Shabbos the Gift of All Time!

Shabbos - is the fourth of the Ten Commandments.

By Rabbi Yehoshua S. Hecht
Beth Israel of Westport/Norwalk
Vice President Rabbinical Alliance of America
Founder Schneerson Center for Jewish Life, CT

The remarkable Mark Twain was fond of relating the following vignette of a notoriously corrupt New England businessman who once exclaimed to him “Before I die I intend to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. There, he exclaimed, I will climb Mount Sinai and read the Ten Commandments out loud at the top.” I have a better idea responded Twain. “You could stay home in Boston and keep them.”

The quest for living a life imbued with meaning and transcendence has occupied the minds of seekers and thinkers throughout the ages. The human being by its nature refuses to allow materialism alone to be the final arbiter of its existence.

With the advent of the industrial revolution and the resulting shift from farming to manufacturing, humanity continued its search for ways to express its spiritual core and connection to the cosmic whole. Today the technological/information era is here in all of its glory. However, it also places inordinate pressure and intrusion on our lifestyle.

As people continue to be captivated by Hollywood which glorifies the abandonment of family values and morals they may become unnerved and anxiety ridden. As Madison Avenue dictates to society what's cool and what’s passé, many become disillusioned.

The concept of unfettered free-choice as promoted by secular humanism, opposed to moral absolutes and responsibility that is found in a Torah lifestyle, has chipped away at the very essence of human freedom.

How many of us are really free of the Email, Blackberry, Tivo, IM, Treo and Ipod which I call the Technology Triangle Trap?

Getting to Enjoy our Blessings

I think it is time for all of us to reconsider the value of accumulating wealth in the context of a non- stop work week where the ‘day of rest’ is ignored and family life and harmony suffer. We need to consider whether we are truly free and in control when we allow the desire for material things to control our lives.

For us the Shabbos has always been ‘the day of rest' commemorating the Creation and its purpose. It shares with us the message that our liberty and freedom is a precious commodity not to be squandered. Shabbos is the "Crown of the Creation" to be used in the service of G-D and humanity. As the Almighty told the great emancipator Moses: “When you have brought forth the people out of Egypt , you shall serve Me upon this mountain.” (Exodus 3:12)

In essence the observances of Shabbos and the dedicating of time for attending communal prayer and family meals is what makes us a viable and creative people. Ahad Ha'am said it well; More than the Jewish people have kept the Sabbath the Sabbath has kept the Jewish people. Lets resolve to uphold the fourth of the Ten Commandments for what it really is. A blessing and a gift. Let us us treasure this precious gift wisely.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yehoshua S. Hecht