Parshat Ki Tissa
By
Yerachmiel Bratt
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Shmot 31:13
"However, you must observe my Sabbaths, for she is a sign between us for your generations, to know that I am Hashem, who makes you
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Israel is first among the nations and if her people properly observe the
Sabbath which is the most significant day of the week, they will merit
redemption. In the Jewish law of inheritance it is well known that where
there are sons and daughters, the sons, and not the daughters, inherit from
the father. The Sabbath is likened to the son while the other days of the
week are likened to daughters. Just as a son has more influence than his
female siblings, the Sabbath is the most influential day of the week. All
other days of the week are sustained by the Sabbath because the Sabbath's
holiness nurtures the entire week. One's body and soul share a similar
intricate relationship. The soul is likened to the son and the body is
compared to a daughter.
Hashem gave the Sabbath as a gift to the Jewish people's souls. The Sabbath
sustains a person's soul from week to week. It charges him. The relationship
between Sabbath, soul and self is cyclical. The Sabbath nurtures the soul
which supports the body which keeps the Sabbath. When a Jew observes the
Sabbath by refraining from creative physical work, this act nourishes both his
body and soul. His proper observance places the Sabbath on a higher tier than
the other weekdays. Keeping the Sabbath actualizes Hashem's will and creates
peace and harmony is this world. If chas ve'shalom, a Jew desecrates the
Sabbath, he creates a reality where "the son and daughter simultaneously
inherit." He obscures the distinction between the Sabbath and the other days
of creation, the holy and the profane and in essence, blurs the distinction
between genders. This is anathema to Hashem's will. Our ultimate redemption
depends on whether we scrupulously observe the Sabbath. And when we sanctify
the Sabbath, Hashem sanctifies us.
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