What is the meaning of the Sabbath?
 

It is said the world was created in six days and on the 7th day, the Creator rested. A covenant was made with Israel that the 7th day should be sanctified and consecrated unto G-d. Why is this important? Why was Israel to observe the 7th day?

To remember the greatness of G-d? To spend a day resting in His peace?
Acknowledging Him?

Miss Hepburn…..Zastrakoza,

I see it this way also……a time and a space for the creator and tha Spirit. It is said that nature abhors a void….but counter to this….it can be said that the Spirit abhors fullness……meaning we must empty ourselves to provide room for the divine and it aids if this effort is intentional and focused…..whether it be meditation or whatever…..but an emptying of our daily routine….just a thought….

This is what I was taught and what I believed. However, I suspect there is something more. There is the repetitive aspect of the number 7. And also the interesting comment that Adam and Eve were sent out of the garden to till the ground.

I was wondering if the Rabbis would have some input? I'm sure it will surprise me. How does this fit in with the tree of life?

Zastrakoza,

Very interesting comments and questions. Time permitting I will return to this. I also would love to hear from Rabbis on this……especially on the tree of life…..Kaballah maybe ?

Some points to consider:

In the creation story there was a hierarchy.....
First....the plants and trees....no mention of the breath of life
Second...birds, beasts, creatures...living things...all with the breath of life
Genesis 1:28-29...In the Bible living denotes anything with blood...the blood
denotes life and also the soul....animals have souls(but not spirit for they
are not in the image of God)

Third....man....also made with the breath of life....and originally with spirit
(being made in the image of God)

Then the fall.....because of the disobedience....God curses the ground that man
came from....and utters the words....from dust to dust thou art

What happens ? That is when man was relegated to tilling the cursed ground and eating plants of the field....Genesis 3

With this perhaps we can understand Cain and Abel.....Cain's offering came from the cursed ground....Abel's from animals that had been given the breath of life from God.

In the Bible dust continued to have the same connotation that we give it....namely that it is dirty.....:) Thus the shaking off of the dust from being with Gentiles that the Jewish people associated with dirtiness.

No more for now......:)

Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Molearner. I believe I understand where you are coming from with regard to good and evil and the hierarchy. You crammed a lot of ideas in a few phrases!

For myself, I do not take these stories literally, and so the hierarchy and "curses" are also not literal. As we gravitate towards love and away from fear, our thoughts evolve around the meaning of such things to where the stories are less significant. In other words, we no longer arrange are lives to be in accordance to the stories, instead, we see the stories as a shadowy reflection of history.

In other words, although G-d never changes, our reflection and understanding of him changes. In the past maybe we thought of the Creator has one who blesses and curses, or is full of fiery judgment. But in current times, we think that G-d is love. Love as we know, does not curse. In youth, we may confuse consequences with judgment, but in maturity we realize the wisdom in it.

This idea of the fall of man (I prefer the separation), does it have a bearing on the meaning of the sabbath? What are your thoughts on why the LORD wanted man to keep the sabbath?

Blessings,
Z

Ok, I'm going to say this very slowly:
The Administration has asked when quoting others here to only quote 2-3 sentences ..you can ref to the post # if you'd like.

Sorry Miss Hepburn. I don't see where I'm going wrong. I'm doing as you ask and getting beat up for my efforts.

I have no idea what you are taking exception to. I truncate every quote very carefully.

Additionally I don't have any post numbers on my end. They start over on every response.

Z, hello there...I hope you don't expect Jews to agree on anything, LOL. I'm sure many rabbis would preface with similar and caveat that it's their opinion or perhaps that a common explanation is A. That said..

Many would see the garden of Eden story as highly allegorical, depicting not a fall from grace or into sin but rather an emergence from spiritual infancy to the next step on the spiritual path, where we must begin to stand on our own whilst walking with Spirit. Not a bad thing at all...rather a necessary first step on the path to spiritual growth and maturity.

Re: shabbat...I would simply say it was and is to dedicate a time and space to your individual and communal connection with Spirit. The rituals may be less important to some (like me) than others...but consciously dedicating time and space to deepen your connection to all that is, is always a good thing. Ideally, centered perspective of the eternal now is one we take beyond dedicated time and space out into all of our time and space.

Peace & blessings,
7L