SPIRIT
A WORD OF TORAH
How Shabbat Changes Us W
e are influenced by the company that we keep. Friends have an especially profound influence on how we feel, think and behave — even how we identify. A 2013 study published in Psychological Science, and a 2014 study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, show that friends greatly influence the choices we make. Another recent study shows that people with close friends are likely to live Chief Rabbi longer, and that friendships Warren reduce blood pressure, heart Goldstein rate and cholesterol. But, in this week’s parshah, we read about a friend of a different kind — though one no less influential: Shabbos. “The Children of Israel shall observe the Shabbat, to make the Shabbat an eternal covenant for their generations.” (Shemot 31:16) The Midrash describes Shabbos as the eternal companion of the Jewish people. And the relationship between the Jewish people and Shabbos has indeed endured for thousands of years. It has spanned continents and historical eras. Wherever
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we have gone, Shabbos has accompanied us every step of the journey — and, like a good friend, it has positively impacted us. It helped us discover, and become, our best selves. It has defined our very identity. How has Shabbos sustained generations of Jews through every imaginable circumstance? What is the secret power of this God-given gift, and how has it been able to exert such influence on us? When we keep Shabbos, we proclaim some of the most important principles of our faith. Every Friday night, as we gather around our Shabbos tables and recite the ancient words of the Kiddush prayer, we declare that God created the world, and bear witness to the fact that the beauty and sheer engineering brilliance of the universe is His work; we declare that God took us out of Egypt and bear witness to the fact that He is interested in human affairs and that He guides history; and that He wants us to live in accordance with the moral and spiritual principles which He revealed to us. These basic tenets of Jewish faith are deeply transformative. They are the pillars that guide us as communities, and as
individuals, in our daily lives. They frame our worldview as Jews and give us comfort and conviction. They make us who we are. The Ramban explains that this connection between Shabbos and faith in God is also the connection between Shabbos — the fourth of the Ten Commandments — and the first three commandments, which detail our relationship with our Creator in more explicit terms. The first commandment is about the existence of God. The second commandment is about not worshipping other gods, and the third commandment is about giving appropriate respect to God. Shabbos, which declares God as the Creator of the world, says the Ramban, is their logical extension. Practically speaking, how does Shabbos connect us to faith? The Ramban explains the twofold process alluded to in the two words the Torah references to observing Shabbos. We are commanded to “remember” Shabbos (zachor) and to “observe” Shabbos (shamor). He says, based on the Talmud, that “remembering” Shabbos means being cognizant of Shabbos even during the days of the week, as well as on Shabbos
