A Taste of Shabbos – Parashat Shemot

Do you know when the people of Israel actually began observing the Sabbath? No it didn’t start with the Ten Commandments, nor even with the Exodus. It started right in Egypt; here’s how: From Sefaria, quoting a Midrash:

Shemot Rabbah (1:32) teaches that when Moshe lived in the palace, he observed that the Hebrew slaves had no opportunity for rest. Without one day of rest per week, he argued, Pharaoh’s slaves would die. Pharaoh was persuaded, and Moshe instituted Shabbat as their day of rest. An additional Midrash (Shemot Rabbah 5:22) explains that the Hebrew slaves had in their possession various scrolls, relating the incidents of the book of Bereishit, which they would enjoy reading during their rest every Shabbat. They knew from these scrolls that Hashem would redeem them. Pharaoh, therefore, decreed the collecting of straw so that they would have no rest, and thus not be able to think of redemption. The purpose of the decree was to disperse the slaves, to prevent any assembly in which such ideas as devotion to Hashem, redemption or human dignity could be discussed.

Originally, Pharaoh understood that, as a day off, Shabbat would protect his investment. After all, even on their day off, slaves retain the self-image of slaves. But the Hebrew slaves had a glorious historical memory, an unshakable connection to Hashem, which they recalled on Shabbat, in repose and stability. The spiritual rejuvenation of Shabbat is a potent, subversive power against tyrants. Pharaoh, like many dictators throughout history, feared Shabbat. He knew that the key to undermining its effect upon the human spirit was to keep the slaves ‘restless.’

The Hassidic master of Gur, the Sefat Emet elaborates on this Midrash. Even though the commandment of Shabbos was not yet given to the Israelites, but it conveys the idea that when the holy Shabbat is observed, Israel is protected from idolatrous influences in the world at large. In the most subtle way this ‘idolatry’ refers to depending on the 39 worldly activities that sustain them physically. As the sages say, ‘whoever gives pleasure to Shabbos is given an inheritance without boundaries’ Meitzarim, which shares the root of the word for Egypt. Also as the rabbis emphasize, when they assemble together, they are awakened to teshuvah, repentance. So too in our exile now, when we leave behind business activities, true freedom is acquired because one is relieved from the yoke of exile, and so moves closer to redemption, as the Jews did in Egypt.

Indeed, nature itself could be defined as exile.

The Hebrew word for nature is ‘Teva’ which also means, ‘submerged.’ In other words, this physical world actually conceals the divine force guiding it, and makes the world seem to function independently. The name of G-d which expresses this dimension is ‘E-lokim’. This name has a plural ending because it expresses the multiplicity of finite forces in the natural world as it is ‘exiled’ from its infinite source. The higher name is ‘Havaya’ which is a name transcending time and means, ‘was, is, and will be.’ It is a name that is more connected to the timelessness of Shabbos than the natural drag and dimensionality of the six weekdays.

When Pharaoh resisted Moshe, he proclaimed: ‘Mi Hashem asher eshma b’kolo?’ Who is G-d – using the transcendent name Havaya – that I should listen to his voice?’ In other words, Pharaoh knew very well the G-d of Teva, nature, the glove that seems to have a life of its own – but the despot could not fathom the existence of the Ein Sof, beyond limit. Thus, only when we, so to speak, distance ourselves from the glove, Teva, can we begin to feel the actual hand of G-d. And when is the best time for that perspective? It’s on the same day that G-d rested from the work of the six-fingered weekday glove, on the Shabbos Kodesh, the holy Sabbath!