:16), "And the Children of Israel kept the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath," meaning that the Jewish people create Shabbat.

To understand the difference between these two levels of Shabbat, we must turn to some mystical concepts: Chokhmah, Binah, and Midot—wisdom, understanding, and emotional qualities, respectively. A detailed explanation of each is beyond the scope of this brief editorial, but they essentially refer to three ideas: the Midot are six, representing the six days of the week; Binah represents Shabbat, which transcends the days of the week; and Chokhmah represents the special focus that each person, so to speak, brings to Shabbat.

So, to put things in order, the two levels of Shabbat to which the Torah refers are the levels of Binah, which is the automatic Shabbat, brought by God to earth regardless of the work of the week, while the second level of Shabbat is that of Chokhmah, which orients and focuses Shabbat, and is the Shabbat that each one makes.

What does this "doing" of Shabbat consist of? When a person meditates on the greatness of the Creator, for example, by taking the famous Shema Yisrael prayer, where we say that God is One, meaning that not only was the universe created by a single God, but even more so, the universe is one with God; the only true existence is God. Furthermore, the universe is constantly created and recreated from a Divine reflection, as if it were a ray of sunlight which, compared to the sun, is insignificant. In the same way, the entire universe is created from a Divine "ray of light," and is therefore insignificant before God (despite its immensity, as scientists themselves declare).

Now, with all that greatness, God desires that there be a material world (in which we live) and that we make this world a dwelling place for Him, imbuing it with the awareness of His Existence. In His mercy, He gives us the capacity to understand Him, even to speak about Him! These and similar thoughts lead to the realization of Divine greatness, generating in a person a longing for union with that Infinite and Mighty God.

These thoughts guide Shabbat and give it a purpose and an appropriate focus, so that it is not simply a day of rest that God brought into the world, but rather the day in which a person aligns their life with Divine Reality, recharging their spiritual energy to face a new week with a mindset focused on making this world a dwelling place for Him.