Harmony Between G-d and Man
The Sabbath points mankind towards freedom from bondage to works. It brings man closer to the goal of having perfect harmony between G-d and His creation during a future day that will be All Sabbath. The Sabbath also prefigured a spiritual freedom from works. Those individuals that attain to this spiritual freedom will be those who inherit the day known in Rabbinical teaching as the Sabbath Day of Rest or the Sabbath Day of Eternity.
The Bible calls the Sabbath a "Feast of the L-rd" and is listed first among the Feasts, to be treated as a holy convocation which is a prophetic ritual or 'rehearsal'. In reality, the Sabbath was established at the creation long before G-d gave the Israelites His commandments:
"Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." (Genesis 2:3)
"Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'The feasts of the L-rd, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the L-rd in all your dwellings.'" (Leviticus 23:2, 3)
The Sabbath also holds the distinction of being the only Feast mentioned in the Ten Commandments:
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the L-rd your G-d. In it you shall do no work. For in six days the L-rd made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore, the L-rd blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." (Exodus 20:8-11)
In Rabbinical teaching, each Sabbath is to be regarded as the day the Messiah could come. In preparation, the Sabbath table is set with one's finest china, two candlesticks, two loaves of challah bread, and a white tablecloth symbolizing the dew that covered the ground when G-d rained down manna to feed the Israelites. No knives are placed on the table or the knives are covered to demonstrate the peace that will exist during the Messiah's reign which will be All Sabbath:
"They shall beat their swords into plow-shares, and their spears into pruning hooks; Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore" (Isaiah 2:4).
The two candlesticks and two loaves of challah represent the double portion of manna allotted to the Israelites in the wilderness before each Sabbath. Manna was given for six days only. On the sixth day, they received a double portion, one portion to be reserved for the Sabbath. The candlesticks also stand for the light of creation and the light of redemption. The challah loaves are covered, like a bride is veiled before her wedding. When the blessing is said over the meal, the challah is uncovered, just as the bride is unveiled after a blessing is recited. Each Sabbath symbolically pictures the wedding day of G-d to His covenant people.
|