More than three thousand three hundred years ago, immediately after the Israelites left Egypt, even before the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, the Sabbath was given to the people of Israel. Later, the Torah was given, and the Sabbath commandment was included in the Ten Commandments: "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.".
The very concept of a weekly day of rest was foreign and strange in those days.
More than a thousand years later, the nations of the world still mocked Israel for striking work for an entire day a week. A wasteful people, they called us.
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And really, isn't it a terrible waste to relieve workers, slaves, and animals of their labor for a full day a week?!
''progress'?!
Many years have passed since then. The people of Israel adhered to the Sabbath and observed it with devotion. On this day, the Jews separated themselves from all the worries of everyday life, from difficulties, from poverty, from persecution, from worries.
With the lighting of the candles, the Jewish family would move, as if by magic, from the atmosphere of the mundane to a spiritual world of purity and holiness, which provided strength and spiritual fortitude for the gray and difficult days of the week.
The non-Jewish world also adopted the lower level of the Sabbath, and the concept of a weekly day of rest became the property of all humanity. Many countries even switched to a five-day work week.
Everyone recognized the need to disconnect once a week from the worries of earning a living and the hassles of business, to rest and be with family.
That is why the war that certain elements are waging in an effort to bring about the opening of factories and public services on the Sabbath is so regrettable, and it is surprising that this initiative receives support from bodies that promote civil rights.
Would it be 'progress' if a few tens of thousands more Jews were forced to give up their and their families' Shabbat rest and work on this day?!
After the entire world accepted the principle of the Day of Rest from the people of Israel, should Jews actually fight ferociously to have Jews work en masse on the Sabbath?!
True rest
But as mentioned, the Sabbath day in the world is nothing more than a lower level of the Jewish Sabbath. The Sabbath is not just a day of rest from work, but a day of transcendence from the mundane world in general.
In the Shabbat Mincha prayer, we thank God for the Shabbat He gave us – "a day of rest and holiness that You have given to Your people." This is not just any rest, but "the rest of truth and faith, the rest of peace, the quiet and security, the complete rest that You desire.".
And in this respect, not only working in a factory or office is a craft, but also operating electronic devices and listening to music. Everything connected with the mundane world is an obstacle to the spiritual ascension to which the Jew strives on the Sabbath.
On this day, we completely detach ourselves from all mundane concepts and move into a noble spiritual world. A world of study and prayer, of singing and holiness.
We have no worries. No 'orders.' No burning problems. There is only home and family, books we wanted to study, a true prayer we longed to utter. This is the Jewish Sabbath!
The Sages said that if Israel observes two Sabbaths according to their custom, they will immediately be redeemed. Perhaps because after two such Sabbaths, no Jew will be found who would want to give up this wonderful gift.
