Shabbat of Sacred Rest, Shabbat of Sacred Responsibility
Rabbi Josh Knobel
At our Stephen Wise Temple Shabbat by the Beach, Rabbi Josh Knobel speaks of the “Book of Spoken Things,” which continues the discourse that Moses began as the Israelites stood by the banks of the River Jordan, preparing to enter Eretz Yisrael.
Moses tells the Israelites why he cannot go with them. He recalls the laws the people received at Sinai, but in repeating the Ten Commandments, there are some subtle changes, changes that have been interpreted and analyzed by our sages for centuries. Modern scholars would attribute those differences to the fact that there were different authors who contributed to our Torah at different times in our history, each with their own traditions and interpretations of the text. But it is in the interpretations and differences that we find a beautiful depth of meaning.
Rabbi Josh focuses on one such difference: The commandment to observe Shabbat. In the first iteration of the Ten Commandments, we are told to “Remember Shabbat and keep it holy,” because it was on that day that God rested from Creation, and thereby made Shabbat holy.
As Moses retells the story in this week’s parashat, he says, “Safeguard the Sabbath,” and continues on to say that Shabbat is not just for us, but for our animals, the strangers that dwell in our midst, for everyone who works for us, and for our children, so that our workers, our servants, our children, and all who we touch can rest just as we do. It is a powerful and inclusive message with a completely different justification: “Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt,” Moses says, “and your God, Adonai, freed you from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, your God, Adonai, has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.”
August 12, 2022 | 15 Av, 5782